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Royals Rumblings - News for August 17, 2016

The Royals are hotter than Kansas City in August.

By Max Rieper
Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Royals Rumblings  - News for August 17, 2016

The Royals are pleased with Ian Kennedy’s recent success.

"[Kennedy] was on his game … really, really good," Yost said. "He's commanding his secondary stuff better. And he's commanding his fastball better. When he struggles at times, it's because he struggles to get the feel of his curveball. That kind of narrows him to two pitches.

"But when he's got his curveball like he has now, he's got three pitches working for him, throwing them all for strikes. He's just in a good groove."

Asked to compare his game now to earlier in the season when he was dominant, Kennedy said there are similarities.

"I feel good, delivery-wise, the last four starts," Kennedy said. "Salvy [Perez] and I are mixing it up pretty well. A lot of those adjustments I made a while back are staying with me. When you do fall out of your mechanics, you correct it right away and make sure it doesn't become a pattern.a

Lee Judge writes that Salvador Perez needs to pay attention to detail.

Salvy called for a curve and two-strike curves are frequently bounced in the dirt; the pitcher wants the hitter to chase an unhittable pitch. But even though Perez knew a curve was coming and that curve might be bounced, he stayed in his comfortable, no-runners-on stance. He had one leg splayed out to the side, so when Herrera bounced the curve Salvy was in no position to block it. The ball went to the backstop and in Detroit that backstop appears to further away than world peace.

Martinez swung and missed for strike three, but made it to first base while Salvy retrieved the ball. Kelvin Herrera got tagged with a wild pitch and had to deal with a runner on base and the tying run at the plate because Salvador Perez got sloppy.

Darin Watson at Baseball Prospectus Kansas City looks at Kansas City’s fifth-starter problem.

This year, the Royals have had 89 combined starts from their top four guys: Volquez, Ventura, Ian Kennedy, and Duffy. Despite some inconsistent years from three of those pitchers, the Royals have gone 50-39 in those games (14-3 in Duffy starts, if you were wondering). Even though the combination of Ventura/Kennedy/Volquez has been decidedly average, they’ve shown that as long as there is a Duffy-type leader of the rotation, they can be a serviceable group.

The other 29 starts this year have come from Young, Medlen, Dillon Gee, and Flynn. The Royals are 8-21 in those games. There’s your season. Just six or seven more wins, just going about .500 in those games, and the Royals would be in the thick of the playoff race, even with their other issues. That record isn’t a fluke, by the way. Those four have a whopping 7.17 ERA in 128 innings as starters.

A Wade Davis update:

A Kris Medlen update:

Leigh Oleszczak of KC Kingdom thinks the Royals should bring back Edinson Volquez.

A Royals minor leaguer gets suspended for PEDs.

How do you care for a Rally Mantis?

The Braves release Omar Infante.

Former #1 pick Dansby Swanson will make his Major League debut for the Braves this week.

Bud Selig may be in the Hall of Fame soon.

Yankees pitcher Nathan Eovaldi is out all of next year.

A Red Sox writer complains that the Tigers' refusal to accommodate their schedule amounts to a conspiracy.

Jonathan Papelbon annoyed his teammates with pro-Trump songs in the clubhouse.

Yankees prospect Clint Frazier is a pretty amazing guy off the field.

States are adopting pitch limits for high school pitchers.

Netflix's Last Chance U is renewed for a second season.

Cincinnati looks like a good bet to join the Big 12.

How racism kept the freestyle stroke out of swimming for years.

Zipcar vehicle-sharing is coming to downtown Kansas City.

The first trailers for the film Arrival makes talking to aliens terrifying.

Your song of the day is R.E.M. with "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?"

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