Royals Rumblings - News for September 11, 2015
Tony Blengino of ESPN writes that the durability of the starting nine has been a big reason for the Royals' success this year.
Late last year, I did an article over at Fangraphs about this topic. Going back to the beginning of the DH era, I looked for AL clubs whose nine regulars all accumulated 500 plate appearances. Of the 119 AL playoff teams in that time frame, exactly six accomplished that feat: the 2014 Royals, 2007 Red Sox, 2003 Red Sox, 1996 Rangers, 1982 Angels and 1975 Athletics. Those clubs' nine regulars all combined for at least 83.8 percent of their team's overall plate appearances during that season, with the 2014 Royals finishing fourth at 84.9 percent....
As the corresponding table shows, in the year after their iron men seasons, four of these six clubs turned into, well, just about every other club with regard to the durability of their regulars. The 1976 A's and 2015 Royals pressed on, almost as durable as the year before. That A's group still contained the nucleus of the club that won three straight World Series from 1972-74, but with the second-base position firmed up with the introduction of Phil Garner into the lineup. So the Royals' ability to pencil the same guys into the lineup almost every night was not a one-season aberration.
Vahe Gregorian writes that the Royals' huge attendance bump this year is no accident.
A sense of connections with fans is important to any franchise, Moore acknowledged, but he believes it’s more so with "the great people of the Midwest and the great people of Kansas City."
"They want to be able to identify with their players," he said. "That’s why it’s always been so crucial and important to grow them from within and to be able to follow them in the draft and through the minor leagues and kind of live through their ups and downs …"
It’s also why Moore has put a premium on scouts and development people, whether here or in Latin America, being conscious of finding and developing talent that "the fans of Kansas City want to embrace."
It works the other way, too, says Duffy, who tweeted "Bury me a Royal" when he signed a new contract in 2012.
"You go through trials and have some successes as well in order to know that you belong; these fans have helped us get to that," he said. "They’re everything to us. We feed off of them."
Lee Judge talked to Twins catcher Kurt Suzuki about the play at the plate on Wednesday that ended up with him colliding with Jarrod Dyson.
After the game I talked to Kurt in the visiting clubhouse; for starters, he told me his knee was OK, just bruised. I then asked Kurt just what the heck the rules are these days concerning plays at the plate. Here’s what Kurt said: If the catcher does not have the ball in his possession, he cannot block the runner’s path to the plate and Suzuki started the play in fair territory. If the catcher is in fair territory, the runner cannot try to run him over; there’s a clear path to the plate and the runner is expected to take it. If the throw draws the catcher into the runner’s path, the catcher can go where he needs to go to make the catch, so Suzuki did nothing wrong. When a catcher is blocking the path to the plate, the runner can make contact, so Dyson did nothing wrong. That’s the way the umpires saw it and the original call was not changed.
John Viril of Kings of Kauffman is looking to October and sees Rogers Centre in Toronto as a major problem for the Royals.
This analysis. boys and girls, shows that the Rogers Centre might be the absolute worst place to play for the Kansas City Royals. Despite Toronto’s hit-suppressing turf, overall the Rogers Centre plays as an extremely offense-friendly park. It’s park factor, a metric used to measure a stadium’s scoring tendencies, is +113 (13% above an major-league average).
The Royals named their players and pitchers of the year for each of their minor league affiliates. BALBINO!!!!!
You'll be surprised to know Dusty Coleman and Yohan Pino cleared waivers and were assigned to Omaha.
Sam Mellinger discusses Greg Holland's struggles.
Jeremy Guthrie and Omar Infante play chess.
Long-time comedic actor Brian Doyle-Murray reveals his Royals fandom.
The time former Royals outfielder Bo Jackson appeared on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.
The Tigers are reportedly firing Brad Ausmus in a few weeks.
Grant Brisbee wants to yell about post-season award races.
General Manager Ruben Amaro is out in Philadelphia. Andy McCullough thinks Royals Assistant General Manager J.J. Piccolo could become a candidate.
Sporting Kansas City defender Matt Besler quotes Shooter McGavin from Happy Gilmore in this interview.
Sponsors seem unfazed by the NFL's controversial summer.
Can boxing trust USADA drug testing?
National Geographic Magazine has been sold by its non-profit to the for-profit Fox Corporation.
Author Jon Ronson talks about internet shaming and the need for empathy.
Apple TV is trying to snatch content from Google, Roku, and Amazon.
Otter anal jelly is a thing (h/t Gross(est))
Your song of the day is Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs with "Y Control."