Royals Rundown: A Kansas City Royals Podcast

In the latest episode of Royals Review Radio, we talk about Whit Merrifield, trade talks, and the starting rotation, plus we have DaveO from Clubhouse Conversation on to talk about his player interviews.

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Okay the podcast isn't actually ending as far as being discontinued. We've had a month long hiatus for no particular reason, but we are back. The somber intro is a reflection of the Royals record (which has since improved by one game since the end of the podcast - huzzah!).

On today's podcast I am joined by my newly minted, newly knighted, east coast co-host with the co-most Joshua Ward. Making sure we don't ruin the websites #brand, overlord Max Rieper joins us as well.

On this edition topics include:

The first month of the season

Lorenzo Cain, hurt?

The Royals not striking out still

Wil Myers being blocked by Jeff Francoeur

Ryan O'Hearn

Prospect promotions (or lack thereof)

Alcides Escobar leading off

A collective feeling of malaise

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On this episode we discuss my top 60 prospect lists. In a turn of events, I was temporarily relieved of my hosting duties. Instead, Max Rieper returns to his original podcast role of host. Joining us is podcast stalwart and unofficial third host Josh Ward.

Topics include:

Enigmatic Kyle Zimmer

Inconsistent Miguel Almonte

Semi-wunderkind Miguel Almonte

Polyglot Marten Gasparini

Wild Josh Staumont

Lumberjack Ryan O'Hearn

Underwhelming Hunter Dozier

Sleeping prospects

JIFs (sic)

Music

Introduction: Damien Rice - Delicate

Outro: Bright Eyes - Easy/Lucky/Free

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Between the recording of the previous podcast and this one you will hopefully soon be listening to, many people have died. However such as life is, many of those people passed away without being remembered by the world at large. They will be remembered by their friends, family, and colleagues, but you may hear their name and not even know of their passing.

Such also is life that noteable people pass away too. In this instance two notable musicians (though notable in the worldview sense) have passed: David Bowie and Lemmy Kilmister. Though this podcast isn't a tribute to them, consider this sentence to be one.

However what didn't die is this podcast. I would happily trade its life for that of Bowie or Kilmister or any deceased individual but again...such is life.

Joined on this podcast is the author's normal co-host Matthew LaMar. Alongside him is Royals Review contributor Josh Ward. Preceding Josh only in the ordering of these names and not in validity of opinion is first time guest Kevin Ruprecht who writes for both Royals Review and is managing editor of Beyond the Box Score.

Topics discussed include:

The Royals re-signing Alex Gordon

Is collude a word?

Pokemon

Belsnickel

Lorenzo Cain's arbitration theories

Josh listens to the very podcast he is on

Teasing Omar Infante

Baseball America's Royals top 10 and the system

The Tigers farm system: woof

The perceived value of a leadoff hitting Alcides Escobar

Ian Kennedy is a Royal

Eric Hosmer: elite defender?

Matt has better stuff to do

Introduction: Jimmy Fallon, The Roots, and the cast of Star Wars - Star Wars Medley

Outro: Motorhead - Sympathy for the Devil

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One finds out quickly in life at some point that they have no control over their name, initially. For better or for worse we are given labels in the form of a first, last, and sometimes middle name. Some are born into a name like Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, and Rothschild. Other having more mediocre and less relevant names such as Johnson, Smith, and Newkirk.

Until some legal requirement we are stuck with our names. Even worse, names we aren't born with are given to us in cruelty. Names that are used to denigrate, torture, and embarrase. Names can be a blessing or a curse. You can be a Rockefeller or a Mud. Nunamaker or Dirt.

In this episode we dissect such a topic, though we do so in a jovial manner, and at the expense of both the named...and the listener.

Guests on this episode (with their twitter handles linked) are editor-in-chief Max Rieper, pop cultured Josh Duggan, Syrian refugee volunteer Joshua Ward. I am your usual humble host, Shaun Newkirk.

