Royals Rumblings - News for November 29, 2023

Have you changed your furnace filter lately?

At Just Baseball, Jared Perkins has a great, long piece about mental health in baseball with Melissa Lambert, Kansas City’s director of behavioral science.

“Relationship building requires understanding each player for who they are, where they have been, and where they are trying to go,” Lambert said.

...

“I feel transparency is crucial so they know who is asking questions about how they are doing, and they drive communication on what they want shared and not shared with our coaching staff,” Lambert said. “Without trust and credibility, the role will no longer serve the purpose it needs to.”

“The most common reason I hear from players is lack of trust and fear of where information goes,” Lambert said. “Players feel they may lose their job and be perceived differently if they share something personal or ask for help. Players are also under the spotlight all the time with social media platforms. There is a lot of room for outside noise and conversation that players aren’t always equipped to handle, furthering their need to maintain an image.”

Anne Rogers came in with a good explainer of the draft lottery next week:

The second annual lottery will be held on Dec. 5, and this year, the Royals have among the best odds for the No. 1 overall pick.

Instead of using the reverse order of regular-season standings, MLB and the Players Association implemented the lottery in the most recent Collective Bargaining Agreement, with the first six picks of the Draft determined through a lottery system among the 18 non-playoff teams.

By nature of their 56-106 record in 2023, the Royals have an 18.3 percent chance of seeing their name attached to the first pick in the 2024 Draft, the same odds as the A’s (50-112) and Rockies (59-103).

Any coaches in this community? The Royals have some events coming up:

Danny Duffy’s bear suit is part of a charity auction, and it will fur sure fetch a good sum.

An interesting tidbit on Reddit, pointed out by the Royal de Lux Podcast:

Former Royal Brewer Hicklen has signed with the perfect team for someone named Brewer: the Brewers!

How the 2023 MLB postseason bonus pool was distributed to the playoff teams.

Some Oakland baseball fans are starting up a team called the B’s (Ballers) to play in the independent Pioneer League.

Lawsuits from investors who lost money from FTX have named MLB and other sports entities.

A social media valuation of the Volleyball Day in Nebraska that saw 92,003 fans gather to watch the best college sport.

Speaking of the best college sport, the D1 women’s volleyball championship tournament starts tomorrow.

A report on Mecole Hardman’s health from Mecole Hardman:

In addition to leaving Shark Tank after one more season, Mark Cuban is selling his majority ownership stake in the Dallas Mavericks.

Kansas is swiftly reconsidering the newly-unveiled black and gold license plate design, because the plates would have been so ugly.

The 41 workers who were trapped in a collapsed tunnel for 17 days were rescued yesterday.

Lifehacker lists some specialty cleaning items that are worth upgrading to. I’ve been eyeing one of those mop buckets with a wringer for a while. Maybe it’s time.

Reddit question of the day: what discontinued product do you want back?ck?

Bassist Jimbo Hart has left the 400 Unit, backers of Jason Isbell.

SOTD: Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit - Cumberland Gap. A good Jimbo Hart showcase.