Royals Rumblings - News for June 26, 2017
Peter Moylan was pretty steamed at the strike zone of umpire John Tumpane on Sunday.
Moments later, Moylan hinted at the idea of a computerized strike zone, one programmed to be consistent. He did not know the reliability of the strike zone diagram from the MLB.com app, yet something like that seemed more satisfying than the whims of individual umpires.
"There’s computers out there now, and everything gets tracked," Moylan said. "So it’s not like you have to guess. You can go back and look at it, and you see that it was a clearly a strike."
Moments later, a reporter asked Moylan if the umpire received the message. "I’ve got an accent, so we’ll see," said Moylan, an Australian native. "I hope so."
Dave Hogg at FanRag is still skeptical the Royals can be contenders.
If Ventura was at the top of the rotation and Gordon was still hitting, there might be a strong argument to keep the core together and make one last run. That’s the sentimental move, as well. No one wants to trade away the players who helped the team win its first World Series in 30 years. However, the reality is this team is lucky to be at .500 and doesn’t have any serious chance at a meaningful postseason run.
The Royals don’t want to fall into the same trap that has befallen the Tigers, where keeping an aging group together too long has led to impending disaster. Detroit at least had the excuse of trying to win a World Series, while the Royals have their rings.
Kansas City fans need to enjoy the next two months with the players that brought the city a championship, then wish them well as the team builds for the future.
On the other hand...
#Royals are back to .500. They don't look like sellers to me. @MLBNetwork @MLB
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) June 24, 2017
Scott Alexander is enjoying success by throwing nothing but sinkers.
To be specific, Alexander, 27, is throwing his sinker 94.8 percent of the time. For perspective: As of Saturday, he was throwing the highest percentage of fastballs in baseball, and it puts him in rare company....
"You dance with it," Royals pitching coach Dave Eiland said.
"It’s almost like you can tell the hitter: ‘This is coming.’ "They see it. They go to get it. It has that late action, and they hit the top half of the ball."
Drew Butera is performing well in a reserve role.
"It’s difficult, because they don’t just wake up in the morning and go hit," Yost said. "They have to formulate game plans for the offensive side and the defensive side of the game. It’s a huge, huge mental workload every single day."
According to Yost, Butera has never had an issue with the mental preparation of the game. "Drew is tremendously prepared every day, whether he is catching that day or whether he’s off that day," Yost said.
Danny Duffy threw 48 pitches in his first rehab start for Omaha on Saturday. He was also firing up fans on Twitter.
Every year yall count us out. & late june, every year, we flip that switch. And the networks jump on board .. we never left, you guys.
— Danny Duffy (@duffkc41) June 24, 2017
...none of us have vacay plans in october. Dont sleep on the boys.
— Danny Duffy (@duffkc41) June 24, 2017
Kendrys Morales enjoyed his return to Kansas City.
"I have to thank the fans for all the support they gave me through the years I was here," Morales said through an interpreter Saturday. "It was nice to come back here and it’s always nice to be loved."
Lee Judge explains Jason Vargas' success despite an 86 mph fastball.
The Royals trade 26-year old pitcher Mark Peterson to the Phillies.
Phillies acquired RHP Mark Peterson, 26, from KC & assigned to @IronPigs; 2-2, 5.17 in 17G at Omaha (AAA); 17-12, 2.86, 58 SV in MiLB career
— Matt Provence (@PigsRadio) June 24, 2017
The Mets are ready to rebuild, but will find a tough trade market.
Tim Tebow gets promoted a level in the minors.
Jays closer Roberto Osuna opens up about his anxiety issues.
A third bidder has entered the Marlins ownership picture, billionaire Jorge Mas.
What the Rays can and can't learn from minor league attendance.
Why are there so many darn coaches for teams these days?
Cody Bellinger doesn't know who Jerry Seinfeld is.
Ike Opara had an amazing bicycle kick goal for Sporting Kansas City.
Three-on-three basketball in the Olympics might be kinda terrible.
One company is trying to suck carbon dioxide out of the air to combat climate change.
Snapchat's new feature leads to concerns about stalking.
What's your favorite one-hit wonder?
Your song of the day is OMC with How Bizarre.