As a Royals fan, I'm pretty stoked for the second half of the major league baseball season.
Dayton Moore is inheriting a team with LOADS of experience at critical positions. Take a look:
* First base. Perhaps one of the most critical positions in today's game, and the Royals have scads of experience here. Mienky, Sweeney, and Stairs are all veterans who bring different skill sets to the position. I also understand that Justin Huber, a youngster who was up earlier this year, may challenge for the position. This should be quite the position battle as we head toward the World Series.
* Second base. Grudz is a wily veteran here, with lots of great experience, including World Series.
* Shortstop. Although Berroa doesn't have that much experience, he *did* show some great things during his freshman, oops, I mean rookie, year a coupla years back.
* Third base. Although we're starting Mark Teahen, who doesn't have that much experience here, the good news is that we have lots of experience in Tony Graffanino as our utility infield guy. We've already seen the value of having Graffy's experience, as he's started replacing Berroa in the starting lineup more and more.
* Outfield. Again, this is a spot where we're loaded with experience, with DeJesus and Emil Brown returning for the second half of the season. Although Reggie Sanders has seen less playing time now that we've got the youngster Gathwright out there, I fully expect Reggie's experience to come into play as the Royals make their stretch run.
* Catcher. Not much experience here. It would be nice if the Royals could pick up some experience through a trade for a Benito Santiago or possibly signing Brent Mayne, if he's available.
* Manager. Good experience here. Buddy Bell has lost a lot as a manager, but experience is experience.
In short, with all the experience that Dayton Moore has on this Royals team, I fully expect him to turn things around from where they've been over the past couple of years. Despite the back-to-back last place finishes for the Royals, I think the future looks bright, as I expect Dayton Moore, hailed as a wunderkind by numerous sources, to guide this experienced team to no less than a wild card spot by the end of this season, and I wouldn't be surprised if the Royals make the World Series.
