Weekend Rumblings – News for October 12, 2024

No more Royals baseball.

Sam McDowell writes about why Bobby Witt Jr. stayed to watch the Yankees celebrate from the dugout.

“It feels like you let a lot of people down whenever you do things like this,” Witt began.

“Something that will light a torch in you and leave you a bad taste for the future. “Because, now, for Kansas City Royals baseball, this is what we want. This is what we’re gonna do every year — get in the postseason. Now it’s how far are we gonna go. It’s not how we’re gonna get there — it’s how far we’re gonna go.”

Vinnie Pasquantino reflects on his first post-season experience.

“Tough to say because it was such a bad series for me personally,” Pasquantino said. “I felt like I put a few balls in play pretty good or hit a few balls foul well, and then the end of the at-bat would be garbage. So I don’t know if I can say that I got it back, but I don’t think that’s an excuse for why I had such a tough series. I just think I didn’t play good enough.” Pasquantino emphasized that he didn’t return just to play in the postseason.

“I really fully believe that I was healthy enough,” Pasquantino said. “I don’t want to be the guy who says, ‘Oh, I was hurt,’ after the fact.”

Jaylon Thompson talks to players about what’s next.

“This team is going to be special,” Witt said. “Royals baseball now is competitive. We are going to be coming at teams, and teams aren’t going to be wanting to play us. That’s what we are going to be doing. It’s kind of our mantra for baseball and what we are going to be doing for a while.”

Anne Rogers has more.

“We knew we were going to be able to surprise some people,” Michael Massey said. “At the end of the day, we proved to ourselves more than anything that we’re capable of being a really good team. I think it creates a different buzz around the clubhouse.”

Michael Wacha has a $16 million player option to consider.

“I haven’t really thought too much about it,” Wacha said. “I’ve expressed to these guys how much I enjoy being here and want to be back. I guess when that time comes we’ll handle it then, but not really thinking too much about it right now.”

The Yankees had high praise for the Royals.

“I’ve got to be honest with you, the Royals are a damn good ballclub,” Cole said after improving to 11-6 in 19 career postseason starts and lowering his ERA in the playoffs to 2.94 in 116 innings.

“That was a really tough series,” added Cole, who survived two major calamities on Thursday.

David Lesky tries his best to recap the series-clinching loss.

As for the game, I’m finding it difficult to break it down. It sort of feels like “what does it matter?” Almost everything we saw from this game will likely be addressed this offseason because basically every weakness was exposed. The offense showed signs, but wasn’t deep or powerful enough. They also lacked athleticism outside of a few players. The corner outfield defense left something to be desired. The bullpen had its moments but also struggled to throw strikes at times. If you made a list of offseason needs, basically everything that went wrong this series would be on that list. Just because the end result was a bummer that we all wish was different doesn’t mean that’s not okay.

Craig Brown writes it was a wild ride.

I wrote back in August that this team, these 2024 Royals, were probably the favorite club of my adult life. This wasn’t recency bias or just somehow overlooking the two-year run of success a decade ago. There was just something about this club. From the manager and the coaching staff and, hell, even the front office to the players themselves. This season was a rebirth of both the franchise and their relationship to the city. Those players…they did this. It’s easy to be enthusiastic about the future. Given what we’ve seen this year, we should be enthusiastic about the future.

Joseph Hernandez got fan reactions from the tough loss to the Yankees.

Jac Caglianone had a game in the Arizona Fall League.

The ALDS game between the Guardians and Tigers is moved up to 1 p.m. today due to weather.

Mets second baseman Jeff McNeil will rehab his wrist with some games in the Arizona Fall League.

What went wrong with the Phillies and can it be fixed?

Who was the MVP for the Yankees in the ALDS?

What depth moves do the Twins need to make to get back to the post-season?

Kevin Seitzer opens up about getting fired as hitting coach by the Braves.

The Orioles part ways with three coaches.

Rangers third baseman Jace Jung undergoes wrist surgery.

Florida spring training sites seemed to avoid major damage from Hurricane Milton.

The Tropicana Las Vegas is demolished to make way for an A’s ballpark.

TV ratings for the WNBA playoffs are way up.

Can the Jets salvage the season?

Obesity rates have stopped climbing.

David Simon is mad that Russia censored the gay scenes in The Wire.

Would you run the Taco Bell 50k that requires eating an item at nine different restaurants?

Your song of the day is The Doobie Brothers with China Grove.