Daily Clips
January 24, 2018
LOCAL
Duffy feeling healthy, strong entering 2018
January 23, 2018 By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
https://www.mlb.com/royals/news/danny-duffys-elbow-fully-healthy-entering-18/c-265187424
George Brett will make a guest appearance on ‘Modern Family’
January 23, 2018 By Pete Grathoff/KC Star
http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/for-petes-sake/article196280444.html
New events heading to this year's Royals FanFest
Including Royals Fashion Show and roundtable
January 23, 2018 By Mick Shaffer/KSBH.com
https://www.kshb.com/sports/baseball/royals/new-events-heading-to-this-year-s-royals-fanfest
How to spot a runner that’s stealing signs
January 23, 2018 By Lee Judge/LeeJudgeKC.Wordpress.com
https://leejudgekc.wordpress.com/2018/01/23/how-to-spot-a-runner-thats-stealing-signs/
NATIONAL
Commish, MLBPA chief meet over pitch clocks, mound visit limits
January 23, 2018 ESPN.com (via AP)
http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/22192167/commissioner-rob-manfred-mlbpa-head-tony-clark-meet-pitch-clocks-mound-visit-limits
What's market value for center-field star Cain?
Free agent turns 32 in April, linked to multiple teams this offseason
January 23, 2018 By Mark Feinsand/MLB.com
https://www.mlb.com/news/whats-market-value-of-free-agent-lorenzo-cain/c-265211242
MLB TRANSACTIONS
January 24, 2018 •.CBSSports.com
http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/transactions
LOCAL
Duffy feeling healthy, strong entering 2018
January 23, 2018 By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
https://www.mlb.com/royals/news/danny-duffys-elbow-fully-healthy-entering-18/c-265187424
Royals left-hander Danny Duffy says he can barely remember the last time his left arm felt this healthy.
"It feels great, really great," Duffy said. "Honestly, I had forgotten what it felt like to throw without any pain or discomfort."
Duffy had an arthroscopic procedure to clean out some "loose bodies" of cartilage and bone fragments from behind his elbow early last October.
Duffy had gone on the disabled list in August because of what was described as a pronator strain. He came back to pitch in September, and he indicated then that there was no ligament damage (Duffy had Tommy John surgery in 2012) and thus no fear of damaging his elbow.
"I wish I had done this [surgery] a while ago," Duffy said. "[Trainer] Nick Kenney had been on me to get it done, but I kept feeling like I could manage my way through it."
Duffy said he has been in a throwing program for several weeks and is now throwing long toss at 100 feet. He said he'll be good to go by Spring Training. Pitchers and catchers report on Feb. 13.
Duffy was 9-10 with a 3.81 ERA last season.
George Brett will make a guest appearance on ‘Modern Family’
January 23, 2018 By Pete Grathoff/KC Star
http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/for-petes-sake/article196280444.html
Any Royals fan knows that Hall of Famer George Brett piled up incredible statistics, and you can find them on his Baseball Reference page.
Brett’s IMDb page, which includes appearances on “Arliss,” “Fantasy Island”* and “United States of Tara,” is pretty solid, too.
* In his 1978 appearance on “Fantasy Island,” Brett strikes out on three pitches from Gary Burghoff, who is best known for playing Radar O’Reilly on “M*A*S*H”
Brett apparently will be making another appearance as an actor. Kansas City, Kan., native Eric Stonestreet, the K-State grad, tweeted that Brett will be joining him on “Modern Family.”
Stonestreet wrote: “There are good days and then there are...text a childhood hero and baseball icon to ask him to be on the same TV show you’re on and he says yes and then flys from KC to LA to shoot a scene with you...days. @kcroyals #georgebrett”
Stonestreet, who is one of the stars behind the Big Slick charity event that annually raises money for Children’s Mercy Hospital, is an unabashed Royals fan.
No word on when the episode will air, but Stonestreet’s photo shows that Brett was in the Royals’ spring-training uniform for his appearance on “Modern Family.”
New events heading to this year's Royals FanFest
Including Royals Fashion Show and roundtable
January 23, 2018 By Mick Shaffer/KSBH.com
https://www.kshb.com/sports/baseball/royals/new-events-heading-to-this-year-s-royals-fanfest
With the 2018 Royals FanFest presented by Commerce Bank quickly approaching, the Club announced today some of the features of the event, including a Royals Fashion Show as well as an Amateur Scouting Roundtable with General Manager Dayton Moore.
