Baseball is back!

Finally! Here we go with the second half of the season, nothing has changed but there are still a lot of games to play and who really knows what to expect. The PBR feels all of this "analysis" is getting a little stale and in the words of Ned Yost we're going to try and "freshen things up a bit." Here we go with some random thoughts from the first game after the all-star break.

Bruce Chen could get away with murder, the first two innings: 5 baserunners, one thrown out at the plate and no runs.

The Royals start out by capitalizing on errors and scoring a couple of greasy runs, do I sense a repeat of the hot start in April???

Hosmer is going with the goatee style facial hair and giving up on the full beard, I'm not sure if I like the change but I guess a full beard in KC in August is suicide - let's see how it goes.

Routine ground ball to Chris Getz turns into a hit, defensive specialist you say Mr. Yost?? Sorry, I just can't get off the Mike Aviles bandwagon.

Moustakas says thanks for the double Delmon. Brayan Pena is my favorite player, hands down. Another slightly unearned run. 3-0, that's all Chen needs.

Chen just blew away someone with an 84mph fastball, I don't get it. Two more runners LOB, Chen is making it look easy, Yost was right; if he hadn't gone on the DL we'd be fighting for first place.

Classic Getz! Groundball to SS, bobble and he beats it out for a hit. Ned will applaud the speed and athleticism while ignoring the .291 SLG%.

The "AT&T trivia" has finally stumped Ryan and Frank. Normally it is more or less a chance for them to show off their baseball knowledge and defeat the purpose of fan trivia by shouting out every possible answer until they're forced to post the results. Oh wait, Frank just informed us that he knew the answer all along, but held it in so we could guess, thanks Frank.

Plouffe! Just like that it's 4-3 and Chen couldn't quite escape another inning. I was just working on the terms of a new 3-year $20 million contract to offer Chen - guess I'll keep that in the bank. 

Frank and Ryan are debating the merits and tactics behind advancing runners from second to third with no outs for the 107th time this year. Surprisingly, Frenchy did not get the job done.

Royals default staff ace goes 5IP 4ER, good things are in store for the rotation.

Please Frank and Ryan, I'm begging you, no more Frenchy clubhouse leader talk! I can't hear it anymore. You can't talk about leaders on teams with the 3rd worst record in baseball; they are failing at leading or they're not leaders. You can't have it both ways. "The leader of the Greek economy really has his Economics Ministry feeling good about themselves."

Ned's really working those bullpen match-ups in a 8-3 game. Gotta play the percentages, and burn out your pen in the first game after the all-star break.

I'm really starting to worry about Butler, he seems disinterested in hitting baseballs. Frenchy is the leader, Gordon is now a better hitter and Hosmer isn't moving from first base, what's his role??? Turn that frown upside-down Billy!

Bullpen not impressive, offense goes to sleep, Royals lose. That game was pretty much the opposite of what would make me excited to tune in for the second half. More of the same, another day in the life of a Royals fan.