Royals Rumblings - News for September 26, 2022

Sep 26, 2022 - 12:00 PM

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The Royals scored 11 runs in one inning yesterday for a comeback win.

Anne Rogers reported on J.J. Picollo’s first public comments as GM:

The Royals will begin their end-of-season meetings next week in Detroit, where the team kicks off its final road trip of the season.

Picollo mentioned adding staff to the front office to help implement and understand pitching data, as well as building out the club’s performance science department, currently led by Austin Driggers.

And the coaching staff, including third-year manager Mike Matheny?

“I haven’t arrived at a decision on any of our coaches,” Picollo said. “What I’m processing right now is different than the way I was thinking about it, say, Monday. But we do have meetings in Detroit [next week], where the people that I feel like need to have a say in that decision will be around me.”

The same article also notes that the Royals are considering an extension for Bobby Witt, Jr.

“It’s loosely been discussed,” Picollo said. “There’s got to be a lot of creativity in that. It’s something John Sherman has asked our department if it’s something we’d be interested in. And we are. It’s in a very, I would say, infantile stage. We have a lot of ways to go to get deeper into those discussions.”

Congratulations to Vinnie Pasquantino on his engagement!

At FanGraphs, David Laurila has the story of Michael Massey’s late grandma:

Back in the 1950s, Hall of Fame slugger Ralph Kiner famously said that “singles hitters drive Fords and home run hitters drive Cadillacs.” Michael Massey’s grandmother may or may not have been familiar with the quote, but she did her best to send the 24-year-old Kansas City Royals rookie down the right road. I learned as much when I asked Massey about his first big-league blast, which came on August 18 against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field.

“What I thought of when I hit it was my nana,” said Massey, who grew up in the Chicago area and went on to play his college ball at the University of Illinois. “She passed away toward the end of last season — she was 93 — and growing up she’d always give me a hundred bucks for every home run I hit. She loved it when I hit home runs, and did that for every league I played in.”

Fresh off a trip to KC to be honored as the Triple-A hitter of the year, outfielder Brewer Hicklen joined a certain fill-in Rumblings compiler in photographing the Flo Rida concert that followed the final Storm Chasers home game:

The Guardians clinched the AL Central with a 10-4 win over Texas.

Every great star has to decline and retire at some point, probably, but Clayton Kershaw intends to pitch again next year.

Kris Bryant’s foot issue is shutting him down for the season, a frustrating end to the first year of a big contract with Colorado.

Don Mattingly will not return as Marlins manager in 2023, and is perhaps eyeing other jobs.

The Pirates claimed longtime Yankee Miguel Andújar off waivers.

The fan who caught Albert Pujols’s 700th home run kept the ball, but Pujols said he is not upset about it.

Football is great because a team can give up a safety by bouncing a punt off their own player’s buttcheek, and still win.

Rihanna will perform at the halftime show of the Super Bowl.

Russell Westbrook is willing to play off the bench if that’s what it takes to help the Lakers win, he says.

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Checking in on the possibility of a railworker strike, which seemed to be averted earlier this month. It’s still a possibility!

Tropical storm Ian is expected to intensify into a hurricane today.

Night owls may be at greater risk for heart disease and Type 2 diabetes.

Nebraska’s first casino is now open.

Don’t Worry Darling brings in $19.2 million domestically in its opening weekend.

Last week, someone wrote in to Ask a Manager seeking advice for giving company-wide gifts. Naturally, lots of people had examples of what not to give, and here’s a roundup of 10 great ones. Has your workplace ever given everyone crappy swag?

Let’s show some love to bass with a Reddit question of the day: Which songs have the most instantly recognisable basslines?

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SOTD: Mark Chesnutt - It Sure Is Monday