Weekend Rumblings - News for May 4, 2019

Weekend Rumblings - News for May 4, 2019

Ned Yost reacted to Jorge Lopez’s start on Friday.

“It’s not frustrating or encouraging,” Yost said of Lopez’s outing. “I expect him to compete. I expect him, that if he had a little rough first inning that he’ll come in and make a little adjustment, and settle in.”

Chris Owings is frustrated by his slow start.

“I mean, yeah, you’re frustrated because you come over here for one reason -- trying to get my career going again,” Owings said. “I think the toughest thing recently is that we’ve had some guys on when I’m at the plate. … I’ve got to do my part. The other frustrating thing is this team is designed so everyone can run, everyone can move, and I can, too. But I’m not getting on base.”

David Lesky thinks we may start to see some moves soon.

I wouldn’t be surprised if we’re very close to some decisions being made by the Royals on guys like Brad Boxberger, Wily Peralta, Chris Owings and Ryan O’Hearn. As I said on Twitter, I think it’s time for Terrance Gore to go too as he’s been horrible on the bases recently, but I also don’t know if the Royals are ready to pull that trigger just yet because he’s been better offensively than expected (in a tiny sample, of course). Still, I’d bet that we see Nicky Lopez within the next month or so, and it might very well be at the expense of Owings on the roster, which it absolutely should be.

Clint Scoles has notes from the minor leagues.

The Royals have had a series of injuries to pitchers early in the season with Garrett Davila and Nolan Watson succumbing to Tommy John surgery. In addition to those Yefri del Rosario has encountered a bicep problem and Carlos Hernandez has an injured rib. Rumor has it that the Royals have banned weighted balls on new pitchers in the organization. I haven’t been able to confirm this with any officials within the organization but in the past, they have been wary of pitchers using these without proper instruction.

Jeffrery Flanagan has a great piece that looks at former Royals outfielder Mark Quinn and determine whose idea it was to set off fireworks when he finally ended his walkless streak.

Fans, players, coaches and reporters howled in laughter. Even Angels players giggled into their gloves.

“Denny [Matthews] and I just broke up in the booth,” Lefebvre recalled. “We couldn’t stop laughing. It was surreal.”

“The first reaction in the dugout was ‘Holy crap. He walked,’” Randa said. “And then after the fireworks went off, it was, ‘Did that just really happen? Did they think he hit a homer or something?’”

MLB execs think Alex Gordon could be a trade piece this summer.

Outfielder Blake Perkins is moved up to Northwest Arkansas to replace the injured Nick Heath.

Cliff Corcoran at The Athletic look at how the Royals and the other 1969 expansion clubs were built.

Sinclair Broadcast Group will purchase Fox Sports Kansas City and other Fox regional sports networks for $10 billion.

James Paxton is pulled from his start with knee soreness.

Chris Sale finally wins a game.

The Nationals fire pitching coach Derek Lilliquist.

With his team playing in Monterrey this weekend, Astros GM Jeff Luhnow reflects upon his childhood growing up in Mexico.

At Baseball Prospectus, Rob Arthur finds tanking is driving the attendance decline.

The Rays are shifting in ways you’ve never seen.

What has happened when teams use four-man outfielders this year?

Looking at how teams handled the fifth-year option is a great way to evaluate the 2016 NFL draft.

Pro soccer is coming to Omaha.

A man who tried to make changes to the raisin industry was met with harassment and intimidation.

The director of the new Sonic the Hedgehog movie pledges design changes after fan backlash following the first trailer.

Burger King unveils “unhappy meals” such as the “Pissed Meal.”

Your song of the day is Sonny Rollins with Oleo.