Since falling to 11-14, on three occasions the Royals have clawed back to two games under .500, with a chance to get oh so close to even, only to lose again, trading in 14-15 for 13-16, or in the most recent case, falling back to 14-17 as opposed to 15-16.

Here's something positive to get our minds off of an impotent lineup and a sometimes silly manager:

Despite a predictable downturn from an early season remix of the 1960s Dodgers, there's still a lot to like here, especially the strikeout numbers, where the Royals rank seventh in the AL, an especially strong total against the second lowest walk total in the league. The problem is that the Royals are allowing a .263 batting average to opponents (9th) along with a league average 28 home runs, which is helping to push the ERA to 4.37, which is a disappointing 12th in the AL. Not a figure I expected to see this morning.

But that's still wonderful compared to the offense which ranks dead last in the League in runs, last in OBP, last in SLG and tenth in average. It's hard to score when you need three straight singles to do so, especially when someone in there you're also mixing in a caught stealing.

Tonight, Brian Bannister (3-3, 4.04 ERA) takes the mound, looking to rebound from a rough start in Texas, while the Angels counter with Nick Adenhart, who is making his second career start.

Adenhart's War