Kansas City, Mo. ? Kansas City baseball fans awoke this morning to a drearily familiar sight.

At 4-11, the Royals have the worst record in the American League.

Another miserable April leading to another failed season appears to be unfolding. A bigger payroll, a new general manager and the arrival of a power-hitting, can’t-miss rookie gave Kansas Citians reason to hope for better things to come.

So far, though, it all seems depressingly similar to the 2-12 start that led to last year’s 62-100 failure and the ruinous 5-18 getaway that resulted in the 106-loss debacle of 2005.

If not for a 4-3, 10-inning victory Wednesday in Detroit, the Royals would be dragging a seven-game losing streak into a brief homestand starting today against Minnesota and Chicago.

The starting pitching, headed by right-hander Gil Meche, has not been all that bad. The problems have been a porous bullpen and a practically nonexistent offense.

Fifteen games into the season and still hitting under .200 are the starting first baseman, third baseman, left fielder, shortstop and designated hitter.

Right fielder Mark Teahen is hitting under .201.

Especially disappointing has been rookie third baseman Alex Gordon, last year’s minor league player of the year and everybody’s choice as the most exciting to come through the system since Carlos Beltran.

Not only has Gordon committed several errors, he’s hitting just .125. That’s still better than the .098 of first baseman Ryan Shealy, who got benched on Wednesday in favor of Ross Gload.

DH Mike Sweeney’s back doesn’t seem to be giving him any trouble, but major-league pitching is. The Royals captain, in the final year of a five-year contract, is hitting .195 with just three RBIs.

Patience, however, is one virtue that rooting for the Royals has taught Kansas Citians. And patience, says Dayton Moore, is exactly what’s called for.

“We expect to win and do things the right way. That’s not going to change,” said the Royals’ 40-year-old general manager. “But we didn’t get into this situation overnight, and we’re not going to get out of it overnight. We’ve got a lot of young players who are still improving and adjusting.”

Moore replaced Allard Baird last summer and seemed to bring a fresh new approach as well as impeccable credentials. The former protege of Atlanta boss John Schuerholz, Moore persuaded owner David Glass to open his checkbook and beef up the scouting and player development staff – the sort of thing that could lead to long-term improvement but cannot be expected to produce immediate results.

He also talked Glass into writing a $55 million contract for free agent right-hander Gil Meche. And although he’s only 1-1, Meche has had just one poor start. He outpitched Curt Schilling in an opening-day victory over Boston and threw eight innings without yielding an earned run on Wednesday at Detroit. His ERA of 2.22, 21 strikeouts and seven walks are all encouraging signs.

In addition, right-hander Zack Greinke (1-2) has looked promising in his attempt to return from a 2006 season that was spent almost entirely in the minor leagues while he underwent treatment for social anxiety.

Moore’s other big offseason acquisition, closer Octavio Dotel, has yet to get in a game, however. Dotel came down with a strained left oblique muscle.