Royals Rumblings - News for August 7, 2015

Royals Rumblings - News for August 7, 2015

Ryan Madson knows he's scuffling a bit now.

"Hopefully, it's capping off a bad couple weeks for me," Madson said. "Just ready to move on and get better. There's no learning to do. Just go out there and make better pitches, and that's about it."

David Lesky at Pine Tar Press says the Royals should be preparing for October.

Either way, I’d be sure to give Cain and Perez plenty of time off down the stretch. I’d get Kendrys Morales a few starts at first base to keep him prepared, just in case. I’d get Alcides Escobar a few days off down the stretch (there’s more Zobrist value). And I’d see if playing Omar Infante a little less often actually ignites his bat. I wouldn’t hesitate to insert guys like Luke Hochevar and Kris Medlen into big situations because they might be needed in October at some point.

The point is that the Royals have a luxury that few teams have, and they really need to take advantage of that. There’s a lot of argument about how hot a team needs to be heading into the playoffs, so I’d also probably ramp up the regular playoff lineup the last couple weeks of the season. That should give Gordon time to get going and up to speed and allow the Royals to head into the playoffs firing on all cylinders. This has potential to actually be a pretty boring last couple months, but keep in mind the lead the Royals have when the lineup comes out and looks a little off. It could be that the Royals are taking advantage of the rare opportunity to really gear up for the postseason.

Lee Judge writes about how to beat the Royals.

Big-league hitters like to hit fastballs and most of them look for a hittable fastball on the first pitch. If a pitcher grooves one down the middle in an effort to get ahead in the count, a hitter can take advantage and ambush that first fastball. That’s what Alcides Escobar has been doing; as the first batter of a game, Alcides is hitting .326 and when he puts the first pitch of an at-bat in play, Esky is hitting .400.

So how does a pitcher keep from getting ambushed? He can throw the fastball the hitter is looking for, but he has to throw it in a location the hitter isn’t looking for. The other thing the pitcher can do is throw a get-me-over breaking pitch. A get-me-over slider or curve is thrown with less movement so it’s easier to control. Remember, the hitter is probably looking for a first-pitch fastball, so when he recognizes a breaking pitch, he’ll likely take it for a strike and once you get strike one in, you’re in business.

BLAME THE SQUIRREL.

Jeremy Guthrie returns to the rotation on Saturday, with Chris Young going to the pen.

Fox Sports Kansas City will televise the August 27 game against Baltimore, meaning for the first time in history, all 162 Royals games will be televised.

Here's a neat video of Salvador Perez showing off his cannon arm.

Russell Carleton at Just a Bit Outside wonders why walks are down around the league.

The limitations on 2015 Statcast Data.

Cubs beat writer Gordon Wittenmeyer, who is not a doctor, diagnoses shortstop Starlin Castro with ADHD.

Mike Hessman broke the 80-year old career minor league home run record.

An appreciation of sports villains Alex Rodriguez and Tiger Woods.

Vanderbilt football made a social media faux pas.

A truck driver who did not campaign, did not tell his family he was running, and did not even vote for himself, has won the Democratic primary for Governor in Mississippi.

Why CGI nudity is here to stay (possibly NSFW).

No one likes Sea World anymore.

The seven reasons to continue watching "The Daily Show" without Jon Stewart.

Its the 30th anniversary of "Real Genius", one of the most underrated comedies of the 80s.

Your song of the day is Pantera with "Cowboys from Hell."