Royals Rumblings - News for September 16, 2022

Salvador Perez and Nicky Lopez each wore #21 last night in honor of Roberto Clemente.

“It’s a blessing to wear it,” Perez said. “I appreciate what he did for baseball and opening the door for the Latino community. He’s an example we can follow to try to do what he did. Help the community and use our opportunity here to help other people. Especially where I come from, in Venezuela, it’s hard growing up there. So I try my best to help others.”

No Plaza parade this year.

David Lesky at Inside the Royals wants to see Carlos Hernández as a reliever full-time.

Okay, it’s way too early to predict that, but there are times when Hernandez is in there as a reliever that you can’t help but dream on something big for him. Sure he gave up a run in his second inning of work, but that first inning was something to behold. He averaged 98.3 MPH with his fastball and was moving the ball all around the plate with some nasty movement on it as well. what I really like about Hernandez as a reliever is he has a bunch of pitches. What I think he needs to learn is that he doesn’t need to use them all, but they’re nice to have in his bag of tricks. Obviously, the fastball is important, but he needs to learn how to determine what pitches he has working while he’s in the bullpen warming up and use those.

Joe Sheehan writes about his trip to Kansas City and what he saw from the Royals.

“The Royals are just lousy with guys like this, players who are really interesting with a wide range of possible outcomes and possible defensive issues. I love MJ Melendez, who may or may not be a catcher but is most definitely a power-and-walks guy who can run. Vinnie Pasquantino has 28 strikeouts against 23 unintentional walks, unheard of for a Royals hitter.”

Bernie Pleskoff at Forbes writes about rookies adding a jolt to the lineup, like Drew Waters.

Overall, it is his hit tool and batting average that will require more refinement. If he can improve his approach from the left side of the plate, it will help him find more consistent success.

Waters has modified the aggressive approach at the plate that caused him difficulty at Triple-A.

He still has to cut down the strikeouts and use that improved, more measured swing consistently

Kevin O’Brien at Royals Reporter writes that ownership is on notice, but questions whether that matters.

The Rays fielded an all-Latino lineup on Roberto Clemente Day.

Mets president Sandy Alderson will step down at the end of the season.

Jayson Stark at The Athletic writes that the size of infield dirt hasn’t really been uniform.

Is WAR fully capturing Shohei Ohtani’s value?

How the Mariners pulled off the biggest trade for their rebuild.

Will the shift ban make a difference?

Trayce Thompson is the latest Dodgers reclamation project.

Why baseball players are drinking tart cherry juice.

A former Rockies data analyst writes why he left his dream job.

Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert are football-throwing aliens.

Roger Federer announces next weekend’s Laver Cup will be his last tournament.

Doomscrolling is linked to poor physical and mental health.

Netflix is falling behind in the streaming wars.

The founder of Patagonia is giving his company away with profits to be used to fight climate change.

Your song of the day is Tears For Fears with Everybody Wants To Rule The World.