Royals Rumblings - News for November 15, 2023

At Baseball America, Josh Norris tabbed Jacob Wallace as an Arizona League pitcher with intriguing stuff:

Slider (122 Stuff+), Four-Seam Fastball (108 Stuff+)

Wallace was originally drafted by the Rockies out of Connecticut in the third round in 2019. Since then, he’s flashed big-time stuff but struggled with control and command. Even so, the Red Sox and Royals have each thought enough of his upside to acquire him in trades. Boston got Wallace in exchange for Kevin Pillar and Kansas City received him in a deal that sent Wyatt Mills to the Red Sox. The 25-year-old struck out 57 hitters in 49.1 innings at Double-A Northwest Arkansas, but he also walked 40 hitters and allowed 46 hits. Wallace’s stuff will get him plenty of chances, but he’ll need to harness it a whole lot better.

Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis ran down every team’s toughest Rule 5 protections decisions, including Devin Mann for the Royals, who did not end up getting added to the 40-man(n).

Royals: Devin Mann, INF/OF (No. 27)Part of a package from the Dodgers for Ryan Yarbrough at the Trade Deadline, Mann is 26 and doesn’t have a standout tool. On the flip side, he played all four infield positions as well as left field while batting .276/.387/.502 with 20 homers in Triple-A.

I do want to take a moment to offer congratulations to Tyler Gentry and Will Klein on their additions to the roster. Both were a delight to work with in Omaha during the 2023 season.

David Pinto at Baseball Musings is seeing bloat in MLB coaching staffs:

Please allow me to put on my grumpy old man hat for a minute. When I was young, teams used a manager and four coaches; first base, third base, hitting, and pitching. The Rays list twelve coaches under manager Kevin Cash. That nearly a coach for every two players on the active roster.

Management bloat in general is a bad sign for organizations. A sure sign of that happening is the invention of new titles so that people can be promoted. Sometimes this happens due to growth. I saw this at ESPN, as he ranks of the higher level producers swelled, but ESPN was about to create a second network (and more), so the bloat was relieved by the expansion. I don’t think baseball is going to 60 teams anytime soon.

Peter Seidler, the owner of the San Diego Padres, died at age 63.

Brandon Hyde and Skip Schumaker were named NL and AL managers of the year.

Brian Cashman’s remarks about Giancarlo Stanton earned this rebuttal from Stanton’s agent:

A bit of a fracas in the Warriors/Timberwolves game last night:

Elsewhere in the NBA, the Bulls need to trade Zach LaVine, and the Heat, Sixers, and Lakers might be landing spots.

I read a scholarly article (saw a TikTok) that suggested having a craft station set up somewhere off to the side if you’re hosting Thanksgiving. It’s amazing how much easier it is to talk to relatives you don’t see very often while you’ve got a low-stakes activity to do before the meal. Here’s some art supply kits on sale at Target if you want to try the idea out next week!

Omaha is the latest city to approve a Vision Zero plan with the aim of reducing fatalities and serious injuries resulting from car crashes.

How Iceland is trying to protect its geothermal power plants from impending volcanic activity.

The Leonid meteor shower peaks this Friday night!! Thanks to a waning moon, it has potential to be a good one. How many clouds are in the forecast where you are?

Going back to Lifehacker for two links in a row: they run daily hints for the NYT Connections puzzle, if you play that one. Here are today’s.

The information in the answers to this Reddit question got dark in a hurry: What is something that happens at casinos that is hidden from the public? So my question for YOU is, what cool behind-the-scenes knowledge have you picked up - any industry?

SOTD: Queen feat. David Bowie - Under Pressure