Royals Rumblings - News for August 8, 2017

Royals Rumblings - News for August 8, 2017

Salvador Perez says his pain is subsiding a bit.

“We don’t have [a timetable] right now,” he said. “We don’t know exactly what day I’m going to come back, but I’m just working hard with the trainer. We’re going to see.”

The Royals have the easiest remaining schedule out of American League contenders.

That being the case, we have good news for you, Royals fans: No team has a lighter schedule down the stretch, with an adjusted remaining strength of schedule of just .477. Put another way, that's 77-85 opposition over a full season. On the other hand, the Angels still have nine more games against Houston and face the equivalent of an 82-80 schedule. It matters.

Craig Brown at Baseball Prospectus Kansas City is still worried about the holes on this team.

The bottom third of the order again resembles the black hole we saw in April. Which causes a rethink on my part as to how to allocate playing time amongst the outfield and designated hitter quartet of options. Offense is now more of a priority with Perez out, which means it would behoove the Royals to figure out a way to get Jorge Bonifacio and Melky Cabrera most of the at bats. Let Brandon Moss and Alex Gordon fight over the remainder of the available at bats. The longer Perez remains sidelined, the more critical it is that Ned Yost gets his lineup correct.

Chase Vallot is trying to cut down on the whiffs.

"I've got to limit the strikeouts and make solid contact more often than not," Vallot said. ". . . With two strikes, just battle, try to get the pitch you can hit and just don't chase at everything."

Is Onelki Garcia doing enough to earn a September callup?

Peter Moylan gets his teammates sledge-iatto t-shirts.

Pete Grathoff wonders if the Cardinals have lost their way.

Corey Kluber is making history.

The Dodgers have a real chance to break the regular season wins record.

The Astros and Tigers discussed a Justin Verlander trade.

Former Mets first baseman Ike Davis is giving pitching a try.

Hunter Greene, the second overall pick in this year’s draft will make his pro debut today.

Craig Counsell explains why his Brewers are not made for small ball.

Jay Cutler’s NFL comeback is already a meme.

Paris Saint-Germain insists the huge Neymar deal will make financial sense for them.

Much of the world is literally on fire, thanks to a dry season.

These 50 maps will show you what music each region in America loves the most.

Why it is a good thing 3-D movies are declining.

Your song of the day is The Heavy with What Makes a Good Man?