Royals Rumblings - News For February 21, 2018

Royals Rumblings - News For February 21, 2018

In his Mellinger Minutes, Sam Mellinger tries to approximate where the Royals are in their rebuild compared to the previous one.

There are some bring spots in the minor leagues. Raul Mondesi is hyper talented. The Royals are high on Khalil Lee. They have some nice power arms. But there are no top 100 prospects here, and that’s a major problem.

Now, the reason I’m putting the clock at 2007 and maybe 2008 instead of 2006 is that the culture is fixed and that matters. The Royals of 2018 are no longer the Royals of the early 2000s.

They no longer skip team pictures because nobody wants to remember the teams, they no longer skimp on minor league equipment, they no longer are run on Lotus, they no longer go to work in a miserable place to work.

I hadn’t thought of this until just now, but in some ways, perhaps this gets at part of why they didn’t re-sign Eric Hosmer. The Royals are no longer desperate for credibility, in the way they were when they signed Gil Meche.

Eric Hosmer has his first press conference with the Padres.

“Ultimately, it came down to me really liking this organization and the direction it’s going,” Hosmer said. “And that’s basically what it came down to.”

Hosmer was twice asked if he had been close to a deal with the Royals, the only other serious suitor for his services. He deftly sidestepped the question each time, showcasing the media savvy that is part of his larger package of intangibles. His relationship with the Royals is different, he said. He offered a limited window into his decision-making process.

Luke Hochevar wants to pitch again, but his agent, Scott Boras, doesn’t know when he will be able to.

“We don’t know the timetable,” Boras said. “But the doctors say it should come back. We just don’t know when.”

Alex Gordon rejoins the Royals after his father’s death.

Kevin McCarthy could have a bigger bullpen role for the Royals.

“I think I got a tremendous amount of confidence just talking to veteran guys, learning from them,” McCarthy said. “That’s going to help this spring.”

Former Nebraska Cornhusker Cody Asche is hoping to make the Royals.

Did Padres owner Ron Fowler throw Wil Myers under the bus?

The Rays send Stephen Souza to the Diamondbacks, who send Brandon Drury to the Yankees.

The Phillies are talking to free agent pitcher Jake Arrieta.

Why the Rays are a disgrace to baseball.

Travis Sawchick doesn’t think MLB is really addressing its pace of play issues.

Can last season’s breakout pitchers repeat their performance?

Don Mattingly wants Bryce Harper to mind his own business.

The Marlins will wear caps honoring the victims of the Stoneman Douglas shooting.

Using data to find “the middle of nowhere” (hint, it’s in Kansas!).

Google Chrome will now block super annoying ads.

Jeff Bezos begins construction on a $42 million clock that will run for 10,000 years.

Your song of the day is Depeche Mode with Personal Jesus.