Royals Rumblings - News for June 2, 2022

Royals Rumblings - News for June 2, 2022

Anne Rogers writes that Mike Matheny is still looking for answers during another losing streak.

Right now, Kansas City is staring at a 100-loss season if things don’t turn around in year No. 5 of their rebuild. While the organization expected ups and downs this year, it also expected to improve. Two months into the season, the results show a different story.

“We’ve got to get better. That’s all there is to it,” Matheny said. “That’s us collectively. Each guy, do your part. Be honest and figure out what we can improve. That’s the only way you can get through any hard time.”

Lynn Worthy writes that Matheny doesn’t see Brad Keller’s inability to miss bats as an issue.

When asked if the tough breaks for Keller were part of what comes from working within the margins of pitching to contact — not being a strikeout pitcher, relying on weak contact and seeking ground balls — Matheny stood firm in his response.

“One of those runs, we had a double play ball. We weren’t able to turn it for him,” Matheny said. “If he starts thinking about strikeouts, I’m telling you, he’s going to have himself trouble. With soft contact, we’ll take our chances.

“We put up some runs there, that’s a different game. He needs to continue to use what he’s got. Chasing strikeouts is going to run him out of the game really early and it’s going to put him in bad counts.”

Anne also writes about how Jose Cuas almost quit the game of baseball.

Cuas had a family to support in Brooklyn. His longtime girlfriend, Anais Peña, was raising their son, now four-year-old Jose, and pregnant with their second child, now one-year-old Annalise. But she and Alex pushed Jose to keep going.

“I told him, ‘Don’t you dare do that. You are not going to quit. We did not sacrifice all this for you to quit,’” Anais said. “I was sacrificing a lot, yeah, and it was a crazy time — it still is — but we’ve come so far. And it was worth it.”

Michael A. Taylor and Cam Gallagher will begin rehab assignments at Omaha.

Kevin O’Brien at Royals Reporter looks at what Royals fans can look forward to for the rest of the year, like the progress of starting pitchers.

Of course, the only roadblock to this situation could be Cal Eldred, the Royals’ much maligned pitching coach.

And yet, Singer and Lynch have been able to overcome Eldred’s “influence” so far this year.

With enough work in Omaha, and perhaps with some more time around Greinke, who will be on the shelf probably for a little bit, perhaps Heasley, Kowar, Bubic, and Hernandez can follow Singer and Lynch’s lead.

If the starting pitching can be a STRENGTH of this team, the Royals could have a strong second-half in store after the All-Star break.

Mike Gillespie at Kings of Kauffman wants the Royals to bring back Jackson Kowar.

Phillies infielder Jean Segura will miss 10-12 weeks with a finger injury.

The Nationals insist they are not trading star outfielder Juan Soto.

Who should start in the All-Star game?

Why some teams with losing records should still have hope.

What should the Cubs do with Jason Heyward?

The Tommy Pham/Joc Pederson fantasy football story involves former Royals Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas.

Aaron Judge’s decision to bet on himself is paying off.

As virtual reality training spreads to youth baseball, what’s the best way to use it?

The Red Sox become the first team to offer a standalone streaming service.

Here are the renderings for the proposed new stadium for the KC Current soccer team.

The PGA makes it clear - players can’t compete on both the PGA tour and the LIV Golf Invitational Series.

The use of drones has divided the fishing community.

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard are both found liable for defamation against each other.

How Tom Cruise has turned himself into a superhero.

Your song of the day is Parquet Courts with Almost Had To Start A Fight / In And Out Of Patience (h/t Swinglough).