Weekend Rumblings - News for August 5, 2018

Weekend Rumblings - News for August 5, 2018

Brett Phillips has a cannon, writes Rustin Dodd.

Phillips didn’t reach 104 mph during his defensive performance on Thursday, but it included a 100.1 mph throw to nail Chicago’s Leury García at home plate in the fifth inning. It left Phillips joking about his arm strength in the moments after a 6-4 loss to the White Sox.

“That’s my changeup,” he said.

In truth, Phillips said, he does not put much stock in the veracity of Statcast readings. (“I think those Statcasts are wrong anyway,” he said.) But one week after being acquired in a three-player trade that sent third baseman Mike Moustakas to Milwaukee, he has made one thing clear: His right arm is as strong as advertised.

The young outfielder is making a lot of fans in Kansas City.

“That’s what gets me the most pumped, is when I throw a guy out,” Phillips said. “It’s not a home run. It’s that. Because seeing the look on a pitcher’s face, you saved him a run. That’s what it’s all about, just helping those guys out on a daily basis.”

Lee Judge learns from Royals players how they picked their walkup music.

I talked to Drew Butera next, and he said he was walking up to Cardi B, but I thought he said Cardi-Beats. Once we got that straightened out, I admitted I hadn’t paid much attention to popular music since the Beatles broke up and Drew said, “It shows.”

When I asked about a specific song, Drew said he was walking up to “I Like It” and when I asked why, Drew said, “I like it.”

How many games would the Royals and Orioles rosters win if they combined forces?

As one of the sport’s sayings goes, though, “The other guy lives in a big house, too,” and the Orioles’ and Royals’ houses are generally much more modest than their opponents’. The Orioyals could crush in Triple-A, but at the major league level, combining the current Orioles and Royals is a garbage-in, garbage-out exercise. Two terrible teams don’t make a winning one.

Alex Gordon talks about his participation in the “It’s All Me” campaign to prevent performance enhancing drug use in youth players.

Marc Hulet at Fangraphs updates the mid-season Royals prospect list for fantasy baseball and ranks slugger Seuly Matias #10.

Matias is what’s wrong with young hitters in recent years. He has lots of raw power but the organization has allowed him to chase the homers rather than focus on developing pitch recognition or an improved approach at the plate. Yes, the 30 home runs is cool (I guess) for a 19-year-old who has managed just 68 hits overall but there is no way this approach works at upper levels so all his tools will go to waste unless he reigns it in. The 22-119 BB-K in just 83 games is startling.

Eric Skoglund injures his foot while on rehab in Omaha.

What’s bothering Mariners GM Jerry DiPoto?

Players who could be traded in August.

Will the Rays put the starting pitcher into extinction?

Is it time for Orioles GM Jim Duquette to lose his job?

Thurman Munson’s case for the Hall of Fame.

The best and weirdest Heisman Trophy campaigns.

Everyone has Randy Moss stories, but no one knows Randy Moss.

A space lawyer explains who owns the moon.

Here’s how America uses its land.

China is banning Christopher Robin.

Your song of the day is Sonny Rollins with St. Thomas.