Royals Rumblings - News for August 29, 2017

Royals Rumblings - News for August 29, 2017

The Royals are setting records for offensive futility.

The Royals became the 10th team in history — and the first in 25 years — to be shut out in four consecutive games. The last team to experience this kind of humiliation was the 1992 Chicago Cubs.

Having Alex Gordon and Alcides Escobar in the lineup is historically bad, writes Rustin Dodd.

And in the aftermath of a lost weekend at Progressive Field, the Royals remained on pace to accomplish another rare yet telling feat. Since World War II, 45 players have finished a season with more than 500 plate appearances and an adjusted OPS (on-base plus slugging) below 55. Never before has one team featured two players that would qualify. Yet with 33 games remaining, the 2017 Royals could be the first.

Brian Flynn has had some setbacks this year, but he still wants to contribute.

“Not exactly how I drew it up coming off last year,” Flynn said. “But hopefully (I can) make up some ground right now.”

But....

Eric Boston at Kings of Kauffman is doubtful this season ends well for the Royals.

I believe that the Kansas City Royals are not going to simply fall on their face the last month of the season. I do not believe that they have any real shot at a division title. Honestly, I feel like the only way they secure a Wild Card spot would be because no other AL team steps up to claim it. So yeah, they may luck into a one-game postseason where a team from the East quickly sends them back to the Midwest.

Maybe I’ll eat crow on that, but it feels like a safe bet.

At this point there is nothing Ned Yost or even Dayton Moore could do to change things. Like I said, at some point every team comes to grips with exactly who it is. The best scenario at this point is that the team calls up some of the young guys who they need to succeed for the long-term.

Lee Judge wonders if approaching the club home run record has caused Mike Moustakas’ slump.

Pitching prospect Richard Lovelady makes this week’s MLB Pipeline Team.

Minor league outfielder Cal Jones is getting his career going after being drafted in 2016.

The Royals have had one of the biggest declines in local TV ratings, but are still among the top teams.

The Rangers/Astros series will be moved to St. Petersburg, Florida.

MLB and MLBPA will jointly send $1 million to Hurricane Harvey victims.

How the Dodgers are manipulating the disabled list to get an edge.

What would the pennant races look like if you stripped out “luck”?

Former Baylor football coach Art Briles was set to join a Canadian Football League team until the league intervened.

The Cavaliers will no longer try to get the city to pay for arena renovations after the Ohio Supreme Court required a public vote on the deal.

China wants to get rid of online anonymity.

Amazon slashes prices at Whole Foods.

Who is trying to monopolize the marijuana industry?

Your song of the day is The Rapture with Out of the Races and Onto the Tracks.