New York Yankees, MLB teams needing a second-half surge

Kansas City Royals

Will this finally be the end to the playoff woes of the Royals? Will they finally clinch their first wild card slot ever? Will they win the AL Central for the first time? Will I ever stop asking all these questions? Well, the only question you should have answered yes to is the last one – probably.

Despite the 5th best team batting average in the league (.264), the Royals still find themselves 6.5 games of Detroit in the division and on the outside looking in of the wild card picture – but that is certainly still in play. The Yankees and Blue Jays, who I think both have better chances at catching Seattle in the wild card (no one is going to catch the Athletics or the Angels, depending on who wins the division) are nipping at their heels, but Kansas City is only a few games back going into their series with the Red Sox this weekend.

With some bullpen additions, and relatively stable numbers from the starters – notably James Shields – there is certainly hope. Getting left fielder Alex Gordon back from the disabled list will also help, but the hill is certainly sloping upwards in Kansas City when they have been playing pretty decent baseball, but still find themselves behind the pack.

Any game in July is silly to be called a “must win,” but the series this weekend with Boston could be awfully telling. If the Royals take care of business, gaining a game or two in the very tight AL Wild Card race would be huge.