Royals Rumblings - News for February 22, 2016

Royals Rumblings - News for February 22, 2016

The Royals say they are hungry for another championship.

"You don’t play the game to win one," Dyson said, his voice echoing across the room. "(Michael) Jordan didn’t shut it down after winning one. Kobe didn’t shut it down after winning one. Why we gonna shut it down after winning one? We want to win as many possible."...

"We know this group isn’t going to be together forever," Dyson said. "So we’re tying to take advantage of it."

But I love this description of Eric Hosmer's t-shirt.

Hosmer wore a black T-shirt — a very not suitable-for-work shirt, inscribed with the following words: "Today is not a good day to be a (scaredy cat)."

Ian Kennedy is fitting in well with his new teammates.

"People talk about the Royals' defense, but their offense is really good," Kennedy said. "It's nice to have that. It brings up your confidence and your ability because just everybody else is playing higher and not playing for themselves.

Lefty reliever Brian Duensing is hoping to rebound from a rib injury last season and make the Royals this year.

But Duensing may have an uphill struggle to make the Royals. He will be competing with numerous other relievers in camp for one, or possibly two, spots. It's an unusual feeling for Duensing. "It's a little different," he said. "I'm kind of interested to see how I'll handle it. The last four or five years I really haven't had to compete for a job. It's a little new to me. But sometimes that's good. A change of scenery can refocus you."

Sam Mellinger gives his suggested starting lineup to Ned Yost.

But to answer your question...

Alex Gordon, LF

Lorenzo Cain, CF

Eric Hosmer, 1B

Kendrys Morales, DH

Mike Moustakas,3B

Sal Perez, C

Alcides Escobar,

SS Omar Infante/Christian Colon,2B

Jarrod Dyson/Paulo Orlando, RF

A couple things to point out: ▪ Lineup construction is entirely overrated, but i’m a "Get Your Best Guys The Most Plate Appearances And Generally Try To Go Left-Right-Left-Right With Them" guy. ▪ If the season ends up needing Esky Magic, then dammit, give the season Esky Magic.

Lorenzo Cain comes into camp now the father of two boys, as he and his wife Jenny welcomed son Jayden into the world in January.

The Orioles land pitcher Yovani Gallardo on a three-year deal.

Angels owner Arte Moreno claims the team almost went into debt.

New Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto says that working with Mike Scioscia in Anaheim was a pain in the butt.

Craig Edwards at Fangraphs looks at the benefits to extending a would-be free agent.

How sustainable are improvements in plate discipline?

Statcasts shows Astros outfielder Jake Marisnick has the strongest arm in the outfield.

Why do pitchers and catchers report before position players anyway?

The top 25 SportsCenter anchors of all-time.

The Daytona 500 had a thrilling photo finish.

Why didn't anything big happen at the NBA trade deadline?

RIP Harper Lee.

Canadian contestants are not welcome on Jeopardy.

Strangers dancing and talking while sober is the hot new party trend, according to NBC News.

Your song of the day is the Stray Cats with the "Stray Cat Strut."