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Royals Rumblings - News for September 6, 2017
Sam Mellinger blames the offense for the disappointing season.
So the biggest problem, if you’re only giving me those three choices, is the offense. They just aren’t scoring enough.
You’re smart to note the inconsistency, and not just the raw number of runs. They’ve been shut out 15 times already, which is just unacceptable. It’s a streaky offensive team because it’s a lineup made up of streaky hitters, but still. They shouldn’t be scoring one or fewer runs in basically one out of every four games.
The problem is I’m not sure that’s going to improve. Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas are each having the best seasons of their careers.
But what else?
Rustin Dodd provides some injury updates.
Danny Duffy and Joakim Soria will throw off the mound tomorrow for the first time. The timelines are fairly fluid on both.
— Rustin Dodd (@rustindodd) September 5, 2017
Baseball Prospectus Kansas City names Frank Schwindel as Minor League Player of the Year, also naming its all-organization team.
While Schwindel was collecting the hits, he was also doing major damage. He led the organization in doubles with 43 and ranked second with 23 home runs. That power is nothing new for Schwindel, who has now hit 20 or more home runs and had 30 or more doubles in three of the four full seasons he has been in the organization. Combining the power with average has resulted in one of the more impressive offensive seasons by a hitter in the Dayton Moore era of the Royals minor league system.
ESPN writers try to predict what will happen in September.
Scott Lauber: Pity the Kansas City Royals, who made the calculated decision to hang on to Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Lorenzo Cain and Jason Vargasfor one more run at October. Instead, they trail five teams in the race for the second wild card and face the probability of losing the aforementioned players in free agency.
Whit Merrifield’s dad Bill was a September callup who never got any game action.
However, Merrifield spent only one game with the Pirates and did not play before general manager Syd Thrift sent him to the Florida Instructional League to learn how to play the outfield.
Merrifield was supposed to rejoin the Pirates for the final two weeks of the season but never returned. The Pirates then dealt him to the Texas Rangers in a minor league trade the following offseason. Merrifield played 90 games for Class AAA Oklahoma City in 1988 and then retired.
Lee Judge evaluates Alex Gordon’s great defense against his poor offense.
Drew Butera is the Royals’ nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award for character.
The Red Sox were allegedly using Apple Watches to steal signs from the Yankees.
The Dodgers look pretty terrible right now.
Is cocaine a problem in Major League Baseball?
Why it is silly to blame a player’s slump on who they are dating.
The ten biggest breakout prospects of 2017.
The Florida State League cancels its championship with Hurricane Irma looming.
How Phillies prospect Matt Imhoff learned to overcome losing an eye to baseball.
Over 2 billion minutes of content were consumed on the MLB At-Bat app in August.
The Houston Rockets are sold for $2.2 billion.
J.J. Watt is doing some incredible things for Hurricane Harvey victims.
The chemist who tried to harness hurricanes.
Unlocking the hidden memories of plants.
Your song of the day is The Pretenders with Back on the Chain Gang.