Alex Gordon entered this spring with an unofficial list of simple goals. He sought comfort at the plate. He wanted to feel good about his swing again. He wished to move forward after one of the worst years of his career, a miserable 2016 season that saw him bat .220, break his hand in a collision with Mike Moustakas, and, on more than one occasion, boil his season down to just two words.
“I sucked,” he said.
If the process of moving forward meant manager Ned Yost scribbling Gordon’s name back into the leadoff spot, a position he occupied for much of his career, then so be it.