Out of the cellar... for good?

This is what I wrote exactly two weeks ago:

As I caught up with my Royals RSS tonight it sunk in like a bad case of heartburn: the Royals really are in last place. Again.

And since then, all the Royals have done is win 12 of 15 (80%!) to catch then pass Detroit's $137.3 million team (only the Yankees and Mets have higher payrolls). While true that the Tigers are even with the Royals in the loss column, Jim Leyland's club has lost six straight, and with a collection of overpaid veterans who probably can't wait to tackle that South Key bass, I'm feeling pretty good at the moment. Like morning in Beijing after a night of rain, the air feels refreshingly crisp and clean. The pollutants and small particles have been washed away, and in the Royals' case -- if we can get literal -- maybe they're out of the cellar for good. I'm talking about six, eight years good.

That's been the hope since Dayton Moore's taken over, and I see no reason why it can't be said. Here's to our road towards sunshine!


POSTSCRIPT: Mr. Dick Kaegel, you win today's Lead of the Day award:

DETROIT -- Remember back when the season dawned and the Detroit Tigers were considered shoo-ins as American League Central champions?

That euphoric feeling was jolted when the unheralded Royals opened the season at Comerica Park with a three-game sweep.

The Tigers never seemed to recover.

Oh, yes, the Royals swept the Tigers again. Nothing like bookends. POSTSCRIPT 2: The Mets have lost eight games after holding a four-run lead. Isn't that pathetic? Oh, and the Brewers have caught up, thanks to C.C. I think it'd only be fair if any entire post were devoted to the NL Wild Card race.