Royals Rumblings - News for August 8, 2018

Royals Rumblings - News for August 8, 2018

Danny Duffy applauded the performance of former teammate Mike Montgomery.

“He’s somebody who’s really come into his own, and I’m really happy for him,” Duffy said. “He’s just collected. There’s no situation that is too big.”

Ned Yost comments on Brad Keller’s performance.

“[Keller] kept us in the game,” manager Ned Yost said. “He did a good job of doing that. He made pitches and limited the damage when he needed to. Command was off, the evidence was three walks [later]. But it was off in the first inning, too, on the plate. He was missing quality spots and center-cutting some pitches that they took advantage of.

Rustin Dodd writes about whether Whit Merrifield can continue being productive into his 30s.

“Those are things that don’t go away with time and age,” he says. “A lot of guys can just show up and play. If I did that, I wouldn’t be here.

“My game is not just based on raw ability. There’s a lot that goes into what makes me successful.”

Merrifield also believes that part of the aging curve of ballplayers represents a natural decrease in desire as the years pass. Maybe it’s the guaranteed contracts. Maybe it’s the years in the major leagues. Maybe it’s the security that comes with time.

“A lot of people in this game, they get to a point and they get content,” Merrifield says. “You can say it’s age catching up to them. But a lot of it’s just contentment.”

David Lesky at Baseball Prospectus Kansas City thinks the Royals could use some relief.

The Royals are 34-78. The bullpen has been responsible for 24 losses. Some of them are not their fault, but they’ve given up leads in 12 games and lost 12 tie games. The offense shoulders some of this blame, but this isn’t about them. This is about the bullpen that is one of the worst we’ve seen in a long time in Kansas City. I’m just pulling a number out of thin air here, but even an average bullpen probably wins, let’s say, six of the games with a blown lead. And maybe pulls out four of the 12 ties. I’m not even talking about a good bullpen, but an average one.

The Royals acquired a minor league pitcher from Olathe East, Jon Perrin, in exchange for Sal Biasi.

Writing at Beyond the Boxscore, Patrick Brennan makes the case that Terance Gore should be a trade asset.

Clubhouse Conversation talks to Royals minor league pitcher and local kid Grant Gavin.

Braves announcer Joe Simpson implies Juan Soto is lying about his age.

Yankees announcer Michael Kay apologizes to Clint Frazier for questioning his desire to return from a concussion.

Nationals reliever Kelvin Herrera has shoulder tightness and will get an MRI.

Travis Sawchick at Fangraphs wants to fix the Wild Card game.

As Mike Trout turns 27, how does he stand up among the all-time greats?

Luke Heimlich signs with a Chinese baseball team, but the league will not let him play.

The weird story of the very first John Madden football video game.

The WNBA’s Aces forfeit a game during a playoff hunt due to 26 hours of travel.

Elon Musk says he may take Tesla private at $420 a share.

How Wikipedia is the last bastion of shared reality.

Is Han Solo stupid?

Your song of the day is Soup Dragons with Divine Thing.