Topics include:

Shaun doesn't know Hall of Famers

Playing a game of: I'll give you a player name, you tell me what decade they played in

Harlond Clift

Perhaps inefficiently signing Joakim Soria

Not the Speaker of the House Tip O'Niell

Royals comprehensible but perhaps also unexplainable payroll spending

Clint Robinson

Losing Ben Zobrist

Jesse Barfield

Who can the Royals sucker into acquiring Omar Infante

Chuck Knoblach

Alex Gordon is going to sign with the T-Bones

Dummy Hoy

Jose Martinez: not necessarily that old and maybe is Richie Sexson

Pie Traynor

Playing the: How many top 100 prospects would this player get? game

Red Schoendienst

Not talking about Jason Kendall and he is absolutely not a Hall of Famer, don't even bring it up

Johnny "Ugly" Dickshot

Music

Introduction: Adele - Hello

Outro: Dr. Hook - Sylvia's Mother

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In the Matrix, humans are strapped to non-sentient feeding machines that essentially perpetually suck life matter out of them to sustain robotic life. However the humans are inserted into a somewhat digital alternate reality to give them hope. In Inception, a group of professional dream-alterers dubbed "extractors" enter the subconscious and dreams of targets to implant an idea into their consciousness. In Vanilla Sky, the main character authorizes scientists to preserve his body and he enters a 150 year long cryonic dream that goes awry. In Donnie Darko, something happens but nobody can consistently explain the plot.

Over the past week, we here at Royals Review joined with other SB Nation writers to enter into an alternate reality. One should remember though that our alternate reality is a lot less dramatic, fun, and serious as those above. No one was harmed in the process of our alternate reality.

Our alternate reality consisted of taking over the general management of the 30 respected MLB clubs. Those implanted general managers would be given full discretion to sign, release, and trade players to achieve whatever goal they wanted. The results of that alternate reality and more are discussed in the preceding podcast.

Guest include Editor in Chief Max Rieper, East Coast correspondent Joshua K Ward, and media buff Josh Duggan. Your usual co-host for this podcast is consistent fool Shaun Newkirk.

Topics include:

What the hell even is a manager of the year?

Dayton Moore doesn't pay for relievers

Duggan goes two for two

Joakim Soria: A reunion at hand?

David Glass vs Jeffrey Loria

Giving record money to Noel Arguelles and Bubba Starling

Fallen homies: Tim Melville, Daniel Cortes, Carlos Rosa, etc...

Royals using protection (with their prospects)

"Cryptotherapy"

Offseason simulation (starting at 1:13:20)

Max being more negotiable with his wife

Lowballing offers

Yankees "get money"

Nationals fans revolt

Music

Introduction: Comeback Kid - Defeated

Outro: Cynthia Harrell - Snake Eater (from the Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater Soundtrack)

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What would cause someone to live under a rock? Is there a real estate market for rocks as habitats? I should probably Google search this, but I don't think there are any creatures that live under or inside rocks. First, how would that creature get any air or sunlight? Secondly how does a creature live under a rock without dying? I think it may be possible to live in a rock, rather than under. Also are a creature's economics and current habitat so bad that they would or need to live under a rock?

Somehow if you've defied my entirely fallible logic and have been living under the proverbial rock, you likely would have missed the Royals winning the World Series depending on how long you were under said rock for. So in this podcast we cover not only the Royals World Series title, but also the plans not just for KC but for Royals review over the coming month(s).

Guests this episode include co-co-host Matthew LaMar, co-co-host Shaun Newkirk, and our Editor in Chief Max Rieper.

Topics include:

Eric Hosmer's poor but exceptionally fortunate baserunning

A non-Plaza parade

Wade Davis: Ridiculous and absurd

Maybe paying Alex Gordon large sums of money

Do we want to even live until 2018?

