Royals Rumblings - News for April 17, 2017

Royals Rumblings - News for April 17, 2017

Rustin Dodd breaks down Kelvin Herrera’s slider and why it hasn’t worked this year.

“I can throw it for a strike,” Herrera said last year, “And I can also throw it for a strikeout.”

But then came the start of the 2017 season, and the pitch surfaced again — and not in a good way. Herrera allowed two solo homers in his first three appearances, including a game-tying, ninth-inning blast to Jake Marisnick in a blown save in Houston on April 9.

Both of the homers came on sliders. How rare was that? Last year, Herrera allowed just two homers on sliders during the entire season.

Yet in the aftermath of the second homer, a solo shot surrendered to Rajai Davis on Thursday night, Herrera said he still felt confident in the slider. He didn’t regret the pitch selection, he said. It was just a couple of bad pitches.

“It was just poor execution on those,” he said.

Lee Judge isn’t necessarily a fan of pitcher strikeouts.

Let’s say you’re in a fantasy league that keeps track of a pitcher’s strikeouts. A pitcher with a high strikeout total might help you win in fantasy baseball but might help you lose in reality.

A pitcher who strikes out a lot of batters is going to run his pitch count up, leave the game early and expose his bullpen.

This is one reason why people who play baseball for a living are less impressed with strikeouts than people who play fantasy baseball for fun. A key strikeout at the right time can still help you win games, but running up meaningless strikeout totals and exposing an iffy bullpen can help you lose them.

Ned Yost believes in Joakim Soria.

“I’ve got that much confidence in Soria to face a future Hall of Famer in that situation with the bases loaded,” Yost said. “You’ve got the reigning MVP that’s up to bat. That’s a hard choice right there. I’ve felt like I had enough confidence that Jack could get the job done.”

Jorge Soler hopes to return soon.

Lorenzo Cain’s son Cameron won everyone’s heart in a post-game interview.

Jason Hammel, Travis Wood, and Jorge Soler will travel to Chicago to get their championship rings today.

Former Royals pitcher Sean Manaea tosses a no-hitter for five innings, then it all goes awry.

Carlos Correa would consider a contract extension with the Astros.

Greg Holland is having a major impact on the Rockies.

The Tigers kinda imply the Indians are stealing signs.

The White Sox are taking a more analytical approach to the draft.

Could Jean Afterman become the first female MLB General Manager?

The 10-day disabled list brings some strategic measures.

The Dodgers unveil a statue of Jackie Robinson.

Is 41-year old Eric Gagne making a comeback?

Even NFL referees hate excessive celebration penalties.

The Chiefs are rumored to be in the NFL season-opener in New England.

Westport businesses want to privatize certain streets.

The pitfalls of adapting narrative non-fiction to film.

Let’s breakdown the new Star Wars trailer scene-by-scene.

Your song of the day is English Beat with Save it For Later.