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Royals Rumblings - News for August 25, 2015
Sam Mellinger is intrigued by Kris Medlen.
They wanted an audition. They did not use that word, but that’s what this was. That’s what it’ll be five days from now, too, because the only thing that matters for the Royals is being the best they can be once the playoffs start....
Everything the Royals do between now and game one of the Division Series on Oct. 8 is about constructing the strongest playoff team possible, and in that way, Kris Medlen just took a major step in helping the Royals when it matters most. There is still so much unknown. Better and worse days are coming, but this version of Medlen is good enough to start playoff games.
Craig Brown at Royals Authority looks at Salvy's disappearing opposite-field power.
The other bit of news to come from Saturday was Salvador Perez’s opposite field home run. When Perez first came up to the majors, his power was actually to all fields. Seven of his first 15 home runs were hit to right or right-center...
His big power was to left-center, but he was hitting a number of pitches down the left field line. This isn’t unusual for a right-handed hitter. Power is to the pull field. Studies have shown that nearly 75 percent of all home runs are pulled. It’s the opposite field power that is special. It’s a sign of a player who is a complete hitter. And that’s certainly what we thought Perez was – or at least we hoped he could be. Indeed over his first two seasons (spanning 115 games and 463 plate appearances) Perez hit .311/.339/.471.
Since then however, it’s been a story of steady decline. It kind of tells you about his lost promise as a hitter as when the ball cleared the fence, I immediately hit Baseball Reference to figure out the last time he actually hit one out to the opposite field. Let’s jump into the Wayback Machine to April 27, 2013.
Alex Gordon is thrilling fans from his native Nebraska with his rehab appearance.
For the moment, Gordon has given few public indications about his future. The free-agency question hangs in the distance, but those decisions will come later. First, there is a rehab to complete. After that, another shot at a World Series championship. But on Sunday afternoon, Gordon did divulge one detail about his future: A reporter asked if he expected to be a Nebraska lifer. Could he ever see himself leaving this place? On that subject, Gordon was slightly more committal.
"If you asked me right now, probably," Gordon said. "But you just never know what the future entails. But we like it here and hopefully we can stay for a while."
Johnny Cueto expressed some interest in signing with Boston this winter, according to Hanley Ramirez.
The Red Sox need a front-line starter and Cueto is one of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball. He also happens to be a free agent this offseason and at least is open to signing with Boston, according to WEEI’s.com’s Rob Bradford.
"It depends," Cueto told Bradford through Ramirez before Thursday’s game on if he would sign with the Red Sox. "Because I’m a free agent, and I’m just going to pick the best choice to go. The main thing — I would like to come here because it’s a championship-caliber team."
The Royals analytics team made a presentation at Saber Seminar.
Its the Analytics Squad from @Royals spilling organizational secrets @SaberSeminar in Boston. #Thankyou #SaberSeminar pic.twitter.com/vlZUwal49N
— Dr. Jeff (@drjefflo) August 23, 2015
Royals analytics guys point out that OBP is expensive. It doesn't age well and often comes at non-premium positions. #saberseminar
— Sky Kalkman (@Sky_Kalkman) August 23, 2015
Nice reminder from #Royals analyst John Williams that teams still weigh character/makeup heavily in player acquisitions. #SaberSeminar
— Alex Skillin (@AlexSkillin) August 23, 2015
Oh yea, this guy was there too.
FG at #SaberSeminar: Jeff Zimmerman discusses batted ball data and its relationship with scouting. pic.twitter.com/c5Yz1Y9txa
— FanGraphs Baseball (@fangraphs) August 22, 2015
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest showed off his Royals fandom yesterday (h/t Josh B.)
Looks like @PressSec was sporting his #Royals mug at his morning presser again. pic.twitter.com/6Bqq5mK8GC
— Royals Review (@royalsreview) August 24, 2015
Jose Reyes is ready to get out of Colorado.
Josh Donaldson is starting to look like the MVP favorite.
Minnesota's Miguel Sano is looking like one of the best young power hitters in the game.
Jessica Mendoza became the first female baseball analyst on an ESPN broadcast.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today writes about how clubhouse chemistry is the reason why teams like the Royals are winning.
Everything is falling apart with the Tigers, even the stadium.
Jesse Spector at the Sporting News says its time to embrace the wave.
How independent minor league teams make money - or don't.
Cris Carter thinks NFL teams need to hire a "fall guy" to take the rap for their players.
Joel Thorman at Arrowhead Pride has his 53-man roster predictions.
A power ranking of all 128 FBS college football teams. KU is finally ranked!
Bill Cosby is getting ready to play the race card.
How to deal with yesterday's stock market drop -just don't look.
How SETI will understand messages broadcast from aliens.
Your song of the day is Liz Phair with "Supernova."