1. Kansas City Royals: For all of the predictions that the Royals wouldn't repeat (again, as Jayson Stark looked at in April), here they are, back on top. A big factor, again, has been the bullpen, which has been cashing in a win on almost every lead after the fifth -- only one team in the league is better than the Royals' 23-2 record when leading after five innings. They're plus-3 in the win column over their expected wins total, with last weekend's sweep of the White Sox -- earned by beating up on Chicago's bullpen -- big part of the reason why.
Handicapping the AL Central: Can anyone top the red-hot Royals?
