Royals Rumblings - News for August 7, 2014

Royals Rumblings - News for August 7, 2014

Should we forget about the Central Division title?

"I think Royals fans should want Detroit to win every game. Forget about (winning the AL Central). This is a pipe dream! Let’s get real about this. This is our job, Frank, to educate the masses and let them know what they want." Kevin Kietzman, discussing the Royals pennant race with Frank Boal Tuesday afternoon, 810 AM

GH: Kietzman might be correct in saying Royals fans need to give up on thinking the AL Central crown is within reach and just concentrate on claiming the second wild-card slot. I just cannot do that yet. The Royals are 4.5 games behind the Tigers on August 6th. Anybody as old as I am can remember many an August and September where strange things start to happen in a pennant race. Sure, the Tigers now look invincible with Price in their rotation. The Royals look iffy with Hosmer out for another five weeks. But crazy, crazy things happen in sports all the time. Let’s. Get. Crazy.

What does it mean to "Be Royal"?

"Settling for mediocrity in the offense and the managerial position. They’ve taken some top-five picks and turned them into a middling team."

Jay Jaffe, Sports Illustrated MLB writer, in an interview with Danny Parkins, when asked Dayton Moore’s weaknesses as the Royals’ GM, 610 AM

Just wait til Christian Colon turns into an All-Star!

Alex Gordon collected his 1,000 career Major League hit on Tuesday, and is tenth all-time in franchise history.

"I might frame it," Gordon said after the team’s 12-2 win on Tuesday. "I usually don’t look at milestones as that big of a deal, but I think 1,000 is pretty cool. Hopefully I can get it to 2,000. But I’ll take 1,000 for now."

Darin Watson at Pine Tar Press wonders where the accountability is with the Royals and how they handle some players versus others.

But then I noticed this:

Butler, 2014: 440 plate appearances, .276/.325/.376, 6 HR, 44 RBI, 92 OPS+

Eric Hosmer, 2014: 445 plate appearances, .267/.312/.377, 6 HR, 46 RBI, 89 OPS+

And that brings me to something I don’t understand about this franchise. Where is the accountability? More accurately, where is the consistent accountability? Look at how the Royals have treated these similar hitters this year: one was briefly benched (until the other was injured); one was not only in the lineup every day, but hit second most of the time. One was called out for lack of production by the manager; one has struggled for long stretches both this year and last year without a peep from management.

The point here is not that Butler got treated poorly, although you might expect a veteran who has shown plenty of production in the past to get a little better treatment. This year anyway, Butler has probably deserved to have his overall lack of success noticed. The point is that Hosmer has gotten away with being just as big a disappointment without anyone noticing.

David Hill at Kings of Kauffman says Billy Butler is not as bad defensively as you might think.

Did the Royals claim Phillies outfielder Marlon Byrd?

The Royals promoted infielder Cheslor Cuthbert and relief pitcher Blake Wood to AAA Omaha. Cuthbert was hitting .276/.342/.420 for AA Northwest Arkansas and had begun playing first base with Hunter Dozier on the roster, with plans to have Cuthbert try second base. Blake Wood gave up six runs in 6 2/3 innings in AA, with thirteen strikeouts and two walks.

Speaking of promotions, John Sickels asks whether Bubba Starling should move up to AA.

Diamondbacks chief baseball officer Tony LaRussa defended his team intentionally plunking Andrew McCutchen.

The Padres have a new General Manager - 36-year old A.J. Preller, formerly of the Texas Rangers and currently starring in Sprint Framily Plan ads.

The Indians and Reds played with TWO baseballs on the field at the same time. Is that even legal?

Maybe the Diamondbacks will distract Billy Butler with this monstrosity.

The NCAA may begin to let the power conferences play by their own set of rules, including paying players, and if not, those schools may leave the NCAA altogether.

Clive Owen + Steven Soderbergh + old-timey early 20th Century setting = count me in.

Parents don't give their kids nearly the freedom they did a generation ago. I blame Nancy Grace.

The Royals are on a roll. They cannot be stopped. Your song of the day is Tegan and Sara's "Everything is Awesome" (featuring The Lonely Island).