The question was simple and basic to Royals general manager Dayton Moore prior to Thursday’s series opener against the Los Angeles Angels at Kauffman Stadium. What are the Royals going to do to get out of a 4-12 slide? Moore starts by saying what they won’t do.
In tornado-ravaged Oklahoma, Wildcats maintain focus and beat Texas Tech 4-3 on the first day of the Big 12 baseball tournament.
It wasn’t a total shake-up, but the Royals made one roster move on Thursday. The Royals optioned right-handed reliever Kelvin Herrera to Class AAA Omaha, recalling Louis Coleman to take his spot in the bullpen.
New Chiefs safety Husain Abdullah, a practicing Muslim, elected not to return to the Minnesota Vikings last season and instead took his wife, parents and two older brothers on a monthlong pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia last October. “To get back out here and to have a second chance, not a lot of people get one,” Abdullah said. “So this is a blessing.”
There is a lot of apocalyptic talk from fans, and it all comes from an honest place. The Royals have taken their fans down this path many times before, a free-fall that either turns hope into hopelessness or twists the knife of suck a little bit more. Are you mad? Tell us how mad in our poll.
The Royals sent their ace, James Shields, to the mound in Wednesday’s finale and, as usually happens when he pitches, their attack turtled and resulted in a 3-1 loss to the Houston Astros.
Belying its reputation as a pitcher’s park, the math shows a trend toward the hitters at Kauffman Stadium. That ought to be good news for the home team, which has labored at the plate for much of this season. The Royals are scoring and allowing slightly fewer runs at home than on the road, but the advanced metrics indicate that Kauffman shouldn’t take the blame, or credit.
Mike Moustakas termed it “a relief” when he broke a zero-for-18 slide with an RBI single Tuesday night, but he also recognized it for what it was. “One hit is not going to do anything. It’s not going to completely turn anything around, but it was a hit in a big situation for us.”
Sam Mellinger was relieved to hear that Royals catcher Salvy Perez only had a deep bruise to his hip after crashing into a pole at Houston on Monday. The thought of the Royals' greatest asset rehabbing again was scary, and it made him consider the other key players who really can't get hurt.
Tamba Hali, who had nine sacks last season, one fewer than Justin Houston, isn’t ready to concede his Chiefs sack title permanently, but didn’t sound confident he would get it back this year, either. “As an athlete, I can’t compete with the kid,” Hali said of Houston. “He’s that much better.’’ But Hali also says the Chiefs as a whole will have more sacks this season.
If there’s one player who has stood out for Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith during the team’s offseason program, it’s been slot receiver Dexter McCluster.
The Chiefs signed two defensive backs — free-agent safeties Quintin Demps (pictured) and Malcolm Bronson — and released two college free agents on Wednesday.
San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree reportedly tore his Achilles tendon during organized team activities Tuesday.
The Royals came out of Tuesday's eighth inning with a lead and won the game against the Astros 7-3, but this one could have gone the other way because of poor pitch selection. Too many times on this road trip, Royals fans have seen hitters take when they should be swinging and swing when they should be taking.
One of the more interesting players at Chiefs practice over the last couple of weeks is rookie tight end Travis Kelce. Based on the ways the Chiefs have used Kelce, it would appear they plan to get plenty out of him.
Brian Urlacher wasn't sure how dominant he could be any longer, so he's calling it a career after 13 seasons with the Chicago Bears.
Sergio Garcia apologized for saying he would "serve fried chicken" while making a joke about having Tiger Woods over for dinner. The British newspaper The Guardian reported Garcia was asked in jest while on stage at the European Tour's awards dinner Tuesday night if he would invite Woods to dinner during the U.S. Open.
Mike Trout even surprised himself in adding to his growing list of impressive big league achievements.
Big 12 baseball champion Kansas State took home top individuals honors by the conference on Tuesday, led by player of the year Ross Kivett.
Johnson’s second goal of the game provides the winning margin for the Titans in their Missouri Class 3 Sectional.
