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Royals Rumblings - News for May 20, 2021
Vahe Gregorian writes how the Royals rose from the ashes.
“I don’t think anybody wants to hear it, but we weren’t playing terrible baseball … It’s just we weren’t getting different components each night,” he said. “It sounds ridiculous when you lose 11 games in a row to say that there was some good stuff happening, but there was. We’ve got to be honest when there is.”...
“This, to me, is what we saw for an entire month,” Matheny said. “So how do you weigh the month, plus this last little stretch, as opposed to those 11 games?
“To each his own. But I’m watching our guys get better. And I’m watching them taking days like these last few to rebuild that confidence in the kind of team we are.”
Anne Rogers writes that the Royals are having success scoring in different ways.
“That’s what we got used to seeing in April,” manager Mike Matheny said. “You’re going to have these days, where you’re facing pitchers that we faced yesterday and Burnes today. Those guys have good stuff, and they’re not going to give up much.
“Lately, we needed to manufacture, and those are huge runs after Jorge gives us a chance by just wowing us. When he gets into one, it’s as impressive as maybe anyone in the league.”
Alec Lewis writes how Kris Bubic returned to form.
Dane Johnson, the Royals’ Triple-A pitching coach (whom they hired in 2020 after he’d long been with the Toronto Blue Jays), had watched some video of Bubic at High-A Wilmington and Bubic in the big leagues in 2020 and spring training ‘21. He quickly noticed Bubic was drifting off his back leg, something he had not done when he’d been successful. Because his upper body was not stacked over his back leg throughout the delivery, his front side would fly open, and his arm would try to compensate.
Hence, the command issues.
“It was about paring things down and going, ‘This is where you’re good at and where you need to get back to,’” Johnson said recently.
Lynn Worthy writes about how Brad Keller tinkered with his slider.
“I was losing depth on it,” Keller said. “It was becoming more of a horizontal slide, which hasn’t really ever been my slider. So we just kind of went back, threw a bullpen, seeing if it was the right release or the right depth. We talked back and forth and after the bullpen got the report back and compared it back with the reports from last year.”
Keller said it was “a first” for him, diving into the data to figure out how to engineer the shape of his slider the way it had been when he was most effective. He found the process “very beneficial.”
Lorenzo Cain says he was touched by the standing ovation from fans upon his return.
“Honestly I wasn’t expecting it, you know, because we kind of did that in 2018,” Cain said. “So, yeah, once again the fans were showing some love, showing how much they appreciate what we all did while I was here, and like I said, it just puts a big smile on my face to feel appreciated like that, so definitely another special, special day for me.”
David Lesky at Inside the Crown breaks down Bubic’s start as does Craig Brown at Into the Fountains.
Kevin O’Brien at Royals Reporter looks at Bubic’s season overall.
Sports Illustrated unveils “Inside the Royals”, with Mark Van Sickle looking back at Danny Duffy’s history of battling adversity.
The Twins release former Royals pitcher Glenn Sparkman.
Yankees pitcher Corey Kluber tosses the sixth no-hitter of the season.
White Sox Manager Tony LaRussa doubles down on the criticism of Yermin Mercedes.
Eric Hosmer and Fernando Tatis, Jr. return from the COVID Injured List.
Orioles first baseman Chris Davis will miss the entire season after hip surgery.
Padres reliever Keone Kela undergoes Tommy John surgery.
Why the strikeout is ruining baseball.
All these no-hitters are showing what is wrong with baseball this year.
What effect has limiting pickoffs had on stolen bases in the minors?
How the Red Sox are limiting home runs.
Even Michael Jordan once broke the unwritten rules of baseball.
The biggest storylines to watch at the 2021 PGA Championship.
Actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney bought a Welsh soccer team and made a documentary about it.
Zombie fires are a strange phenomenon that is threatening the environment.
Streaming services are working hard to keep you from sharing passwords.
Microsoft is finally retiring Internet Explorer.
Your song of the day is Johnny Cash with Tennessee Stud.