Royals Rumblings - News for April 7, 2021

Good morning! The Kansas City Royals are in first (frist?) place.

Hanser Alberto’s upbeat attitude makes him a “glue guy,” writes Anne Rogers:

Lauded for his defensive versatility and professional at-bats, Alberto doesn’t care where he plays, when he plays or how many at-bats he gets in a game. He prides himself on helping the team in any way he can — especially if it means celebrating with teammates and keeping a light atmosphere in the dugout.

“When I signed with them, the first thing I asked was, ‘Hey, can you be noisy in the dugout, can I be myself?’” Alberto said. “And they said, ‘Yeah, be yourself.’ And now I’m enjoying it. To me, keeping the dugout happy, it means a lot. I feel pretty good when one of my teammates does a good thing like hit a home run, make good plays. I enjoy the moment with them.”

The Royals were more than happy to let Alberto be himself. Their goal is to create a championship team, and that requires a unique mix of talent and personalities, both on the field and off. Matheny calls Alberto a “glue guy” — a key player in the clubhouse who keeps the team headed in the right direction, no matter how much playing time he gets.

Rogers also checks in on Jakob Junis, today’s starter in a bullpen game, and his cutter:

Throughout Spring Training, Junis’ focus was on his developing cutter, and he’s been able to lean on the pitch heavily in his two short outings. It’s his second-most-used pitch behind his four-seamer, and he got two strikeouts on it along with a base hit. The added pitch, along with Junis’ signature slider, will help him keep hitters off balance, especially as he’s stretched out.

“The shape of it is different compared to how it was in Arizona for the last few outings, just adjusting to the extra adrenaline that comes with being in a real game with fans and stuff,” Junis said. “Trying to lock that true cutter shape — it’s coming with time. It hasn’t been what I wanted the first couple outings, but it’s been good enough. Gotten the job done, stayed off of barrels. I know it could be better, so that’s been promising as well.”

Both David Lesky and Craig Brown broke down Danny Duffy’s start at their respective newsletters.

ALERT! ALERT! Omaha Storm Chasers fans will get an opportunity to bring their cats to Werner Park on, and I am not making this up, “Take Meowt to the Ballgame” night on September 4. Dogs will continue to grace the berms during every Wednesday home game.

The Yankees picked up Rougned Odor in a trade with Texas.

At FanGraphs, Dan Szymborski takes a look at what the Padres can do depending on how bad the shoulder injury to Fernando Tatís, Jr. is.

Some perspective on shoulder subluxation, the condition Tatís is dealing with:

The Washington Nationals released the names of all those on their Covid-19 list, but not how it happened.

Former Angels manager Mike Scioscia will manage team USA as they try to qualify for the next Olympics.

Tampa Bay center fielder Kevin Kiermaier is headed to the IL with a left quadriceps strain. As if a center fielder needs quads? Come on!

Potential for some rough news for former Royal Trevor Rosenthal:

Watch Fergie Jenkins reflect on what it means that the Cubs will put up a statue of him outside of Wrigley.

If you like to read MLB Trade Rumors in addition to Royals Review, consider lending a voice to a survey founder Tim Dierkes put together to shape their commenting policy.

Charles Oakley said he declined the Knicks’s proposal to retire his jersey after their relationship went so sour he was banned from Madison Square Garden.

A massage therapist who alleges that Deshaun Watson is her “assaulter and harrasser” spoke at a press conference.

Because transmission of Covid-19 from surfaces is not common after all, you do not have to disinfect surfaces in your home so often, says the CDC.

Researches are getting closer to insulin in pill form, as opposed to injections.

The new deadline for all states to widen their vaccine eligibility to include all adults is April 19.

Residents of a Tampa Bay-area community can return to their homes after being evacuated under threat of a catastrophic wastewater leak.

In “news about musicians that is NOT music news,” Jason Isbell and Sturgill Simpson will be a part of the Killers of the Flower Moon movie. (The book on which the movie is based was incredible, if you haven’t read it yet.)

Another weird side effect of the pandemic: a shortage of ketchup packets.

SOTD: Lana Del Ray - White Dress, aka Downatthemeninmusicbusinessconference