Yes. Twins can take down the Guardians this weekend. We can take care of the Twins Monday.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Hunter Harvey has been dealing with back tightness, manager Matt Quatraro said postgame.</p>&mdash; Anne Rogers (@anne__rogers) <a href="https://twitter.com/anne__rogers/status/1822109770330865739?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 10, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Say what you want about the trade, but Hunter Harvey doesn't want to pitch through some soreness. I kind of wonder if he ever really wanted to be in Kansas City.

Bubic should be getting high leverage innings. He can also go 2 innings, so he should have gotten the 7th and 8th, but our idiot manager just won't do it. The guy has 2 appearances in August. It's just stupid as ****.

Our idiot manager decided that Fermin isn't as good as Frazier and pinch hit that turd instead of Fermin.

Hunter sitting out really screwed the bullpen up.

Not even a little. I don't want that dude anywhere near the mound right now. His last game was the only game with us that he hasn't allowed at least 2 people on base and he still gave up a hit.

He's pitched 5 2/3 innings and has
6.34 ERA - 4 ER - 8 hits - 4 Walks - 2.116 WHIP - 1 HBP - 5 Ks

He hasn't been even close to good.

They depended on him to show up and compete, he hasn't. Like I said him not competing screw the bullpen up.

No, that isn't what you said.

First time this season I've been disappointed in the outcome of a game.

Some of the managerial decisions lately have been silly and have cost the Royals the opportunity to tighten up that Central Division and firm up the Wild Card race

44 games left. If we win the series we’re “supposed” to win, lose the series we’re “supposed” to lose, go even on four game sets and don’t sweep or get swept, we will go 23-21. That would put us at 88 wins for the season. I think that gets us into the playoffs. Fingers crossed. This bullpen is ****ed.

Well, they're only 3 1/2 games out of first, why not go for it, bullpen be damned. o:-)

Not to fear. We have Erceg and Will Smiff.

DeJong has reverse splits, no need for a pinch hitter there to begin with. Especially one that has an OPS that is 300 points lower vs RH pitching than the guy due up to bat.

Sure. If you wanna dream a little. If the Twins win tomorrow, you can cut that to 3 games. We've got 7 more games with the Tribe and 6 more with the Twins. Could make up some games there quickly. And while we've matched favorably with the Tribe so far, the Twins have had our number, unfortunately, so I'm thinking it's likely a wash.

It would be pretty unbelievable if we manage to make the playoffs, be it by winning our division or as a wildcard. If we accomplish that, I will truly be satisfied no matter what happens in the tourney.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Yup, we could get used to this. ��<br><br>No. 1️⃣ was GRAND!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BanditTogether?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BanditTogether</a>�� <a href="https://t.co/IbGXkNL56L">pic.twitter.com/IbGXkNL56L</a></p>&mdash; Quad Cities River Bandits (@QCRiverBandits) <a href="https://twitter.com/QCRiverBandits/status/1822457558994444649?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 11, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Nice.

"There's a gator in the river." You just KNOW he's had that in his pocket all week...

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We have made the following roster moves: <a href="https://t.co/mjWDPcvZHi">pic.twitter.com/mjWDPcvZHi</a></p>&mdash; Kansas City Royals (@Royals) <a href="https://twitter.com/Royals/status/1822355710190973091?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 10, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

So, it’s a wash? At least we can’t lose on Sunday!! Woooooooooo!!

Back to happiness after that game.

Are we ready to put Erceg at closer and be done with it? Dude is our best arm and his stuff is fantastic.

Shit looks unhittable in spots. Like just give that guy the keys and let him do whatever he wants.

No baseball on Sunday

BOOOOOOOOOO

Adding him to my fantasy team. This has to happen!

Yeah what the hell?! Take a Monday off but Sunday?!

Matt Quatraro was just on SiriusXM's Front Office show, watching his son play soccer. He never gets to do that on Sundays during the season. His son scored a goal by the way.

It's the weird Major League Baseball schedule where natural interleague rivals play two times each, home and away.

How does erceg have a 3.19 era with that stuff. He’s been nasty for us. Looks unhittable.

Looks like they remedied that next season

3 and 3 in 2025 with no Sundays off thankfully

Please God let us beat the twins. I’ve never hated a team more and they always have a horseshoe up their ass against us. Their babip va the royals must be unreal.

Nahhhh, the Twins have a .294 BABIP against KC this year. Their overall hitting line is .236/.318/.361 vs. KC.

