Something very disappointing happened while my attentions were dominated by the Olympics: the Royals completely went into the tank. It wasn’t that long ago that they had a four game lead on the Indians for fourth place, and Detroit wasn’t too far ahead in third. Keep things going, and there was a chance for 75 wins and a third place finish, a perfect building block for next year and beyond. Instead, they’ve lost 15 of 18, have sustained some crippling injuries, and now look poised to continue the tradition of anti-excellence the franchise has forged over the past 20 years. <a href=”http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/standings/index.jsp?ymd=20080804″>A month ago</a>, nine teams had a worse record than the R’s. <a href=”http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/standings/index.jsp?ymd=20080827″>Today, only three do</a>. And that Guillen signing is looking more and more like a waste. Bummer.