Weekend Rumblings - News for July 20, 2024
The boys are playing some ball.
Manager Matt Quatraro talks about the big inning last night.
KC batted around in the frame. Garcia began the inning with a leadoff walk and second baseman Michael Massey opened the floodgates with a two-run single.
“Maikel taking the walk and the (sacrifice) bunt was big,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “Being able to extend the inning, (Hunter) Renfroe with two strikes gets the hit by pitch. Massey’s hit was the difference.”
Anne Rogers talks to newly acquired Royals reliever Hunter Harvey.
“The first couple of days were a roller coaster,” Harvey said. “But now it’s starting to set in a bit. I’ve always told my dad [two-time All-Star Bryan Harvey] and some of my friends that Kansas City was one of the places I would like to play one day, so it actually worked out really good.”
J.J. Picollo comments on the acquisition.
“The area we wanted to improve the most was somebody who had the ability to strike people out and have some power,” Royals general manager J.J. Picollo said. “That is exactly what he does. He was in a setup role with Washington, but you know, we feel like he can throw the eighth and ninth inning. He has done that before, so we’ll see how it works out here.”
Picollo talked about what he expects in the second half.
“We need to continue to preach that one day at a time,” general manager J.J. Picollo said prior to Friday’s game. “It’s easy to look at the schedule and see who you’re playing and where there are some opportunities to win games and where there are tougher stretches. But we need to worry about tonight. Then get through tonight and worry about tomorrow. I know we continue to say that, but that’s really how we need to approach this. I think we’re in a great spot to compete. We’ve got to go out and do it.”
David Lesky looks at the numbers that defined the Royals in the first half.
48
That’s the number of quality starts the Royals have gotten from their starting five this season. Okay, it’s really a starting seven as they’ve had four spot starts for injuries to Alec Marsh and Michael Wacha. Technically, it’s eight, with Dan Altavilla opening once, but Daniel Lynch IV was still the bulk pitcher, so I will call it seven. Still, 48 quality starts is incredible. It ranks third in the league, and so does their quality start percentage, which is 49 percent. Think about last season. When I tweet about a Royals win this year, I generally mention the date they won that same number of games last year. Well, with quality starts, they’ve long passed it. They had a league-worst 32 in all of 2023. They’re on pace for 80.
Craig Brown reacts to last week’s Hunter Harvey trade.
The stats that I would pay attention to are his strikeout rate of 10 SO/9 and his walk rate of 2.4 BB/9. But his ERA! you’ll argue. Yes, I get that. At 4.20 over 45 innings, it’s not something to get excited about. Yet the argument can be made that Harvey has been a bit unlucky to this point of the season. His opponents are posting a .325 BABIP against him to this point, which is about 40 points above his career .288 BABIP. Also, his strand rate of 66 percent is well below his career mark of 73 percent.
Throw all these numbers into your statistical blender and you come out with 3.16 FIP which is a full run less than his ERA. Harvey has been worth 0.9 fWAR thus far in 2024. That makes him the best reliever on the Royals.
Kevin O’Brien at Royals Reporter writes about the players that could be key to the Royals in the second half.
Mike Gillespie at Kings of Kauffman wants the Royals to figure out what they have with Drew Waters.
Sam McDowell parses comments from the Chiefs this week on the stadiums.
Adrian Beltré, Todd Helton, Joe Mauer, and Jim Leyland will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame this weekend.
The Guardians sign #1 overall pick Travis Bazzana.
A day after Chase Burns gets a record $9.25 million bonus, Charlie Condon ties him with his bonus from the Rockies.
Nationals pitcher Josiah Gray will miss the rest of the season following elbow surgery.
Joey Votto begins a rehab assignment with the Blue Jays.
The Cubs dismiss Seiya Suzuki’s interpreter.
The Orioles are looking for top-line bullpen help.
The Texas Rangers could have a huge impact on the trade deadline if they decide to become sellers.
How the Blue Jays are impacted by the Competitive Balance Tax.
The A’s plan to leave $30 million in public funding on the table in their stadium deal with Las Vegas.
Teoscar Hernandez says he almost signed with the Red Sox instead of the Dodgers.
A look back at the 2019 trade deadline.
Who are the best unsigned NBA free agents?
The millennials’ guide to beating tweens online in College Football 25.
So what happened with Friday’s widespread IT outage?
Studies show elephants may use namelike calls to other elephants.
The Grateful Dead, Francis Ford Coppola, and Bonnie Raitt will get Kennedy Center honors in 2024.
Your song of the day is The Doors with Roadhouse Blues.