I was just looking to see what time the game was today. This is stupid.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/l..._scenarios_mlb

Baseball Reference believes the Royals have a 68.4% to make it to the post season as of 08/10/2024. They believe the Royals will finish 88 wins, so they would agree with your assessment of an 88-win team. We're in a good spot for the WC with striking distance for the AL Central.

The Royals just need to show up and do it. The Pythagorean W-L believe the Royals should be 69-49 instead of 65-53 (not too far off). So hopefully they can avoid a long losing streak.

Erceg is the best reliever this team has had since HDH.

Well, Houston is smoking Boston at Fenway 10 zip...and Cleveland is up 2-1 over the Twins.

Twins just spit the bit big time.

I tuned in for the bottom of the 9th, and saw Clase in for the save oppurtunity and said to myself....shit. He has 37 save opportunities and blown....3.

So the Twins promptly load the bases with no outs, and then the next guy Ks, and the next guy GIDPs. Damn, what an escape for Clase.

Oh well, we gained a half game on the Twins. :thumb:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Are we witnessing another version of the 2012 AL MVP race? ��<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MLBTonight?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MLBTonight</a> examines how the Trout/Cabrera MVP race of 2012 could mirror what lies ahead for Bobby Witt Jr. and Aaron Judge. <a href="https://t.co/2TzAeALicO">pic.twitter.com/2TzAeALicO</a></p>&mdash; MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLBNetwork/status/1822791280872529928?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 12, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

On board.

Problem is, we still have to get to a save situation with the rest of the shit in front of him.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Manager Matt Quatraro said that he expects John Schreiber to head out on a rehab assignment on Wednesday, as long as everything checks out the next two days. Schreiber threw a bullpen yesterday.</p>&mdash; Anne Rogers (@anne__rogers) <a href="https://twitter.com/anne__rogers/status/1823115790851121232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 12, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Wasn’t Staumont pretty good for a couple years?

He had some filthy stuff when he was on.

Here we go Royals here we go!

Royals should be all over this.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Dodgers?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Dodgers</a> have DFA’d UTIL Amed Rosario, per a team announcement<br><br>LAD acquired Rosario from TB two weeks ago. <a href="https://t.co/5nc64pakfX">pic.twitter.com/5nc64pakfX</a></p>&mdash; MLB Deadline News (@MLBDeadlineNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLBDeadlineNews/status/1823087135559160089?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 12, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

But we have hampson AND Frazier.

Gaaaaaag.

If it helps our offense……

**** the twins.

Why was he DFA'd? Is there more to this story?

If not he seems like a great leadoff guy.

Remember earlier this summer, when the Royals visited Chavez Ravine? Betts just yesterday was activated from the IL, for the injury suffered on that hit-by-pitch. Dodgers opted to keep the likes of Kiké Hernandez rather than Amed Rosario, upon reinstating Betts.

Hey guys, high AF question here.

I don't know how augmented reality glasses work, but I was just watching a video of a go pro posted by a high school umpire, and he was letting the catcher and batter know why it was a ball each time, like he would say just outside, too low, etc.

And the video was really high quality. But, my THC infused brain wonders why umpires can't wear augmented reality glasses that puts up guide lines, or even a representation of the strike zone that TV viewers see. This would help with accuracy, I would think.

Can anyone explain how this is either dumb, or a good idea, and why, or how augmented reality works?

Any head-movement by the ump would skew the strike-zone.

Ok. That makes sense. Thank you.

a .310 career OBP with 3,600 PAs suggests pretty strongly to the contrary.

He's the same overly aggressive hitter he's always been and he doesn't bring any real power to the party. He's a guy who depends entirely on BABIP for his OBP and right now his BABIP is really elevated. It definitely shouldn't be based on his batted ball profile - he's just been getting lucky.

He's due for regression. If you had him playing 2b and batting 8th or 9th, you might not be in terrible shape, but he's just not a very good player. He's almost certainly better than Frazier and he might be better than Hampson (though I think he's actually extremely similar). He's definitely not better than Massey.

Ultimately you could probably do worse as a bench player but with an $8 million deal, you're looking at taking on about $2 million for the remainder of the season. I wouldn't say he's worth claiming at that figure.

If you're starting him and batting him leadoff, you have some pretty major lineup problems.

Is this team destined for a slide back to .500?

We play the Angels on the 19th!

