Seattle Mariners end Kansas City Royals’ Win Streak at 11

The 'surprise' in Surprise couldn't last forever, but it was a nice ride.

From Pete Grathoff at the KC Star:

"A Seattle split squad roughed up Guillermo Moscoso for five runs in the fourth inning, breaking a 1-1 tie, and the Royals never recovered as they lost 12-2. They are now a symmetrical 11-1-1."

For far too many seasons, the KC Royals have been a 2nd rate major league team, with last year being downright dismal. So, up until Thursday, who could blame our ol' buddy Joe Posnanski, apparently giddy with spring training fever, when he cautiously dubbed them 'The Unbeatable Kansas City Royals':

"Now, let me make this clear: I believe this 10-game spring training winning streak means almost exactly nothing. It means about as much as an NBA player making 20 three-pointers in a row during warmups or an NFL kicker making a 68-yard field goal in pre-game. It might buoy the confidence a bit. It might sell a couple more early season tickets. It might help create a more positive atmosphere in the clubhouse. But that’s it. The Royals began last year by losing their first 10 home games in the regular season — THAT means something.

But … hey winning 10 in a row is better than losing 10 in a row. And there is something exciting about this team. That exciting thing is, paradoxically, something kind of boring: For the first time in what seems like forever, the Royals don’t enter a season needing miracles..."

 Indeed.

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Even the stodgy AP had some royal kudos:

"As of Monday, they were hitting .338 as a team, by far the best average in spring training - and no, they're not playing their starters any later than anybody else. They're also among the top five in on-base percentage, slugging percentage and stolen bases.

"In spring training, you want to make sure everyone gets their work in, and you want to make sure everyone plays. That's my view, anyway," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "And if you look at the games we've played, everyone's been a part of it."

What may excite Yost the most has been the way his starting rotation has looked."

And Jeffrey Flanagan at FOX Sports KC proclaims this 'An off-season like no other in Kansas City.' Why? Cash. Royals owner David Glass cash - lots of it.  'All told, the Royals will have a franchise-record $79.5 million payroll in 2013'

(2012 = $61 million; 2011 = the league's lowest at $36 million).

Money may not buy happiness, but it often times buys winners. Hey. It could happen.