Eric Hosmer vs Alex Rios

Shaun forgets how posting fees work

Internally replacing Alex Gordon, Ben Zobrist, et all...

Conan O'Brien, Richter, and Comic the Insult Dog

Matt hates Christmas

A thanks to you, both readers and listeners

#WilMyerstoKC

Music

Introduction: Lucero - Smoke

Outro: The Faceless - Planetary Duality II

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There's an old idiom about the fact that eventually even a blind squirrel will find a nut or some sort of indehiscence fruit. What this idiom does not describe though is exactly how many nuts this blind squirrel will find after the first nut. In the case of the Royals, they've found two consecutive nuts. Who is the blind squirrel in this scenario? One could argue it's Royals manager Ned Yost who despite all the critics and anti-saber ink spilled about him has found himself managing a World Series team in consecutive years. That's not an entirely crazy argument, but let me propose a different example: your humble co-host.

Somehow despite all earthly logic, this author, co-host, and unreliable narrator of truth finds himself writing about a World Series team for the second consecutive year. Most importantly though (to the author) the team he finds himself writing about is in fact his favorite team.

The nut from last year wasn't fruitful though. It was rotten...or at least it only beared an unfulfilling seed. The authors favorite team lost in seven games of the World Series. Hopefully the nut found this year births a bountiful harvest leading to trophies and triumphs.

On this episode of the podcast we have two segments.

The first segment includes two guests from Amazin' Avenues. Jeffrey Pasternostro (who also covers prospects and other non-Mets related content at Baseball Prospectus) and Greg Karam (who despite having a 30-grade Twitter presence, you should still follow).

Topics include:

Curtis Granderson: Not crazy old

The Wilpons, a negative connotation

Where's the power? featuring Dom Smith and Brandon Nimmo

Yankee Fans

Signing both Daniel Murphy and Yoenis Cespedes

Bartolo Colon vs Munenori Kawasaki

The book on Terry Collins

Goodbye Cesar Puello, thanks for all the sunflower seeds

The second segment doesn't feature quite as much non-Royals diversity however still features excellent guests. Those guests are still married Minda Haas and Matt Jackson of Beyond the Box Score fame.

Topics include:

Minda's feelings while driving to Walgreens

Matt tries to not incite a pregnant lady

Royals rotation plans

Cueto home vs away

World Series predictions

Pitcher hair

Barbeque vs Bagels: Why?

Whiff rates

Rumspringa

MLB Network does incalculable math

Lack of food around Citi Field

Music:

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This particular podcast features two segments. The first segment your humble co-host is joined by Max Reiper, Gus Booth, and Matt Jackson; all writers on this very site.

Topics include:

Sir Joseph Bats

Poor team decisions based on things Madison Bumgarner did

The upcoming Blue Jays ALCS

Ben Zobrist: Honorary ALDS MVP

Sal Perez and unfortunate involuntary bowel movements

The "vibe" around Toronto courtesy of Matt Jackson

Throwing beer at babies

Fallout from the August Royals/Blue Jays fight

On the second segment we feature a rare guest, one Scott Clarke of Bluebird Banter. For the uninitiated, Bluebird Banter is the sister site to Royals Review but of course rather than focusing on the ALDS winning Royals, they instead focus on the ALDS winning Blue Jays. Why? That's a question for Scott and his colleagues that we unfortunately didn't cover.

Topics include:

The Blue Jays (of course)

Canadian geography

John Gibbons: gone but not forgotten and then returned

The number of "bullets" in David Price's arm

Aaron Sanchez is or is not a ROOGY but is definitely maybe not just a reliever

Letting go of prospects

Thomas John Surgery

Over under the number of brawls in the ALCS? 2.5

How to like Josh Donaldson the player, not the man

Baseball needs the hockey equivalent of a goon

Also is hockey a sport?

Music:

Introduction: ILoveMakonnen - No Ma'am

Break: Watch the Throne - Liftoff

Outro: Periphery - All New Materials

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