Kansas City, Mo ? Spring training, baseball’s traditional time of hope and renewal, is about to open amid gloom and pessimism for most Kansas Citians.

Since losing a club-record 100 games a year ago and watching attendance plunge to its lowest level in 27 years, what have the Royals done to strengthen the team and excite fans?

They’ve slashed payroll. They’ve lost their only consistent pitcher, 17-game winner Paul Byrd, to a fat free-agent contract in Atlanta. And they’ve signed Mike DiFelice, Desi Relaford, James Baldwin and Albie Lopez.

On the public-relations front as well as on the field, they continue to lose ground. As of this week, only about half the homes in Kansas City will receive Royals games under their new television arrangement.

Although exact figures are not available, the team admits that season-ticket sales, around 7,500 last year, are lagging below 7,000.

Once a model franchise, there was a time when the Royals owned this town, when George Brett’s classy swing was drilling base hits all over the field and Bret Saberhagen was winning Cy Young Awards and hard-nosed Hal McRae was defining the designated-hitter position.

It was a disappointment if only 25,000 or so showed up for Detroit on a chilly week night in September.

But now, disadvantaged by the new economic realities of the game that favor the rich big-market clubs, the Royals just can’t seem to break out of a spiral that began with the 1994 strike.

In a couple of weeks they’ll open their brand-new facility in Surprise, Ariz. But one caller to a sportstalk show said that if the Royals come out of spring training with a competitive team, the town should be renamed Miracle, Ariz., “Because it would be more than just a surprise.”

The declining interest is evident in more than lagging season-ticket sales and wiseacre remarks. Apathy is setting in.

In an unscientific survey, 15 people in various parts of Kansas City were asked to name one starting pitcher for the Royals this year.

Fourteen whiffed completely. One young man did think of Darrell May.

But who can blame them? Before signing Baldwin, a former All-Star for the Chicago White Sox who has a 79-69 career record but has declined since shoulder surgery, the Royals listed three probable starters.

Those three — Jeremy Affeldt, Runelvys Hernandez and May — have 13 major-league wins among them.

But 13 is better than zero — the number of major-league saves the three main candidates for the closer’s job have.

Also Wednesday, Kansas City lost another pitcher. Jeff Suppan, a 33-year-old right-handed starter who won 39 games the last four seasons with the Royals, agreed to a one-year contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates that guarantees him $1 million.

Joe Randa is an above-average third baseman and outfielder Raul Ibanez may have had a breakthrough season a year ago. But as of right now the Royals have only two proven All-Star type position players, center fielder Carlos Beltran and first baseman Mike Sweeney.

And before spring training concludes, Beltran could be traded. He’s eligible for free agency in two years and he’s made it clear he absolutely will not sign more than a two-year contract.

Does anyone really believe he’ll still be wearing a Royals uniform in 2005?

For that matter, will Sweeney? The most popular Royal since Brett, Sweeney will be released from the final three years of his contract if the Royals do not reach .500 this year or next.

In the meantime, talented, sincere people are working hard to keep baseball in Kansas City. But they can’t sell tickets because they can’t win. They can’t win because they lack the revenue to compete with large-market teams. And they can’t raise more revenue because they can’t sell tickets.