One week into the 2003 Major League Baseball season, I wrote a column in awe of and with wonder at the amazing start for my beloved Kansas City Royals. Back then, I said that a winning season would be wonderful, though I pined for the days when the Royals were still in the playoff hunt the last week of the season.

Guess what. There is one week left in the season, and the Royals are still in the race. Barely. Chances are they will be eliminated Tuesday night, though if the Twins blow a couple games there might yet be some excitement left in the season for me.

But still. The Royals have clinched a winning season (and, not incidentally, lock in the contract of All-Star Mike Sweeney through 2007). While this meager accomplishment may seem like small potatoes to some, the Royals haven't had a winning season since the strike year of 1994 (the year baseball cancelled the World Series). It's also somewhat impressive when you consider that the Royals went 62-100 last year, and will likely finish something like 84-77, 85-76 or 86-75 this year.

Sure, the Royals will become only the fourth team in history to blow a 7 1/2-game lead at the All-Star break. I know, that's one of those "collapses" you hate to see from your team. But hey, it's a miracle these guys are still kicking at all.

Consider this: The Royals have used 29 pitchers this season. No team has ever made the playoffs using as many as 25. The only hurler left from the Royals opening day rotation is Darrell May--the fifth (and supposedly worst) starter. The top two guys blew out their elbows. Miguel Ascencio won't be back until next year, and opening day pitcher Runelvys Hernandez probably won't be able to throw at anywhere near his old ability until 2005 after undergoing "Tommy John" ligament replacement surgery. The pitching situation was so bad that the Royals started signing every available veteran hurler with a pulse. Josa Lima (most recently of the Newark Bears) has been spectacular when he hasn't been hurt himself, it was nice to see Kevin Appier in blue once (or twice) again, and Jamey Wright just might have a little life in his arm, but as can be expected with desperation moves, the other short-term signings have yielded spotty results.

The problems with the starters wouldn't have been so bad except that the bullpen is once again challenging for worst in the majors. Rookie Mike MacDougal, who went into the All-Star break with 24 saves, had added only three more in the second half of the season. One big reason for the dropoff is dreadful starting pitching, which meant the Royals didn't take nearly as many leads into the ninth. But MacDougal has also had control problems, and more than once this season he's walked in the winning run.

If you think I'm getting down on MacDougal, think again. Rookies make mistakes. Rookies get tired as the season wears on. The only team with less-experienced starting pitching on opening day than the Kansas City was Detroit, a team which is challenging the major-league record for most losses in a season. At the beginning of the season, I was hoping the Royals could do a few games better than the Tigers. Turns out they will more than double Detroit's win total.

The guys in the field have had their ups and downs as well. From May to August, there wasn't a better rookie in baseball than Royals shortstop Angel Berroa. He committed only a couple errors during that time span (after a pretty horrendous April) and hit well above .300. Then came September. More pressure, more errors, less hitting (although he has flourished during the last week as a leadoff hitter).

This is the year the Royals learned how to win. As I pointed out in April, the Minnesota Twins, the almost-certain winners of this year's A.L. Central, had a similar "learning to fly" season back in 2001. They led the division most of the year until late August, when the more-seasoned Cleveland Indians took over and claimed the title.

Next year, Jimmy Gobble (a mid-season rookie call-up who has gone 4-4 with a 4.53 ERA) will be ready for his first full season. Miguel Ascencio will be back and ready to pitch. Zack Greinke, considered by most scouts to be one of the five best pitching prospects in baseball, will likely get a chance to make the team as well. Once again, the Royals will be betting the farm on young arms, hoping that they can go the distance. We're in for another pitching roller-coaster, but the upside still looks better than the down.

Of course, the threatened trade of blossoming superstar Carlos Beltran is almost a foregone conclusion. It's too bad, because Beltran could well have become the greatest player to ever wear a Royals uniform. He's so good that he can make the most amazing plays seemingly without breaking a sweat. I hope the Royals front office can find the money to re-sign him, but I'm not betting on it.

Still, for the first time in a decade, my pathetic "we're gonna be better next year" plea has a little dignity to it. I'm not just happy with a winning season; I'm ecstatic. And yes, I am bummed that the boys fell a little short in their playoff race, but there's a part of me that says "too much, too soon, too big a head" and is secretly happy that we didn't go all the way. After all, manager Tony Pena needs a new carrot for his team. They now know they're good. If they want to put baseball in its rightful place in the Kansas City sports pantheon, they have to become great. I'm not the only one who says it could happen in the next couple of years.

So here's a blue cheer for the Royals. May the good times roll back into town!

Jon Worley would like to send his sincere congratulations to the Minnesota contingent of his family, albeit with one warning: This is your last year on top!