Royals Rumblings - News for August 18, 2021

Anne Rogers wrote more on Salvy’s walks:

His third-inning walk in Monday’s win over the Astros was Perez’s fifth walk in his last eight games, including a two-walk game last Monday against the Yankees. He collected just 10 walks in his first 108 games this year.

And he loves to share his excitement of the improved plate discipline.

“Every walk for me is like a base hit,” Perez said, grinning from ear to ear. “I was so happy when I got a walk. I was like, ‘Oh yeah, 1-for-1.’ You guys know me. I’m super aggressive. It’s something I’m trying to learn. I’m trying to be more concentrated, trying not to chase, trying not to swing at bad pitches. But seriously, I’m so happy the last couple of days.”

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“The best approach that I’ve ever heard is be aggressive in your zone,” Matheny said. “He gets something in that zone where he can drive a ball, it might be a pitch that I couldn’t hit with a boat oar. But he can get the barrel to it. There’s plenty of data to support, ‘You know what? That’s not my zone. I shouldn’t be aggressive there.’ And that goes hand in hand with sometimes, you just take a free pass. But stay aggressive in your zone. If they come there, don’t miss it.”

Whit Merrifield talked about his parents’ influence on the latest Clubhouse Conversations from @Royals:

If a game is late and close, you want Salvy at the plate, writes Craig Brown at Into the Fountains.

Perez is hitting .275/.339/.549 in what Baseball Reference calls “Late & Close” situations. Late & Close is defined as a plate appearance in the 7th or later with the batting team tied, ahead by one, or the tying run at least on deck. Monday’s situation certainly fit into that very specific container. Perez’s OPS+ in such situations is a very robust 145. He’s the guy you want at the plate when the game is late and close. He may chase those sliders off the plate, but it seems more likely, in 2021 at least, that he’s going to make some sort of contact when the pitcher doesn’t push that slider far enough off the dish. On Monday, he came through once again.

Sheryl Ring brought her legal expertise to break down day one of the hearing against Trevor Bauer. Content warnings abound for sexual violence. [UPDATE: she covered day two as well.]

Athletics RHP Chris Bassitt was hit in the head by a line drive during the game, but remained conscious and alert.

The Blue Jays placed outfielder George Springer on the IL with a sprained knee.

Felipe Vázquez was sentenced to 2-4 years in prison plus probation for a litany of sexual crimes against a child. He is still facing related charges in other states.

The NBA released the opening week and Christmas day schedules.

The Jaguars released Tim Tebow after one preseason game. He was trying his hand at playing tight end.

Time travelers ought to be more worried about viruses.

How to start kayaking.

On the dorm room shopping industrial complex. And I want to hear about everyone’s experiences in comparison (or likely, contrast) to what’s described in the piece! If you lived in on-campus housing, what was your room setup like?

SOTD: some Emmylou Harris for your Wednesday.