Guest Blogger: Kurt Mensching

This post was written by Kurt Mensching, a freelance writer who blogs
about the Detroit Tigers at Mack Avenue Tigers.
This concludes the AL Central guest blogger series. You can read the
first two articles here and here.

Nothing would make me happier than to see a reversal of fortunes in Kansas City. I think every Tigers fan can feel a bit of kinship with the team. For most of the past 15 years, the Royals and Tigers battled for the bottom. The Twins or Indians or White Sox had King of the
Hill, we had caesar of the cellar to look forward to. And now the Tigers' owner has decided to spend massive amounts of money, and the Tigers fans are grateful and falling over each other to get their hands on tickets, while our friends in K.C., despite a billionaire owner, are left behind.

But I don't think it's all bad for Royals fans either. While they might enter the season knowing they have no shot at the A.L. Central title, they also know they have some top tier young talent they can watch develop. Think Alex Gordon will adjust in his second full season in the majors? I do. Think Billy Butler will quickly make a name for himself with his power? I do. True, the Royals need a little help up the middle, but they are certainly going to enjoy the start of an upswing. It will be interesting to see what they do with Luke Hochevar, as well.

Still, I am not sure that the Royals are ready to battle for third place this season. They can certainly sneak up on some clubs, but I'd like to see better pitching first. I think the White Sox are still the team to beat for third place. With the Twins' sudden youth movement -- and with them not necessarily receiving what I'd consider fair value from their trading partners -- the Royals may be able to snare fourth.

With what appears to be good management in place, I expect the situation in K.C. will continue to improve. If the owner will open up his wallet -- a pretty big IF from what I hear -- you never know what to expect. It doesn't take long for money spent wisely to turn an organization around. Hopefully, the Royals find some success, too -- just not at the expense of the Tigers!