Royals Rumblings - News for May 9, 2019

Royals Rumblings - News for May 9, 2019

Martín Maldonado talks about his ejection on Wednesday night.

Maldonado, who’d been behind the plate since the start of the game (including when Lopez pitched), voiced his objection to Knight after he’d been called out on strikes. As Maldonado turned to walk back to the dugout, Knight ejected Maldonado.

“I wasn’t complaining about the last pitch,” Maldonado said. “I was complaining about the pitch before that one. I thought the pitch before was a ball. That’s a pitch they were calling all night for them. That’s a pitch that (Hunter) Dozier struck out two times on it, the bases-loaded strike was on the same pitch. I think it was a ball.

Ryan O’Hearn is starting to heat up, but he discusses his early struggles with Rustin Dodd.

O’Hearn is now hitting many of those balls on the ground. His launch angle has dipped from an average 17.7 degrees to 12.8. His ground-ball percentage has spiked to 48.1 percent, up from a 34.6-percent mark in 2018.

“Even when you did something good, you hit a ball hard, it’s right at somebody,” O’Hearn said. “But that’s the game. You just got to understand that that’s part of it.”

Richard Justice at MLB.com profiles the red-hot Hunter Dozier.

Dozier’s backstory is a reminder of why we love this stuff and why young players sometimes aren’t overnight stars. On Opening Day, Dozier was 27 years old, had played in just 110 big league games and had a .228 career batting average on his resume. For the eighth overall pick in the 2013 Draft, this wasn’t the career arc that the Royals had hoped for....

“I think mentally I’m in a better spot,” Dozier said. “I’m not so much worried about the results right now. I’m just trying to do the right things, have a good game plan, worry about the process.”

Kelvin Gutierrez is also impressing.

“It’s nice, especially since all the reports I got even coming into Spring Training from the trade last year [with the Nationals] that he was a defender first,” Yost said. “That his strength was defense at third base. He came to Spring Training this season and the first time I had a chance to really see him, I was impressed with his size, impressed with his athleticism.”

The Astros praised former teammate Martín Maldonado.

“(His arm) is the best I’ve seen in the big leagues in terms of accuracy and just flat-out MPHs,” McHugh said of Maldonado. “If you don’t get out of the way, it will catch you square in the teeth. It carries the line for the whole time. When he comes up throwing, you’re like get away however you can (jumping back in movements reminiscent of The Matrix) because it’s coming in hot.”

Perfect Game has a mock draft out with Bobby Witt, Jr. going to the Royals.

Andrew Wegley at Sportsnaut looks at who might be the next manager of the Royals.

Scott Chu at Pitcher’s List looks at how Whit Merrifield continues to prove doubters wrong.

Alex Gordon’s mother Leslie will be part of Mother’s Day at the K.

The Cubs activate Addison Russell after his suspension for domestic violence.

What you need to know about baseball’s 300 no-hitters.

A look at Bryce Harper’s streaky start.

Why the Rangers could be competitive sooner than you think.

Billy Beane would let Jeopardy! champ James Holzhauer “ruin” baseball

Eno Sarris at The Athletic looks at why so many hitters are getting plunked this year.

Have the Chiefs done enough to make a Super Bowl run?

A college football conference signs a media deal that is almost entirely streaming.

Is noise pollution the next big public health concern?

If Bitcoin is safe, why does it keep getting hacked?

The people that work on ultra-violent video games have lingering effects.

Your song of the day is The Moody Blues with Your Wildest Dreams.