Daily Clips
February 7, 2017
LOCAL
Royals' biggest difference on the mound
Club adds power, but rotation, bullpen are key to 2017
February 6, 2017By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Historic KC Negro League site nearly restored
Former YMCA to become Buck O'Neil Education and Research Center
February 6, 2017By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Royals’ new billboard highlights team’s 2017 slogan
February 6, 2017By Pete Grathoff/KC Star
A closer look at the Royals’ newest pitcher, Jason Hammel
February 6, 2017By Lee Judge/KC Star
Brad Fanning replaces Danny Parkins on KCSP (610 AM) afternoon show
Februry 6, 2017By Pete Grathoff/KC Star
After closing for a week for upgrades, Negro Leagues Baseball Museum is ready to reopen
February 6, 2017By Kerri Stowell/FOX4KC.com
Royals will report to spring training with new key additions
February 6, 2017By Andrew Carter/KCTV5.com
NATIONAL
MLB proposes changes to intentional walks, strike zone
February 6, 2017By Jayson Stark/ESPN.com
The Rays still could be a surprise contender, if everything goes right
February 7, 2017By Ken Rosenthal/FOXSports.com
A's honor Rickey, name Coliseum field after him
Hall of Famer joining front office as special assistant to president
February 6, 2017By Manny Randhawa/MLB.com
Royals smart to pick up trusty Hammel
Reported signing underscores surprisingly quiet market for veteran righty
February 6, 2017By Phil Rogers/MLB.com
Royals Sign Brayan Pena To Minor League Deal
February 7, 2017By Connor Byrne/MLBTradeRumors.com
MLB TRANSACTIONS
February 7, 2017 •.CBSSports.com
LOCAL
Royals' biggest difference on the mound
Club adds power, but rotation, bullpen are key to 2017
February 6, 2017By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
There is a growing narrative surrounding the 2017 Royals that the team is abandoning its foundation of speed and defense to transform into a more prototypical American League team, and that the big difference in this year's Royals will be more power.
There is some truth to that, but it is not as if the Royals have abandoned their core principles of speed and defense.
Sure, the Royals subtracted the speedy Jarrod Dyson and added slugger Jorge Soler in right field, giving them more pop at that spot since the days of Jermaine Dye.
And the Royals last week added 33-year-old Brandon Moss, who hit 28 home runs last season and who occasionally will patrol a corner-outfield spot with, at best, average speed.
But Royals general manager Dayton Moore, while acknowledging he'd like to see his team hit more home runs, insisted there have been no philosophical shifts in the organization: He still covets speed and defense.
"We still have guys like Terrance Gore and Billy Burns and Paulo Orlando and Lorenzo Cain and Whit Merrifield," Moore said. "We've got speed. Our first baseman [Eric Hosmer] can go first to third and score from second with the best of them. We're not going to abandon that.
"We know what wins in this ballpark. We know what we have to do. But also we know we have to score more runs and hit the ball out of the ballpark a little more. I think we'll be capable of doing that.
"It doesn't mean we won't rely on defense. We will, especially late. We've got enough horses that can cover this outfield."
Where fans will see a difference in the 2017 Royals is mostly on the mound.
The rotation will look markedly different with the loss of Edinson Volquez to free agency and, of course, with the loss of Yordano Ventura, tragically killed in a car accident.
Moore is sold on Danny Duffy, Ian Kennedy and Jason Vargas as his front three. On Sunday, the Royals reportedly reached a two-year agreement with free agent Jason Hammel. The fifth spot likely will be a competition among Nathan Karns (acquired from Seattle for Dyson), Chris Young, Matt Strahm and Kyle Zimmer.
Where fans will see the biggest change will be in the bullpen. It seems like only yesterday the Royals' vaunted bullpen featured shutdown relievers Wade Davis, Greg Holland, Luke Hochevar and Ryan Madson. They've all left by trade or free agency.
Only Kelvin Herrera, the closer, remains from the once-heralded group. Moore is relying on Herrera, Joakim Soria, Brian Flynn and perhaps Strahm to be this year's stoppers. Moore also speaks highly of No. 10 prospect Josh Staumont, he of the 101-mph fastball.
Because of the Royals' market size, change is inevitable. Rosters will fluctuate from year to year. Moore understands that.
But the core of the Royals championship team of 2015 -- Hosmer, Cain, Mike Moustakas, Salvador Perez, Alex Gordon and Alcides Escobar -- remains for one more push toward another championship before several of those players may leave for free agency.
"This is who we are right now," Moore said. "It is what it is. And I fully believe this group can compete for another championship."
Pitchers and catchers have their first spring workout on Feb. 14 and the first full-squad workout at Surprise Stadium is Feb. 17.
Historic KC Negro League site nearly restored
Former YMCA to become Buck O'Neil Education and Research Center
February 6, 2017By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
It was 97 years ago on Feb. 13 at the historic Paseo YMCA where eight independent owners of African-American baseball teams sat down to discuss forming a united league.
