Weekend Rumblings - News for April 16, 2022

Weekend Rumblings - News for April 16, 2022

Brad Keller pitched well, but couldn’t come away with a victory, writes Lynn Worthy.

“Tough loss,” Keller said. “I felt like I threw the ball really well. One mistake pitch cost us the game. Whenever you’re in a pitchers’ battle like that, especially when you have the lead, you just want to keep getting outs as quick as you can and preserve the lead. One pitch got me, and ultimately we ended up losing the game. I felt like I threw the ball really well. It’s just a tough one to swallow.”

Mike Matheny was impressed by Keller’s outing.

“That was one of the best-pitched games we’ve seen in a long time,” Matheny said. “I keep coming back to [Keller’s] rhythm. He’s trusting his stuff. That’s easy to say, but hard to do. He’s pitching.”

The Royals aren’t panicking after a rough slide, writes Anne Rogers.

“It’s frustrating, but that’s the game of baseball,” Hunter Dozier said. “I have all the confidence in our offense. It’s still early in the year. We’ll be fine.”

Alec Lewis writes about the slow start.

Many of the Royals’ decision-makers believe the young pitchers will similarly start to perform as their in-game mound time increases. A shortened spring training, one Royals staffer believed even before the season began, was going to affect the way the pitchers looked out of the gate...

“I know we have a lot of younger players here,” Santana said Friday night. “But we’re good. We’re good. I believe in the team.”

David Lesky at Inside the Crown writes about the wasted opportunities by the Royals offense.

Now, if you’re asking why they struggle so much, I think it’s a pretty simple answer unfortunately. They just don’t have enough offensive talent. Over the past few seasons, they’ve had a few good hitters, but they all hit at the top (which they should) and then it gets into the dregs of a lineup. So you’d assume that the quality hitters at the top would be the ones making their way to third and then the less-than hitters would be the ones wasting those opportunities.

That’s why it’s even more noticeable when the good part of a lineup wastes those opportunities

Craig Brown at Into the Fountains writes Adalbert Mondesi’s bunt attempts on Thursday.

I mean, I hate 98 percent of bunts. But this one was especially rank. For one thing, it’s incredibly early. Why give up an out in the second inning when there is so much baseball yet to play? Also, I really don’t like the idea of bunting to advance runners for Michael A. Taylor, who strikes out a lot. (Which he did.) Maybe Mondesi had the idea to bunt for a hit. Nicky Lopez does it all the time. Except with guys like Santana and Dozier in front of him, they’re a threat to get forced out. They don’t move all that fast.

It’s just a frustrating play to watch unfold.

Dave Roberts calls out MLB for reducing opportunities for Black players, with Dayton Moore chiming in.

The Kansas City Royals had 92 Black players on their draft board last year, according to president of baseball operations Dayton Moore. When the draft was over, Moore said, 47 of those players remained on the board.

If the draft had not been cut and the farm teams had not been eliminated, Moore said he believed the Royals could have placed as many as 22 of those players on one of their minor league affiliates.

“If we want African American players in the game, we have to draft them,” Moore said.

Jordan Foote at Inside the Royals thinks Mike Matheny’s late-game moves are worth keeping an eye on.

Joe Maddon calls for Corey Seager to be intentionally walked with the bases loaded.

Mark Canha and Brandon Nimmo test positive for COVID-19 before the Mets home opener.

Twins outfielder Byron Buxton will get an MRI after getting injured on a slide.

Casey Mize heads to the Injured List after his start Thursday against the Royals.

Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki is off to a good start stateside.

The Mets honor Hall of Famer Tom Seaver with a statue.

MLB has ruined their smartphone app.

Ichiro puts on a full uniform for his ceremonial first pitch.

The complicated legacy of Jackie Robinson’s MLB debut led to the demise of the Negro Leagues.

Why a Jimmy Garoppolo trade to the Panthers would be a bad idea.

Former Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler called the program a “toxic situation”.

AMC Theaters will allow you to buy movie tickets with Dogecoin.

How Coachella ’99 lost a million dollars and started an empire.

Have we lost patience with prestige TV?

Your song of the day is The Interrupters with Bad Guy.