Royals show why they're in last place

The Indians beat the Royals last night, in part, because the Royals made two mental baserunning errors on the same play. Sure, Grady Sizemore's two home runs and sensational catch to end the game had a lot to do with it; and yes, Casey Blake's two-run shot in the top of the sixth that scored the last two runs of the game obviously contributed to the victory; and of course, Clifton Lee's gutty performance helped (though in giving up four runs in six innings, his ERA ballooned to 1.89).

But in the bottom of the sixth, the Royals really put on a clinic for how not to play the game of baseball. With two outs in the inning, Joey Gathright was on second, David DeJesus was on first, and Esteban German singled to right field. As Ben Francisco fielded the ball, Gathright rounded third at full speed, then glanced back and determined he was certain to score easily, so he started jogging toward the plate. DeJesus, apparently assuming the throw would go to the plate, rounded second -- and Francisco threw there. DeJesus was tagged out diving back into second base, and Gathright had not scored. Inning over, no runs for the Royals. There is no question whatsoever that if Gathright had been running hard, he'd have scored, and the game would have been tied. And for a million a year, or half a million, or whatever he makes, it sure seems like running hard is not too much to ask. If I were a Royals fan, I'd sure be bothered that my team lost its 12th straight game in that fashion.