Royals Links: Alex Gordon’s Transformation, Moustakas, Duffy, & More

Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

As far as I’m concerned, the worst part about yesterday’s postponement of Game 3 (other than having to go a day without any baseball) was the opportunity for people to become more irrationally outraged over Jarrod Dyson‘s comments. Perhaps Dyson could’ve left some things unsaid, but I mean, he’s got the word “ZOOM” shaved into the side of his head, and his speed has forced Buck Showalter to completely alter the way his relievers pitch.

Why would you expect anything less than extreme confidence?

Nelson Cruz countered with a similar statement yesterday, so now both fanbases can be equally angry at meaningless comments from players. Anyway, the Royals are the talk of the baseball universe, meaning you can’t swing a virtual cat without hitting a fascinating article on the team. Here is a small collection of a few of those posts.

– Eno Sarris wrote a very good article for FanGraphs on Alex Gordon, and how he used his early-career struggles to shape him into the star he is today. Sarris mentions the mechanical adjustments Gordon made, with the help of Kevin Seitzer, as well as the mental adjustments. Gordon stopped selling out for power, and actually ended up hitting for more power. He’s also passed along some of those lessons to the younger players on the team, like Mike Moustakas.

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– Speaking of Moustakas, Marc Normandin of SB Nation says whether or not this kind of hitting resurgence is for real is basically irrelevant right now. Moose is putting up some historic numbers for the Royals, and even if there are still doubts about his future, this kind of performance is something to be enjoyed.

– Pine Tar Press’ David Lesky wrote a post on the effects of yesterday’s rainout on the rest of the ALCS. While there are some positives – James Shields being available to start Game 4, chief among them – there are negatives as well, such as the potential wear on the bullpen, if the series goes back to Baltimore. The Royals need their starters to work deeper into games, while remaining effective, obviously, in order to protect the bullpen. Winning the next two games would allow them to avoid all that mess, so maybe they should do that instead.

– According to Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star, Danny Duffy isn’t bothered by the fact that he’s not been pitching much in the playoffs. Knowing Duffy’s unselfish personality, this should come as no surprise, but he continues to insist he’ll be ready whenever he’s called upon. He feels healthy, and the team says he’s healthy, so we’ll have to see when his moment comes. Should either of the next two starters struggle early on, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Duffy enter a game for a few innings.

– Kelly McHugh published a piece for Sports Illustrated on the story of her brother, Mike, and the role the Royals have played in their family, particularly after losing their father, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2010. Baseball was something Mike could share with his dad, John, so experiencing the euphoria of this Royals’ postseason run has taken on an even more emotional meaning.

– Over at The Hardball Times, Jon Roegele points out that the called strike zone continues to grow larger, making things even more difficult for hitters in this offense-suppressed environment. Umpires are calling more and more strikes below the regulation strike zone, which gives pitchers another area to throw a pitch where it’s tougher for batters to square it up. If MLB is actually concerned with the run-scoring environment, they need to focus on having umpires call the zone as it should be called. Or, they could use robot umpires and make it even easier.