Those eight owners, including the legendary Rube Foster, eventually formed the Negro National League, the first successful Negro League in the United States. That league paved the way for future successful Negro Leagues.
"There's so much history in that building," said Negro Leagues Baseball Museum president Bob Kendrick, "that it has always been our goal to refurbish it."
Through time and urban decay, the Paseo YMCA, one of the first YMCAs for African-Americans in the country, eventually crumbled and became abandoned.
"It was an eyesore," Kendrick said. "It was sad."
Homeless people used it as a shelter, even burning fires on the gymnasium floor at night to stay warm.
But the NLBM acquired the decrepit building in the 1990s -- on the vision of the late Buck O'Neil -- in hopes of restoring it. Twenty-five or so years later, that vision is close to reality.
On this Feb. 13, the NLBM will host a private hard-hat sneak peek at the renovated Paseo YMCA, which will be known as the Buck O'Neil Education and Research Center. The project is expected to be completed sometime later this year.
"It will be something the entire community can utilize and enjoy," Kendrick said. "We'll have computers, research centers, archives of black history -- everything that Buck had envisioned."
Numerous individuals contributed to the building's revival, including Ollie Gates (of the famous Gates Barbecue) and Julia Irene Kauffman, who is on the Royals' board of directors.
Kendrick still remembers touring the abandoned Paseo YMCA right after the NLBM acquired it.
"You talk about scary," Kendrick said. "We're in there with flashlights looking around, and we didn't know what we'd find. There was all that pigeon waste, rats. You could tell so many homeless people had taken up residence there at times. It was so sad to know that people were forced to have to live there.
"It just makes it so much more significant that this once proud building will be restored with such a great purpose."
The building became historically significant almost by chance.
"Back in 1920 when the famous meeting happened," Kendrick said, "it originally was scheduled to be in Indianapolis. But for some reason, it got cancelled and rescheduled here in Kansas City at the Paseo YMCA.
"If that hadn't happened, the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum would not be in Kansas City."
Royals’ new billboard highlights team’s 2017 slogan
February 6, 2017By Pete Grathoff/KC Star
It’s been a busy couple of days for the Royals.
On Sunday, the Royals unveiled their new slogan for the 2017 season (“Raised Royal”), they reportedly agreed to a contract with pitcher Jason Hammel. And on Monday a new Royals billboard message appeared at 19th and Grand.
I made the one-block trek from The Star’s office to see the billboard, which has a rotating message. There are three messages (you can see them all above and in the following tweet):
You Only Call Him Salvy
You Smile At The Thought of Pine Tar
Your Phone Passcode is 1738
As part of the Royals’ push with the new slogan, they have a place on their website to make a meme. That is why those three particular messages were chosen.
A closer look at the Royals’ newest pitcher, Jason Hammel
February 6, 2017By Lee Judge/KC Star
Let’s start with a couple of statistics: Jason Hammel — the Royals’ new starting pitcher — is 6 feet 6, right handed and 34 years old. His age might have scared off a couple of other teams, and they might have also been worried because Hammel was scratched from his last start of 2016 because of elbow tightness.
At the time Hammel was pitching for the Chicago Cubs and portrayed it as no big deal; he said it was a precautionary move to make sure he was ready for the Cubs’ postseason — but then Hammel did not pitch in the postseason.
Sliders and elbow problems go together like pork and beans and Hammel throws his slider about 35 percent of the time. So this is something I’m sure the Royals — and Royals fans — will keep an eye on.
Get worried if he misses starts.
What Hammel throws
OK, as long as we’re talking about pitches, let’s get into it: Hammel throws a fastball, slider, curve and change-up. Over the last three seasons Hammel has thrown his change-up less than five percent of the time, so smart hitters will probably ignore it and spit on it if they see one; why look for a pitch that might get thrown three times a game?
The fastball comes in at about 92 mph, the slider is about 84 mph and the curve is around 77. Watch the radar gun and the velocity will tell you what pitch he threw — unless he throws that change-up, which is about the same speed as the slider.
So if you’re showing off in the stands and see a pitch at about 84 mph, just say it was a slider and you’ll probably be right.
170 innings and 5 2/3 innings per start?
Hammel has been pitching in the big leagues since 2006 and has never thrown 180 innings or more in a single season. But he’s had five seasons in which he pitched 170 innings or more. In four seasons Hammel made 30 starts, and in those seasons averaged about 5 2/3 innings per start.
OK, I’m about to make some assumptions — and we all know what happens when you assume:
Let’s assume the Royals starting rotation is Danny Duffy, Ian Kennedy, Jason Vargas, Nathan Karns and Hammel. Now let’s assume the closer is Kelvin Herrera and Matt Strahm is in the bullpen and pitches either the seventh or eighth inning. That means in the majority of Hammel’s starts the Royals will need at least one more lights-out reliever to get the ball from Hammel to Herrera.
If you can throw 95 mph and have a killer secondary pitch, I’d encourage you to apply for the job.
