Weekend Rumblings - News for August 10, 2019

Weekend Rumblings - News for August 10, 2019

Eric Skoglund was recalled by the Royals and is thankful to be back in the big leagues after his suspension, writes Lynn Worthy.

“It was tough, definitely an eye-opener,” Skoglund said of being away from the team. “It changed my perspective on a lot of things about baseball, life, and being a better person, a better teammate and being willing to help others and do whatever I can to shed my knowledge, especially to the younger guys when I was down there in extended spring training.”

Kyle Zimmer was sent down, and Ned Yost tells Jeffrey Flanagan that Zimmer needs to work on his command.

“Where he is at, he has worked so hard to get himself healthy,” manager Ned Yost said. “And he’s healthy. But this game isn’t about standing on the mound and raring back and throwing as hard as you can. This game is about feel and touch, and being a pitcher, not a thrower. And right now, he is a total thrower. Right now there is no feel and touch, or semblance of pitching. You have to make an adjustment.”

Whit Merrifield talks about his inside-the-park home run.

“I saw it hit off the wall,” Merrifield said. “I wasn’t sure how far it kicked off, so I was just running. As soon as I saw (third base coach Mike Jirschele) wave me, I knew it kicked far enough. Because first inning, first batter, he’s not going to wave me unless it’s going to be a pretty easy play at the plate.”

In his Friday Notes, David Lesky advocates extending Jorge Soler.

I think it might be time to just go ahead and extend Jorge Soler rather than trade him in the offseason. As Clint pointed out on Twitter, he’s been remarkably consistent over the last two seasons and has actually stayed healthy this year with time at DH. He’s walking more than 10 percent of the time now and his strikeouts have really calmed down. He seems to be getting better as the season is going on, which makes sense with this being his age-27 season. Even for a DH, his overall line is definitely good enough....

Give Soler four years, $44 million and give him a mutual option for $15 million or something with a $2–$4 million buyout and I think the deal gets done.

royalscollector at Royals Farm Report looks at what happened to Frank Schwindel.

The Mets sign second baseman Joe Panik.

The Twins have already set their club home run record.

A look back at August 11, 1994, the last day of baseball before the strike.

Blue Jays President Mark Shapiro discusses the direction of the team saying “it’s not a great off-season for free agent talent.”

Why can’t the Cubs win on the road?

Even with robo-umps, calling every pitch perfectly is unlikely.

How did the biggest free agent pitchers from last winter fare this year?

How do scouts evaluate power with the new baseballs in Triple-A?

What sports movies do you wish were real?

Antonio Bryant is threatening to quit football over new helmet rules.

Renewable energy will require batteries, but what is their true cost?

Moviepass reportedly changed account passwords to prevent users from seeing films.

Amazon’s version of Lord of the Rings could have a ton of episodes.

Your song of the day is Hank Mobley with I See Your Face Before Me.