Probably depends on the next two series. If they can go 4-2 vs the Reds and Angels, they may have enough cushion to survive the 6-14 or so they will probably go over the next 20 games post Angels (Phillies, @Guardians, @Astros, Guardians, Twins, @Yankees....shit 6-14 might be a stretch). If not, it will be tough to finish over .500

Frustrating we can't beat good teams. Man this Minnesota series was must win too.

I think this team has enough to slip into that third wild card spot and definitely stay in contention for it for most if not all the season.

That's worthwhile and fun. Especially with Witt being a must-watch player.

I do worry about the number of innings highs that guys are setting in the starting rotation. When you're very dependent on SP success and 3/5 of your rotation is headed for innings highs (with Lugo already reaching it), I think that is problematic.

I wouldn't mind seeing them go to a 6-man rotation down the stretch, with Marsh coming back up. It would be nice to get another power arm in the rotation mix to break up the Lugo-Wacha-Lorenzen grouping. Between Wacha and Lorenzen probably is the best.

That would let Ragans and Lugo get a little more rest/recovery as they hit their new career max innings every time out.

Overall, I think they're still positioned well for next season. They desperately need a LH bat that can lengthen the lineup, someone like Cody Bellinger. That's what I would be looking to do in lieu of bringing Renfroe back.

If Caglianone can push for a late season call-up, that would potentially give you a middle-order of:
2-Witt (SS)
3- Bellinger (RF)
4 - Perez (C)
5 - Pasquantino (DH/1B)
6 - Caglianone (DH/1B)

Which would be pretty exciting from a power perspective.

A legit leadoff hitter who can play 2B is probably also worthwhile. That's a tougher thing to find than you'd think, though. Probably better off hoping for a Garcia rebound.

A lot of the time an innings high isn't something that hits you until next year.

If I'm the Royals, my biggest concern for 2025 is if the burden on the rotation actually rears its head next year. And they don't have a ton of ready replacements in the minors.

Feels like the Royals should go into next season with 7 legitimate rotation options because I wouldn't be surprised if at least 2 of those guys that are carrying the water this year end up breaking down next year.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Blake Mitchell demolishes his 16th homer of the year for the Single-A <a href="https://twitter.com/ColaFireflies?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ColaFireflies</a>.<br><br>Last year&#39;s No. 8 pick (<a href="https://twitter.com/Royals?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Royals</a>) has the second-most roundtrippers among all players 19 years old or younger in the Minors this season. <a href="https://t.co/90xKxWmyfN">pic.twitter.com/90xKxWmyfN</a></p>&mdash; MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLBPipeline/status/1823862955794162101?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 14, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Aren’t several of our starters contracts up?

Wacha has a player option, and I think Lorenzon is the only other starter coming off the books.

Wacha has a $16 million player option - he'd be wise to decline that and look for a 2-3 year deal if he can finish out the season healthy. He can get $14-15 million per on a 3 year deal pretty easily, IMO.

Lugo is under contract for $15 million (player option for $15 million in '26)

Singer is Arb3 (super 2 player, so still under team control in '26)

Ragans is still pre-arb

I guess Kyle Wright is Arb 2 and could be an option. The Royals traded for him last fall knowing full well they weren't going to have him in '24. It was a pretty savvy little move, actually. I mean Wright may just never recover (shoulder surgeries are scary) but it isn't like they gave up anything with Kowar and Kowar immediately blew up in his own right.

Yeah - Lorenzen is the only UFA the Royals will have from their present starting staff next season.

So at it stands:

Lugo, Ragans, Singer, Wright is a probable 1-4. I'm not sure if the Royals will (or should) be interested in a long-term deal for Wacha. He's been pretty much this same guy for 3 seasons now so he's probably a fair bet to be this guy again next year...for 130 innings or so. Which is about what he usually gives a team. Banking on health for him is a fools errand and at 33 years old next season, he'll be one more injury away from probably on his way out of the league.

I have some sad news to report. Jac is just doing ok in high A

27 AB, 4 Hits, 1HR, 4 BB, 9 SO, .554 OPS

His HR did come off of a position player in a blow out type game.

Mariners lose this afternoon, Royals continue to get help securing the WC spot.

:old: Excellent!

Now Baltimore and Texas need to take care of business.

Texas tied with the Twins early. Orioles out to a 5-1 lead on Boston.

2-2 going into the ninth. Come on Rangers!

****ing Twins score 1 without getting a hit.

Well shit, at least the two teams trailing us for the WC lost.

Off Kirby Yates too. He's been lights out this year.

