Royals Rumblings - News for September 2, 2016
David Lesky at Baseball Prospectus Kansas City looks at what faces the Royals in September.
I’ve said this many times, but I’ll repeat it here because that’s okay to do. If they just win every single series without sweeping one, they’ll get to 90 wins. Not that it’s easy, but it certainly seems like something that could happen. If they don’t win every series, they’ll need to find a sweep somewhere or hope that 90 wins really isn’t the number they need.
I would think it would be very difficult to win all nine series they have remaining. They’ll need to take both against Detroit, I’d think, but they can probably stand to lose a series against the Indians if they can really go to town during their 14-game stretch against the Twins, White Sox and A’s. When I say go to town, I mean something like 12-2. That would allow them to just go 9-7 in the other 16 games, which seems like a very real possibility.
Jeff Passan writes about how the Royals still play with a chip on their shoulder.
“We did it by ourselves,” Royals starter Edinson Volquez said. “You know what? I was thinking about this the other day. When people discount this team, these guys get angry. There’s motivation. They get better. That’s how we take every bad comment. We’re going to make this guy look bad. We’re going to win today. We’re going to win tomorrow. That computer says we’re going to win 72 games. How many wins we got now?”
Ned Yost’s leadership has the Royals surging, writes Forbes magazine.
Looking back to his time in Atlanta, Yost said he learned important lessons from Cox and GM John Schuerholz as the Braves lineup often featured new players each season.
“You win a championship and you want to keep the group together but financially it’s just not possible,” Yost told me in a call recently. “It gets you down a little.”
Yost goes back to what Schuerholz always told the Braves coaches during each offseason. “Our job is to manage change,” Schuerholz would tell the Braves’ staff.
Lorenzo Cain has been nursing a wrist injury.
“I feel like I need to be in that lineup no matter what. It’s something I’m probably going to have to deal with the rest of the year.”
Clint Scoles at Baseball Prospectus Kansas City lists his Royals minor league All-Star team.
Wade Davis shows off his soccer skills.
The Rally Mantis has fueled merchandise sales.
The New York Times profiles the mantis.
The Sporting News lists Bo Jackson as one of the most talented players nowhere near the Hall of Fame.
Are “glue guys” important in the clubhouse?
The five most surprising players in baseball.
The top tool comps for Tim Tebow are not encouraging.
Does the decline of baseball among African-Americans hurt their communities?
Deadspin has their “why your team sucks” series for the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Big 12 begins trimming down its expansion candidate list.
Fake documentaries on mermaids are undermining real science.
Hollywood bombs hurt the studios a lot worse this summer.
Christopher Guest will have a new mockumentary on Netflix about mascots.
Your song of the day is Beck with “Devil’s Haircut.”