For the first time, current Royals players will join KCrew and kids in a Royals Fashion Show. Beginning at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, January 26, the latest and greatest men’s, women’s and kids' fashions from the team store will be on display in a fun event. Fans are encouraged to head to the seating area around the main stage by 7:15 p.m.
On Saturday, January 27, General Manager Dayton Moore and representatives from the Royals Baseball Operations department will host a Scouting and Player Development Roundtable and Q&A session. Parents, coaches and kids are encouraged to come learn and ask questions about what it takes to play baseball at a professional level. After the conclusion of the roundtable, fans can then participate in a breakout session beneath the main FanFest floor. There, they will have the opportunity to ask more questions and get more insight from the pros on a more intimate level. Those who participate in the breakout session will be able to return to FanFest following the conclusion of the breakout session.
Throughout FanFest, fans can celebrate the Royals 50th Season of baseball with autograph sessions at the Sprint autograph stages featuring current and former Royals, interactive games for all ages and even more events on the main stage presented by Commerce Bank. ARAMARK and Royals Authentics will be on site selling the latest merchandise and unique Royals memorabilia, and special activities will be planned throughout the event on Royals Diamond presented by Teva.
The 2018 Royals FanFest presented by Commerce Bank will mark the fifth year that the Royals are hosting the event at the Kansas City Convention Center. The downtown facility was also the site of the 2012 MLB All-Star FanFest. The Club will utilize spacious Bartle Hall, which features a main exhibition hall to give fans plenty of room to view exhibits and enjoy the festivities.
Royals 2018 season ticket members will receive exclusive access on both days of the event before FanFest opens to the general public.
How to spot a runner that’s stealing signs
January 23, 2018 By Lee Judge/LeeJudgeKC.Wordpress.com
https://leejudgekc.wordpress.com/2018/01/23/how-to-spot-a-runner-thats-stealing-signs/
Not long ago I promised to tell you why Royals catcher Jason Kendall kept his mask on when he went to the mound and now it’s time to keep that promise. Part of it was philosophical; Kendall thought a catcher should not be noticed, the pitcher was the main attraction and catcher should not do anything to attract attention to themselves.
But there was also a less noble motive.
If Kendall thought a runner on second base was stealing signs, he might go to the mound, talk over the pitcher’s shoulder and give the runner an earful. Kendall would tell the runner if he kept stealing signs, someone was going to get a fastball in the ribs and it might be the runner the next time he came to the plate. Because Kendall kept his mask on, fans couldn’t tell who he was talking to.
That’s one way to stop a runner from stealing signs, but how does a catcher know when it’s happening?
Look for patterns
When Jason told me about visiting the mound so he could talk to a runner at second base, I wanted to know how he knew the runner was stealing signs.
First, the runner will pay a little too much attention to what the catcher’s doing – he won’t be gabbing with a middle infielder – and then he’ll have to signal what he saw to the hitter. If a runner has his hands on his hips after a fastball is called, but his hands on his knees after the catcher calls an off-speed pitch, that’s a clue.
If the runner has his hand on one hip for fastball and hand on the other hip for off-speed, the catcher might get suspicious. The runner might also signal location to the hitter. Basically, anything the runner does differently from pitch-to-pitch might be an indication he’s stealing signs.
Most baseball fans know some runners at second base steal signs and pass those signs along to the hitter, but here’s something you might not know.
How to steal third without a throw
Back when Jarrod Dyson was playing for the Royals he doubled against the Toronto Blue Jays and then stole third without a throw; the third baseman made no move to cover the bag.
Why not?
The batter at the plate was left-handed Eric Hosmer and the pitch was a fastball away. Hosmer has no problem hitting the ball to the opposite field, so if the third baseman covered third and Hosmer put a fastball on the outer half of the plate in play, the ball had a good chance of being hit in the direction of the third baseman. That meant the third baseman had to hold his ground and couldn’t cover third when Dyson stole the bag.
So if a runner on second base can decipher the signs at home plate, and the pitcher is about to throw a fastball away to a left-handed hitter or an off-speed pitch to a right handed hitter, the runner might be able to swipe third without a throw; the third baseman has to stay put and can’t cover the bag.
