Rising Royals

Starting with a quick note....today Rob Manfred was elected the new commissioner of MLB to follow up Selig.  The current chief operating officer has got some big shoes to fill and will be facing a lot of pressure on his performance as fans look for baseball to continue being Americas Pastime.
The big story today in baseball has got to be those Kansas City Royals. Now we came into this season with me stating that if they are going to end their playoff slump, it had to be this season and they are showing us right now that they got what it takes. After their win today over the best record team in baseball, the Athletics, the Royals hold a 0.5 game lead in the AL Central over the thought to be dominant Detroit Tigers.  The Royals recently added Josh Willingham to the roster, which i thought was funny because Willingham had just finished a 3 games series in Oakland, and here are the A's coming into Kansas City for him to face again. But even with Hosmer currently out, the Royals are getting their success from bats such as Gordon, Perez, Butler, and Infante. Though the Royals are not hitting many long balls, they are hitting for average and have been clutch with men on base as they have won 18 of their last 22 games.  Their pitching has looked amazing as well, especially Jason Vargas and his 3 hit shutout of the A's retiring the last 23 batters in his complete game.  Not many put much hope in the Royals making any impact in the AL Central this season, especially with Detroit and Cleveland in the division, both team who made the playoffs last year.  The Royals have the longest drought in baseball when it comes to making the postseason, as their last appearance was in 1985. Eight years more than the runner up the Toronto Blue Jays. With the strong performance on the mound from starters such as Shields, and consistent hitting from bats like Gordon and Perez, the Royals look to give the Tigers a good run for their money for that division spot. With Detroit suffering some issues with Verlander and Sanchez, the Royals have heated up at the right time. When the Tigers picked up Price, things were thought to be over the Royals, but they have made their pickups as well. Though they may have been more quiet, they have acquired needed weapons such as Ibanez and Willingham at the plate and Frasor and Downs on the mound. I wish the Royals luck at taking that central division or at least a wildcard seat.
Injury news, the Reds have lost Bailey to the 15 day DL with a strained elbow. The Reds are trying to stay in the picture for the wildcard, but with continuous injuries it keeps becoming more of a challenge. They hope the pitcher they recently signed longterm is only dealing with minor problems. The A's placed Jed Lowrie on the DL with a fractured finger.  With the middle infield being the only weal link in the A's roster, making a move for Jimmy Rollins is becoming more needed. Troy Tulowitzki will have season ending hip surgery bringing up the question of whether or not he has played his last game for the Colorado Rockies. Tulo has done a lot of complaining about being a part of a team that can't bring in many wins, which has lead to trade talk about the young shortstop.  Tulo signed a huge 10 year deal a couple years ago with the Rockies and there was a lot of rumors near the trade deadline about him going.  But whoever may claim him will need to worry about his injury issues and the many years left on his contract.  Last but not least, Ryu and Darvish both hit the DL with arm issues. With Tanaka out as well, the big imported pitchers are all down not showing the MLB network their magic at the moment. Word is Tanaka has a good chance to return, but their appears to be doubt about the other two through September. Only Ryu looks to be making the playoffs with the current standings.