Royals Rumblings - News for July 15, 2020

Lefty reliever Tim Hill will stick around for the 2020 season, writes Jeffrey Flanagan:

Of course, Hill had every reason to be concerned. Five years ago he survived Stage 3 colon cancer. Hill has another condition to contend with that would make him high risk: He has Lynch syndrome, an inherited disorder that increases the risk of many types of cancer, especially colon cancer.

Now, at 10 days into camp, Hill, 30, hasn’t questioned his decision to play. And that’s even after several Royals, including catchers Salvador Perez and Cam Gallagher, have tested positive for COVID-19.

“I still stick by my decision,” Hill said. “There has been some concerns with people testing positive, but I still feel like I made the right decision. I want to play.”

Salvador Pérez got hits in his first two at bats since being reinstated from the COVID list.

Third baseman Kelvin Gutiérrez has a Grade 2 UCL strain and is back in Arizona until further evaluation, reported both Alec Lewis and Lynn Worthy on Twitter.

Danny Duffy loves the prospects coming up around him:

Outfielder Nick Heath is drawing high praise from outside the Royals organization:

A word on the ethics of MLB potentially “borrowing” tests from the public supply, from Kenny Kelly at Beyond the Box Score:

Games will be delayed or canceled if things continue in this way, but that’s the least of all concerns. Delaying test results increases the amount of time an infected person can be around players and other staff. Even under normal circumstances, players can be tested in the afternoon, play a game in the evening, and receive a positive result the next morning as was the case with the Royals’ Cam Gallagher. The on-field guidelines will help slow the spread,* but number one objective should be making sure that an infected person isn’t at the stadium.

Old Enemies the San Francisco Giants name Old Friend Johnny Cueto as their opening day starter.

Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo is getting an MRI on his back.

[Content note: sexual violence; death of a child] Former MLB pitcher Sergio Mitre is under investigation for sexually assaulting his 2-year-old stepson in such a way that led to the child’s death. (The link is in Spanish, but that may be a blessing if you want to skip the horrid details.)

Following the announcement that Nick Markakis was opting out of the 2020 season, Atlanta will sign free agent outfielder Yasiel Puig.

Post Malone lost a whole bunch of beer pong (which my migraine-addled brain typed as “peer bong” on the first few attempts) to Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, and as a result got the Chiefs stars’ names tattooed on himself.

Speaking of Mahomes, he’s on the cover of GQ, and in the top photo in the online spread we see that even he can’t make those hideous Yeezy slides look cool.

The Kansas City Star is changing hands again, this time being bought in bankruptcy by a New Jersey hedge fund.

The advice column letter of the week was an easy choice this time around, thanks to this letter writer who’s upset that her colleague thinks she should stop flirting with her student employee.

Some teens are disguising themselves as old ladies to buy booze, with their masks doing half the work for them.

Forget Boston Dynamics; this is the best robot. (Mildly NSFW)

A feral peacock is terrorizing an Oakland neighborhood.

Please watch this bird (with sound, if you can):

MUSIC: When I started doing the Rumblings, I failed to keep track of what songs I’ve used, so it’s possible this song has already been featured, as it is one of my all-time favorites.