Same deal with Mike Moustakas.
Mike has a total of 11 stolen bases in his career, but if I recall correctly – a big if – one of them came when he stole third base with Jeff Francoeur at the plate. Jeff was in a 1-2 count and that’s when a lot of pitchers like to throw a breaking pitch.
If Mike guessed correctly – or stole a sign – and ran when the pitcher threw an off-speed pitch, Mike would have a little extra time to make it to third and the third baseman might not cover the bag anyway. If right-handed Jeff Francoeur put an off-speed pitch in play, once again the third baseman had to hold his ground. If the third baseman covered the bag and Francoeur put a 16-hopper in play through the hole at third, it would be an RBI double. Better to let Moustakas have third and concentrate on getting Francoeur out.
So next time you see a catcher make a mound visit while wearing his mask, or a runner do something different before every pitch, or a runner steal third without a throw, you might have spotted a runner that was stealing signs.
NATIONAL
Commish, MLBPA chief meet over pitch clocks, mound visit limits
January 23, 2018 ESPN.com (via AP)
http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/22192167/commissioner-rob-manfred-mlbpa-head-tony-clark-meet-pitch-clocks-mound-visit-limits
Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred and players' association head Tony Clark met Tuesday, five days after the union rejected Major League Baseball's proposal to institute pitch clocks and limits on mound visits.
Management has the right to implement the rule changes it proposed last year. Under baseball's labor contract, management can change on-field rules on its own with one season of advance notice.
MLB does not intend to make any decision before its next owners' meetings, scheduled for next week in Beverly Hills, California. Big league spring training games start Feb. 23, and the season opens March 29.
"We discussed a wide range of topics," Clark said in an email. "I will now be discussing each of those topics with our player leadership."
Manfred did not respond to an email seeking comment.
Nine-inning games averaged a record 3 hours, 5 minutes during the 2017 regular season and 3:29 during the postseason. The length of games has concerned club owners and executives in an age when they compete for consumers with more entertainment choices and shorter attention spans.
"It would be nicer to have the games move a little quicker. At the same time, you're asking guys who've been playing at a high level their whole life to do something completely differently than they normally do," Colorado center fielder Charlie Blackmon, the NL batting champion, said last weekend. "I'm going to be resistant to change right out of the gate, no matter what it is."
Under the proposal MLB can implement, there would be a 30-second clock between batters and a 20-second clock between pitches, according to details obtained by the AP.
A hitter would be required to be in the batter's box with at least five seconds left on the timer. The clock would start when the pitcher has the ball on the mound, except for the first pitch of an at-bat, for which it would start at the end of the previous play.
The clock would reset when a pitcher steps off the rubber and when he makes or feints a pickoff throw.
An umpire would issue a warning to a pitcher or batter for a first violation each game, and subsequent violations by a player would result in a ball being called against a pitcher and a strike against a batter.
Under the proposed limit on mound visits, a team would be allowed one per pitcher each inning, whether by a manager, coach or player. A second visit would result in the team being forced to change pitchers.
During bargaining, MLB offered to start the pitch clock this year without runners on base and delay its use with runners until 2019.
"When you go to the ballpark, you go to spend the day and the night at the ballpark," Rockies All-Star third baseman Nolan Arenado said. "I don't think you want to spend a night at the ballpark for hour-and-a-half or two hours. Think you want to be there for a little longer than that. I don't get it."
What's market value for center-field star Cain?
Free agent turns 32 in April, linked to multiple teams this offseason
January 23, 2018 By Mark Feinsand/MLB.com
https://www.mlb.com/news/whats-market-value-of-free-agent-lorenzo-cain/c-265211242
When the Giants signed Austin Jackson to a two-year contract on Monday, it appeared to squash any chance of Lorenzo Cain signing with San Francisco. Or did it?
There is still a belief within the industry that Cain could wind up with the Giants, who currently have Jackson, Hunter Pence and Andrew McCutchen penciled in as their starting outfield.
"San Francisco still feels like a strong fit," one general manager said. "Jackson could serve as a very valuable fourth outfielder with two veteran corner outfielders."
Cain has been attached to several teams besides the Giants this winter. The Rangers and Brewers have been viewed as potential suitors, while other teams, including the Mets and Blue Jays, have also been linked to the center fielder.