Charlotte Observer | 06/20/2007 | Royals feeling AL sting

Well, you can't go back. That's one of the hard lessons in life. You can't go back in time and tear up that mortifying love letter you left in the locker of Sara the beautiful cheerleader. Well, OK, maybe that was me. See, you can't go back to the day when you bought your first car and point out to the salesman that 17 percent interest seems awfully high for a new car.Oh, wait, that was me, too. How did this become a list of my most embarrassing moments?
The point is you just can't go back and correct the past.
And, yes, it now seems clear that the Royals should have gone to the National League when they had the chance.
I emphasize the word "now," because these things change awfully fast in sports. Who knows? In two or three years, the American League might be filled with creampuff teams, the National League might be loaded with monsters, "Ocean's 15" might win an Oscar for best picture. You never know in this crazy world.
Right now, at this moment, that decision of 10 years ago to stay in the AL stings.
Look: This year, the Royals have the second-worst record in the American League. But, after Monday's win against the Cardinals, they are 9-4 against National League teams. That's a 112-victory pace if you are calculating at home.
There's a definite pattern, too. Last year, the Royals lost 100 games, but they had a winning record against the National League.
Over the last three seasons, the Royals are 119-227 against the American League, which is sensationally bad. But against the National League, they are 28-21. It's a .571 winning percentage -- higher than any team in the National League Central right now.
Fluke? Statistical glitch? Luck? Maybe. Then again, maybe not. There's something that became blatantly obvious watching the Royals beat the Cardinals on Monday -- that was their third victory over the Cardinals in four games and their fifth in the seven against the World Series champs. The obvious thing is this:
The Cardinals are not very good. That whole league is not very good.
Now, it should be said that none of this was the case 10 years ago when the Royals had the chance to move over into the NL Central. Still, if the Royals had known what was going to happen -- if they had known that the American League Central would become a beast, that the National League would collapse -- they would have made the switch.
But if there is one true thing, it is this: You cannot go back and erase a column you might have written about how the Royals should stay true to their American League heritage and write a completely new one saying that the Royals should definitely switch to the NL.