Royals Rumblings - News for October 11, 2022

Lynn Worthy talks to Bobby Witt Jr. about the grind of his first MLB season,

“Yes, it’s my job, but it’s the greatest job in the world,” Witt said. “So I’ve got to just go out there and do what I did when I was playing baseball and was 8 years old. Just go have fun. You’ve got to put your work in and everything, but when I’m playing at my best is whenever I’m playing with joy.”

Witt didn’t truly appreciate how that childlike enthusiasm could temporarily get away from him.

“Sometimes it’s the results,” Witt said. “You get caught up in results. Some things may not be going well. You’re not winning games. You’re not performing well. That can drag on. You’ve got to get your body right whenever it’s feeling a little down, get some treatment here and there and just get yourself as ready as possible each and every day.”

Bobby got to beat the drum before the Chiefs game on Monday night.

Anne Rogers writes about six takeaways from the Royals’ 2022 season.

Singer was a bright spot, but the Royals’ pitching staff was the worst in the American League this year. Some of that was young starters finding their footing, although they didn’t take enough steps forward to save Eldred’s job. Kansas City ranked last in the AL in ERA (4.70), walks-per-nine (3.74), strikeouts-per-nine (7.57) and WHIP (1.47).

At the beginning of Spring Training, the Royals made it clear they wanted to improve their first-pitch strike numbers from 2021 (57.3%, ranking last). And at the end of the year, they ranked last in the Majors in that category, throwing a first-pitch strike 58% of the time.

David Lesky at Inside the Crown looks at what the Royals have to do this off-season.

In my opinion, the pitching side is what matters. And it’s kind of all that really matters. And even if they don’t sign a single free agent or trade for a single pitcher (seems pretty unlikely), what makes or breaks Picollo’s tenure is who is hired to handle the pitching throughout the organization. The manager role is important, yes, but the pitching is the most important. If they make the right moves there, I think you can say that you feel good about their ability to develop bats and arms, which is more important than hitting on the right free agent. The road to the postseason might not happen quite as quickly as making smart free agent and trade moves, but they could finally have the sustainability that eluded Dayton Moore.

But if they misfire, well, this regime isn’t going to last long.

Craig Brown at Into the Fountains looks at some potential managerial candidates, such as Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro.

Do you see the theme in the comments from both player and executive? Quatraro is a great communicator. That’s something Picollo mentioned a number of times in his press conference last week that was an important quality for the Royals’ next manager to possess. And owner John Sherman is certainly familiar with Quatraro as he was minority owner of the Cleveland franchise from 2016 until he bought the Royals after the end of the 2019 season.

Quatraro is available for interviews since the Rays were eliminated from the postseason over the weekend.

He’s probably my favorite of the bunch and one to definitely keep an eye on.

Ryan Gonzales at Kings of Kauffman looks at Bobby’s Rookie of the Year case.

Mark Van Sickle at Inside the Royals reviews the Royals 2022 season.

The Braves sign rookie pitcher Spencer Strider to a six-year, $75 million contract.

The Phillies commit to interim manager Rob Thomson with a two-year contract.

Cubs president Jed Hoyer pledges more “intelligent spending.”

Who are Jacob deGrom’s most likely suitors?

The Mets will keep GM Billy Eppler and manager Buck Showalter despite the disappointing ending.

MLBTV won’t air post-season games in the UK as promised.

The Carolina Panthers part with coach Matt Rhule.

How WWE’s ‘Extreme Rules’ pay-per-view has gotten less extreme over the years.

Deep-sea mining can create electric batteries needed to combat climate change, but could it also be destructive?

Will Oscar-worthy movies bring audiences to the box office?

Scary movies for people that don’t like horror movies.

Your song of the day is Ferraro with Fool’s Paradise.