Where has Dejong been?

i definitely need to find a blue drink when we win tomorrow to clinch.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This game was great example of the professionalism of MLB players.<br><br>Marlins have lost 100 games. Traded off their best players. And finishing their season on the road in Minnesota, and heading to Toronto for weekend series.<br><br>And they fought for 13 innings to pull out a win.</p>&mdash; Unconventionally Conventional (@UnconConven) <a href="https://twitter.com/UnconConven/status/1839516662770684222?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 27, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Thank you Marlins!

I'd say yes. Shoot for the 2nd wildcard. Detroit has been so hot that it wouldn't be surprising to see them in the ALCS. If we're still in it as the 2nd wild card it would be worth it to have home field advantage against them.

It would be fun to play the Yankees in the playoffs again.

Of course.

But playoffs is kind of a crapshoot. Weird shit happens. Team gets hot that nobody expected and suddenly finds themselves in the World Series (see last year). Or 2014 Royals for something a little closer to home.

We’ll take either obviously, but IMO the better matchup is Houston so give me the 3rd WC if I get a choice.

As much fun as this season has been through all the ups and downs, mostly ups for a pleasant change, there is one thing that has also been fun. But before that, I don’t think it can be said enough what a remarkable turnaround this season has been over last year and other recent years of oblivion. 56 wins to 85 wins(and counting) and the brink of playoff baseball, even in the wild card era is pretty damn amazing.

But the other thing has been recent scoreboard watching! Don’t do much of it for five months, then when the playoffs loom larger it definitely becomes a “thing”, and it’s great scanning the out of town scoreboards. Tonight was great watching the Twins shit the bed against the Marlins. What a crazy, crazy game. And to answer Josh Donaldson’s **** buddy, no, my feelings about the extra innings ghost runner rule haven’t changed. It’s still queer, just like you.

What a day! And I really hope we can somehow clinch tomorrow, or at worst Saturday night. Just get this thing sealed up and get ourselves into playoff mode! Go Royals!

Bob Nightengale trying to jinx KC.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">RIP Minnesota Twins’ 2024 season.<br>The Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals are going to the playoffs!</p>&mdash; Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) <a href="https://twitter.com/BNightengale/status/1839515360992883071?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 27, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

You don't even know who the top Royals prospects are because you're not even a true baseball fan.

Orioles offense is pretty deep with so many great young hitters, although the Astros have Alvarez who is a nightmare.

The only catch is the Orioles bullpen has been shaky. That's a huge deal in the playoffs as we all know. Even if you just read Orioles fans complaining online you can tell they are worried a little bit about that bullpen. Craig Kimbrel will far and away lead the team in saves and he just got released a couple days ago.

Seranthony Dominguez is their closer now and he has a 4.26 ERA this season. The Phillies parted ways with him because they were so deep in the 'pen.

Yeah it's not like their bullpen is a disaster but it's their weakness. Meanwhile the Astros have some weapons down there plus Hader closing.

It's two different routes. Orioles then Yankees who are the two highest scoring offenses in the AL but with questions about their bullpens, or the Astros and Guardians who each have one terrifying hitter (Alvarez and Jose Ramirez) with some nasty back-end bullpen guys. Although Alvarez did get hurt the other day and they're holding him out the rest of the year. Maybe that tips the scales.

You’re right, I’m afraid I’m not keeping tabs on the updated Baseball America list for the Royals (or even the Jays for that matter).

But if naming off the top 5 prospects in each organization in the bigs is the standard for being a “true baseball fan”, I wonder how many here meet it.

I also fear Kyle Tucker with the Astros. He might have had a top 5 AL MVP voting season had he not hurt his shin.

Love reading all the speculation. Of all the seasons…. There really isn’t a true heavyweight in the AL. Every remaining team has its weaknesses. If we were at full strength, I’d say we have a legit shot at anyone, and we still might. But if it’s just strict X’s and O’s, the season has given us some evidence that we best matchup with probably Detroit, Cleveland, Houston, Baltimore and the Yankees in that order, or at least pretty close to it. Our biggest advantage however, is going to elude us in the first round; playing at home. But we had the same problem in 2014, and that didn’t seem to matter much.

