Royals Rumblings - News for May 8, 2023

The Royals had some good energy after salvaging the series with a win Sunday.

“It was a great win today,” said Salvador Perez, who got things started with a first-inning home run. “We have to come in tomorrow and try to do the same thing. Play hard and see what happens until the last out.”

Ryan Yarbrough had to exit after being struck in the face with a line drive.

“It was scary,” Quatraro said. “The dugout went silent. Your heart drops there. Got a pit in your stomach. I can’t think of a worse thing to see on the field. Luckily, when we got out there, he was talking and aware of what was going on and what had happened. But he was swollen immediately. There was some blood. You just didn’t know exactly where it was coming from.”

Matt Quatraro likes what he sees from Maikel Garcia, writes Anne Rogers.

“He’s a really good infielder,” Quatraro said. “Nothing seems to panic him. He doesn’t rush plays. He’s smooth. He’s got tons of arm strength. One of the things that stood out to me on those balls on the bunt and slow hit ball, I mean he gets a lot on the throw from an off-balanced position.

“Good infielders have good internal clocks. And he seems to have that. He knows who’s running, he knows how much time he has. He makes good, strong, accurate throws.”

Shreyas Laddha writes that Hunter Dozier is trying to be patient.

“Not the start I wanted this year, but the changes I made this offseason I definitely feel are the right changes; I just have to trust it,” he said.

“I have to swing at the right pitches, too. A lot of it is swinging at pitches out of the zone or not having the right approach up there. Along those lines, Dozier said he has made a significant change to his approach at the plate.

“Just trying to keep my bat in the zone longer and trying to think more about the rotation of the swing versus the handsy swing,” he said.

The Royals brought Max Castillo up and sent Jonathan Heasley down on the pitching carousel.

“We’re in a little bit of a rut these last few days, and we just have to have coverage,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “On any given day with any team, there are guys you want to stay away from in the bullpen, guys that need an extra day. Max provides us length.”

Brady Singer talks to Anne about another rough start.

“I thought I had a good game plan going in. I wanted to establish the fastball early and just get back to my strengths,” Singer said. “I feel like the first inning is where I wanted to be and then, [I] got in a jam in the second inning and it unfolded on me there.”

Lorenzo Cain returned for a one-day contract to be honored by the Royals.

Craig Brown at Into the Fountains looks back on Cain’s career and his retirement ceremony.

From the moment he stepped out of the home dugout and on the blue carpet, it was obvious how touched Cain was by his reception. The fans were ready for LoCain, but I’m not entirely sure he was ready for them. That’s ok, though. There were a lot of tears, but not all of them were shed by the man of the hour. There’s something just thoroughly gratifying to see a superstar player overcome by the moment. He was so cool at the plate in key situations and tracking down lasers hit to him in center field, but he was completely unnerved standing at the podium. His mom, who clearly means so much to him (and forbade him from playing high school football, much to our benefit) drew large cheers when she was introduced and again later when she stepped up to the podium to give her son a hug.

“This is my momma,” Cain said before he paused again to compose himself.

It was that kind of ceremony.

Vahe Gregorian writes about the celebration for LoCain.

Cain in so many ways was the embodiment of those resilient and improbable teams that made an art of rallying — the “comeback kids,” he called them. That group captured the imagination of fans in a rare and, alas, fleeting way.

So the ceremony that incorporated trophies from the AL championship, Cain’s ALCS MVP honor and the World Series celebrated not just Cain but that magical time entwined with his prime.

“I’m getting goosebumps thinking about it right now,” he said.

That stands as a harsh contrast to what’s happening now, with the Royals quite evidently in the embryonic stages of a rebuild that we’d all have thought would have reached fruition by now.

Kevin O’Brien at Royals Reporter asks what a rebuild has to look like at this point.

White Sox outfielder Eloy Jimenez will miss 4-6 weeks after being hospitalized with an appendectomy.

Just weeks into a five-year deal, the Cardinals move Willson Contreras off the catcher position.

The Dodgers and Padres will open the 2024 season in Korea.

All team home run celebrations, ranked.

Rule changes have helped the game, but strikeout rates remain unchanged.

Home plate umpires are improving - will that hold off robot umps?

What should a pitcher do once they reach two disengagements?

Matt Strahm and Kutter Crawford are ejected and fined for an anthem standoff.

A’s broadcaster Glen Kuiper is suspended after uttering a racial slur on air.

Trevor Bauer’s teammate doesn’t care for his sword celebration in Japan.

Seven horses died in the lead up to the Kentucky Derby, raising several questions.

Why some episodes of Jeopardy! featuring a controversial champion have been missing until now.

A monumental math proof solves the triple bubble problem.

Famed magician Teller explains how he set up the magic tricks in Mrs. Davis.

Your song of the day is Sleater Kinney with Good Things.