Royals Rumblings - News for July 24, 2020

Royals Rumblings - News for July 24, 2020

Lynn Worthy talks to Ryan McBroom, who will be in the starting lineup for his first Opening Day.

“The pandemic part is the craziest part, to be honest with you,” McBroom said of the past year. “But it’s just like every year: As a competitor you want to continue to climb the ladder until you get to the highest level. I was blessed enough to be able to do that. I was taken in by this great organization. It just got to a point in my career where it was time. I truly believe that.”

“The pandemic part is wild. We’re still going through it. Each organization, each sport, is going through it. We see the NFL grinding through it right now just like we will be for the rest of the season. We’re going to continue to play every day and compete.”

Alec Lewis has his season preview for the Royals at The Athletic.

This is where the Royals’ creativity will have to come into play. They were already expecting to be flexible with their bullpen utilization, but now they’ll have to get creative with their starters as well.

“It’s going to be exactly how we’ve talked,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said. “How can we use whatever you bring to the table to help us get outs. Not being afraid to think outside the box. I don’t know what’s further beyond outside the box.

Jeffrey Flanagan has more on the Matt Harvey signing.

Pete Grathoff writes that Royals relievers don’t like the new extra inning rule.

“Yeah, I don’t like it,” Rosenthal said when asked about the rule. “I haven’t thought much about it, but I don’t think it makes a whole lot of sense changing the game the way it’s played.

“I know they want to speed things up, want to protect guys, but that’s just part of the game. I’ve been part of long games and I don’t see much reason to change the things that they’re changing. I think it’s been proven a lot of things they’ve changed haven’t had as much an impact as they thought.”

Clint Scoles at Royals Academy notes that Brady Singer is the latest example of the Royals being aggressive in promoting players.

The Royals have never been shy to finish development for a player in the majors instead of waiting longer in the minor leagues. Whether it was this General Manager or a previous one, fans have seen it for some time. Some may argue that this is a bad plan for a small market club and should follow what the Tampa Bay Rays typically do, but how do we know? Could Eric Hosmer, Zack Greinke, or Adalberto Mondesi have spent more time in the minors? One could make that argument, but at least in the case of Hosmer and Greinke, it doesn’t appear that further development would have changed their career paths much more.

Jeffrey Flanagan has a preview of the Opening Day matchup against the Indians.

Kevin O’Brien at Royals Reporter thinks the Matt Harvey signing shows desperation on the part of the Royals.

What to know about the new expanded playoffs.

Nationals outfielder Juan Soto tests positive for COVID-19.

Dr. Anthony Fauci botched his first pitch for the Nationals.

The governor of Connecticut wants the Blue Jays to play in Hartford.

Diamondbacks scout Johan Maya dies from COVID-19.

Mike Trout will play this year, but he will leave the team for a bit in August for the birth of his child.

We don’t have to miss baseball anymore, writes Emma Baccellieri.

Fox Sports wants to show virtual fans in the stands, and it is a bit creepy.

What the Mookie Betts contracts says about MLB contracts.

Masahiro Tanaka will wear a protective cap this year after being struck by a line drive in camp.

Has Yadier Molina made his Hall of Fame case?

ESPN has their power rankings to begin the year, and the Royals are not in the bottom five!

How Seattle’s new NHL team came up with the name Kraken.

How can the NFL prevent a salary cap crisis?

Twitter says its looking at options for a subscription service.

How play energizes kids’ brains.

Disney delays future Avatar and Star Wars films and takes Mulan off the calendar.

Your song of the day is Mase with Welcome Back.