Also, this afternoon's game is about to start on FS Kansas City. First TV game of the year I do believe.

Great news mlb.tv tried to screw me out of my 21.00 dollars subscription for only the royals games. Yet i had the receipts and my bank statements so i got my mlb.tv for this year so i can watch my royals when i get home from work.

Hot take: in the future, don't pay catchers like they're guys who need to be contributing offensive dudes hitting in the top half of the lineup

*ducks*

Wholly Krap! I just looked and the Royals are in 3rd place in the Cactus league and 2nd overall in runs scored. They also have the best home record at 7-2. Gonna be an awesome year!

ROFL

We dominate junk time.

Sounds like MLB and the MLBPA are already working to try and avoid a work stoppage. Long way to go though... but it looks like they've agreed on a bunch of game related changes. The July trade deadline is going to be the final deadline now. For next year, it looks like there will be a roster expansion to 26 and they will put in the three batter minimum. That's probably going to be the most controversial move.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The long-awaited MLB/MLBPA deal is done, sources tell ESPN, and includes a single trade deadline, an All-Star Game Election Day, expanded rosters in 2020 and, most important, a pledge to start bargaining over fundamental economic issues. News <a href="https://twitter.com/espn?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ESPN</a>: <a href="https://t.co/b7yvvVdxMd">https://t.co/b7yvvVdxMd</a><br><br>News: <a href="https://t.co/ndDKCU9ncn">pic.twitter.com/ndDKCU9ncn</a></p>&mdash; Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) <a href="https://twitter.com/JeffPassan/status/1106026176164839424?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 14, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Goodbye, LOOGYs.
Three batters or end the inning, I assume.

I predict we'll see a few guys feeling "tightness" after pitching to one or two batters and having to leave the game. If they put that rule in, they need to require a DL stint or make the pitcher ineligible for the next few games if he doesn't complete his 3 batters.

Not just that but September rosters will only expand to 28. Right now it can be up to 40.

Also the HR Derby winner will get $1 million and the total prize pool will be $2.5 million. They don't want C-level stars and below anymore.

I won't claw my eyes out watching us play Cleveland anymore. What will Francona do now that he can't wear out the path to the mound in the later innings?

So this might have already been discussed but has anyone noticed that Matt Strahm is probably pretty good?

I happened to see him throw against the Reds a couple days ago and he looked damn good. Typical 'pitchability' lefty who just throws everything at guys. Solid fastball with nice run and good command.

I mean he sure looked the part of a 3rd starter...well, against grocery baggers at least.

That guy might be one you regret losing. Not a difference maker, but a damn solid mid-rotation starter.

Both him and Esteury Ruiz look like they could be pretty good, although Ruiz is still only in A ball, and the Royals got 3 piles of crap for them.

He was going to be a lefty reliever for us. Got hurt as well. But you got to give something up in a trade to get something. On paper it looked like a good trade at the time for Royals, sucks they all turned out to be duds. But occasionally that happens.

I didn't have the heart to mention Ruiz.

I really thought he'd be the guy in that trade that you regretted because, small sample size or no, batting .400 with plus speed over 20 games is pretty damn good.

And he stepped back a bit in BA last year but the speed came through in a big way and his ISO played well for an under-aged kid in his first shot at full-season ball.

I mean there's still a loooooong way to go with him and frankly Luis Urias seems likely to block him for the foreseeable future, but it wouldn't take much at all for him to turn those tools into a top 100 prospect. You can already see 'em if you squint. Just a little more plate discipline and a little more raw strength.

Yeah I was surprised to see him humming through a long-relief stint. Seems like they're trying to stretch him out a bit after he seemed shoehorned as a reliever.

But that said - why the hell was he shoehorned as a reliever? Low 90s with 4 viable pitches on a 6'3'' frame will project to the rotation.