Weekend Rumblings - News for April 16, 2016

Weekend Rumblings - News for April 16, 2016

Kelvin Herrera has added a slider to make his arsenal even more unhittable.

"I started working on it in the second half, but I wasn’t throwing it that often," Herrera said. "But in the playoffs, I just decided to throw it more. It was ready to go. I’ve got confidence in it."

The results have been devastating for opposing hitters, albeit in a small sample size. Dating back to last postseason, Herrera has allowed just one earned run in his last 18 2/3 innings, including 30 strikeouts and five walks.

"He was primarily fastball/change-up," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "He tried to throw a curveball, but he never could gain any consistency with it. So Dave tried to shorten it up and make it more of a true slider."

David Lesky of Baseball Prospectus Kansas City wonders what will happen to the roster when Jarrod Dyson returns.

The prevailing thought prior to Opening Day was that Terrance Gore would be sent down, and there would be no questions about it. But now I’m not so sure that’s the case. It doesn’t seem the Royals have been all that impressed with Reymond Fuentes and some of his defensive routes. I don’t say that from inside knowledge but just from the fact that Paulo Orlando has been starting in right field against righties and lefties alike, and he’s definitely not good enough to be a starter, yet he is starting. I would highly doubt Gore stays on the big league roster for the entire season, but I think he might get the opportunity to stay up when Dyson returns, even if it’s just for a couple more weeks. Even though Dyson possesses similar game changing speed to Gore, if he’s starting, he can’t pinch run, and Ned likes to have that option. I’d still go with Cody Decker over Gore, but the way Yost runs his roster, I’m not sure what good he’d be.

Top pitching prospect Kyle Zimmer is still day-to-day.

Picollo said the Royals detected a problem during throwing sessions. Zimmer didn’t have the same life on his fastball, and club officials elected to shut him down for "four to five days," Picollo said. After the layoff, Zimmer continued his throwing program, but he has yet to return to a mound. He is expected to start throwing side sessions in the coming days and could progress to throwing live batting practice and innings in extended spring training games, depending on how his shoulder reacts.

"There is not a specific schedule with him," Picollo said. "Tomorrow is based on how today went. We’re on more high alert with him."

Yesterday was Jackie Robinson day, and Chris Young wrote his thesis at Princeton on Robinson's impact.

"Just the language changed and there was a shift in the way African-Americans were viewed in the media," Young said. "The thesis being that the media really impacts public opinion. If you are portrayed a certain way in the media, the public is more willing to accept that."

Young said he was startled to see some of the adjectives in print used to describe African-Americans, especially those suspected of a crime, some too vulgar to repeat, even in The Times. In other cases, descriptions were demeaning, such as "an intelligent Negro who went to college."

"But it began to change in the three months after Jackie Robinson's debut," Young said. "It had a positive impact in the media at the time, and it helped transform public opinion about African-Americans. You can argue it is what started the Civil Rights Movement."

Statcast breaks down the Alcides Escobar catch from Thursday.

Kauffman Stadium is in the final four of Will Leitch's stadium competition - so vote!

Adrian Beltre signs a two-year contract extension with the Rangers.

Which manager is likeliest to get fired?

PEDs provide a perverse incentive for Rule 5 picks.

When will Ned Yost have the Royals bunting like this?

What Chiefs games this fall overlap with Royals games?

NBA teams will begin having advertisements on their uniforms.

How to improve the NFL schedule.

Everyone files their taxes at the last minute.

Internet outrage causes AMC Theaters to reject a suggestion to allow texting during movies.

What is it like to be a child actor on an ABC sitcom?

Your song of the day is John Coltrane with "Blue Train."