Daily Clips

May 1, 2018

LOCALStaked to early lead, Hammel allows eight runsApril 30, 2018 By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.comhttps://www.mlb.com/royals/news/jason-hammel-struggles-in-royals-loss/c-274523714

Moustakas says bruised forearm nothing seriousApril 30, 2018 By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.comhttps://www.mlb.com/royals/news/mike-moustakas-exits-with-bruised-forearm/c-274523840

Unlike last season, Soler 'not chasing much'April 30, 2018 By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.comhttps://www.mlb.com/royals/news/jorge-solers-plate-discipline-improved-in-18/c-274523732

What else the Royals said after losing to the Red Sox 10-6April 30, 2018 By Maria Torres/KC Starhttp://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article210193619.html

Hammel, Royals squander early lead and lose to Red Sox 10-6April 30, 2018 By Maria Torres/KC Starhttp://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article210186049.html

X-rays come back negative on Royals' Mike Moustakas, who was hit by a pitch in BostonApril 30, 2018 By Maria Torres/KC Starhttp://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article210184399.html

Did Royals' Salvador Perez join the Fun Police? Writers around country think soApril 30, 2018 By Pete Grathoff/KC Starhttp://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/for-petes-sake/article210147464.html

The Royals struggled to sell tickets in April. Weather wasn't the only issueApril 30, 2018 By Maria Torres/KC Starhttp://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article210129404.html

Royals say their run with KayCee 'The W Guy' is over; critical Facebook post surfacesApril 30, 2018 By Pete Grathoff/KC Starhttp://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/for-petes-sake/article210127384.html

The Royals are bad with the bases loaded, and it surfaced again in a 10-6 loss to the Boston Red SoxApril 30, 2018 By Rustin Dodd/The Athletichttps://theathletic.com/337338/2018/04/30/the-royals-are-bad-with-the-bases-loaded-and-it-surfaced-again-in-a-10-6-loss-to-the-boston-red-sox/

Fired Royals personality KayCee, ‘the W Guy,’ holds no grudge after his dismissalApril 30, 2018 By Sean McDowell/FOX 4 KChttp://fox4kc.com/2018/04/30/fired-royals-personality-kaycee-the-w-guy-holds-no-grudge-after-his-dismissal/

Looking for a win, Royals roll out new $30 per month ticket optionApril 30, 2018 By Leslie Collins/Kansas City Business Journalhttps://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/news/2018/04/30/kansas-city-royals-fountain-bar-fan-pass.html

MINORSChasers Shut Down by Alzolay in 10-3 DefeatCubs take series opener at Principal ParkApril 30, 2018 By Omaha Storm Chasershttps://www.milb.com/omaha/news/chasers-shut-down-by-alzolay-in-10-3-defeat/c-274618426

Monday sunshine spoiled in Tulsa in 8-2 lossApril 30, 2018 By Northwest Arkansas Naturalshttps://www.milb.com/northwest-arkansas/news/naturals-fall-in-tulsa-on-april-30/c-274551728

NATIONALCorey Seager to miss rest of yearDodgers' star shortstop to undergo Tommy John surgeryApril 30, 2018 By Ken Gurnick/MLB.comhttps://www.mlb.com/news/corey-seager-to-have-tommy-john-surgery/c-274573656

Ray to DL with oblique strain; Bracho recalledApril 30, 2018 By Steve Gilbert/MLB.comhttps://www.mlb.com/dbacks/news/robbie-ray-hits-dl-silvino-bracho-recalled/c-274574486

T-t-t-ten things that we learned from AprilMay 1, 2018 By Jayson Stark/The Athletic

https://theathletic.com/337046/2018/05/01/stark-t-t-t-ten-things-that-we-learned-from-april/

Biggest surprises -- good or bad -- one month into MLB seasonApril 30, 2018 By Casey L. Moore/USA Today Sportshttps://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2018/04/30/biggest-surprises-so-far-2018-mlb-season/560227002/

MLB TRANSACTIONSMay 1, 2018 •.CBSSports.comhttp://www.cbssports.com/mlb/transactions

LOCALStaked to early lead, Hammel allows eight runsApril 30, 2018 By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.comhttps://www.mlb.com/royals/news/jason-hammel-struggles-in-royals-loss/c-274523714

The Royals' offense continued to show signs of life, but it wasn't enough to overcome right-hander Jason Hammel's shakiest start of the season.

Hammel gave up eight runs over 4 2/3 innings and the Royals fell to the Red Sox, 10-6, on a rainy Monday night at Fenway Park.

Hammel, who had a 2.33 ERA over his last four starts, was staked to a 3-0 lead in the first inning when the Royals took advantage of three walks and a hit batter by Red Sox starter Eduardo Rodriguez. But Hammel gave up a home run to Mitch Moreland in the second inning and then a grand slam to Xander Bogaerts in a five-run third.

"For some reason, both [starting] pitchers [struggled]," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "Maybe it was the weather with that heavy misty-type rain. … I thought Jason's first couple innings were good, but then he started to fight it himself a little bit in the third. The grand slam was a pitch that was up and in, which I don't think he was trying to go there. He was just battling command a little bit."

