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Jeffrey Flanagan reports that the Royals are looking to get more innings out of the rotation at Royals.com:
"Our bullpen should still be very efficient," Moore said. "But one thing we have to manage is the workload this spring because we've played an extra month the last two seasons. We've taken it all the way deep into October and then November.
"That's why it was important for us to get a guy like Ian Kennedy, who can give us innings right out of the gate. We feel he can come out of the chute really strong with our starters, and that doesn't put Ned and Dave and the staff in a tough spot. We're counting on Ian and others.
"We need a deeper and more consistent rotation. We feel on paper we have that."
Rustin Dodd reports that Ned Yost is reluctant to slot anyone in as Opening Day starter, but one Royal doesn't care if he gets the job:
Three weeks before full-squad workouts begin in Surprise, Ariz., Royals manager Ned Yost was in no rush to anoint an opening day starter. But one of the primary candidates for the assignment, veteran right-hander Edinson Volquez, had his own take on the subject: He’s fine if he doesn’t start opening day.
"I don’t like it anymore," Volquez said last month while returning to Kansas City for Royals FanFest. "I like to enjoy the opening day. All the shows and people (and) fans. When you pitch opening day, you don’t have too much chance to enjoy it. You got to go to the bullpen, warm up and jump in the game."
At the Star this week, Pete Grathoff is writing recaps of a simulated seven-game series between the 1985 and 2015 Royals. In Game One:
The opener of our simulated 1985 vs. 2015 Royals series pitted Danny Jackson against Edinson Volquez, and both pitchers ran into trouble early.
Lonnie Smith opened Game 1 with a single to center and he stole second base. Willie Wilson reached on an infield single and George Brett’s single to right brought home Smith as Wilson moved to third. Hal McRae grounded to Mike Moustakas, who started a 5-4-3 double play as Wilson scored and it was 2-0 1985.
That Craig Brown guy looks at the Royals and Mike Moustakas's arbitration tango over at Royals Authority.
Lee Judge looks at the positional battle at second base.
Bud Selig will apparently teach at Arizona State. Whether Starbucks employees will be able to take his class via correspondence/online course is unknown.
Michael Baumann at Baseball Prospectus looks at the worst active players used as pinch runners.
Kansas City will be getting a pop-up, on-demand bus service.
While Peyton Manning might be deplorable, it's funny that craft breweries seem to hate St. Louis so much that they're sending him their brews in an effort to sway him from drinking that swill, Budweiser.
In what is the most horrible example of trying to one-up the government of the City of Flint, the City of Cleveland appears to be heartless and are suing Tamir Rice's family for $500 for EMS services.
The unsolved murder of a Texas beauty queen murdered in 1960 finally sees an arrest warrant issued.
Want to knit a blanket while at work? Get a job bartending at a Ben Carson primary rally.
Key witness for the defense in the Adnan Syed post-conviction relief hearing Asia McClain talks to ABC News about her reluctance to come forward.
Though they've done this before and had to pull the plug *cough*Fantastic Four 2*cough*, Fox has greenlit a sequel for Deadpool, which opens this weekend.
CBS's new Star Trek series has its appropriate showrunner.
Your song for the day is "Bubble" from the King Creosote & Jon Hopkins album Diamond Mine.