Weekend Rumblings - News for February 3, 2018

Weekend Rumblings - News for February 3, 2018

Jeffrey Flanagan seems optimistic Alex Gordon can fix his swing.

During a 20-game stretch from Sept. 6 to 27, Gordon suddenly looked like the hitter Royals fans could recognize. He slashed .317/.403/.587, with five doubles and four home runs.

What was the difference? Quite simply, Gordon said, he started going up to the plate with a plan.

”The thing is, last year for me was all about my swing or what I was doing wrong with my stance,” he said. “But toward the end of the year, I figured out [the problem] was my approach. I didn’t have one. I don’t know how I lost it.”

Jon Heyman reports the Royals still want to trim payroll.

Royals GM Dayton Moore remains hopeful that Eric Hosmer could return. Royals ownership was more than willing to move on, according to people familiar with the situation. But Moore wants to keep Royals stars on the team, especially the Royals stars responsible for the two World Series appearances. Moore also thinks about young Royals fans who grew up with these players and view them as heroes. That’s why he locked up Salvador Perez and Alex Gordon, and it’s also why he has made Hosmer his priority. Ownership has suggested a payroll in the range of $100 million. So if the Royals were to keep Hosmer, it will be interesting to see what might be cut.

MLB Network analyst Dan O’Dowd argues Eric Hosmer has been “penalized” for playing in Kansas City.

“I do think he gets penalized for playing in a system that didn’t reward balls in the air,” O’Dowd said. “What did the Royals stand for? We are a tough out, we don’t strikeout, we put the ball on the ground. He did. He was a part of a winning team. He played like a player on part of a winning team....

Smoltz agreed with O’Dowd’s assertion on ground balls.

“That ground-ball rate that you showed is not an accurate number, because we haven’t quantified how many of those ground balls were with two strikes and how many ground balls were before two strikes,” Smoltz said.

Khalil Lee tops the list of top ten Royals prospects, according to Keith Law. (INSIDER).

Rustin Dodd gives us a look at who has been invited to spring training.

The trucks left Kauffman Stadium, headed for Arizona.

Clint Scoles at Baseball Prospectus Kansas City considers trading Whit Merrifield.

Agents lash out at the slow-moving market and hint at a work stoppage.

Jeffrey Loria won’t be sharing any of his profits from the sale of the Marlins with the county.

MLB payrolls may be decreasing for the first time in a long time.

Bullpen carts may be coming back!

Former #1 pick Mark Appel is stepping away from baseball at age 26.

Peter Gammons salutes the Brewers, one of the few small market clubs trying to win.

Which prospects have the best tools in the minors?

Princeton landed a four-star quarterback over...Alabama?

How an NFL contract negotiation works.

Actor Robert Wagner is a “person of interest” in the 40-year old death of Natalie Wood.

Entrepreneurs want to form a crypto-utopia in Puerto Rico.

Amazon has a trick to make sure your Alexa doesn’t activate during their Super Bowl ad.

Your song of the day is Jimmy Forrest with Rocky in My Bed.