Trailing, 6-3, the Royals fought back in the fourth on a hit batter, and RBI doubles from Alcides Escobar and Whit Merrifield.

"We've been getting some hits with runners in scoring position," Yost said. "Took advantage of some wildness in the first inning, scored three runs. Brought it back within one there after they scored their five.We battled back to keep us in the game."

Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas was hit in the right arm by a pitch in the first inning and later removed from the game. X-rays were negative and Moustakas was diagnosed with a contusion on his right lateral forearm. He is listed as day to day.

MOMENTS THAT MATTEREDRough third inning: Hammel was in good shape in the third inning, getting the first two hitters out. After a single by Andrew Benintendi, Hammel got ahead of Hanley Ramirez 0-2 and had thrown just 41 pitches. Then it all fell apart. Ramirez doubled and then J.D. Martinez, down 1-2 in the

count, drew a walk. Hammel then walked Moreland when a 3-2 two-seam fastball was just barely low, forcing in a run. Hammel then threw a 3-2 two-seamer to Bogaerts, who crushed it over the Green Monster.

"Honestly, they put some really good at-bats together there, stretched the pitch count there," Hammel said. "Xander put a good swing on a pitch. It wasn't a very well-executed pitch, but I wasn't getting very many swings on the slider, which was surprising. Any time you can get four runs on one swing, you can do some damage. That was pretty much the story."

YOU GOTTA SEE THISRoyals right-hander Scott Barlow finally made his Major League debut on Monday. He had been the team's 26th man for two previous doubleheaders and had warmed up in Kansas City over the weekend but had not appeared in a game. Barlow struck out the first man he faced, Christian Vazquez, and pitched a scoreless inning. Barlow was nicked for a run in his second inning of work, but he followed that up with another scoreless frame.

"I got to warm up in Kansas City and my heart was pounding then," Barlow said. "But being at Boston and at Fenway, your heart is coming out of your chest."

Barlow, who grew up in Connecticut, had his wife and mother in attendance, as well as his brother, who is a Red Sox fan.

"I was nervous tonight, but in a good way," Barlow said. "Tim Hill told me, 'You're going to be amped up, but use it to your advantage.' I took that to heart."

UP NEXTRight-hander Jakob Junis (3-2, 3.34 ERA) takes the mound for the Royals on Tuesday against the Red Sox at 6:10 p.m. CT. Junis took the loss Thursday against the White Sox, giving up a career-high five home runs over 5 2/3 innings. Left-hander Chris Sale (2-1, 2.31 ERA) will pitch for the Red Sox.

Moustakas says bruised forearm nothing seriousApril 30, 2018 By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.comhttps://www.mlb.com/royals/news/mike-moustakas-exits-with-bruised-forearm/c-274523840

Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas left Monday's 10-6 loss to the Red Sox with a lateral right forearm contusion after being hit by a pitch from Red Sox starter Eduardo Rodriguez in the first inning.

X-rays taken at Fenway Park were negative. Moustakas said after the game that the injury was not serious.

Moustakas stayed in the game after the hit by pitch and scored a run, but in the bottom of the first, the Royals replaced Moustakas as the designated hitter with Abraham Almonte.

There was some confusion about the lineup change, because the original lineup for the Royals had Moustakas at third base, and Cheslor Cuthbert as the DH. So when Cuthbert was seen at third base in the bottom of the first, the assumption was that the Royals had forfeited the DH.

But that was not the case. The Red Sox and Royals' public relations departments determined that just before game time,

the Royals switched Moustakas to DH and Cuthbert to third base, and that was the lineup card presented to the umpires.

Unlike last season, Soler 'not chasing much'April 30, 2018 By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.comhttps://www.mlb.com/royals/news/jorge-solers-plate-discipline-improved-in-18/c-274523732

This is the Jorge Soler that the Royals' front office envisioned when they traded for him at the 2016 Winter Meetings.

Soler, a 26-year-old right fielder, had fans and scouts puzzled last season when he hit just .144 in 35 games in an injury-plagued season.

But Soler, whom the Royals acquired from the Cubs for fan favorite and closer Wade Davis, has been tantalizingly good so far in 2018. Following Monday's 10-6 loss to the Red Sox, Soler was hitting .304 with two home runs and six RBIs and a team-leading .434 on-base percentage.

"I'm very intrigued by him," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "Last year was such a struggle up here for him. But we sent him down [to Triple-A Omaha] and he put up really good numbers [with 24 home runs and a .952 OPS].

"I knew if we could just get him consistent at-bats up here he would do OK."

What has been most impressive to Yost and his coaching staff is Soler's plate discipline. Soler has drawn a team-high 18 walks, and entering Monday's game, he had seen 4.46 pitches per plate appearance, fourth best in the American League. Matt Davidson of the White Sox has seen the most at 4.56.

"He's not chasing much of anything," Yost said. "Occasionally he'll chase a bad pitch, but not consistently."

The plate discipline is by design. Soler said that he is watching more video of opponents and is focused on going after hitters' pitches only.

