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Royals Rumblings - News for October 8, 2014

Is it Game Day YET?

By Max Rieper

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Ed Zurga

Royals Rumblings - News for October 8, 2014

Rany Jazayerli writes that we need to savor this moment, because this exact feeling will never happen again.

It’s never going to be this good again, folks. Unless there’s another 29-year drought, there will never again be a season where the Royals can capture the attention of the nation the way they have at this very moment. We may never have a chance to get in on the ground floor of a dream season quite like this one. So they might as well win the whole damn thing.

Will Leitch at Sports on Earth says either way, having the Royals or Orioles represent the American League in the World Series would be pretty groovy.

But these two, this is what you want. Not only is it a stunner to see these two teams playing for the right to go to the World Series, it is undeniable that their most loyal fans have earned it. When the Marlins sneaked into the World Series, or (to a lesser extent) the Rays did, it felt almost like an uninvited guest crashing a party and knocking things over, like someone who doesn't even like golf rushing onto Augusta and playing a round. It was a surprise, but not necessarily a pleasant one.

There's nothing unpleasant about either one of these teams. Whichever one makes it to the World Series, it's going to be a revelation: The winning team, and its fans, is going to experience nirvana. It will be euphoria, the bliss of being released from years of suffering … years of baseball wilderness.

Yikes, Salvador Perez admits he was a big foggy following a blow to the head in Game 2 of the ALDS.

''A little headache. After I get hit, I just feel like ... dizzy, a little foggy a little bit,'' Perez said. ''I talked to Ned about that and after 30 seconds, I think everything is gone. But now I feel good, no more headache and ready to go.''

Ken Rosenthal notes that the Orioles-Royals ALCS matchup provides relief for people tired of the Yankees and Red Sox, but doubts people tune in.

So, will you be glued to your televisions? I mean, it’s put up or shut up time, right? The Orioles and Royals in the ALCS is a dream matchup for those who want fresh faces, fresh stories, fresh cities – and in the Royals’ case, a fresh (if retro) brand of baseball.  But I’m betting TBS and baseball executives are nervous, fearing ratings will be low.

I’ve actually waited years to write this column, holding off because I did not want to come off as a shill for FOX. Now that the Orioles and Royals will be on TBS, I’m more comfortable making my case. Because honestly, I do not think you’re going to watch, at least not in the numbers that this matchup deserves.

I guess it doesn't matter the Royals have played three of the four highest rated playoff games this offseason, and that ratings in the LDS were up from last year.

You said it Peter.

Rob Neyer writes about his Royals fandom as if he were writing about an ex-girlfriend.

Which of course is the last little piece of this: The Kansas City Royals, for almost exactly as long as I’ve had any sort of opinion about how baseball teams should be run, have been run in almost exactly the opposite way. And the unhappy (for me) truth is that if the Royals win the World Series, it will be taken as absolute proof in some quarters that the Royals were exactly right about building a winning baseball franchise, and I was exactly wrong.

I can live with that. I miss being a fan. I miss the highs a lot, and I even miss the lows a little bit.

Guthrie is still pitching.

The Star sums up the Royals-Orioles matchups from this regular season.

Mike Podhorzer at Fangraphs notices some disturbing trends about Royals catcher Salvador Perez.

So he’s swinging at more pitches, and those pitches are generally balls outside the strike zone. Considering Perez also never walks, there’s literally no incentive whatsoever for pitchers to throw him strikes. And since he’s having more difficulty making contact with those pitches, it’s even more beneficial for pitchers to just quit throwing him strikes.

USA Today notes the Royals are showing they're more than just a speedy team.

That's not to say the longball will replace small ball as the Royals' preferred method of attack, but it should give the Baltimore Orioles something to think about as they prepare for their ALCS clash beginning Friday.

"We hit the ball well this series. We won with home runs a few times," Butler said. "That's not usually our M.O., but it shows you we're growing as a team and we're getting better even at this stage."

White Sox slugger Paul Konerko had a notion these Royals had a run in them.

"Good luck to you guys," Konerko said, microphone in hand while turning toward the Royals dugout. "Represent the (American League) Central. You guys remind me of a team I played for once. You guys can go do it. Represent."

If you want World Series - that's right, WORLD SERIES - tickets at Kauffman Stadium, get registered.

Here are the pace of game clocks they are testing out in the Arizona Fall League to see if they could be used in MLB games.

Thoughts?

David Glass says former owner and team founder Ewing Kauffman is looking down from heaven and smiling. He also wants to remind you that this team might have been contracted were it not for David Glass! In a small way, David Glass is the greatest hero in American history.

Jeffrey Flanagan says no one is criticizing Dayton Moore's drafting of Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas now.

The Arizona Fall League began play yesterday. Royals prospect Hunter Dozier won the "Hitting Challenge" whatever that is.

The boyfriend made good on his promise and bought her a dog.

A fun map showing states renamed based on where ballplayers were born. Let us get behind our new state of Gordaska.

Kansas City is in the national spotlight, but how can we best exploit that monetarily?

Bryan Curtis at Grantland has a great piece about how sportswriters have been lamenting the death of baseball since 1868.

Cameron Crowe and John Cusack say "hell no" to the idea of a "Say Anything" TV show.

Ranking the fictional movies on "Seinfeld."

"Walking Dead" renewed by AMC for Season 6. This season will be about the 2014 Oakland Athletics.

Your song of the day is Stevie Nicks with "I Can't Wait."

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