ST. LOUIS -- As Royals manager Ned Yost sat in his visitors' clubhouse office, he insisted he is not down or frustrated by the team's 14-32 start prior to Monday's I-70 Series opener against the Cardinals at Busch Stadium.
Yost also isn't interested in labeling this season as a rebuilding one, which might give the team an excuse for a poor win-loss record.
"[Labeling] it doesn't change anything," Yost said. "Whatever you call it. Whatever excuse you want to use. We show up and try to win games ...
"I don't sit and lament. We work every day to get better. There have been periods of frustration. But I'm not frustrated right now ... I don't know what you're looking for, like it should be all doom and gloom. I don't play that game."
While some observers thought the Royals might be closer to a .500 team coming out of Spring Training, Yost said he held no expectations in any direction.
"What difference does that make?" Yost said. "I never said that [the Royals could be a .500 team]. We just go at it every day. And work every day. Keep going until we get better.
"I don't look at it ... I come to the ballpark with the mindset of how to win a game today. What good is it to sit and look at what we did in the last week? What good does that do?"

There have been some encouraging developments, such as the growth of pitchers Jakob Junis, Brad Keller, Tim Hill and Eric Skoglund.
"I'm pleased with what Junis is doing, what Keller is doing, what Tim Hill is doing, what Skoglund is doing," Yost said. "Yeah, I'm pleased. But it doesn't take away from what we're trying to do."
Yost did concede that part of the mission this season is the development of players for the future.
"We're still trying to identify guys we want to move forward with," Yost said. "I've said that how many times?
"... but I'm not managing the game any differently than I did before. If we give up three or four runs, I have to hope we can get back in it, balance the bullpen, all of that stuff. It's still about going out to try to win each night."