Honestly that 3rd Wild Card spot works out the best getting the AL West champion IMO

I know a lot here are pissing vinegar and trying to turn into lemonade. Then there’s the segment that simply piss vinegar, and they get what they get.

I’m sadly, a biased Royals fan, and even when shit is bad, I’ll try to find something to be optimistic about. My optimism paid off in 2015 when we won the whole damn thing after 20-30 years in the wilderness and mostly irrelevant.

Before the season started, I said we’d win 77 games 5+/5- games. 77 wins would be a pretty remarkable turnaround after only winning 56 games. Certainly not playoff bound, but a reasonable step in the right direction with limited minor league resources.

The demand for excellence and perfection is so ridiculous with people nowadays that too many can’t even enjoy the moment of anything. It’s gotta have some drag to it. The cynicism is palpable, and sure, the Royals have earned your cynicism to an extent.

It gets more acute when things are going well, and suddenly things aren’t. And that’s the hook of it. But man, this team is 11 games OVER .500 right now, and in position to be in the playoffs. If the team totally collapses over the next 41 games and wins 11, well shit man, that’s what I predicted they’d do, and I’d be satisfied in a way. But now that we’ve won, nobody would be satisfied with that at all.

Before the Twins series we had 44 games left. I simply put out there that if we win the series we’re “supposed” to win, lose the series we’re “supposed” to lose, with no sweeps on either side and splitting the two four game series we have left, we’d finish with 88 wins.

I still think it’s reasonable. And shit man, if we finish with 88 wins and we don’t make the playoffs, that says more about whoever else in the AL that got hot at the right time.

This has been a great season, for a lot of reasons. We’re a winning ballclub again. That should mean something. And I think Sherman would be willing to write more checks in the offseason to solidify positions we’ve all bitched about all year.

I guarantee you 15 other teams have it worse off than we do right now, and half of those teams have little hope for the next few years. It’s baseball, and things can go haywire for any team, but man, at least we’re in the mix right now and it should go down to the wire.

Can’t wait for the “fans” to show up if we make the playoffs and we get blown out…. Those assholes will be here, and they’ll be loud, ugly, stupid and shortsighted. You can’t fix that. But I’m looking forward to it!

41 games to go. I think we can still do this!

Good post, Gaby. Like most things, you (all of us) can view this season in two prisms, micro and macro. The micro view of individual games and series will go how those things go. A bad game or series is going to get chastised, and that's fair. From a macro perspective, I don't know how anyone sees this season as anything other than a success and probably a wild success at that. As you said, if this team goes 11-30 the rest of the way (not even I, a believer that the 20 games starting next weekend will "doom" our post season chances, think that we only win 11 games the rest of the way) we hit the high 70's in wins. 16-25, which I think is very doable, and a team that won 56 games last year is over .500 if that happens, Quartaro (however you spell it) is a lock for manager of the year and it will be well deserved (and that's coming from a guy who is not the biggest fan of his). The Royals have already hit two major goals this year:

1. Improve on last year
2. The nebulous but real, stay relevant until football season (I get that's not a goal for everyone but for most of us

We shall see if they can hit the next two:

1. Finish above .500
2. Make the playoffs-anything that happens after that is total gravy

I am gonna say they hit goal 1 and fall just short of goal 2. Hope I'm wrong about the second thought but I just think the upcoming 20 game stretch will be too much. Let's look at the series remaining and try to guess how they play out.

Series 1 @Reds: Man. On paper, we "should" win this series but it's on the road vs a not shitty team who is hot right now, plus no Lugo or Ragans. I'm gonna have to say we go 1-2

Series 2 vs Angels: Would love a sweep here but it's hard to predict those so I'll say 2-1

Series 3 vs Phillies: The Royals have done a great job not getting swept much at all this year (I think only @Texas to this point?). But the Phillies are a great team and the facts don't lie, we have not been very good vs great teams, especially lately. 1-2

Series 4 @Guardians: 4 gamer and we've played them tough so far, I'll say we split 2-2

Series 5 @Astros: They will be out for blood after we kicked their ass in KC earlier. They are playing much better now. I will be optimistic and say we get another split 2-2

Series 6 vs Guardians: Maybe we kinda have their number this year? I'll lean positive and say 2-1

Series 7 vs Twins: Same as above, except the opposite. No one using anything other than blind homerism can honestly pick the Royals to beat the Twins in a series this year. 1-2

Series 8 @Yankees: No need to beat a dead horse on how we do vs really good teams. 1-2

Series 9 @Pirates: Non shitty team (not great but not the White Sox or Tigers) on the road. 1-2

