Royals Rumblings - News for June 15, 2017

Craig Brown advocates standing pat for now:

What all this means is the Royals aren’t doing any damage to the franchise by taking stock over the next 30 to 40 days, figuring out where they stand among their AL peers. They’re not missing out on anything by waiting. It’s the smart play. It’s the correct play. See how the next month of games shakes out before making a decision. We may think we know the correct course of action, but in this environment, it’s important to make absolutely sure. There’s plenty of time. The Royals will use it.

One area where the Royals cannot afford to wait is on the starting rotation. It’s a bit of a crisis at this point. Danny Duffy and Nate Karns are sidelined. Jason Hammel and Ian Kennedy have been underwhelming. Jake Junis filled in admirably in San Diego on Sunday, giving the team innings when they were desperately needed. At this point however, the only arm the Royals can rely upon is Jason Vargas, who spun another beauty on Tuesday night in San Francisco.

David Lesky entertains an alternate reality in which the Royals’ season started May 1 before waking from the dream:

But you all know that isn’t reality. That’s just what the Royals have done since May 1, a date that’s significant for two reasons. One, it allowed them to turn the calendar from a horrible April that saw them go 7-16. And two, it’s the date they stopped their nine game losing stretch that caused them to reach 7-16. Instead of being tied with the Twins for first, the Royals are a full five games behind them. Instead of being four games over .500, they’re five games under.

This isn’t new information. But it really is too bad. Since the Royals found the ability to compete in them, one bad month has doomed them twice. In 2013, they finished 86-76 but went 8-20 in May. Simply going .500 that month, a feat they accomplished in every other month, would have given them a playoff spot.

And in 2016, the Royals finished 81-81, but went 7-19 in July. Simply going .500 in July would have given them 87 wins and while they would have fallen short of the second Wild Card, you never know how different September would have been when they faded had they actually had something to play for.

The Royals’ draft broken down.

Danny Duffy is slightly ahead of schedule in his return from an oblique injury.

It looks like the Royals’ 39th-round pick is going to Oklahoma.

Moving on from moons and planets, Rex Hudler is misidentifying marine life now.

The Royals’ 22nd-round draft pick Josh Mitchell took an indirect road to getting drafted.

A.J. Puckett had a helluva start for the Wilmington Blue Rocks.

The Ringer’s Ben Lindbergh and Mitchel Lichtman posit that the BALL IS JUICED.

Jeff Sullivan opines that the Angels’ bullpen is a minor miracle.

Russell Carleton wonders if the flyball revolution exists.

It looks like the McGregor/Mayweather fight is on.

A profile of Steve Earle as his new record is released.

This is how Germans got their children to behave.

Oh, Hello.

The song of the day is “Holding On” by The War on Drugs: