Royals Rumblings - News for April 28, 2015

Royals Rumblings - News for April 28, 2015

Joe Posnanski writes that the Royals may be hated, but at least they have an identity.

Common sense also says the Royals will be lousy this year. But the Royals are doing all sorts of things right now that few expected...

So, something is working … and I don’t think the Royals mind this new business of being the heel. I’m quite sure most Royals fans don’t mind it. For years, they were irrelevant. Last season they were fluky. Last October they were quaint. This offseason they were written off. None of those identities are sustainable for very long.

But this theme – loathed, despised, viewed as punks – getting booed in every town, having writers rip them and having players gripe … well maybe it works. It’s like Ric Flair once said: "Anyone can be the good guy. But it takes real talent to be bad." Do the Royals have the talent to pull it off? The only answer to that also comes from Flair: "Woooooo!"

Craig Brown at Royals Authority is tired of the fighting, but is encouraged by how the Royals handled things after the brawl with the White Sox.

There’s no leadership vacuum on this team. These guys are going to be fine. Someone will get with Ventura and help him harness his emotions in a positive way. Honestly, we should be talking about his overall pitching performance on Thursday. The guy was flat dominant for stretches. He truly is the best starter on this team. The Royals need him. He seems to understand that and – maybe this is because I am a fan – I believe him when he says he needs to get a better grip on those emotions. There was some regret there when he was talking to the media after the game. That’s good. He has to strike the balance, which I think he can certainly do.

David Golebiewski at Just a Bit Outside looks at Yordano Ventura by the numbers.

Catch him on the right day, and he looks like Midwestern Pedro. But Ventura's got a long way to go for those comps to be more than the product of being an undersized Dominican righty. Ventura possesses arguably the game's top fastball among starters, but his breaking and off-speed stuff need polish. He's also got to prove he can pitch deep into games -- and I'm not talking about just avoiding cramps or ejections.

Lee Judge discusses why old school ballplayers close to the dirt like Alex Gordon's game.

Gordon also works harder than anybody else. The Royals want their outfielders to power shag at least one hitting group. Power shagging is playing balls hit in batting practice just like you would play them in a game. Go with the same intensity, run the same routes and come up ready to throw. Since outfielders are required to do that for one hitting group, Gordon does it for two.

Gordon pumps weights, stays in shape and eats right. I’ve been told that Alex has not had a bite of pizza since he was nine years old.

Can't stay strong eatin' cheeseburgers, skip.

Chris Young will likely start Friday's game against Detroit due to Edinson Volquez's suspension, although Yohan Pino is a fallback option.

Greg Holland had a catch and felt fine.

ESPN ranks the Royals #1 in their power rankings this week. So that should be a fun pennant to raise on next year's Opening Day.

Trevor Bauer came ready to rumble last night

Sunday's Royals game against the White Sox broke another ratings record for Fox Sports Kansas City.

The Orioles game last night was postponed due to the riots in the city.

Grant Brisbee looks at the best case scenarios in the Josh Hamilton trade.

The Marlins designate catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia for assignment, despite owing him close to $15 million on his deal.

Probably a good thing the Royals didn't pursue a trade for Brandon McCarthy.

Devin Jordan at Fangraphs (with help from our own Jeff Zimmerman) looks at how pitchers with different strikeout profiles have different aging curves.

David Schoenfield looks at what's wrong with the Cleveland Indians.

Craig Calcaterra argues that having pitchers hit is dumb and its time for the designated hitter rule to be universal.

Top rated NFL draft prospect and Mizzou star Shane Ray was cited for marijuana possession just days before the draft.

Paul Pierce is here to heckle hockey players now.

Jason Whitlock's attempt to start the "black Grantland" is going great.

ESPN is suing Verizon for offering slimmed-down cable packages.

Chipotle is banning GMOs despite no evidence that they are harmful.

You can finally play the video game "Minecraft" as a girl.

Finally, the unauthorized, behind-the-scenes story of the sitcom "Full House" will be told.

Your song of the day is The Youngbloods with "Get Together."