Knowing Bob, I expect he actually thought they clinched

We basically have. Currently at 98% playoff odds.

I gave up on the Marlins after the top of the 11th and went to bed.

THANK YOU, MIAMI!

This is the gooch.

This is what has me scratching my head at people calling for Q to be fired. Does he make headscratching decisions? Yeah he does, but so did Ned, and there were people here that wanted to move from him too. The grass isn't always greener.

The future is exciting for baseball in KC!

So if we clinch tonight, who are the sacrificial lambs that eat all the innings this weekend?

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Good morning! This is gonna be a great day!

Everybody has their own expectations out of a manager. I think baseball lends itself more than other sports to the armchair guy. Every manager is hired only to get fired unless they have sustained success, which is typically out of their hands.

Joe Torre couldn’t do dick in Atlanta or St. Louis, and he became a HOF manager after he got to manage legit HOFers and borderline HOFers. And the whole world was in awe! How does this guy manage this supernatural team every year!?! Oh, he finally came into his own as a manager….

Q is not perfect…. His bullpen was SHIT for most of the season. Players got hurt, not anyone in the system to play that could keep things going…. Yet, they did just keep winning. Garcia sucks, Frazier sucks, Hampson sucks, Renfroe, MJ, Nelson, and all the blah, blah….

This team won 56 games last year. We’re on the brink of the playoffs, but no guarantee. But what a year it’s been!

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The <a href="https://twitter.com/OMAStormChasers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@OMAStormChasers</a> are the International League champions!<br><br>The <a href="https://twitter.com/Royals?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Royals</a> affiliate becomes the first Triple-A team to win a title in three different leagues! <a href="https://t.co/WiGYRUMrH0">pic.twitter.com/WiGYRUMrH0</a></p>&mdash; Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) <a href="https://twitter.com/MiLB/status/1839488420210491505?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 27, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Hampson.

The only complaints that I have are:

1) He doesn't use the bunt more to move runners over into scoring positions

2) H continues to put guys out there that are just not cutting it (Melendez, pick a name from the bullpen, etc)

I am happy he has guided the team to where they are now, but sometimes I wish I had a teleporter so I could get into the dugout and smack him upside the head.

bruh

nice to wake up to a twins loss man

today should be a fun game

After watching Andy Reid for a decade, you would think Chiefs fans would apply the lessons with him to every other team they watch. Does he do stupid things? Yes. Does he learn from many of those things? Sometimes! Can you usually point out 2-3 times in a game where you scratch your head and wonder what is running through his mind? Absolutely. But we have 3 super bowls in 5 years and after watching other teams it could absolutely be much worse on the coaching front.

At the end of the day you have to evaluate a coach on some basic things. Do they get the most out of the talent they have? Is there little drama in the locker room? Do you believe the team achieved expectations or exceeded them for what talent they had? Did they generally come to play every game and represent the city and team well? If the answer is yes to all of these questions, and it is for Reid, then you have to just accept that this is as good as you can get and every coach is going to have some strategic mistakes at some point. Nobody is perfect. Q falls into this category so far. Is he perfect? No. But you can’t deny he checks off all the big boxes that are needed to be successful so far.

https://x.com/OptaSTATS/status/18395...yirIMot1Q&s=19

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LMAO

It was an “incredible” game

Can't wait for playoff baseball again (especially since I've hardly seen any games this year due to the shitty TV contract).

Looks like it's pretty much done raining in Atlanta. We're popping champagne tonight

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I have been more mad at some of the players, I haven't called for Q to be let go. I don't blame him for the Dayton Moore shit drafting, the minor leagues have 2 guys that are going to be in the majors for the Royals and actually provide some real pop. Also not his fault a guy that acquired at the deadline that quit on the Royals.

