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KC Royals: Are the Chicago White Sox For Real

By Leigh Oleszczak

May 9, 2016; Arlington, TX, USA; Chicago White Sox third baseman Todd Frazier (21) and second baseman Brett Lawrie (15) celebrate Frazier
May 9, 2016; Arlington, TX, USA; Chicago White Sox third baseman Todd Frazier (21) and second baseman Brett Lawrie (15) celebrate Frazier /
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While the KC Royals have gotten off to a .500 start after 40 games, their arch nemesis, the Chicago White Sox, have been reeling in the American League Central.

When asking Kansas City Royals fan who their most hated rival is in the majors, most votes would likely go towards the Chicago White Sox. The division rival didn’t provide a ton of competition last year, but the two teams duked it out frequently, including an all-out brawl early on in the season that led to several ejections on both sides.

This season, however, it’s a different story in the American League Central.

The Kansas City Royals are 20-20 and in third place in the division, one that they pretty much owned from late July on last season. The White Sox, on the other hand, are leading the division and have a four-game lead on the Royals.

This begs the question that no Royals fan want to ask: Are the 2016 Chicago White Sox for real?

At 24-16, Chicago has one of the best records in the American League (trailing only the Baltimore Orioles, who are 24-14). While they’re in the midst of a four-game losing streak right now, the White Sox have appeared to have gotten it together.

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For one, their pitching as a whole has been great. Their rotation sends the likes of Chris Sale, Jose Quintana, Carlos Rodon, Mat Latos, and Miguel Gonzalez to the mound, and two of the aforementioned (Sale and Quintana) have an ERA under 2.00.

The bullpen has also looked pretty good, ranking as the fifth best in the majors, according to ESPN, with an ERA of 2.80. The Royals rank third on that list, by the way with an ERA of 2.64.

The offense was on fire to start the season, but has finally cooled off a bit, with only one batter posting a batting average over .300 (Melky Cabrera with an exact average of .300). With a four-game slump in their rearview mirrors, the Sox very well could light up the scoreboard again during this series, especially against some of the Royals’ lesser starting pitchers.

The Royals have struggled a bit on offense this season, and they’ll be squaring off against Quintana, Gonzalez, and Rodon in the three-game series that will take place over the weekend. Quintana has been solid this season, so getting to him might be difficult, but the other two guys have an ERA over 4.00 and are definitely hittable.

This series could answer a lot of questions about both teams.

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For one, it could help us decide who these KC Royals are. Fans have been seemingly frustrated, especially watching the team falter in a two-week slump that saw them losing five straight series.

Now, however, the Royals have won two straight series, including their latest against the “red hot” Boston Red Sox. The Royals played their typical type of baseball during the Red Sox series and were able to take two of three from a team that typically gets the best of them.

This series might also help us answer some questions about the White Sox. It’ll be the first time these two rivals have met this season, and it’ll be interesting to see if the bad blood from last year lingers or not.

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Will the White Sox break out the bats and keep running ahead in the Central, or will the Royals put them in their place and be able to jump ahead in the division?

A lot of questions are out there for both of these teams, and it’ll be nice to have a few of those questions answered after the series concludes on Sunday.

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