Royals Rumblings - News for August 5, 2020

Kris Bubic may face a friend in tonight’s start against the Cubs:

Bubic, who will square off with starter Yu Darvish, is likely to see a familiar face in the Cubs’ lineup in Nico Hoerner, who has known Bubic since high school and was a teammate at Stanford. When Bubic got word last week he was being called up, Hoerner was one of his first calls.

Bubic and Hoerner returned to the Bay Area and worked out together a few times during the time off.

“That’s gonna be pretty cool,” Bubic said. “We were actually facing each other over the quarantine a little bit. We had a couple live at-bats against each other about a month and a half ago. He actually drilled a line drive right back at me — in the thigh. Left me a nice bruise.”

At Kings of Kauffman, Mike Gillespie concludes a reunion between the Royals and recently-released Kelvin Herrera would be unwise:

As sweet as a successful Herrera-Royals reunion would be, and casting sentiment aside, my answer is “No.”

I realize full well that Herrera, released by the White Sox Sunday, presents just the kind of reclamation project general manager Dayton Moore may not be able to resist. Feared and respected as the seventh-inning piece of Kansas City’s vaunted “H-D-H” closeout relief trio, then as Wade Davis’ setup man when KC didn’t bring back Greg Holland after 2015, and finally as the club’s closer when Davis departed, Herrera hasn’t been the same since he left in a 2018 trade.

Also at KoK, David Scharff appreciates Josh Staumont.

At KC Kingdom, Leigh Oleszczak is ready to be finished with Glenn Sparkman.

The White Sox rotation takes another hit as Carlos Rodon was injured in his Monday start.

Fairly major news on roster structure for the rest of the season:

Atlanta is reportedly on the lookout for starting pitching. Do we know anyone who could help that rotation?

The Astros are down an important arm as Roberto Osuna evidently needs Tommy John surgery.

Juan Soto has been cleared to come back to the Nationals, after a flurry of COVID tests with seemingly random results.

The Marlins made a staggering number of roster moves at once to accommodate the 13 players who had to be added to the IL.

Lou Williams can return to play for the Clippers after his very publicized trip out for strip club wings.

Rafael Nadal is opting out of the U.S. Open, citing coronavirus concerns. While tennis on its own is thought to be pretty safe, playing in a tournament would of course involve travel and lodging that would be less well-advised.

Ten fun facts about American robins, from our pals at the Audubon Society. (Related: that organization on the undeniable racism of its namesake.)

How to make sure your mail-in ballot isn’t rejected.

You’ve got to love an advice column letter that starts, “Let me just say up front, you’re going to think I’m a jerk.” But...are they?

I can’t get behind the environmental impact of this advice to “replace the little things that annoy you,” but I did finally replace my kitchen facuet that had been leaking from every possible place for months. I do not miss the drip-bucket life.

MUSIC: Taking it back to 1988, a great year for fringey clothes, fluffy mullets, and beautiful country harmony. Restless Heart - The Bluest Eyes in Texas