Look, there's a lot of things about Qbert's style and decisions that I don't like. But pro sports are a results based business. The Royals were a joke last year and are gonna win 85 games or so and probably make the playoffs. He should be manager of the year and it shouldn't be close.

I dunno man. Aaron Boone has done a hell of a job.

Every time Aaron Judge walks to the play, Boone yells “hey go hit a homerun”.

Boom. 58 home runs so far.

LMAO

The Twins collapse has been EPIC!

AJ Hinch has a case too, but the Tigers were 78-84 in 2023 and they had more hype than the Royals in spring training.

The Royals were 56-106 so this is an all-time turnaround by Quatraro.

The BBWAA votes for a first-place, second-place and third-place choice so I see Cleveland's Stephen Vogt and Houston's Joe Espada getting votes, too.

I see Quatraro winning and the 2-3-4 spots will be some order of Hinch, Vogt and Espada.

The thing Ned doesn't always get credit for is he definitely learned as he went along. There was a time where he'd get real stubborn about things like "This is the 7th inning guy" and such. But as the Royals played more and more big games he started managing more aggressively. Things like going to Herrera before the 7th inning or using Wade Davis on both ends of a rain delay in game 6 vs Toronto. Not sure 2013 Ned was the same guy as 2015 Ned.

Q has been more aggressive the last week or two so that's good to see. Q is the opposite of Ned in that he's pretty clearly playing matchups and statistics even if it's a different lineup every day. But for the most part it's worked. The offense even now is still top half of the league and we're still 2nd in the AL in run differential. And that's with only 4 hitters who are currently "above average" statistically. Bobby, Salvy, Vinnie and Massey.

KU Football fans are uneasy with those odds, atm.

Despite the above, the Manfred runner is still great for the game (also great for the Royals, they wouldn't be in a position to clinch tonight without it).

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Regular Season Nine-Inning <a href="https://twitter.com/MLB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MLB</a> Games of Three Hours and Thirty Minutes or Longer:<br><br>* 2021: 391<br>* 2022: 232<br>* 2023: 9<br>* 2024: 7 (through 9/26)</p>&mdash; MLB Communications (@MLB_PR) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLB_PR/status/1839663659477352673?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 27, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The pitch clock also remains the best thing to happen to baseball ever.

Ned's biggest flaw in Milwaukee was managing the bullpen. I'm not sure he ever got better at it, but when you have HDH to roll with, it pretty much eliminated having to make any decision.

Assuming the weekend goes right, Q has managed to get the Royals into the playoffs with less than any other KC manager.

The magic number between the Royals and tigers remains three. That is the number that we should be focused on. It's been a terrific season, but focus must improve. No more Pham base running mistakes or Garcia flubs at 2B. No more striking out looking for pinch hitters or bad ABs with runners on. Focus up and seize the moment.

In Atlanta, tax the starters with long ABs and get after the bullpen. Don't make it more complicated than it needs to be.

Any one of us could have managed that bullpen with 100% success.

Holy crap! The Marlins came thru! I had to go to bed, I tried with all my might, but it wasn't to be. :D LFG!!! Magic number 1 to get in, and 3 to get past the Tigers (Thanks CWS)

So Baltimore's going with Cade Povich (2-9, 5.59 ERA) vs Pablo Lopez (15-9, 4.11 ERA) for the Twins. :doh!:

free streams man. its the only way i watch sports at this point with how ****ed streaming services are

Povich is a talented pitcher figuring it out in the majors. He has 30 K and a 3.27 ERA in 22 innings in September.

He's actually a former Twins prospect (acquired in the 2022 Jorge Lopez deal), so maybe he will be inspired to pitch against his former organization.

Ok then, sounds good, crossing fingers! :thumb:

Any particular stream you use? In NC, but can't even get the Braves on Bally.

I don’t know how anybody can have issues with this manager. He took a team of a young soon to be superstar, a star in the making, an aging veteran star and a bunch of LEGO pieces and has them on the brink of the playoffs.

Losing that up and coming star, Vinnie, as they were charging for the division was a tremendous blow. Yet, here we are boys.