Hammel’s splits
Hammel’s platoon splits are pretty even; lefties and righties hit him about the same for average, but lefties walk more and show more power.
The first three times through the order opponents’ batting averages are in the .260s, but the fourth time through the order opponents hit .340. Individual matchups will vary, but don’t be surprised if Ned Yost pulls Hammel before the other team gets a fourth look at him.
Over his career Hammel has been better in the first half of the season (3.99 ERA) than the second half (5.06), so the Royals will probably monitor him pretty closely as the season goes along. Over Hammel’s career he’s 8-24 with a 5.37 ERA in July, so you wouldn’t think the leash will be too long once the weather gets hot.
The other stuff
As anyone who has followed this site or blog or whatever it is knows, there’s a lot more to a player than the numbers he puts up. I’ll be going to spring training in the middle of March and when I find out more about Jason Hammel — or any other player — I’ll tell you about it.
Talk to you soon.
Brad Fanning replaces Danny Parkins on KCSP (610 AM) afternoon show
Februry 6, 2017By Pete Grathoff/KC Star
KCSP (610 AM) has found its man for its afternoon show — and he couldn’t be happier.
Brad Fanning, the former KCTV (Channel 5) sports reporter, made his debut Monday on “The Drive,” with co-host Carrington Harrison, just weeks after Danny Parkins’ departure.
“I’m totally pumped,” Fanning said. “Are you kidding me? As a kid growing up in Kansas City and now I’m a co-host on an afternoon drive time show on the flagship of the Royals. This is great.”
Fanning, 46, grew up in Shawnee, and graduated from Shawnee Mission North and later Emporia State. As a kid, he consumed sports in whatever fashion possible, and ticked off the names of some of the people he watched or listened to through the years: Dave Stewart, Gene Fox, Frank Boal and Al Wallace.
After graduating from college, Fanning worked at TV stations in Oklahoma, Texas, Topeka and Dayton, Ohio. At one point, he was the host of the “Urban Meyer Show” — when Meyer was the head coach at Bowling Green.
Fanning moved back to Kansas City about a decade ago, and eventually landed at KCTV, where he worked for five years until leaving last March. He started his own company “Sports Feed KC,” and also made appearances on 610’s morning show, “The Day Shift With Lank and Bink.”
When Parkins left, Fanning threw hit hat in the ring.
“The radio format for me is great. In TV, you get 45 seconds to a minute and sometimes you’re told what to do,” Fanning said. “Now I don’t have to cram something into 20 seconds. I can discuss something and really get into it.
“I think this is the perfect format for me.”
Parkins took a job with 670 AM in his hometown of Chicago. On Monday, he sent congratulations to Fanning:
@DannyParkins: Congrats to my old station for making their pick and to Brad for getting the job. You're in good hands.
After closing for a week for upgrades, Negro Leagues Baseball Museum is ready to reopen
February 6, 2017By Kerri Stowell/FOX4KC.com
After being closed for a week to make improvements, the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum is ready to reopen Tuesday.
The museum's president, Bob Kendrick, said there's never a good time to close but the work needed to get done. Kendrick said they just had to picked a week to install new carpet and complete some repairs to the exhibit. The carpet was last replaced five years ago.
According to Kendrick, the museum has seen an increase in attendance with the success of the Royals.
"We went with a little higher grade of carpeting in hopes it will be able to handle the volumes of people," Kendrick said.
The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum reopens Tuesday at 9 a.m.
Royals will report to spring training with new key additions
February 6, 2017By Andrew Carter/KCTV5.com
The Royals’ pitchers and catchers report to spring training in nearly one week, and the team is headed to Surprise, AZ with some new key additions.
When the offseason began, Kansas City Royals general manager Dayton Moore explained how the team would attempt to get better in 2017 while openly admitting the organization was in no way going to overspend.
“We have to continue to evaluate other opportunities out there to improve our team in 2017 and beyond,” Moore said.
The first big move was the trade involving former Chicago Cubs’ outfielder Jorge Soler in exchange for Wade Davis. Soler is known as one of the more promising young sluggers in baseball.
“He’s glad and it was a big trade and he has the confidence in the team,” said Soler’s translator.
“We are really excited about his upside you know as a player and as a person in our community,” Moore said.
Soler wasn’t the only big bat the Royals added. Last week, the team announced the signing of free agent first baseman and outfielder Brandon Moss. Moss hit 28 home runs last year with the St. Louis Cardinals, expecting more of the same at Kauffman Stadium.
“I’m excited about it, I love this ballpark. I think it’s one of the most unheralded ballparks in baseball. As far as hitting goes, I think some hitters like hitting in small parks, some hitters like hitting in parks where you see the ball well, and this ballpark has always been a ballpark where I’ve seen the ball really well,” Moss said.
The last major move comes from the pitching mound. Reports surfaced Sunday night and were later confirmed Monday about the acquisition of free agent pitcher Jason Hammel.