Royals Rumblings - News for July 16, 2020

Royals Rumblings - News for July 16, 2020

Salvador Perez discussed his return with Jeffrey Flanagan and reporters.

You’ve got a little over a week to get your timing at the plate. Are you confident you can do that?

“I am confident. After my day yesterday, I don’t think it will take that long. Just three or four days to face some live pitching and I’ll be fine.”

What did you do in isolation, baseball-wise?

“I hit off the tee and hit into the net. It’s not the same as live pitching, but it kept me moving a bit.”

Danny Duffy is pumped to the be the Opening Day starter, even if it will be different.

“It is definitely going to be different,” he said. “It’s so weird having conversations with your teammates and having everyone hear you.

“The game is not the same without fans. But we all have a job to do. The job is still clear. I mean, you can normalize anything if you put your mind to it. This format may play right into our hands. Who knows?”

Alec Lewis writes about the revamped bullpen, which could include a new look from Jesse Hahn.

“One thing I kept looking back on,” Hahn said months ago, “was every time I felt something in my elbow was after I threw a curveball.”

In spring training, Hahn mentioned how he wanted to return the pitch to his arsenal. Time, though, was of the essence. He’s out of options, so outs were the focus. The off period allowed him to toy with the pitch, and that pitch — which he’s thrown with conviction in this training camp — has impressed the club.

“That’s a difference-maker,” Matheny said after Hahn’s outing Monday night. “That’s a pitch he didn’t have in Surprise. … We really needed to see that.”

Rustin Dodd at The Athletic has an excellent story about the rivalry on the baseball field between Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders.

“Deion should take some advice from someone who knows what’s out in the world,” Jackson said. “Like somebody said, it’s better to sit, look and listen and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.”

At Royals Academy, Clint Scoles writes about the challenge of developing Latin pitchers no in the club pool.

Yasiel Puig signs with the Atlanta Braves.

Astros reliever Joe Smith has opted out of the season.

Can players that opted out change their minds this year?

The four biggest tactical innovations we could see this year.

The Twins return four of the best sluggers from last year.

Tim McCarver will opt out of doing Cardinals games this year.

A clubbie nickamed “Chico” has been used in Dodgers intrasquad games and he has been a defensive whiz.

Jeff Zimmerman at Fangraphs looks at the fantasy market value of multi-positional players.

The American Baseball Biomechanics Society will hold its first virtual conference.

Did Dwight Eisenhower play professional baseball under an assumed name in Kansas?

The Dallas Cowboys fail to sign quarterback Dak Prescott to a long-term deal by this year’s deadline.

The NBA has a tip line to snitch on players breaking safety protocols.

You can see the brightest comet in 20 years in the sky this month.

A Great Gatsby prequel is set for release just after the copyright expires.

A re-boot of Fletch with Jon Hamm is in the works.

Your song of the day is Rancid with Ruby Soho.