Royals Rumblings - News for April 21, 2021

What’s keeping Danny Duffy ticking as he reached the 1,000 strikeout milestone? Anne Rogers dug in:

Duffy’s velocity is up at least 1 mph on all five of his pitches, most notably his fastball: He averaged 92.2 mph on the pitch last year and is now up to 93.9 mph. He added weight this offseason, giving him strength on his heater that he remarked last week that he hasn’t seen in a “long time.”

Aside from Duffy’s physical changes, there has also been a mindset change. In the final year of his contract with the only team he’s ever played for, Duffy has described an inner peace after a year of self reflection that’s allowed him to start the season on the right track.

“I think in year’s past, a lot of my struggles have been fighting against myself,” Duffy said. “The mind’s a powerful tool, and it can work for you or it could work against you. … And then aside from that, just really the physical stuff was working in the offseason, continuing to throw, and just trying to harness and revamp what I have in the tank.

I don’t often link back to Royals Review pieces in the Royals Review Royals Rumblings, but I do encourage you to check out Clint Scoles’s interview with Ethan Chapman, a former Royals farmhand who’s now an agent:

What led you to want to become an agent?

I didn’t. There are many shadowy figures, and people talk badly about agents a lot, and I didn’t want people looking at me with that perception. I wasn’t sure I could keep my morals and ethics on that side of the line.

The MLB mothership ran down one notable stat for all 30 teams, including praise for Kansas City’s bullpen:

The Royals have won 55 consecutive games when leading after the seventh inning, by far the longest active streak in the Majors, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The second-place Cubs have won 38 consecutive games. The Royals’ last loss when leading after the seventh inning came on June 21, 2019 — 668 days ago — when they blew a 6-5 lead in the eighth en route to an 8-7 loss to Minnesota. This stat is largely made possible by the bullpen, which has been a strength since last season. In 2020, the Royals bullpen ranked sixth in the AL with a 3.84 ERA; so far this season, it ranks seventh with a 3.88 ERA while holding opponents to a .224 average.

At FanGraphs, Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins gave an idea of what a day in his life is like.

Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. has arrived, writes Kenny Kelly at Beyond the Box Score.

Longtime second baseman Neil Walker retired at 35.

How do you measure a pitcher’s finesse?

Yasiel Puig found a landing spot in the Mexican League.

When Red Sox players hit a double, they wave enthusiastically to their teammates in the dugout, who wave back. Who started that? Former Royal Franchy Cordero.

Ouch: The Onion takes a quick look at a struggling Javier Báez.

The so-called Super League of soccer is already beginning to crumble as Manchester City and Chelsea back out. ‘Late Late Show’ host James Corden did a segment explaining why he thinks the Super League would be “the end of the sport we love.”

Health services in India are struggling against a surge in covid there.

This Welsh farmer has had the same meal every day for at least 10 years. How much variety do you put in your day-to-day menu?

You can now use Venmo to exchange cryptocurrency.

A rundown of what the charges were against Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who was found guilty yesterday.

Today’s Rumblings dogs are my own, because Cooper (the white dog, on the left in the photo) is having an ACL repair tomorrow and I am extremely nervous. Charlie, on the right in the photo, has been suspicious of all the solo walks he’s getting, because they normally go everywhere as a pair. Has anyone had a large breed dog with an ACL injury? Any advice?

SOTD: Aly & AJ - Pretty Places. Give me all the chill, airy pop songs.