Royals Rumblings - News for May 16, 2022

Royals Rumblings - News for May 16, 2022

Mike Matheny called Sunday’s comeback the best win of the year.

“We came back, we fought and we got the lead back in the ninth,” Barlow said. “I was just fired up, coming back like that and then being able to do my job and secure the win.”

He secured what Matheny called the best win of the season for his ballclub.

“I agree with him,” Perez said. “Happy flight.”

The skipper explains why Bobby Witt Jr. has been playing shortstop lately.

“With so many left-handed shifts, the reality was he was playing shortstop so much already even as a third baseman,” Matheny said.

“There are a couple times when you’re having your offense trying to figure out how to get it going, you’ve got to do things. “We got the blessing from the organization. We may need him from time to time, especially when we bring up a third baseman like Emmanuel (Rivera) and we want to get him into the lineup against a left-handed starter.”

Whit reached 500 consecutive games played over the weekend and isn’t ready for a day off.

“It’s a nice, round number,” Merrifield said of the significance of 500. “I mean, besides that, nothing more than when I go to pass Esky. I’ve been putting myself in a situation for 500 games to be in the lineup and kept myself physically and mentally ready every day. It’s not my job to make the lineup. It’s my job to play.”

Manny Randhawa at MLB.com writes about the relationship between Whit and Witt.

Witt is right there. And often, Whit Merrifield is there next to him. It’s helpful to have that wealth of wisdom when the mantra is hard to live out.

“It’s a hard game,” Witt said. “Everyone knows it. You’ve just gotta continue to do your work and trust the process.”

Andrew Benintendi had no hard feelings from his arbitration case against the Royals.

“It’s nothing that I haven’t heard before,” Benintendi said. “There was no hard feelings. It wasn’t personal at all. I didn’t take it that way. I’ve got to give props to my agency and all the work they put into it. I felt good going into it, and they executed.”

The Star has a good piece about possible downtown baseball locations and the logistics involved with them.

The decision of where to put a new ballpark could be coming sooner than many might have expected. While the team’s lease of Kauffman Stadium doesn’t run out until after the end of the 2030 season, the Royals are considering the possibility of a move in time for as early as Opening Day 2026.

That could mean a ballot issue to extend the current Arrowhead and Kauffman stadiums sales tax later this year or early in 2023.

In response to The Star’s inquiries, the Royals said they have not proposed any ballot measures this year, but confirmed the team could leave Kauffman early.

Mike Hendricks also writes about how a Royals stadium was originally going to be downtown.

Ken Rosenthal writes that the Mets and Brewers could be suitors to acquire Benintendi.

Kevin O’Brien at Royals Reporter tries to explain why Kyle Isbel isn’t getting playing time.

The Reds don’t allow any hits to the Pirates, but lose the game anyway.

Shohei Ohtani hits his 100th career home run.

An A-ball team records 24 strikeouts in one game.

The Astros get utility player Mauricio Dubón from the Giants.

The Nationals need to clean things up on defense.

Former Phillies pitcher David West dies from brain cancer at age 57.

Legendary pitching coach Tom House is reinventing himself again.

Trevor Bauer will have a hearing to appeal his suspension on May 23.

Nolan Ryan is amazed fans still talk about his brawl with Robin Ventura.

Are the Memphis Grizzlies the next small-market success story in the NBA?

Former Chiefs defensive end Melvin Ingram signs with the Dolphins.

Did BookTok get Generation Z to read more?

Netflix is looking into livestreaming.

Danny Boyle is working on a TV series on the Sex Pistols.

Your song of the day is Led Zeppelin with Kashmir.