Royals Rumblings - News for January 26, 2017

Craig Brown pays tribute to Yordano Ventura:

We’ve all mentioned specific Yordano starts in the last couple of days, but that late July start in 2015 was certainly one that could define his career. You remember it. After a rocky first half, he had been sent down to Triple-A, but was recalled within a day after Jason Vargas tore his UCL. Making a start in his regular turn in the rotation, he dazzled against Houston, throwing seven innings of one run ball. It seems strange to say, but I truly believe Yordano was at a crossroads in that start. The struggles were threatening to derail a promising career. He needed to make a statement.

And in typical Yordano fashion, he made one.

And now he’s gone. His funeral was on Tuesday. I feel for Yordano’s family, his teammates, the scouts and coaches and player development guys and the front office. I feel for his country. Baseball is special in the Dominican, as evidenced by the turnout of his countrymen, especially those who, like Yordano, are blessed with the extraordinary talent to play this game. And finally, I feel for us. The Royals have undergone an amazing metamorphosis in the last couple of years and Yordano was family. We were enthralled by his highs and frustrated by his lows, but we remained tantalized by his personality, and his smile, and his competitiveness. He was in our lives all too briefly. But we’re damn glad for the time we had with him.

Vahe Gregorian also talks about the culture of the Royals organization through the last few grief-filled days:

As a group, they peered into Ventura’s casket and at his face one last time, whether lingering for minutes like Perez and Escobar did or turning away weeping like Dyson into the comforting arm of general manager Dayton Moore.

They would help serve as pallbearers, and they would be ambassadors — hugging Ventura’s family members in their raw pain and managing to smile and pose for pictures with local children both in awe of them and in mourning of Ventura.

Hours later, they would leave touched deeply — and leaving many just as touched.

The BP team gets the ball rolling on pitch tunnels.

When Leo Durocher met the Munsters.

Dave Cameron compares the Mark Trumbo and Luis Valbuena signings and how teams value the everyday player.

FanGraphs’ Craig Edwards looks at the risky, expensive, and fantastic Dodgers rotation.

At Beyond the Box Score, Zach Crizer details how the Mets are blowing it with Michael Conforto.

Is Elon Musk going to start digging tunnels around LA to ease traffic?

Jeff Nichols sits down with The Guardian to talk about growing up in the South, race, sex, and civil rights for Loving.

It looks like Matt Nix will be bringing an X-Men series to Fox.

The song of the day is “On Lankershim” by Foxygen.