I wondered if his pops would be on the mound, but that won't be the case:

<a href="http://archive.today/Bn6O4">
<img style="width:300px;height:200px;background-color:white" src="https://archive.ph/Bn6O4/570bcea59d521cdac2f8fd7038cc9a1cbf6a9d28/scr.png"><br>
KC Royals star Bobby Witt Jr. in 2024 MLB Home Run Derby | Kansas City Star<br>
archived 9 Jul 2024 02:41:50 UTC
</a>

Why hasn't Walter Pennington been brought back up?

It was definitely the best indicator nine years ago.

No baseball today:-(

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">No Cardinals/Royals game today. It&#39;s been postponed due to rain.<br><br>They&#39;ll play a split doubleheader Wednesday. Game 1 12:45, Game 2, 6:45. <br><br>Tickets for today&#39;s game will be valid for Game 1 tomorrow. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/STLCards?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#STLCards</a></p>&mdash; Katie Woo (@katiejwoo) <a href="https://twitter.com/katiejwoo/status/1810718634177617954?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 9, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

****!!!!

So here we are... High water mark was back in late May when we were 15 games over .500, and firmly in the playoff race.

Now things look a little different. We're still over .500, albeit only by 6 games. Starting pitching is still in great shape. We've got a legit superstar in the making putting together an MVP type season, with a few good offensive pieces around him in Salvy, Vinnie, Massey, and to a lesser extent Garcia, Renfroe and Isbel, and that's probably generous. The bullpen is held together by chewing gum and scotch tape.

So here's the question. We're currently 1.5 games back of the wild card. With Houston, Boston, Minnesota and others surging, do we sell or buy before the deadline? There are legit reasons to go either way. What do we think?

nothing

Sell high. Don't buy.

Trade for bullpen guys. There isn't anyone in the minors that is even close to untouchable and bullpen guys don't cost much in terms of prospects.

Why would you bring all these veterans (Lugo, Wacha, Renfroe) in if you're going to sell in a situation (1.5 games back) that would have been desired in spring training?

Former Royal manager Mike Matheny was involved in this.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We’ve all seen Albert Bell shoulder tackle Fernando Vina, but the whole sequence is so much wilder. <a href="https://t.co/lsZBh5l4iW">pic.twitter.com/lsZBh5l4iW</a></p>&mdash; BaseballHistoryNut (@nut_history) <a href="https://twitter.com/nut_history/status/1810792177892516240?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 9, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

To have a brighter future, i.e. a better shot for sustained contention. It is a frustrating spot: seemingly on the brink of contention, yet with a paltry stable in the farm system and few guys beyond Witt that are true cornerstones to build around. And like you said: reliant on veterans. Veterans that don't really factor into the long-term plans, and probably won't sustain their current performance levels.

Royals fan: Our minor league system sucks
Royals fan: Don't trade our minor league guys, you would ruin our system!

Me: Make the ****ing playoffs and see what happens.

Who do you think we'd possibly trade for a relief pitcher that would dim this future if traded away? How often do prospects become even average big leaguers? It's like you guys don't realize how light the return is for a RP.

Last year Aroldis Chapman was the best RP on the market and the Royals got back 2 guys that weren't even in their top 30 prospect rankings. One was a 25 year old.pitcher coming off back to back TJS. Cole Ragans is a god damn stud, but no one expected this.

Beyond hoping for the best, I don't have much to suggest. Enjoying meaningful baseball (rly tho, I'm trying), which isn't something we often have. A rarity for all the reasons we've mentioned: poor drafting, poor development, subsequent lack of assets to flip for fine tuning of the roster for a legit push.

As soon as I was praising Maikel Garcia for having a solid, under-appreciated April & May, he decided to channel his inner Rubén Gotay and play like it was 2005 in June. Even Salvy followed suit to a large degree. I get it though. Long season. Peaks and valleys. Run differential and pythagorean record still provide some light amidst the June/early-July darkness. True enough, 10th overall in winning percentage, and 8th in both pythag & run differential is more than could have been expected (although, 25th in strength of schedule worth noting).

The pessimist/realist/jilted Royals loyalist in me will probably always have doubts. Decades of lousiness does that. But oh how sweet the playoff runs are when they happen.