Royals Rumblings - News for September 25, 2014

Royals Rumblings - News for September 25, 2014

Baseball Prospectus runs an old Rany Jazayerli column from way back when Dayton Moore had just taken over the Royals, and wondered if he could run the club the way Dave Dombrowski ran the Tigers. WARNING: Shane Costa appearance!

The Royals just fired their version of Randy Smith, and ultimately whether the widely-acclaimed Dayton Moore turns out to have executive skills comparable to Dombrowski will determine whether the Royals can turn their franchise around as expertly as the Tigers have. But at the moment, the Royals' overall situation does not appear to be as bad as that of the 2003 Tigers.

It looks worse.

Vahe Gregorian writes about Yordano Ventura being a cool cucumber.

Technically, he might still be a rookie. But Perez laughed at the idea and said, "I don’t think so."

Afterward, Ventura didn’t have too much to say through translator Jeremy Guthrie, but Guthrie himself perhaps offered the right perspective on his night.

"It’s expected because we’ve seen the way he’s pitched all season," he said. "From the outside, if you don’t know him and haven’t seen him, maybe you wouldn’t quite expect that.

"But when someone has as good stuff as he has and is able to throw strikes and command pitches, you should be confident no matter the situation. And I think that’s the case for him."

Fangraphs asks whether a team built like the Royals has ever made the playoffs before.

Since 2003, there have been 102 playoff teams. Only nine of them have had over 50% of their team value come from baserunning, defense, and the bullpen. Only five have been more reliant on the little things than this year’s Royals.

Fittingly, the "little things" teams in the top half of the table are a hodgepodge of teams that only occasionally find themselves in the playoffs – the D-backs, Cubs, Royals, Mets, Reds and Padres. The bottom half are mostly powerhouses whom we’ve grown accustomed to seeing slug and pitch their way deep into the postseason – three different Yankees teams, the Red Sox and the Cardinals. The question that Royals fans likely want to know is: How have the most extreme sides of this coin fared in the playoffs?...

The teams that have relied more on their lineup and rotation have gone deeper into the postseason and thus won more games, yet the two pools come away with the same amount of World Series appearances and victories.

Jeffrey Flanagan writes that the Royals bats have awakened at just the right time.

"When we hit on all cylinders," Hosmer told reporters after the game, "we're a tough team to beat."

Royals bench coach Don Wakamatsu may be leaving.

Sources: #Astros have talked to at least five managerial candidates by phone: Ebel, Hinch, Lovullo, D. Martinez, Wakamatsu.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) September 24, 2014

DISTRACTION!

The Plaza is ready for the parade.

Can't imagine the Plaza has flown Royals flags too often in September. pic.twitter.com/8qN6HGHout

— Sam Mellinger (@mellinger) September 24, 2014

The Braves have reportedly offered their vacant General Manager position to John Hart, meaning Dayton Moore may not have to make a decision on whether to stay or go.

Did Cleveland's defense sabotage Danny Salazar's start on Tuesday?

Your guide to loving and hating Derek Jeter.

Two storms cost Phil Hughes half a million bucks.

MLB's metal-detector policy hasn't proven to make anyone safer.

A new "30 for 30: Short" looks at how some baseball players - Mackey Sasser in particular -  lose their ability to do the most basic baseball functions due to mental issues.

Tony Stewart will not face charges for the death of Kevin Ward, Jr., who was found to have marijuana in his system when he walked onto the race course when Stewart hit him.

Judging new TV shows based on their posters.

If you want more in-depth reviews, Vox.com takes a look at new shows.

It has been an incredibly bad year for automobile recalls, writes Fivethirtyeight.

Facebook is NOT charging people a monthly fee, despite the Facebook post your aunt ranted about.

Your song of the day is Hall and Oates with "So Close".