Royal rumble becoming regular thing
This Royals’ testiness didn’t start this year. Giants fans might remember Game 6 of the World Series and Yordano Ventura staring down Pablo Sandoval after snagging a comebacker.
Sandoval said Ventura might have been jealous of his two World Series titles. The next day, Sandoval and the Giants won a third, sending the Royals into wait’ll-next-year mode.
Next year is here, and it’s far testier. The Royals are led by first baseman Bill Laimbeer, center fielder Dennis Rodman, shortstop Isiah Thomas and gritty utility man Rick Mahorn. Sorry, got my eras mixed up. Bad Boys, meet the bad boys. You don’t get capitalized until you win a championship, and the Royals are trying to do that in a Detroit Piston-y kind of way, at least in the season’s first month, and it’s not pretty.
Because Kansas City pitchers are able to hide behind the designated hitter rule, never needing to step into the batter’s box and face old-school retaliation, bad-blood episodes broke out against three opponents.
Angels: On April 13, Ventura buzzed Mike Trout with a 96-mph fastball, and Trout followed with a screaming line drive that nearly turned Ventura into a discombobulated Charlie Brown. Ventura took it personally for some reason and stared at Trout up the first-base line. When Trout scored, Ventura greeted him at the plate with another staredown. Benches cleared, and Ventura was lucky he and the mighty Trout didn’t come to blows.
A’s: On April 17, Brett Lawrie slid spikes-high into Alcides Escobar’s leg. The Royals retaliated the next day when Ventura drilled Lawrie on the elbow, earning an ejection. It was supposed to be over, but it wasn’t. The following day, after Scott Kazmir hit Lorenzo Cain on the foot, Kelvin Herrera amped up the tension with a 100-mph fastball toward Lawrie’s head and pointed toward his own head, a foolish display. Five Royals were ejected, and Herrera was suspended five games (he got off easy).
White Sox: On Thursday, Ventura had a barking match with Adam Eaton after gloving his comebacker. Benches emptied and, this time, punches were thrown. There were five ejections, including three Royals — Ventura for a second straight start. There were six suspensions, including four Royals. The donnybrook was ignited by a heated seasonopening series in which six batters were hit, including Cain by Jeff Samardzija. Thursday, Cain and Samardzija squared off.
So last year’s Cinderella story turned into this year’s Lady Tremaine story, with Ventura playing the lead role. He was the common denominator in all three incidents, plus the World Series tiff with Sandoval. He said through an interpreter (teammate Jeremy Guthrie) that his emotions got the best of him and he needs to control them.
Manager Ned Yost isn’t blaming his Royals; he’s blaming opponents for starting everything. The Royals have been hit by 17 pitches in 17 games (tied for the majorleague lead), including one that broke Alex Rios’ hand and sent him to the disabled list, while Kansas City pitchers have hit five batters. That’s no consolation for Lawrie, who was in the batter’s box playing dodgeball.
Of course, not admitting there’s a problem is no way to overcome a problem, and Ventura and Herrera are putting their teammates in danger. Cain has become a popular target, and the Royals can’t afford to have him injured because of a purpose pitch or brawl. Suddenly, defending a pennant would no longer be realistic.
No Padre pessimism: One knock on A.J. Preller — you had to dig deep to criticize the offseason work of the Padres’ general manager — was that his lineup was too righty heavy. Five position players he acquired bat from the right side, including former A’s catcher Derek Norris. The others: Matt Kemp, Justin Upton, Wil Myers and Will Middlebrooks.
So what? The Padres lead the league in runs, and they’ve fixed a weakness. Last year, they were lousy against lefties with the worst batting average (.220), on-base percentage (.289) and slugging percentage (.326) in the majors. This year’s slash line is a ridiculous .357/ .411/.510.
The Padres collected five runs on 10 hits against Madison Bumgarner, who lasted three innings. Norris is 11for-17 off lefties.
Around the majors: Wrigley Field and Dodger Stadium are the two oldest NL parks. Quick quiz: Which is third oldest? It’s Coors Field. The Rockies are celebrating the yard’s 20th anniversary this weekend. ... A grounder is never routine if Billy Hamilton is running, and forget about throwing him out if a diving stop is necessary. But former A’s farmhand Addison Russell, the Cubs’ new second baseman, made a must-see play to throw out Hamilton, diving up the middle, popping up and making a quick throw. He’s adjusting nicely from shortstop. ... Josh Hamilton should remain in the AL West if the Angels’ trade sending him back to the Rangers is approved by the union and MLB. “If that is the case and he’s healthy, we’ve seen what Josh Hamilton can do when he’s swinging the bat well,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. ... Next time you consider complaining about the Giants or A’s hitting, consider that the Indians not only have one of the worst offenses in the AL but aren’t hitting all the way down the chain. The batting average is .225 at Triple-A Columbus, .233 at Double-A Akron and .183 at Class A Lake County. ... Will Clark did an online chat with fans and was asked which current pitchers he’d fear. Clark’s answer: none of ’em.