Royals Rumblings - News for August 24, 2016

Royals Rumblings - News for August 24, 2016

Jay Jaffe of Sports Illustrated marvels at the Royals’ comeback.

As good as the Royals have been, though, their road is not an easy one. Among the eight teams vying for the two wild-card spots, the remade Yankees (63–61, 2.2%) are the only one with lower BP odds than Kansas City. Excluding those leading their respective divisions, the Red Sox (39.2%), Mariners (35.5%), Orioles (26.9%), Tigers (18.4%) and Astros (14.9%) all rate as having better shots. The next leg of the Royals' schedule will be their big test, as it comes against the Marlins and Red Sox (both on the road) and the Yankees and Tigers (both at home)—a quartet whose combined .530 winning percentage trumps Kansas City's own .516.

If there’s good news within that schedule, it’s that the Indians may have socked away the AL Central by the time the two teams square off in six of the Royals’ final 12 games. We’ll see if Kansas City can surmount the odds to advance to October yet again.

Sam Mellinger gives his take on what kind of contract Danny Duffy would get.

Anyway, if you’ve read this space regularly, you know I’m a Duffy guy, and always have been. I think he is exactly the kind of man you bet on, particularly with the potential reward, but I also understand the arguments against it....

But, to answer your question, I’d be good with a five-year extension that begins in 2018 and guarantees $90 million.

Kennedy’s opt-out means this isn’t an apples-apples comparison, but I believe Duffy would be two years younger than Kennedy at the beginning of the deal, with a much higher ceiling. Actually, I’m not sure 5-90 would get it done.

Rustin Dodd writes that Duffy seems sincere about staying in Kansas City.

After the third or fourth questions about the subject, I had at least one more follow-up, so I said something like: “I don’t mean to dwell on this, but … ”

And that’s when Duffy cut me off.

“We can dwell on it,” he said. “Because I could sit here and talk about this all day.”

So, yeah, it was just one moment from a 15-minute interview. So many factors go into contract negotiations and possible extensions. And basically every athlete ever will say they are open to a long-term extension — which brings the opportunity for guaranteed money and financial security.

But in this case, Duffy wanted to make it clear. He was sincere about this.

David Lesky at Baseball Prospectus Kansas City writes about how the bullpen has rebounded.

How did they get it together? Truthfully, a big reason the bullpen is so much better now is because the starters are pitching fantastic games. The Royals have played 20 games in August. Their starters have failed to get through five innings just one time. Their starters have failed to get through six innings just four times. That means a reliever has had to pitch before the seventh just four times this month. They’ve even gotten six starts of at least seven innings with six other starts getting outs recorded in the seventh.

A Wade Davis update.

Cheslor Cuthbert owns over 200 chickens.

P Cristian Castillo, SS Nicky Lopez, OF Kort Peterson were named Appalachian League All-Stars for the rookie team in Burlington.

The Royals sign Don Wakamatsu’s son, an undrafted free agent outfielder out of Arizona Christian University.

Sports Illustrated details the Royals’ strength and conditioning techniques (h/t RoyallyDisplaced)

The Rangers release slugger Josh Hamilton.

Edwin Encarnacion fights back against an $11 million suit alleging he gave a girl an STD.

What has gone right for rebuilding teams in the National League.

Tim Tebow will work out for about 20 teams next week.

Yasiel Puig is crushing the minors, but what is in his future?

Paul Swydan at Fangraphs writes about Rob Manfred’s proposals and unintended consequences.

People are talking about Zach Britton for the Cy Young, but Luis Torres of Beyond the Boxscore argues he’s not even the best reliever.

Ole Miss football coach Hugh Freeze planned a fake funeral to teach a player a lesson.

Your 2016 fantasy football guide from SB Nation.

Facebook pulls back the curtain on targeted advertising.

T.G.I. Friday’s is losing its flair.

The 15 most memorable movie samples in rap songs.

Your song of the day is Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats with “Howling at Nothing.”