Royals Rumblings - News for March 30, 2015
Yordano Ventura threw seven no-hit innings against the Mariners over the weekend.
"He made some really nice adjustments there on his breaking ball," Yost said. "Where he would over-throw one and come back and get the timing and the tempo and the feel of it. And then he would throw a really, really good one. "He threw some really, really good cutters. Some good change-ups. And, of course, his fastball was excellent."
Danny Duffy had mixed results against the Diamondbacks, striking out seven, but giving up two home runs in five innings.
"I feel like I’m right where I need to be," Duffy said. "And that’s a beautiful thing. Because it’s the first time in nine seasons that I can say that out of spring training."
It doesn't sound like veteran Joe Blanton will make the club, and he hasn't decided whether he'll use his opt-out to look for opportunities elsewhere.
Manager Ned Yost indicated the club would not make many more cuts before the team departs for a two-game exhibition series in Houston on Thursday. He plans to bring all the players in camp to Minute Maid Park in Houston. But Yost indicated he would likely know the composition of the final roster. That means he would like to settle all the situations for players with opt-out dates before then. "These guys that have the opt-outs, we’re going to have to sit and talk to," Yost said. "To make sure that’s the case."
Jonah Keri of Grantland is predicting a fourth place finish for the Royals in his AL Central Preview.
Still, pull it back to one-third as many innings, and the message remains: Davis, Herrera, and Holland are all very good pitchers, but they’re also relievers, and unless your name is Mariano Rivera, one year’s performance does not guarantee success the following season. Meanwhile, the loss of Shields means the Royals will roll with a combination of young starters who haven’t proven they can pitch deep into games (Ventura, Danny Duffy, maybe Brandon Finnegan later in the season) and three veterans (Vargas, Volquez, Jeremy Guthrie) who simply might not be good enough to justify being left in the game for longer than five innings.
Throw in the teamwide inability to draw walks plus the natural regression that comes after any extreme event, like when a team that hasn’t made the playoffs in three decades suddenly rolls to the World Series, and I’m skeptical about the Royals this year.
Fangraphs projects the Royals to have the third-worst production from designated hitter in the league.
After the fiasco that was Morales’ 2014 season, I thought there was a chance that he might have to settle for another one-year deal. Nope. He in essence received a three-year contract from the Royals. We’re now five seasons removed from his 30-homer season of 2009, and as such his projections are modest. The Royals are essentially betting that the real Kendrys Morales hasn’t stood up in awhile, and that bet faces some long odds. He has hit well this spring, though I’d be more encouraged if he was hitting homers off of dudes like Clayton Kershaw, Johnny Cueto and Corey Kluber instead of dudes like Colby Lewis, Kraig Sitton and Atahualpa Severino.
Infielder Ryan Roberts was given his unconditional release from the Royals.
The Royals dealt minor league pitcher Angel Baez to the Astros for cash considerations. The twenty-four year old right-hander had a 4.65 ERA for AA Northwest Arkansas last year.
Outfielder Terrance Gore has a broken jaw after being hit in the face with a pitch in a minor league game.
SB Nation staff writers look in their crystal ball at the upcoming 2015 season.
Evan Grant writes that spring training is broken, with some ways to fix it.
Lookout Landing looks back with mixed emotions at the Kingdome, torn down 15 years ago.
Former #1 overall pick Brady Aiken reveals he had Tommy John surgery and he does not regret not signing with the Astros.
RIP Victor Sanchez, a Mariners prospect who suffered head injuries in a boating accident over the off-season.
Rob Arthur of Fivethirtyeight writes that despite all the Tommy John surgeries, we are living in a golden era of pitcher health.
This Nebraska baseball player sure is wearing a lot of ballcaps.
Goodbye Rick Barnes. Could Texas pursue Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall?
It was nice to see a Kansas City team get a win in Yankee Stadium as Sporting Kansas City knocked off NYCFC 1-0. While there, Sporting Kansas City players re-enacted the "Pine Tar Incident."
Wrestlemania 31 was a thing that happened last night. Here is your complete coverage.
Vox.com with a map of where Americans moved in 2014.
Ellen Pao loses her gender discrimination case against venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins.
Jacob Brogan at Slate.com argues the streaming apps Meerkat and Periscope are not the future of news.
Dan Bryan's WWE Hall of Fame speech admitted the sport is fake, but the tears after his speech are real.
Groupon has fun with this banana holder that yes, looks like a sex toy.