Royals Rumblings - News for August 13, 2018

Royals Rumblings - News for August 13, 2018

Danny Duffy may miss his next start after getting an anti-inflammatory shot.

Duffy has played through stiffness in his shoulder for weeks. He anticipates continuing to do so, adamant the problem isn’t worrisome enough to warrant extended time off. The Royals will determine after his next bullpen session whether or not Duffy can make his scheduled start in Thursday’s series finale against the Blue Jays.

Manager Ned Yost said on Sunday the stiffness in Duffy’s left shoulder surfaced four starts ago, when Duffy allowed the Tigers to score seven earned runs in 5 2/3 innings on July 25 at Kauffman Stadium.

He also discussed his ejection on Saturday from umpire Adam Hamari.

“I’ve been respectful, respectful, respectful my entire career,” Duffy said after the loss. “And these (umpires), I’ve built a pretty good rapport with. And when I didn’t say another word, it’s just one of those things where it’s like: ‘Dude, what am I allowed to do? As a human being, what am I allowed to do?’

“I was upset with the situation; I was upset with the missed call. And I let it out. And I didn’t think it was enough for him to walk toward me and instigate it, which he did. (There was) definitely some instigation there — baited me, for sure. But it’s just one of those things that happen in this game. I’m not going to sit here and snap. It’s what it is. These things happen. Even to people that tend to be positive and optimistic.”

Jason Hammel talks about his performance on Sunday.

“Feel bad for (Junis), who threw the hell out of the ball,” Hammel said after explaining that he struggled physically to find traction on the mound. “Deserved better. That’s a tough lineup. Pretty much set the tone for the rest of the game right there, (me) coming in and not even getting an out. I’m pretty embarrassed.”

Drew Osborne at Royals Farm Report looks at Samir Duenez.

Duenez’s approach this year has not been as power oriented and teams are even playing him straight up this year. There were times where the infield would be shifted. Outfielders always tend to pinch the gaps with him showing that teams believe him to have a gap-to-gap approach which is how I would position my defense as well. A hand/wrist injury has slowed him down this year but he is still hitting .269 with an ISO of .176 and .345 wOBA according to FanGraphs. His wRC+ is 108 meaning he is slightly better than the average hitter in the league at almost 2 years younger.

Many former Royals from the 1985 championship club were in town to reminisce.

Some old friends from the 2015 championship team were also on hand.

The Royals are looking for a social media manager.

David Bote with the walk-off grand slam for the Cubs against the Nats.

OMG this throw by A’s outfielder Ramon Laureano.

Could Max Scherzer be MVP?

The Giants retire Barry Bonds’ number.

Mets want to hire a less analytically-driven general manager.

The Orioles have already been eliminated from winning the division.

Are defensive shifts actually leading to more runs being scored?

Brooks Koepka was the perfect spoiler for Tiger Woods’ PGA charge.

Maryland football is accused of having a toxic culture that included physical abuse and humiliating players.

What is the right number of taxis, Ubers, and Lyfts in a city?

Disney may be looking to bundle its new streaming service with Hulu and ESPN+.

Wait, Super Mario 3 is a stage play?

Your song of the day is King Harvest with Dancing in the Moonlight.