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Weekend Rumblings - News for September 8, 2018
In his Mellinger Minutes, Sam talks about the potential return of Ned Yost next year.
Whatever extent you credit Yost for the rise — and he absolutely was an important part of it — you can credit him for the fall.
My sense is he’s not communicating as much as he used to, not connecting as much as he used to.
Some of that is human nature, because the season got away pretty quick.
Some of that is circumstance, because it’s impossible to push a group of rentals in a losing season the same way you do a homegrown core during a long-term championship push.
But it happened, and I get what Yost says about it being better for the organization if he takes the arrows right now, but Kansas City isn’t exactly a brutal market and he’s not the only one who can take criticism.
So if he’s coming back next year — and all indications are that he is — then the Royals need it to be with a renewed drive, a freshened commitment to communicate and connect and be a guiding presence in a clubhouse that will need it more next year than they have in 2018.
Here’s how the rotation will shake out.
Ian Kennedy is slated to return to the rotation on Sunday, Ned Yost said. With Duffy out, they’ll still stick with a six-man rotation. Final slot will either be Sparkman or Skoglund. It could change if they’re needed in the next few days. Ben Lively is going to pitch in relief.
— Rustin Dodd (@rustindodd) September 7, 2018
Rustin Dodd writes about how college buddies Eric Skoglund and Ben Lively are reunited with the Royals.
“We’re still laughing about it,” Lively said. “He came over last night when I got in town. And the first thing we did was start dying laughing.”
Connor Kurcon at Six Man Rotation looks at Jake Junis’ release point.
However, Junis’ release point chart, at least over a stretch of half a dozen games, is much more consistent than any other 6-7 game stretch during his career, including the first 7 games of the season in which Junis pitched very well. That small sample size could make this all look very premature down the stretch should Junis lose his release point again, but for now, it looks like we could be looking at a brand new, completely healthy, very good Jakob Junis.
There is now a song about Junis, thanks to Danny Duffy.
Lee Judge thinks the Red Sox have followed the Royals in being aggressive with “ambushing” pitchers.
Alex Duvall at Royals Farm Report looks at the best Royals minor league seasons with an analytics viewpoint.
Omaha Storm Chasers radio broadcaster Donny Baarns got a chance to do a Major League game after a New York Times profile.
Renderings of the ballpark village Wichita hopes to develop for their new AAA baseball team.
Previewing this winter’s free agent class.
Does Javier Baez have the skill to induce the opposition to commit errors?
The Rays hope to learn from the Braves on how to build a new stadium.
The Indians quietly dropped Chief Wahoo off their uniforms and no one noticed.
J.J. Cooper at Baseball America proposes a “tank tax” to keep teams from being uncompetitive.
The Women’s Baseball World Cup shows the growth in women’s baseball.
A candidate for the New York Senate was once charged with identity theft of the wife of former Mets star Keith Hernandez.
The Athletic wants to be a disruption to sports journalism, but isn’t much of its content very traditional?
The Falcons have a red zone problem.
Sports like tennis can add more years to your life, according to a study by St. Luke’s in Kansas City.
Why your desk job is so exhausting.
Comedians reveal the jokes they most regret.
Your song of the day is Charles Mingus with Goodbye Pork Pie Hat.