A little mini run to start the year. A reason to hope?

Before the season started, I expected the Royals to lose 94 games this year.  I'm not backing down from that but I do like some things I'm seeing from them just 3 games into the season.  The Angels aren't world beaters, but they're a semi solid club that certainly seemed the lowly Royals.  But the fact that we've only seen 3 errors in 3 games is certainly encouraging. The Royals aren't going to be good enough to give runs away and stay in games.  That was their downfall last year.  Billy Butler is hitting .300 but still isn't showing a lot of pop.  Chris Getz is hitting .429 and we all know that won't last.  Alex Gordon is 2 for 13 on the season, a blistering .154.  That can't continue if he intends to keep calling Kansas City home.  His clock is going to strike midnight pretty soon.

The starting pitching hasn't been terrible yet but it's been a long way from great.  The # 1 starter, Luke Hochevar, looks like a solid # 4 guy and Kyle Davies continues to prove he doesn't belong on a major league roster that intends to go anywhere.  The young bullpen looks good so far however, particularly former Tiger Aaron Crow that has thrown 3 innings in 2 games, giving up no runs and 2 hits while striking out 5.  Joakim Soria looks as solid as ever, with a 1-0 record to go with 1 save.  His strikeout numbers are low, non-existent as a matter of fact, but he's been workmanlike, throwing only 6 pitches in the save Saturday afternoon.  Better defense makes better pitchers when they're afraid to let the other team make contact for fear of an error.  Small things but something manager Ned Yost can build on while waiting for the hoped for barrage of heralded prospects to hit the major league roster the next 2 years.

I'm sticking with my prediction for now, but I reserve the right to up the losses to 100 if we see a return to the Royals baseball we've seen the last few years.  The first thing that needs corrected here is the losing mentality.  Zack Greinke admitted to it last year when he stated he didn't try his hardest since he knew he'd lose anyway.  Of course, Zack wasn't exactly a walking tribute to mental health to begin with.