Royals Rumblings - News for August 16, 2017

Royals Rumblings - News for August 16, 2017

Jared Diamond at the Wall Street Journal writes that the Royals are a team projections still can’t figure out.

The problem with predicting the Royals, prognosticators say, is that they have consistently won more games than their underlying statistics would indicate. They’ve been, as Davenport put it, “far more efficient at winning games with the number of runs they score and allow.”...

“They were so absurd in so many ways that I still can’t account for it in my head,” McQuown said of the 2015 Royals. “It’s like looking at a magic trick and still not being able to believe it.”

In his Mellinger Minutes, Sam Mellinger questions what the Royals are doing with Alex Gordon.

I also don’t get the Royals’ handling of him. Ned Yost says he’s going to let Gordon sit for a few days, to reset his season and in some ways this stage of his career, but Gordon hasn’t actually sat for even one entire game. He came on as a defensive replacement in the first two, started the next three, and was a sub again on Sunday before starting Monday.

They want him to spend extra time with the hitting coach, to see if there’s something new worth trying, but he’s had plate appearances in every game.

I’m not here to make the argument that it’s holding him back. He’s been holding himself back. But I also don’t know what the argument is that this is helping.

Paulo Orlando could still be a September factor for the Royals.

“We’re definitely keeping our eye on Paulo, waiting for him to get back to where he can come up here and help us,” Royals manager Ned Yost said Tuesday. “Which will probably be September.”

A small adjustment has helped Jason Hammel find success.

Royals pitching coach Dave Eiland recommended that he open up his delivery. The minor adjustment has worked wonders. In his first 10 starts of the year, Hammel issued 23 walks as his ERA suffered. In his last 13 outings, he has walked just 15 batters across 79 2/3 innings.

“I was walking a lot of guys and that’s pretty uncharacteristic for me,” Hammel said. “Because my game plans are always built around establishing fastball and making sure I’m not putting guys on.

“Extra traffic is not good when I’m a guy that pitches to contact.”

Clark Fosler looks at how rare it is for a player like Whit Merrifield to succeed without walking much.

Eric Longenhangen at Fangraphs updates his top ten prospect list for the Royals.

Hunter Dozier talks about his frustrating season.

Steve Balboni ain’t sweatin’ Mike Moustakas’ pursuit of his home run record.

A fun take on Monday’s sixth inning, when Cam Gallagher went yard.

Jeff Zimmerman comes up with the players that vex him the most, including some Royals.

Marco Estrada was claimed off waivers by an AL East team, but a deal is not likely.

Chad Bettis returns to the Rockies after battling cancer.

David Schoenfield of ESPN comes up with baseball’s “All Disappointment Team.”

Ian Kinsler thinks umpire Angel Hernandez needs to stop ruining baseball.

Jeff Passan thinks the Marlins need to trade Giancarlo Stanton.

Why don’t MLB players shake hands with their opponents after games?

The Premier League’s decision to close the transfer window early is well-intentioned, but dumb.

Kansas City is in the running to land a World Cup game in 2026.

Oregon becomes the fifth state to raise the smoking age to 21.

The Hunger Games and Twilight are getting theme parks in South Korea.

How NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts took over the internet.

Your song of the day is Of Montreal with Wraith Pinned to the Mist.