Royals Rumblings - News for July 14, 2016

Rustin Dodd notes that while Eric Hosmer and Salvador Perez showed well at the All-Star Game, Kelvin Herrera stood out amongst the AL pitchers:

But perhaps lost amid the Royals’ takeover of Tuesday’s All-Star Game was the performance of reliever Kelvin Herrera, who breezed through the sixth inning on just eight pitches in the American League’s 4-2 win.

“He was the best of them all,” Royals pitching coach Dave Eiland said.

Eiland was comparing Herrera to the lineup of pitchers from the American League squad — not Hosmer and Perez — but the sentiment stood out, nonetheless.

Jeffrey Flanagan looks back at the up-and-down first half for the defending World Champion Kansas City Royals:

Injuries and poor starting pitching have kept the Royals from gaining any traction. While Cuthbert has done well filling in for Moustakas, Kansas City does miss Moustakas' energy and leadership. Left fielder Alex Gordon missed a month because of a broken bone near his right wrist, and he is still spinning his wheels offensively. Catcher Salvador Perez missed more than a week with a left quad bruise, and even the backups have been hurt -- rookie outfielder Brett Eibner went on the disabled list (left ankle) shortly after he recorded his first walk-off hit. But the Royals will get Cain and Davis back soon.

The starting pitchers have a 4.99 ERA -- only the A's, Orioles and Twins are worse in that statistic in the AL.

"We need more consistency there, to stay in games," Yost said. "But when we've had good starting pitching, we haven't hit and vice versa."

At Baseball Prospectus KC, Clark Fosler recalls teams from the recent past who were in the same boat as the Royals are now and what they did as the trade deadline approached.

You know how Ichiro walked so infrequently that he’d have been right at home on a Royals’ squad? At 42 years of age, that’s changed dramatically.

At The Hardball Times, Adam Dorhauer investigates The Hatteberg Effect, wondering whether just anybody can play first base.

At FanGraphs, Eno Sarris looks at Phil Bickford and Joe Musgrove, both of whom have plus command of lower-velocity fastballs.

FG’s Nathaniel Grow delves into the statements made over the All-Star Break by Commissioner Rob Manfred and MLBPA head Tony Clark regarding the lawsuit over low wages for minor-league players.

A look at the Baja 1000 from the passenger seat of a souped up Bronco.

Ben Steinbauer, director of Winnebago Man, has a short documentary up at The New York Times about the Tejano Super Car Show entitled Slow to Show.

Warner Music extends a cold middle finger to small independent record stores across the country.

It’s Lebowski Week at Uproxx. Included there thus far:

• Meet the real life inspiration for The Dude.
• Is The Big Lebowski the Coen Brothers’ best movie?
• Dos Lebowskis: The two sides of the cultural revolution examined.

Your quest for perfect produce is perpetuating hunger and poverty.

The song of the day is “Wilderness” by Explosions in the Sky.