I believe that times in KC have changed now. They appear to be committed to building a competitive team. Outbidding or overpaying depending on who you are talking to for Meche and Guillen is essential to bring in some sort of established talent to KC. I would consider them to be low to mid level free-agents. Bringing in these two players will make it easier for the Royals to sign even higher profile FAs in the future.
In combination with opening up the pocketbook a little bit, KC is developing young talent. For the most part, it is hard to tell who is going to pan out as a MLB superstar or not. Give Gordon and Butler some time to pan out. If we look at Boston has put together it's winning teams with a combo of free-agents and farm system guys, it is a system that works. An even better example is the Rays. There team is deep and so is there farm system. They are in a position to add a player or two for a World Series run. Given time, that could be the Royals!
Last but not least, KC has good, true fans. I cannot speak for the fans that attend the games at Kauffman, bucause I have never been there (I do plan on going, I hear that it is a beautiful stadium), but the fans on this board are passionate about there team and at the same time respectful about others. I know that I am going to leave some people out of this but I am talking about KidDude123, Mbonsignore1, ShoeShineBoy, and Kanzass to name a few.
I am not the #1 KC fan, but a fan nonetheless. Stay loyal go Royal! (<--I did not come up with that someone has posted that before on the Boards and I would love to give them credit for it, but I can't remember for the life of me who did it.)