KANSAS CITY, Mo. - At least one of the major worries the Royals were facing to start the 2012 season seems to have been resolved the replacement for Joakim Soria.
Granted, it's early, but the Royals, who at one point were expected to split the closer duties between Jonathan Broxton and Greg Holland, settled on Broxton quickly. And so far, they haven't regretted it.
Broxton, for the most part, has been exactly as advertised a veteran closer with dominant stuff at times.
"We've been very pleased with how he's come along," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "It's pretty much what we saw in spring training."
The only hiccup, of course, was Broxton's dreadful outing in Oakland, the extra-inning loss that started the 12-game losing streak. Broxton coughed up a one-run lead and lost the game by hitting two straight batters, the last coming with the bases loaded and the score tied.
"Those things are going to happen, unfortunately," Broxton said. "There are going to be times you don't have...
