Royals Rumblings - News for August 16, 2023

Anne Rogers reported on Taylor Clarke’s progress:

Clarke threw about 25 pitches of live batting practice against Royals hitters on Tuesday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium and said he felt good throughout the outing. The reliever has been on the IL with elbow inflammation since Aug. 3, but has been able to play catch throughout his recovery. Now, it will be about ramping up intensity.

Clarke is eligible to come off the IL on Thursday.

“He looked good, so we’ll see how he feels tomorrow,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “All things were positive there. If he’s OK tomorrow, I think that would be it.”

David Lesky had a great breakdown of Monday’s win and what made Brady Singer so effective, among other topics:

One of those pitches went right into the zone while the other dove so far away that the batter had zero chance. That’s what happens when you’re doing what Singer has been doing lately. When the hitter has to make a decision about whether the ball is going to tail back into the zone or dive so far out of the zone that they look silly, you’re going to find some trouble. And even if they make the right decision and swing on the sinker, there’s a decent chance the indecisiveness will lead to weak contact.

It all goes back to the most basic tenets of pitching. Yes, throwing 100 by guys is great, but ultimately the goal is to change timing and change eye levels. It helps when you can do that with elite stuff, but Singer really isn’t possessed with that elite stuff. Don’t get me wrong, the stuff is good, but at least rated, his Stuff+ is just 87 where 100 is average. He has to do it with this sort of tunneling and movement that keeps hitters guessing. And he’s good at it!

Meanwhile, with Omaha, Edward Olivares was a triple shy of the cycle when he came up to bat here.

He ended up with a double, and advanced to third on the throw. But as Storm Chasers broadcaster Nick Badders pointed out on the postgame show, look how slow Olivares comes out of the box. He might could have had a triple and a cycle in his first game since being optioned to Omaha!

Rays ace Shane McClanahan will have Tommy John surgery and is likely out until 2025.

An appeals court rejected Ángel Hernández’s racial discrimination lawsuit against MLB.

Daniel Murphy retired, for real this time.

Today’s Messi Moment:

The Ravens and Commanders had a joint practice, and it got physical in a non-football way. More like a boxing way, I suppose.

The death toll from the fires in Hawaii is now over 100, and a lawsuit alleges that the local power company’s power lines started the fire.

At Ask a Manager: this company’s top two execs are mother and daughter, but they act like they aren’t.

Things your household could do to be ready to evacuate in case of a disaster.

Off-topic question: how old were you when you got your first cell phone? And if it’s not too personal, roughly what year was that? I’m fascinated by options like the Bark phone that comes with a ton of parental controls, but I didn’t have (or feel like I needed) my own phone until college, in 2006. But that was a long time ago!

SOTD: Brooks & Dunn - Brand New Man