Seriously, I admire what he’s done.

While I frequently disagree with his tactical decisions, in the bigger picture, vhe keeps a young ball clubs head in the right place. Never too high, never too low. That's the most important impact he can have.

Best manager we've had in decades.

There's a famous moment somewhere very late in that 2014 season where he used Aaron Crow and blew a game and afterwards Ned was like "Aaron Crow's inning is the 6th inning" or whatever. Then he brought in Yordano in the wild card game when he probably should have just went to Herrera. He got better in the 2014 playoffs but by 2015 he had learned. He wasn't afraid to use Herrera for 2-3 innings, or Wade Davis on both sides of a rain delay, or be a little more careful about using Ryan Madson because he wasn't quite as dominant as Herrera and Davis.

I remember that vividly. Boston, Daniel Nava hit a grand slam off Crow.

I was livid.

EDIT: I just looked that game up. This was the first part of Andy McCullough's story in the Star:

I don't care if they go with Maury Povich. Royals have 3 shots to win one game. If they can't do that, they don't belong in the playoffs.

Ned listened to Hootie on the Ventura call. Hootie was crowing about doing that all September.

And it was all downhill for Hootie after that.

Good mojo tonight boys!

Back from the dead

You know the idiots, they are the same idiots who are dumb ****s in about everything.

Here we go Royals here we go!

While Baltimore has clinched a WC spot, they technically have not secured the 4 seed because Detroit has the tie breaker as Detroit beat them 4 out of 6 games played. There are 3 games left. Baltimore has 88 wins and Detroit has 85.

If Detroit and KC win out, and Balitmore get swept, then I imagine there has to be tie breakers involved, and I assume it's based of head-to-head matchups.

So what's the strategy for starters if we lose tonight?

Depends on what the Twins do. If they lose, wont matter. Can save Lugo and Ragans for Tuesday and Wednesday.

But if we lose and Twins win? Use your best guys ASAP. If you don’t make the playoffs, it doesn’t really matter if you saved them for the playoffs.

Lugo on Saturday would be next.

It's already set up as Lugo on Saturday and Ragans on Sunday, and it's on their normal rest.

Now if the Royals win tonight, then I imagine that may change and they may get a light work load.

I bet they would just push their starts back to Tues/Wednesday and not give them any work

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Vinnie Pasquantino is taking BP again today with the team. Scheduled to face Will Smith in a live tomorrow. There are still boxes Pasquantino has to check before being game-ready, plus assessing how he feels after each one. But he’s “well ahead of schedule,” Matt Quatraro said.</p>&mdash; Anne Rogers (@anne__rogers) <a href="https://twitter.com/anne__rogers/status/1839785622032265542?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 27, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

That is also a possibility. I just hope they make sure that they get ample rest, but not enough to throw off their routine in a way, hence a light work in a game environment or a bullpen session in between would make sense.

But this comes down to Singer tonight or if Baltimore does us a solid.

Couldn't he just DH?

We probably win 2014 game 7 if we yank Guthrie after the 3rd and pitch Herrera for 2, Davis for 2 and Holland for 2.

I think it's more of how his hand will respond to the next day after taking some reps would be one of those check boxes. If he wakes up with his hand sore, they may not risk it.

Plus it'll do him good to get acclimated being in the batters box and taking some live pitches.

One inside pitch or on the hands and it’s a wrap

That too.

But if Vinnie can at least be productive as a PH, it definitely helps out than nothing at all.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Royals?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Royals</a> majority owner John Sherman and Hall of Famer George Brett are here in Atlanta ahead of a possible clinch night.</p>&mdash; Anne Rogers (@anne__rogers) <a href="https://twitter.com/anne__rogers/status/1839793427434643852?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 27, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

There is no chance they start before the playoffs if we get in tonight. Or if we need to pitch Lugo tomorrow and we get in, Ragans won’t go Sunday. This team’s slim but only shot to win a playoff series is for Lugo/Ragans to dominate.