The State of the Royals ... not so sweet; just check out the ninth inning last night...

In the bottom of the ninth
last night, the Royals sent three hitters to the plate.

If they had not pinch hit for the third, all three would have been hitters who choke up two inches on the bat. None of the three was Barry Bonds.

Three hitters in a row who choke the bat.

Now I appreciate defense as much as the next guy. Hey, I think defense wins games in slow-pitch softball, the most offense-minded game on the planet. But for an alleged major league team to send three chokers to the plate in a row?

Oh, if only it were about their defense. Only one of the three is a defensive specialist. The center-fielder appears adequate and the catcher -- as Joe Posnanski says -- may be the worst everyday player in either league. So, it's not about defense.

OK, three chokers in a row. The combined batting average of the first two was .421. Combined. That's an average average of about .211.

With the catcher added, the combined average would have been .681. That's a pretty good series in bowling but not much in baseball. The average average of three hitters the Royals sent to the plate in the bottom of the ninth would have been .227.

But instead, the Royals pinch hit for their iron man catcher. Not sure how the manager summoned the guts to tell him to sit down, but he did. And the average of the poor pinch hitter who probably got more swings off live pitching in the first three days of spring training than he has gotten all season? Whoa! .170.

So, in reality the Royals sent three hitters to the plate in the bottom of the ninth last night in front of 34,206 fans.

.200
.221
.170

Good thing the game wasn't on the line and the ticket you bought was just for watching the brain trust evaluate talent.

And, that's how it's gone for Royals fans this year after the trades and the call ups. You can put a ribbon on it, but it still stinks.

--Lofflin