The Kansas Royals are ugly

You would think that a team that is void of money to spend on half decent players, would at least have a decent farm system and also tend to build their team around speed, defense and pitching. This situation in Kansas City regarding the Royals is getting downright embarrassing and this latest statistic regarding their inept base stealing ability, is just another indication of how far this once proud franchise has fallen.Somebody once said that speed is the one thing that never goes in to slumps in baseball and I cannot figure out why the Royals cannot grab themselves a couple of rabbits in their farm system, who can slap the ball, and steal a few bases to manufacture runs.Believe it or not this team has been caught stealing in 12 of their last 14 attempts and are just 14 for 33 on the season that makes them the only team in baseball with a success rating under 50%. I mean the Chicago White Sox have also been caught 19 times, but they have also stolen 48 bases and this solid number is one of the large reasons why the White Sox are in first place.Furthermore you have to go back to 1994 when the Mets were 25-51 to find the last Major League team with this dubious record. Their percentage right now stands at 42.1 and it has been 27 years since the Toronto Blue Jays in 1978 posted worse numbers with a 35% mark.It's going to be a long season in Cleveland, Ohio as the Indians are off to a rather poor 17-22 mark and while a nice long winning streak could get them above the .500 mark, the Central division is not that forgiving.With the quality in this division from the likes of Chicago and Minnesota there is a possibility that either New York or Boston are going to looking from the outside come playoff time. But it is the Indians we are discussing and a quick glance at their horrendous hitting statistics will reveal some rather sad numbers.Aaron Boone has 4 homeruns and 13 RBI's in 139 at bats and a paltry .163 ERA, all star catcher Victor Martinez just 2 homeruns and a shocking low of 10 RBI's and a .198 batting average. To put things into better perspective a batter hitting 44 homeruns and driving in 147 runs would be an extraordinary season for someone, but certainly not out of the question. The average full time major league player usually registers between 550 and 600 at bats.The Indians to date have been to the plate as a team 1325 times which is more then 2 full seasons of at bats, so their season is akin to a player hitting about 20 homeruns and driving in around 70 runs. These totals are the definition of mediocrity! We cannot close out this segment without mentioning the tough luck season that talented Indians right hander Jake Westbrook is enduring. Just this past week he gave up a single to Angels Steve Finley and then retired the next 21 batters yet lost the game in the 9th inning 2-1. Westbrook for the season is 1-7 with a 5.80 ERA, but the numbers are misleading.Westbrook has made 9 starts and in 5 of them he has pitched into the 7th inning and has an ERA in those starts of 1.88 yet his record is only 1-4. But when your team only scores 19 runs in 9 starts your not going to win many games!