What if the Royals were in the NL?

by mikewormdog on Jun 18, 2007 2:53 PM EDT

Maybe this has been done fairly recently, but if it hasn't, I think it would be an interesting discussion. The Royals have beaten up on NL opponents for the last couple of years, and as most of us remember, were offered the chance to switch leagues about ten years ago.

What do you think the Royals' record would be if they and the Brewers had switched places prior to the season? (I'm asking prior to this season since the Royals would still have basically the same roster as now.)

Would they be around .500, in playoff contention, as bad as now? What would the ideal "typical" batting order be (we can at least imagine Buddy Bell has one, right)? Would our heroic manager be saner in the NL or would his lineups be even wilder?

BB sample...May 18 at Colorado
DeJesus cf
Grudzielanek 2b
Teahen rf
Sweeney 1b
Brown lf
buck c
gordon 3b
pena ss
pitcher slot (duckworth)

Somehow this lineup seems to make sense, for the most part, especially if German was put in Grudz's spot. Gordon should probably move up now, but that wasn't bad at the time given, Gordo's struggles. Of course the lineup changed the next day, and the Royals struggled offensively.

Even with Bell, I'm thinking they could be around .500 (perhaps on the sunny side) in the NL. Seven more wins wouldn't be too far-fetched, would it?

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I TRULY THINK WE REALY MESSED UP BY NOT GOING WITH THE NL; WHEN WE HAD THE CHANCE

by PREDATOR1 on Jun 18, 2007 4:16 PM EDT reply actions

im glad we didnt

these things go in cycles, in a couple of years (or 10) the nl will be the better league. we have always been in the al, im glad we stayed.

plus, it would feel like we earned it more if we make it in the tougher american league...

by rockchalk on Jun 18, 2007 5:07 PM EDT reply actions

I agree

I wouldn't want to compete with the payrolls of St. Louis, Houston and the Cubs. We just have to get better.

Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com

by RoyalsRetro on Jun 18, 2007 5:24 PM EDT up reply actions

this payroll assumption

is a little weird, I think. Right now we compete with the Tigers and White Sox who have payrolls comparable with (and higher than) the NL Central teams you mentioned. As it stands now, our payroll is pretty close to Milwaukee's. I agree that getting better internally is often more important than spending more.

In general I'm glad we're in the AL, too, for sake of tradition, but I was just wondering if our interleague success was indicative of anything.

by mikewormdog on Jun 18, 2007 5:49 PM EDT reply actions