Weekend Rumblings - News for September 16, 2017

Weekend Rumblings - News for September 16, 2017

Sam Mellinger says it’s over for the Royals.

The Royals will never be the same after this year. That was always going to be true, with Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas and Lorenzo Cain each hitting free agency. The Royals will try to sign each of them, particularly Hosmer, but that’s unlikely and the finality of their time together makes this the most disappointing Royals season since 2012.

That’s not as bad as it might read on first blush. In 2013, the Royals had a winning record for the first time in a decade. In 2014, they made the playoffs for the first time in 29 years, all the way to game seven of the World Series. In 2015, a world championship parade. Even last year, in 2016, there were so many injuries and another year of the group being intact that the letdown diminished.

But this, well, this sucks.

Is Mike Moustakas going to break this home run record or what?

The Kansas City Star editorial board thinks the Royals should keep Lorenzo Cain.

Yes, Cain will be 32 next April. The center fielder has shaky wheels. And yes, there’s some recent history to consider: Alex Gordon, who has struggled mightily at the plate, turned 32 a month after he signed that $72 million contract in January 2016.

That’s history the Royals are loath to repeat.

But Cain almost certainly will be more affordable than either Hosmer or Moose. As an anchor of the team’s championship years, keeping him would be a huge plus.

There’s something else to consider, too, and this is important: Major League Baseball is desperate to entice more African-American ballplayers to the game. The numbers these days around the league are shocking.

David Lesky of Baseball Prospectus Kansas City considers where Royals free agents might end up.

I think Eric Hosmer ends up in Boston. The fit with that monster is just too perfect and something tells me Chili Davis would be the perfect hitting coach for him. He might just become even more of a monster than he’s been this season. I’m picking Mike Moustakas to go to Los Angeles with the Angels. It’s his hometown and they need a third baseman and have a lot of money. That’s a good fit. I think Lorenzo Cain goes and signs with the Rangers. At least he won’t have to leave Surprise for spring training. I have a hunch Jason Vargas is back with the Royals on something like a three year, $33 million deal. People won’t like it. I won’t like it.

Joakim Soria welcomes a baby boy into the world.

Mike Jirschele’s son Justin is the youngest manager in professional baseball.

Jeff Sullivan at Fangraphs breaks down where wins have come from with each team, showing the Royals have little depth.

Major League Baseball determines the Tigers did not hit an umpire with a pitch on purpose.

Grant Brisbee defends the Giants’ historic 26-game win streak that included....a tie?

The Commissioner fines the Red Sox for stealing signs with an Apple Watch.

The Marlins game was moved to Milwaukee, so the Brewers are trying to make them feel at home.

The “thumbs-down” fan has become a rallying cry for the Yankees.

The Cincinnati Bengals are already firing coaches.

How a female eSports competitor became a reluctant icon in Korea’s feminist movement.

Does facial recognition technology with the new Apple iPhone X present Fifth Amendment issues?

NASA’s Cassini probe ends its 20-year journey by destroying itself in Saturn’s atmosphere.

Who should take home Emmy Awards this weekend?

Your song of the day is Miles Davis with Godchild.