Royals Rumblings - News for August 14, 2018

Royals Rumblings - News For August 14, 2018

Rustin Dodd considers what Ned Yost will do with Alex Gordon.

Yost remains the type of manager who feels an obligation to play his established veterans against teams in contention during September. Yet he said Friday that the Royals’ situation is slightly different.

“You play your best team,” Yost said of the September lineups. “You don’t play your team that you want to look at. But we’ve got a different scenario, because we don’t have a group of established players. We’re going to try to play our hottest players, our best players, guys that are producing the most, and try to win a game.”

Wily Peralta is embracing his role as a closer.

“I hope this is my new role in the game,” Peralta told MLB.com before Saturday night’s game against the Cardinals at Kauffman Stadium. “I don’t want to be a starter no more.”...

“It is more fun doing what I do now,” he said. “I feel like every night you go out there, you can change the game. When you’re in the rotation in between starts, you just hang in the dugout and cheer for the team. This is more fun.”

Luke Hochevar officially retires from baseball.

“I mean, it hurt to throw out [the ceremonial first pitch on Sunday]. But I’m very happy with where I am. Very content. I’m thankful for all I had in this game. The game was very good to me. I had a long run. I’m happy with that. Now I get to do things anytime I want. I get to farm. I get to have my ministry hunts. It’s all good.”

Baseball Prospectus discusses catching prospect M.J. Melendez.

Melendez is strong and compact with a little extra mass in the lower half. It’s a catcher’s body, but he looks very athletic behind the plate. He is agile and receives the ball well with soft hands. The arm is also a plus; combine that with his athleticism and you can expect someone who will throw out his share of runners at every level. The most impressive tool is the power—the ball really jumps off his bat in a way that looks effortless at times. I’d throw sixes on his defense, arm, and power.

2080 Baseball scouts Royals shortstop prospect Jeison Guzman.

Who will be the next number retired for each franchise?

Braves analyst Jeff Francoeur says home runs are rally killers.

The best weird names for special home runs.

Can Jacob deGrom win the Cy Young with a losing record?

Jeff Passan writes that racial bigotry still exists in baseball today.

Famous people that participated in the Little League World Series.

The Indians honor a ticket refund 50 years later.

The NBA bears some blame for college basketball’s foolish youth basketball reforms.

Andrew Luck has a mustache and looks like Uncle Rico.

Hacking the electric grid is harder than you think.

Some European cities are trying to deal with too many tourists.

Netflix’s Insatiable was controversial, and it turns out, boring and bad.

Your song of the day is Two Door Cinema with What You Know.