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Royals Rumblings - News for September 16, 2014
James Shields: "That was one of the most exciting walkoffs I've seen in a while."
— Andy McCullough (@McCulloughStar) September 16, 2014
Lee Judge has a hot sports take - speed helped the Royals win the game.
So, where has Billy been?
The usage of Butler has become a daily topic. He has kept private his feelings on his benching. His performance this season – he entered Monday with a career-low .692 OPS and one hit in his last 27 at-bats – has not merited him at-bats in a playoff race. Yost indicated Butler understood this.
"We’ve talked to him," Yost said before the game. "He knows. He knows he’s not producing right now to the level that he’s accustomed to producing. But he’s been great through all this. He’s been on the bench, rooting. He’s been great."
Jonah Keri wonders what kind of impact - good or bad - Ned Yost has had on the Royals.
Now, as painful as watching this kind of managerial blunder might be, it’s possible that a skipper’s most important job really is keeping his team ready and motivated to play over the course of a grueling, 162-game season. It would be foolish to dismiss the value of a manager who does that well, even if we can’t fully quantify the importance of that ability, or assess which managers might be best at it. This is why the Manager of the Year award is so silly: It’s a reverse-engineered quasi-honor in which writers eyeball the standings, determine which teams surprised the most, and assign credit to the managers.
So, maybe Yost deserves tons of credit for guiding the Royals into the thick of a pennant race and for getting them closer to the promised land than they’ve been in 29 years. Maybe his many years of experience, his accumulated wisdom, and the lessons learned from his last gig2 all helped build the kind of leader a contender would want at the helm when the chips are down.
Here’s hoping. Because even in a league in which most skippers look about the same tactically, Yost consistently manages to stand out. And not in a good way.
ESPN's David Schoenfeld criticizes Ned Yost for his stubborn adherence to bullpen roles.
It's a huge, potentially game-deciding situation and you have two relievers who average more than 13 K's per nine and a third who hasn't allowed a home run all season. But don't deviate. Just another game, right? So bring in the guy who has allowed nine home runs and has 31 strikeouts in 56 innings. That's Aaron Crow. He walked Yoenis Cespedes and then Nava hit the salami. Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis and Greg Holland (who returned Friday) never got in the game. Job well done, Ned Yost.
Greg Hall of the Platte County Landmark is ready for Yost to go.
THIS is the reasoning we get from the manager of a team in their first September pennant race in 29 years? He had confidence in the guy who he sent down to NW Arkansas last month to pitch in a game that may very well have decided the Royals’ postseason fate? Fire Ned Yost. Fire Ned Yost today. "Aaron Crow’s inning is the sixth inning." What is this, Little League? Is Mrs. Yost up in the stands keeping track of how many innings the kids play? Fire Ned Yost. Milwaukee did it before he cost them their postseason. It is still not too late. Fire Ned Yost.
Danny Duffy is not pitching tomorrow, in case you hadn't heard.
By the way, what happens if the Royals are tied for the Wild Card?
If the two wild-card teams are tied, the game would be played at the site of the team that won the regular-season series.
If the Royals tied with the Mariners, the wild-card game would be played in Seattle, which won the season series 5-2.
If the Royals tied with the A’s, the wild-card game would be played at Kauffman Stadium because the Royals won five of seven against Oakland.
The wild-card game is set for Sept. 30.
If teams are tied for the second wild-card spot and a 163rd regular-season game is necessary, a coin flip would determine the site.
Jeffrey Flanagan thinks the Royals are still in good shape because of Seattle's tough schedule.
We could be losing bench coach Don Wakamatsu.
I'm hearing #royals coach Don Wakamatsu is on the #astros list of managerial candidates. Good man.
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) September 11, 2014
When was the last time a Royals coach was considered for a managerial job elsewhere?
MLB has announced its post-season television plans. Find out who will be broadcasting what games. Unfortunately, none of the games will feature Rex Hudler.
Speaking of broadcast crews, Gus Johnson is out as a soccer announcer for FOX, only because he didn't know anything about soccer!
Jackson County legislators are trying to bring the Super Bowl to Kansas City.
Where has Billy been? Perhaps this fried chicken keyboard would explain it.
These women's cycling costumes are not as NSFW as they first appear.
Meet the newest cast member of "Saturday Night Live", Pete Davidson.
Your song of the day is Michael Jackson with "Speed Demon."