Know Your Enemy: Royals Questions for Old Man Duggan of Royals Review

The weather has to be better in Kansas City than it was in Detroit, right? Forecasts say it should be warmer on the weekend but there is rain coming. I'm hoping the baseball will be better too, but that remains to be seen.

I sent off questions to Old Man Duggan of Royals Review, SB's Kansas City Royals Blog and he was nice enough to send back some answers.

Who is the Royals’ closer and who sets up this year?

Today? Greg Holland. By the end of the week, it'll probably be Kelvin Herrera. I actually like them both, and feel like either would be fine. I'm not too worried about Holland in the long run, but he's had a rough stretch.

We have some base stealers, should we be running against Salvador Perez?

Salvador Perez has a cannon and ridiculous pop times, though his throws to second have been a bit off line this young season. I heartily encourage any and all Jays runners to run. The more outs on the basepaths the better.

Do you think the Royals can give the Tigers a run for their money this year?

No.

Infield defense seems to be a problem for the Jays, early this season, how is the Royals' infield for defense?

The Royals routinely find themselves amongst the cellar dwellers in Defensive Efficiency Rating. Francoeur kills them in right, but it's the infield that are the real cause of most of the Royals' problems. Hosmer hasn't lived up to the defensive virtues that his scouting reports extolled. Getz is merely passable at second. Moustakas has been better than most of us feared he'd be, but his true talent level is unknown at this point. Escobar makes some flashy plays, but has some weaknesses.

Jeff Francoeur seems to be everyone's whipping boy, how is he doing this year?

He still looks horribly slow. He still has terrible plate discipline. He has driven in one of the 23 base runners that he has had a chance to plate (h/t to Craig Brown). He hasn't been "worst player in baseball" bad, but the season is still young.

How should we be trying to get Alex Gordon out? No chance he can come down with a three day flu and miss the series?

Air Gordon is a Golden God. He cannot be stopped. Resistance is futile. Seriously though, he's insanely valuable and one of the best players in the AL.

What else should Jays fans know about the Royals?

Don't be fooled by their modest early success, this is likely another .500 team. Also, they're going to give up a load of home runs. Dongs will be hung left and right.

Thanks Duggan.