Tony DeMarco

When asked what would be a successful season for his Kansas City Royals, new manager Trey Hillman didn’t think twice.

“I’ve said this over and over, and when I do, people roll their eyes and look at me like I have six heads,” Hillman said. “But I’m not planning on losing. I’m planning on winning.

“I understand the prognosticators who say that we’re a long shot. I know about the 14 of 15 losing seasons. People say, wouldn’t it be nice if the Royals finished above .500? But I can’t look at it that way. I’m not wired that way.

“If we’re .500 or above at the end of the season, and there are no more games to be played, some people may say ‘that’s great’. But I want to win. I hate to lose. And I’m hoping we prevent that. I don’t like the ‘rebuilding’ word, either.”

Not that you would expect a manager to say anything too radically different, especially one with Hillman’s pedigree that includes a Japanese League championship. But there is more validity to what he says than you might think.

No, the Royals aren’t likely to challenge the American League elite, two of which — the Tigers and Indians — are in their own division. But the Royals and teams like them — the Rockies and Diamondbacks, to name the two most-recent success stories — can get better.

In fact, with the help of increased revenue sharing, and through proper management and development of a farm system, they can make an impact even into October — and that has changed the landscape of the game.

We can have an occurrence as we did in the National League last season, when nobody won as many as 91 games, and nobody lost more than 91, either. And there is every reason to believe in at least two-teams races in all six divisions.

Interactive MLB's season preview Breaking down rosters, prospects of every team.

In an incredibly balanced NL, it will be the Mets, Phillies and possibly the Braves dueling in the East; the Brewers, Cubs and possibly the Reds in the Central; and the Rockies, Diamondbacks, Dodgers and maybe the Padres in the West. From that field, the call here is for the Mets, Phillies, Brewers and Rockies to emerge.

In the two-tiered AL, it will be the Red Sox, Yankees and Blue Jays contending in the East; the Tigers and Indians in the Central; and the Angels and Mariners in the West. Look for Red Sox, Tigers, Indians and Angels to advance (although watch for the Mariners if John Lackey’s injury woes linger).

And for a World Series winner, we’ll actually go back in time, to last All-Star break, when an unscientific poll of baseball executives and writers in AT&T Park for the All-Star festivities asking for a 2007 World Series winner produced a virtual three-way split among the Red Sox, Angels and Tigers.

The former won it all, of course, while the latter faded on the mound and didn’t even make the playoffs. Nobody likes to call for a repeat champion, and no team has done more to get better this winter than the Tigers. So bullpen depth willing, they’re the call to win it all.

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