Ah, fall. Leaves changing colors, bonfires and the Major League Baseball Postseason. What could be better than this? The Baltimore Orioles, Toronto Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Dodgers, Washington Nationals, New York Mets, San Francisco Giants and the Chicago Cubs all have a shot of going to or winning the World Series.

What makes this postseason bittersweet? What team is missing? There is only one team that could fill the baseball-sized hole in my heart: The Kansas City Royals.

Throughout the course of the season the Royals had many obstacles they needed to overcome in order to make it to the Postseason. Periodically, key players were placed on the disabled list, while rookies looked to step-up and fill empty positions. Outfielder Jarrod Dyson – strained oblique. Third Baseman Mike Moustakas – torn ACL. Outfielder Alex Gordon – fractured right wrist. Outfielder Lorenzo Cain – hamstring strain. All were placed on the disabled list at some point during the season.  Not to mention the countless pitchers who struggled with injuries and finding the strike zone this year.

Brett Eibner, Cheslor Cuthbert, Whit Merrifield and Raúl Mondesí were just some of the rookies that were entrusted to fill in the gaps. As the summer began to end, the Postseason was right around the corner. Players started heating up, and the Royals began to gain their mojo back. So where did the season go wrong?

The game gap that needed to be filled in order to reach the Wild Card Game was just too big. It simply couldn’t be filled in time for the Royals to have a chance at back-to-back-to-back Postseason Appearances.

So, if you’re a Royals fan like me, fall is a bit more dull this year. There is less excitement in watching baseball, knowing that the Royals aren’t playing, and there are no last inning comebacks that really matter. Fall is bluer (although it is lacking a substantial amount of Royals’ Blue).

Now, the wait begins. There are only 182 days until the Royals’ home opener at Kauffman Stadium against the Oakland Athletics. Until then, good luck my fellow Royals fans.