Royals Rumblings - News for October 17, 2019

Royals Rumblings - News for October 17, 2019

In his mailbag column, Jeffrey Flanagan gives his thoughts on the managerial search.

If I were a betting man, I still would say Mike Matheny is the odds-on favorite to become the next manager. No, it’s not as certain as it once was. Matheny has drawn interest from other teams with managerial openings, including the Padres, Giants and Mets. But word has it that the Padres are going another direction. Matheny is well respected in the Royals’ front office and he has been a hit with the organization’s scouts and executives. The Royals, I’m told, are still in a very deliberate process of interviewing candidates, which include Pedro Grifol (who has interviewed with the Giants), Dale Sveum and Vance Wilson, as well as other external options. The Royals are aware of the Twitter blowback regarding Matheny, but keep in mind that only about one in five people in this country are on Twitter. It is not an accurate portrayal of public opinion, at least in the Royals’ minds.

In his Mellinger Minutes, Sam writes about why we don’t know about who is in John Sherman’s investor group.

Yeah, if you’re talking about transparency you know I’m going to agree. We have some ideas about who is in the group, but obviously if we knew enough to report those names we’d have done it already.

I don’t know why it’s a secret. Maybe the minority investors are deferring to the process, or deferring to John Sherman. Maybe they don’t want to be bothered. Who knows.

The point you make is valid, that the more public the process the better chance MLB would have of avoiding or addressing potential problems.

But I also know it’s in MLB’s own interests for the vetting process to be as thorough as possible, so in a way, keeping the other names secret only means the commissioner’s office needs to be even more certain.

Carlos Collazo at Baseball America looks back at the Royals’ 2019 draft class.

Best Pure Hitter: It should come as no surprise that SS Bobby Witt Jr. (1) is the best pure hitter in the Royals’ draft class. The No. 2 overall prospect in the BA 500, Witt has the ability to use the entire field with authority and has a solid approach at the plate, although there is still some swing-and-miss in his game.

Best Power Hitter: Listed at 6-foot-4, 245 pounds, 1B Vinnie Pasquantino (11) has a big, physical frame and showed good power and ability to tap into that power while healthy at Old Dominion. In his pro debut, Pasquantino hit 14 home runs in 57 games at Rookie-level Burlington.

Shawn Bauman at Kings of Kauffman talks to Royals prospect Tyler Tolbert.

The Angels hire Joe Maddon to be their new manager.

How does a rainout affect the rest of the American League Championship Series?

The Yankees are upset the Astros are whistling to tip batters off on pitches.

How the stars aligned for the Nationals.

Could a de-juiced ball lead to a dead-ball era?

MLB is in talks to implement opioid testing next year.

Baseball America names its All-Rookie Team.

Paterson, New Jersey will refurbish a Negro League stadium and turn it into a museum and multi-sport facility.

MLB will allow investment funds to take minority stakes in baseball clubs.

Roger Goodell says a 17-game NFL schedule is on the table.

There is no longer reason to be optimistic about the US Men’s National soccer team.

The FCC approves the Sprint/T-Mobile merger.

USA Today will reportedly end its print edition.

Mrs. Doubtfire is coming to Broadway.

Your song of the day is Spoon with Don’t You Evah.