Royals Rumblings - News for September 23, 2022

Sam McDowell writes about why the Royals moved on from Dayton Moore to J.J. Picollo.

Recently, as I’ve analyzed things like organizational hitting philosophy with Picollo, the data overtakes our conversations. Layers upon layers of it. He is careful to mention that some players are in need of some particular information, while others need a different set of numbers. It drove the change at hitting coach earlier this season, a decision Picollo made, by the way.

He is well aware that changes are needed on the pitching side of the operation, and I believe those are coming in a matter of days.

Sherman telegraphed that, too. He comes from a Cleveland Guardians organization that has — to borrow his word — churned out a slew of pitching prospects. That’s a model.

Finally, the Royals are prepared to follow it.

Lynn Worthy writes that Mike Matheny’s fate still hangs in the balance.

“We’ve got a job to do,” Matheny said. “You don’t walk into this business with a blind eye that you’re going to walk out on your own terms. Change is inevitable in the game. But it’s not something that you should dwell on, in my opinion, because it’s one of those things that is out of your control.

“What we do control is how we prepare. How we come out here and compete. How we treat people with respect. How we respect the game. In the meanwhile, those things take care of themselves.”

He also got reactions from players on Dayton Moore’s firing.

“Dayton is all we’ve known,” Lopez said. “A piece of us left today. … A piece that we’ve known our whole careers has left, so obviously it’s going to hurt. You’ve got to feel for the veterans like Sal. He’s all he has known. They won a World Series together, got to two World Series together. It’s tough times right now.”

David Lesky at Inside the Crown thinks more changes are coming.

My belief, based on conversations with people who are in the know, is that there are going to be plenty more changes. We’ll see big moves on the development side for the pitching, but also both to the manager spot and the coaching staff. I would anticipate Cal Eldred will not be back in 2023. I would anticipate Mike Matheny will not be back in 2023. Just to tease something I’ve already written, I’ve got 20 names of potential replacements for Matheny and I’m going to get working on some Eldred replacements.

I don’t know about other changes on the coaching staff, but I’d assume anyone who is not part of the hitting crew is at risk of losing their jobs at this point.

Craig Brown at Into the Fountains says owner John Sherman impressed him.

Owning the Royals isn’t some sort of vanity project. Sherman is a committed fan of the game and his team. And he wants to win.

Yes, this is an owner who is totally engaged. He referenced the change in hitting coaches in the middle of the season, listing the new crew by name and pointing out Drew Saylor, who has been so instrumental in the success of the minor league bats, was Picollo’s hire. Sherman properly listed the teams who have had repeated success at developing pitchers, including his old team in Cleveland. Sure, this may seem trivial, but after the press conference that Detroit Tigers CEO Chris Illitch held when he dismissed his general manager in July, it’s fairly clear that not every owner is similarly plugged into the game.

Former Royals Review writer Shaun Newkirk has a new Substack and reacts to the Picollo hiring.

It’s almost certainly impossible to think Picollo, who has spent the past 30 years working with/under Moore, can just un-remember everything he was taught to view through the lens of Moore. Warren Buffet to this day still talks about lessons Ben Graham taught him in the 40s and 50s!

Picollo is going to have to prove that he can step out of Dayton Moore’s reality distortion field (Moore isn’t Steve Jobs per se but he’s arguably the most influential Royals staffer in history). He’s going to have to draft better than the team has done, which includes his own time as scouting director. He’s going to have to do things (drastically) different than how the org he’s been a member of for the past 15 years has done.

That’s a task man.

Vahe Gregorian writes about Dayton Moore’s legacy.

In fact, you could tally by the dozens the number of players Moore stood by who prospered by it, from Alex Gordon to Danny Duffy to Mike Moustakas and many more.

Indeed, that was Moore’s hallmark, including in the form of believing so much in the 2014 and 2015 teams that the Royals went all-in to make trades to support the core group in what became an unforgettable run.

But being an idealist in a small-market setting boomeranged on him at times.

Anne Rogers writes about updates from Sherman on a potential new ballpark.

“We continue to work on a process around a new stadium,” Sherman said. “Like the Chiefs, we’ve had an engineering study done out here to tell us what it would be like renovate here and modernize the stadium versus moving. But we’re working hard on that. And that’s part of a big-picture process.”

In talking about a new stadium, Sherman mentioned how it would be an ideal addition to Kansas City’s busy schedule over the next couple of years, including the opening of the new terminal at the Kansas City International Airport, the construction of a new stadium for the Kansas City Current women’s pro soccer team along the Riverfront, and the NFL Draft and the FIFA World Cup coming to Kansas City in the near future.

Brad Keller felt good about his first career save.

“Especially after the second out, I could feel it,” Keller said. “The crowd got louder. They got on their feet. I felt like I started getting butterflies pretty quick. It was really cool though, no doubt.”

One Kauffman Stadium usher has been working for the Royals for 50 years.

Mark Van Sickle at Inside the Royals looks back on Dayton Moore’s legacy.

Kevin O’Brien at Royals Reporter looks at what’s next for the Royals after Dayton Moore.

Royals Farm Report talks to John Kocsis, voice of the Columbia Fireflies.

The Yankees punch their ticket to the post-season.

A Guardians sweep is a punch in the gut to the White Sox playoff hopes.

The Dodgers pick up the option on pitcher Daniel Hudson.

Catcher Stephen Vogt will retire after ten seasons.

Randy Arozarena and Yandy Diaz had a skirmish in the Rays clubhouse.

Javier Báez is offering free food to victims of Hurricane Fiona in Puerto Rico.

Who are some other sluggers who could make a run for 60 home runs in a season?

The 2022 season has lacked good regular season races.

Experts are puzzled why over 200 whales turned up dead on a beach in Tasmania.

How hot is too hot for the human body?

The Simpsons did not predict Queen Elizabeth II’s death.

Your song of the day is Foster the People with Don’t Stop (Color the Walls).