Royals Rumblings - News for April 13, 2022

Tess Taruskin at FanGraphs did a really cool breakdown of Bobby Witt, Jr.’s first MLB hit, against Triston McKenzie (there are gifs at the link!):

The pitch Witt hit was a slider left above the strike zone. It’s a pitch that McKenzie has executed well in the past, using the breaking ball to just barely nick the upper corner of the zone before the batter has a chance to adjust to it.

...

the one he offered to Witt last Thursday was much flatter (just 23 inches of vertical movement), and had less spin and velocity. But more important was Witt’s ability to capitalize on McKenzie’s miscue and smash the hanging breaker despite it sitting well above the strike zone — an appropriately opportunistic approach, so long as it doesn’t portend a more swing-happy one. In Triple-A last season, Witt had three hits (a single, a double, and a homer) on similar pitches, all up at the very top of the zone, if not completely out of it.

At Royals Farm Report, Jared Perkins has a guide to the Columbia Fireflies roster.

Pitching is the currency of baseball, Dayton Moore likes to say. Christopher Tenpenny of Inside the Royals writes that the Royals have too many pitchers, and should do some trades.

Sharing this Atlanta news item for the whimsical second name: Braves Select Bryce Elder, Designate Chadwick Tromp For Assignment.

Keegan Thompson of the Cubs is appealing the 3-game suspension he received for hitting Andrew McCutchen with a pitch.

Phil Castellini, the president of the Cincinnati Reds, doesn’t seem to think too highly of fans, as they call for his father Bob Castellini to sell the team.

The Giants pitchers and catchers are all in on PitchCom, despite a malfunction during Monday’s game.

The Washington Commanders (NFL - I had truthfully forgotten their new name for a moment) are under Congressional investigation for withholding millions in season ticket deposits from fans, and then hiding that money from their financial disclosures.

Comedian Gilbert Gottfried has died.

How would you deal with this employee who drains hours of his coworkers’ time telling them how to fix every procedure?

Analytics for your Wordle performance.

How worried should you be about avian flu?

SOTD: Fleetwood Mac - Everywhere