Two and Zero

Just 160 more wins and the Twins will have the undefeated season.

Two games is, obviously, insignificant in terms of drawing conclusions, but 2-0 is a whole lot better than 0-2, and it's been a long time since the Twins did 2-0 to open a season.

As light as the sample size is, the Kansas City Royals have convinced me already that what had been their greatest strength -- the depth and quality of their bullpen -- is now a significant weakness.

The 2014-15 Royals went to consecutive World Series, winning one, with a mediocre rotation because they had a relief corps that could routinely strangle lineups for three, four, five innings a game. The rotation now is, if anything, weaker with the death of Yordano Ventura, and the bullpen is too thin to compensate.

That may be a negative conclusion, but it's a conclusion nevertheless. I don't know that the Twins are going to contend in 2017, but I'm sure the Royals won't.