Royals Links: Alex Gordon, Bullpen Rankings, Trade Hesitation, & More

Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

It’s a sad day, Royals fans. Last night’s game was emotionally exhausting. I know it’s going to be hard to carry on, knowing that Derek Jeter will never play another game at Kauffman Stadium, but be strong, friends. The game will go on. We’ll simply have to stick together to get through this difficult time.

As for the Royals, they lost two consecutive games for the first time since July. The last time the team lost back-to-back games, Eric Hosmer was on the active roster, Josh Willingham was a Twin, and the world had not yet been introduced to Buck Farmer. Those were the days. Now, here are some links to a few recent stories from around the internet.

– Over at Sports Illustrated, the Royals received some attention, making the cover on their latest issue. Also, Ben Reiter wrote a great article on Alex Gordon and his return to dominance this season. He’s always been a tireless worker, and that dedication has helped Gordon get to where he is now. Another fun tidbit from that article: Gordon hasn’t eaten ice cream since 2011. I haven’t eaten ice cream since 11:00 last night, so I know where he’s coming from.

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– On his personal blog, Rany Jazayerli discusses the recent hot stretch by the Royals, and talks a bit about the aforementioned Gordon. I completely agree with his point about extending Gordon after this season, and I love that he mentions Gordon’s work ethic and physical condition as reasons to not be quite as wary of paying him during his so called “decline years.” With a few more quality seasons, Gordon could end his career in Kansas City as one of the very best Royals of all time.

– David Schoenfield of ESPN’s SweetSpot Blog ranks the top 5 bullpens in the majors, and has the Royals’ relief corps as the second best, behind only the Mariners. He does mention that the trio of Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis, and Greg Holland is as good as it gets, but the Royals don’t have quite as much depth. With so few innings to go around for the relievers, that lack of depth hasn’t been a major issue to this point, but it has been a cause for some angst among Royals fans.

– FOX Sports Kansas City’s Jeffrey Flanagan suggests the Royals should not look to deal off either of those top two relief arms, despite the significant chunk of payroll it will require to keep them both around. While I agree it’s great to have a lockdown bullpen, Dayton Moore has proven he can build a quality pen with chewing gum and paper clips, so I think the Royals will be just fine without one of those arms.

– Sam Miller has a really fun piece up at Baseball Prospectus breaking down some notable acting jobs by baseball players. That is, players who attempt to deceive umpires by selling a trap or hit by pitch. Miller’s a very entertaining writer, and there are lots of enjoyable gifs included in the article, for those of us who like moving pictures along with funny words.