ROYAL ROAD KANSAS CITY'S ATTEMPT TO REBUILD WITH A CORPS OF TALENTED PLAYERS STARTING TO PAY OFF.

Byline: JOHN KLIMA

BASEBALL

Buddy Bell loved hearing the question, perhaps because it had nothing to do with the Kansas City Royals and because growing baseball players is the family business.

His son Mike, 30, is a rookie manager in short-season A-ball this summer, teaching young kids how to do basic things in the Northwest League.

Buddy, 55, is on the same job, but in the American League. No matter the level, the philosophy is the same. You have to train ballplayers before you can win with them. But sometimes, as in the case of the Royals last week at Anaheim, they show the promise you're paying for with patience.

When the Royals swept the Angels, they improved to 14-11 in June and clinched their first winning month since July 2003. They left Anaheim with a season-high four-game winning streak and became the first team to sweep the Angels at home in little more than a year. They won the season series against the Angels for the first time since 1996, snapped the Angels' streak of winning eight consecutive series, and completed a 5-4 trip with a 33-46 record.

"We played about as well as we could the last three days and caught them at a time when they weren't playing so good," Bell said. "But I would prefer not to have to play these guys a whole lot. They're just ahead of us experience-wise."

The Royals are not the Pittsburgh Pirates or the Washington Nationals. This is a club that is planning and developing and getting better while it loses. It's far too easy to refer to a losing club as lowly, but if you use that term, you better be aware of some of the players. The general manager, Dayton Moore, is not out to lunch. While the wins didn't come as quickly as he had hoped for early this season, it's hard to evaluate a two-year plan in two months.

If you think center fielder David DeJesus, 27, can't play, then you're not watching. Alex Gordon, 23, began hitting this month, and not coincidentally, the Royals started winning. Tony Pena, 26, can turn out to be a pretty good everyday shortstop if he does the routine things as well as he does the difficult things. Mark Teahen, 25, is a corner guy without light-tower power, but just enough production in his bat to survive playing the corners in the big leagues. Billy Butler, 21, hit his first major- league home run, and reminds you of a right-handed Matt Stairs with his bad body and bullet swing.

Joey Gathright, 26, is still the fastest player in the big leagues if you go strictly by the stopwatch. John Buck, 27, is a rarity, a catcher with power.

They also have the makings of a sturdy bullpen. David Riske and Octavio Dotel were signed as free agents. Eighth-inning reliever Joakim Soria, originally signed and released by the Dodgers after undergoing Tommy John surgery several years ago, went home to pitch in the Mexican League for two seasons before San Diego signed him.

The Royals took him in the Rule V draft and found a pitcher who has been better than they expected and could become a closer.

This is the good news. The bad news is that the Royals are still, well, the Royals. There's still a lot of filler material on this roster, but it's also true that this core of young players is coming along. If it's going to be enough is another question.

"Every day for us is somewhat of a building block just because of the kind of team we have," Bell said. "A lot of our kids are inconsistent. The more consistent you can get, the closer you feel you're getting to where you want to be. Hopefully in time, this molds together and we can see something really concrete.

"For me, I see things a lot more clearly than somebody who's not in uniform. It's easier for me to see progress than it is for the media, because their barometer is wins. Mine is development.

"I'm encouraged."

Of course, the hardest thing to develop is a starting rotation, and the fastest way to do it is to draft well in the money rounds and take college pitchers who can help sooner rather than later. If you put Luke Hochevar in the mix with Gil Meche, there are two top starters. Brian Bannister is a Paul Byrd-type right-hander.

Perhaps Zack Greinke, 23, will find himself once he realizes that he doesn't have to overthrow.

There's a good chance that the speed of this club's progress will be directly influenced by Gordon.

He'll get all the room he needs. Much like Milwaukee, which did not send out young shortstop J.J. Hardy when he struggled as a rookie, Kansas City didn't budge when pressure mounted to send Gordon back to Triple-A after his average froze at .172 on June 4.

Gordon raised his batting average more than 60 points in June. He hit .395 in a 22-game span. He had his first career four-RBI game Tuesday.

Bell refused to demote or remove Gordon from the lineup.

"The numbers still aren't there, but Alex has been really good for the last month and a half or two months," Bell said. "That's great because, this is a kid that had to read and listen to all the (stuff) about how he shouldn't be in the big leagues.

"Who's to say who's ready for the big leagues? It takes time. This kid had to deal with a lot of negative (opinions) and he didn't change from one day to the next. That's how solid he is mentally."

Gordon said he isn't afraid to talk to former third basemen Bell or Hall of Famer George Brett, a longtime Royals executive.

"I can always ask questions," Gordon said. "I struggled for a while in the beginning. I just changed my approach and the last month, I've felt more comfortable. Once I thought about having fun and enjoying the game, it started coming back."

Coming back is what this version of the Royals is about. They need patience and money. They need to scout, develop and cultivate the culture of winning. We'll find out how skilled of a roster builder Moore is. This is hard in last place, but like tickets read, it's non-refundable.

Told that Bell said the sweep in Anaheim was as good as the Royals can play at this point, Teahen didn't want to agree. That's a good sign. That shows a core player who doesn't want to lose forever.

"I guess at this time, maybe, but I don't want to put a ceiling on it," Teahen said. "I think we can continue to get better and play a lot better than this. I don't think it was a fluke. We played well and outplayed them. It seemed like we were a step ahead and got what we needed."

There will come a time when Bell will need to win with this team, but the Royals aren't there yet, and three games isn't anything. The drawback to the family business is that the family that builds together loses together.

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CAPTION(S):

6 photos, 4 boxes

Photo:

(1 -- 2) Alex Gordon, above, and Billy Butler have helped the Kansas City Royals improve to 14-11 in June after a sweep of the Angels.

Photos by Associated Press

(3) MANAGER BUDDY BELL

(4) no caption (Roger Clemens)

(5) no caption (Alex Rodriguez)

(6) no caption (Joe DiMaggio)

Box:

(1) SEEDS ON THE DUGOUT FLOOR

(2) DAILY NEWS POWER RANKINGS

(3) SEVENTH-INNING STRETCH

- John Klima

(4) ON DECK