Weekend Rumblings - News for April 7, 2018
Is this a rebuild?
Weekend Rumblings - News for April 7, 2018
Sam Mellinger tries to understand why Paulo Orlando has been playing.
If the goal is to be ready to win by 2020 or 2021, it’s hard to see how a 34- or 35-year-old outfielder without much of a track record should tack precedence over a guy who is now 26 and possesses the most raw power of any hitter Dayton Moore has had in Kansas City.
These are the types of decisions the Royals have chosen to constantly battle. They’re in a bit of a halfway mode here, still, not yet completely rebuilding and not still completely trying to win.
Not the way I’d want to see them do it, but I’m not the boss, and I also understand there aren’t a lot of great options available.
Mellinger also gives Royals fans a “choose your own adventure” column.
Jeffrey Flanagan explains why the roster is so old, despite a rebuild.
That is a fair point. But the Royals believed it would be unfair to certain prospects, such as Hunter Dozier, to push them to the big leagues. The rebuild/development stage will take place, for the most part, in the Minors this season with players such as Dozier, Adalberto Mondesi, Frank Schwindel, Ryan O’Hearnand Foster Griffin getting valuable playing time at Triple-A Omaha. Meanwhile, there will be some development at the big league level with players such as Tim Hill, Brad Keller, Cheslor Cuthbert, Jorge Soler and eventually Jorge Bonifacio.
Despite poor rankings by outsiders, the Royals are really high on their prospects, writes Rustin Dodd.
Still, Moore can look out across his minor-league rosters and see the foundation of a system. The hope resides in places like Lexington and Wilmington; it will be burnished this summer when the club makes four selections in the top 40 of the amateur draft. It is still years away, and the industry still has doubts, and maybe it is not yet enough. But Moore sees players, the kind that can grow and win, the kind that can restart the process.
“The key is get the group of players together and you explain it to them,” Moore says. “You articulate it to them, and you say, ‘Look, here’s the deal, this is our expectation.’
“Expectations drive results. Mr. Glass says that all the time. Here’s the expectations. These are the things you’re gonna experience. You’re going to have good days and bad days. You guys got to pick each other up.”
Maria Torres tells the story about how Tim Hill thought he was being sent to the minors when he found out he made the team.
But Hill’s anxiety crested when Yost abruptly called star third baseman Mike Moustakas in from the hallway to join their chat.
”Do you think he can get big-league hitters out?” Hill remembers Yost asking the All-Star third baseman.
”I said, ‘Absolutely, yes,’” Moustakas recalled, standing in the middle of the visiting clubhouse at Comerica Park this week.
For a brief moment, Hill was stunned.
Kyle Zimmer is back.
We have re-signed RHP Kyle Zimmer to a minor league contract.
— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) April 6, 2018
Chris Kamler (aka “The Fake Ned”) is looking at the 50 worst moments in Royals history.
How the #2 hitter in the lineup is being re-imagined.
The first exclusive broadcast of a MLB game on Facebook alienated some fans.
An in-depth look at how MLB transactions are actually made.
Bryce Harper is finally older than all prospects.
MLBAM is being sued for patent infringement, trade secret theft, and breach of contract.
Tim Tebow homered in his first at-bat in AA.
How long will Statcast continue to support baseball data?
Jose Fernandez’s lawyer claims he was framed for the boat crash that ended his life.
White Sox coach Darryl Boston has a whistle to blow when his defenders make good plays, but opponents aren’t happy about it.
The bond between former teammates Billy Bean and Torey Lovullo remains strong.
What is UFC going to do about Conor McGregor’s bus attack?
We’re getting 36 more holes of Tiger Woods at The Masters.
Plastic surgery apps are a thing.
Facebook retracted messages from Mark Zuckerberg in recipient’s inboxes.
An obsolete law prevents SpaceX from broadcasting videos from space.
Your song of the day is Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers with Moanin’.