Series 10 vs Tigers: Right in our wheel house. Again, I am not predicting any sweeps for or against, but it wouldn't shock me. 2-1

Series 11 vs Giants: need this one, I think we get it, 2-1

Series 12 @Nationals: Hate to do it but I have to stay consistent. The Nationals aren't good, but then again, neither were the Rockies. 1-2

Series 13 @Braves: Braves are down this year due to injuries but are still good and may need this series themselves 1-2

So, that puts us at a total of....19-21 and 85 wins. That's a great season for the 2024 Royals. And certainly if I'm wrong and they can steal a few more of those games then 88/89 wins is on the board. Of course, the reverse can happen as well and we land on 81-82. I don't see a total collapse nor do I see some "peaking at the right time" run. Should be a fun last few weeks.

It's like when we first saw what Pat could do, but you knew we have issues on the OL/ DL/ DB/ etc. And then the team invested in the pieces that put us over the hump.

With the key players and returning and really not losing many pieces, it shouldn't be that difficult for the Royals to invest in the offseason in positions that make sense, don't hinder the future and help us be a better team. And no reason to think this regime can't be better than the last in terms of drafting and developing talent through the minor league system.

I also wonder as Bobby becomes a more recognized international star, if that might help us with some international signings in the coming years. Who the hell wouldn't want to come play baseball with the best player in the world?

I think you're close on most of these, but I can't imagine there won't be a series or maybe even two where we get swept. Hopefully there's at least one if not more series that we surprisingly sweep. I would love to see us just maintain the same pace that we've been on to this point. That gets them a little better than you have them (42 x .545 = 22-19 the rest of the way), but with the tough schedule looming that's probably a lofty expectation. But 88-74 would be a absolutely incredible season following last year's record.

Great post. My viewpoint is we are playing with house money from here on out as they greatly overachieved this season. Let's see what they can do.

I never imagined the starting rotation would be as strong as it is, so the front office & coaching deserves major props. I'm now more optimistic to see what the organization can do to strengthen the bullpen in the offseason.

The only reason I am not predicting us getting swept at all is we've been so damn good at not getting swept, which really is pretty cool. Not getting swept much means none of the long losing streaks we have been so used to over the years. However, it certainly is possible, as you point out. I would think our "best" chances at getting swept would be vs the Phillies since there will be no Ragans or Lugo in at series and then at the Yankees. Our best chances to sweep would be the Angels and Tigers.

The upside against the Phillies though is that we aren't scheduled to face Wheeler or Nola either. That's a pretty big hit to them too.

The interesting thing about our schedule is that there is a decent chance it is significantly easier than it looks now. There's a solid chance if the Pirates fall out of it, and they already are doing just that, that Skenes and Jones just get shut down. The Braves hopefully won't have anything to play for in the last series and will be setting up their rotation. The Nationals will be planning their trips to Cancun against us. I think some of these series could be more ripe for wins/sweeps than initially appear.

The biggest "worry" I have is the SP, and the innings they're racking up. Most if not all by now are over their career highs, and it has been our main strength, other than the big 3 batters and their production. Hopefully they're not running into a wall.

It's going to be a fun ride to see where they end up. Starting tonight @ the Reds.

We are sweeping the Reds

You heard it hear first

Time to fly

How much freak out will be had this weekend on the pitching staff for playing at the little league field in Cincinnati.

Although our frontline starting pitchers miss this turn in Cincinnati, fortunately for the Royals, so does Reds ace Hunter Greene. He is quietly having a Cy Young calibur season, all the more impressive in Cincinnati.

https://i.postimg.cc/Gt0T69fL/temp-Imagec-CI6-TH.avif

Greene also likes to vomit on the mound.

<a href="http://archive.today/NT73e">
<img style="width:600px;height:400px;background-color:white" src="https://archive.ph/NT73e/3d29fa8ada9c07e631cbcee11091a3b5e109e154/scr.png"><br>
Hunter Greene leads MLB in hurling 100-mph pitches — and hurling on the mound
</a>

<blockquote class="reddit-embed-bq" style="height:500px" data-embed-theme="dark" data-embed-height="545"><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/1dojuge/highlight_hunter_greene_vomits_after_his_first/">[Highlight] Hunter Greene vomits after his first pitch to Bryan Reynolds </a><br> by<a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/amatom27/">u/amatom27</a> in<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/">baseball</a></blockquote><script async="" src="https://embed.reddit.com/widgets.js" charset="UTF-8"></script>