REQUIEM FOR KANSAS CITY ROYALS 2018: CULTURE WAR DISTRACTIONS AND WORLD SERIES GLORY DAYS GONE FOREVER!!!

At the outset of the 2018 season a media sensation over an anti-pr0n seminar signaled the Kansas City Royals were far too distracted by politics to focus on returning the organization to competitive play.

From the other side of the cultural spectrum, as the the All-Star Break loomed, a fierce debate over the lack of a Kansas City Royals LGBT Pride Night was far more intense than any of the action on the field.

There's talk of hope for next season but the reality is that payroll cuts are going to limit the potential of the team going forward. More importantly, the focus on "rebuilding" is nothing more than insipid sports radio chatter devised to keep fanboys buying tickets and merch. Life is to short to wait on empty promises from the home team. They either win or they don't. This season 104 loses demonstrates that the Kansas City Royals have little in common with the 2015 team that "took the crown."

And so, what have we learned???

All that cheap talk about Midwestern work ethics and home town pride was nothing more than gimmicky marketing. When the organization spent money, they won. When the front office tugged back on purse strings in order to take profits, performance on the field inevitably suffered. Neither manager Ned Yost nor GM Dayton Moore possess the kind of genius to overcome the basic arithmetic of a league that's still defined by a broken economic system. The  moneyball luck enjoyed by the Kansas City Royals offered only brief respite from the status quo.

Nevertheless, there's a bright side beyond all of the generic . . . "We'll get'em next year talk."

Real Royals fans have rediscovered the joy of a trip to the K without suffering the bullying of drunken jock fanboys and cackling middle-class moms wearing designer mech. This season we noticed more families watching the team when better, cheaper tickets finally freed up around August. There were really great players on the squad this season who will go on to great careers in the league. Yes, the Kansas City Royals are part of this town's civic culture . . . And they'll never be a dynasty. Whilst the humble, star-crossed narrative of the home team doesn't fit well with social media flexing and braggart politics that defines the modern era, it's a story that speaks to the real ethos of this wretched little town.

And so we offer one final look at the Kansas City Royals 2018 -- A team that exemplifies heartland life spent toiling in vain.

Check the links:

Cowtown End Game

Royals drop finale to Indians, 2-1

The Royals lost on Sunday afternoon to the Indians, 2-1. They finished the season 58-104. Cleveland scored a run in the first and the third innings, both coming from Francisco Lindor. He walked and zoomed around the bases, scoring on an error in the first, and then he hit a solo home run in the third.

Home Team Contemplation

Kansas City Royals: How things have changed in just three year

As the 2018 season is coming to an end, looking at the lineup the Kansas City Royals are using every night is a sign of the future. However, when you look at this team, it doesn't seem all that long ago that we were celebrating the Royals success during the regular season as they were running away with the American League Central and having the best record in the American League.

Kansas City Newspaper Recycling

Royals lost 104 games, but bringing everyone back is smart | The Kansas City Star

The easiest decision that could be made for the 2019 Royals was made the day the 2018 Royals left us. Ned Yost will be back as manager, on another one-year deal, a move that benefits each side.

Cowtown Finale FAIL

Royals extend Yost, Merrifield makes history

The Kansas City Royals lost to the Cleveland Indians on Sunday, 2-1, but that did not stop them from a couple of big announcements. Before the game, the club announced it had signed manager Ned Yost to a one-year contract extension.

Talent Escapes Kansas City

Kansas City Royals: End of the road for Alcides Escobar as a Royal

The 2018 season is over for the Kansas City Royals after Sunday afternoon's slate of games (all scheduled to start around the same time) and that means that Alcides Escobar 's time as a Royal will likely be coming to an end as well.

Farm Fresh Redux

Hok Talk: The rebuild is over?

So I wrote an article a couple weeks ago about the potential of Adalberto Mondesi and Whit Merrifield up the middle of the Royals lineup. It hasn't aged particularly well, to say the least, as they currently worth nearly 8 fWAR despite Mondesi spending half the season in AAA.

Kansas City Royals Deadline

Royals Finish Last In AL Central, But Have A Few Reasons To Look To 2019

Despite the second-to-worst season in Kansas City Royals' history (58-104), manager Ned Yost wants to stick around for at least one more year. And he'll do just that, agreeing to a one-year extension Sunday for an undisclosed amount to manage in 2019.

Hopefully, more for the morning update . . . STAY TUNED!!!