Royals Rumblings - News for April 17, 2015

Royals Rumblings - April 17, 2015

Despite the loss on Tuesday, Craig Brown at Royals Authority is encouraged by what he sees from Edinson Volquez.

You know my skepticism regarding Volquez. Namely, his track record of spotty control was a concern of mine when the Royals signed him. Now, through two starts and 15.2 innings, Volquez has walked just two batters. One in each start. And, as I mentioned earlier, his command was impeccable. We’re dealing with a small sample, but from what I’ve seen in his two starts, let’s just say I’m very encouraged.

Volquez said Perez called for a change on the home run to Arcia. He shook off his catcher and left a two-seam fastball up in the zone. Interesting. Volquez gave a great postgame interview. Thoughtful, reflective and honest. Solid character. You can understand why Dayton Moore signed him.

Billy Butler is looking forward to his return to Kansas City this weekend, and he hopes he can return here full-time someday.

Butler is too young to be making any plans about it, but he thinks he’d like to be a hitting coach when he’s done playing. And if he’s going to be a coach, he’d love to do it with the Royals.

"That’s home, you know?" he says. "I still view it as home, because I have so many friends there and lived there for so long. I have ties there that are going to connect me to the city the rest of my life. I’m part of the city."

Ned Yost says Salvy could get the day off Sunday, but, ha ha, just kidding he probably won't.

Yost had mentioned Thursday as a possible day off for Perez, but still reserve catcher Erik Kratz remained inactive. Yost mentioned Perez’s lively hitting as one reason to keep him in the lineup.

"He’s swinging the bat pretty good right now," Yost said. "We’ll look for another day here in a couple of days to try to find a spot to give him a break."

Moving to right-field will be an adjustment for Jarrod Dyson.

Dyson played right field for much of spring training. He still went over some details with Kuntz on Wednesday. The biggest issue for a center fielder shifting to a corner is familiarizing himself with the depth changes. Kuntz instructed Dyson to be ready to swivel his hips at a 45-degree angle to track down flyballs.

"As a center fielder, you automatically get depth, because everything is coming at you," Kuntz said. "So you’re always at that 45-degree angle, as soon as the ball is off the bat. When you move a guy off of center to play a corner, that’s the first thing you’ve got to notice."

Dyson talks about Jackie Robinson's impact on baseball.

Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs writes the Royals are almost certainly exceeding their international bonus pool this summer.

Royals: I know of two anticipated July 2nd deals for the Royals: Seuly Matias for $2.2 million (or maybe a touch more) and Dominican SS Jeison Guzman for $1.3 million. Those two add up to at least $3.5 million and the Royals’ pool is just over $2 million, meaning they could trade for a bit over $3 million in pool space. There’s still a chance that they stay under if one of these numbers ends up a good bit lower than expected, but it looks like Kansas City is going to go over.

Ben Lindbergh at Grantland looks at the value of adding a new pitch to a repertoire, mentioning that Kelvin Herrera (slider) and Greg Holland (curveball) may have new offerings.

Bubba Starling had a walk-off double last night for the Wilmington Blue Rocks. He's hitting .308/.357/.538 with 14 strikeouts in 28 plate appearances.

Mike Moustakas will be inducted into the Northwest Arkansas Naturals Hall of Fame.

Grant Brisbee wonders if players should be allowed to catch a ball on the other side of the fence.

A security expert questions the efficacy of metal detectors at sports stadiums.

Kris Bryant apparently improved his defense quite a bit in two weeks, because he's getting called up to the big leagues.

Robinson Cano thinks he can just trot home from third on a walk, despite the bases not being loaded.

The winner of the St. Louis marathon is apparently a cheater.

This oral history of the mid-90s Shaq/Penny Orlando Magic by Grantland is pretty fascinating.

Your NBA Playoffs guide. Your NHL Playoffs guide.  We're only five months away from crowning a champion.

OMG YOU GUYS THE NEW STAR WARS TRAILER IS HERE!!!!!!! I hope they bring back Spock and Dumbledore! Here is a scene-by-scene breakdown of the trailer. Here is a discussion of some of the plot points revealed in the trailer. Here are some Twitter reactions. Here is the cast revealing some details about the movie. And HOLY CRAP a real BB-8 droid appeared at the celebration event!!!

Kansas Senator Pat Roberts is a bit of a "Frozen" fan.

What do mutual funds have to do with the high cost of airline travel?

Kinda weird it took this long for scientists to finally understand why your knuckles crack.

Vox.com looks at the sham that is Dr. Oz.

Your song of the day is Queens of the Stone Age with "These Aren't the Droids You're Looking For."