Royals must improve offense to compete in AL

Friday's Royals' opener obviously was lost early when center fielder Jarrod Dyson misplayed a fly ball with two outs, allowing the Indians to eventually come up with four additional runs during a seven-run, punch-in-the-gut first inning. But here's the thing: If the Royals are going to hang around in the American League Central throughout this summer, they are going to have show a little more offense, at least more than the three runs they managed Friday and much more than what they've shown through eight games. Coming into Friday's opener, no team in the American League had scored fewer runs than the Royals, who were averaging less than three a game. While it is ridiculously early to be making any pronouncements, the lack of offense is significant because much of the talk about the 2012 Royals has centered around their two biggest strengths their bullpen and their offense. I certainly see the case for seeing the bullpen as a strength. I'm not sure I feel comfortable referring ...