"I'm very proud of that," Soler said through interpreter and coach Pedro Grifol. "Almost every at-bat, I'm 1-2, 2-2. I'm prideful to extend ABs. Thanks to Pedro, too, who's helped me a lot, scouting pitchers before the game. I kind of know what the pitcher is going to do with me, which isn't something I did before."

Grifol paused for a minute, then said, "I can vouch for that. He's putting in the work. Not so much the physical work, but he's putting in the mental preparation that is necessary."

Of course, there are still issues with Soler defensively. He has dropped two routine fly balls already this season, and taken bad routes on others. But he did make a four-star catch, according to Statcast™, on Sunday.

"I know he's a work in progress in the outfield," Yost said, "but he's gotten so much better from last year. He's going to make mistakes out there, but he'll learn from it. And he's going to keep working."

Soler vows he will improve, too.

"I feel like I've gotten better in the field," Soler said. "I'm more on-time with jumps on the ball."

For now, Yost is simply enjoying watching the development.

"Pretty amazing to watch him," Yost said. "I was always amazed watching Carlos Santana. He would walk 100 times a year. He'd hit .220, but he'd always have a .380 or .390 on-base percentage. Adam Dunn was like that. But [Soler] looks like the complete package. A lot of walks, good average with power."

What else the Royals said after losing to the Red Sox 10-6April 30, 2018 By Maria Torres/KC Starhttp://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article210193619.html

The Royals lost to the Boston Red Sox 10-6 on Monday at Fenway Park, squandering an early lead.

Ned Yost

On Jason Hammel

(Boston starter Eduardo) Rodriguez, even from the first inning, he was struggling with his command. We took a little bit of advantage of it with some good at-bats and scored three runs. I thought Jason’s first couple innings were good but then started to fight it himself a little bit in the third.

The grand slam (by Xander Bogaerts) was a pitch that was up and in, which I don’t think he was trying to go there. He was just battling command a little bit.

The just-missed pitch that walked in a run?

I’m not sure. It’s hard to tell from this dugout a little bit. I don’t think Rodriguez was missing by much either. It was just one of those nights.

Offense coming alive

We’ve been getting some hits with runners in scoring position. Took advantage of some wildness in the first inning, scored three runs. Brought it back within one there after they scored their five.

We battled back and scored two to keep us in the game.

Jason Hammel

Missing a little bit on 3-2?

Honestly, they put some really good at-bats together there, stretched the pitch count there, Xander put a good swing on a pitch. It wasn’t a very well-executed pitch, but I wasn’t getting very many swings on the slider, which was surprising. Any time you can get four runs on one swing, you can do some damage. That’s was pretty much the story.

Moreland pitch?

I asked (home plate umpire CB Bucknor) and he said it was just down. In that situation, I feel pretty comfortable with that. Just couldn’t quite get there.

Scott Barlow

How'd it feel to get the call?

I got to warm up in Kansas City. My heart was pounding then. But being at Boston and at Fenway, your heart is coming out of your chest.

Who was here?

My wife and my mom and my mom’s boyfriend. And my brother, who is a big Red Sox fan.

How'd you feel on the mound? (He struck out the first batter he faced.)

Nervous, but in a good way. Tim Hill told me, "You’re going to be amped up but use it your advantage." I took that to heart.

Hammel, Royals squander early lead and lose to Red Sox 10-6April 30, 2018 By Maria Torres/KC Starhttp://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article210186049.html

An early lead against the best team in baseball went for naught as the Royals lost 10-6 to the Boston Red Sox on Monday night.

The Royals’ evening at Fenway Park began with promise. They took advantage of Red Sox starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez’s erraticism in the first inning, drawing a pair of bases-loaded walks and forcing his pitch count up to 35 in the frame.

But Alex Gordon grounded into an inning-ending double play before they could exact further damage.

On a night that featured Xander Bogaerts hitting the Red Sox’s sixth grand slam of the season and Royals starting pitcher Jason Hammel surrendering eight earned runs in 4 2/3 innings, the double play was hardly the most egregious moment of the Royals’ 21st loss.

But it was a near-perfect microcosm of the Royals’ season: Now 28 games in, the Royals are one of the worst teams in baseball when it comes to hitting with the bases-loaded. When Jon Jay hit a sharp grounder to Boston second baseman Eduardo Nunez in the first inning and was awarded an infield hit, he gave the Royals just their fifth hit in 28 at-bats with the bases loaded. Their .178 batting average in such situations ranks in the bottom 10 in the majors.

Three of those hits have come in the last six games.

“We’ve been scoring runs (in those situations),” manager Ned Yost said. “I was pleased with three runs. We had a situation yesterday, bases loaded, nobody out and we didn’t get any in. We got bases loaded, nobody out, we got three in. I think we’re making headway.”

It wasn’t enough. The Royals held onto their lead for a fleeting two innings. Hammel even shook off Mitch Moreland’s leadoff home run in the second and retired the next five batters he faced to retain a 3-1 advantage.

But the Red Sox unraveled Hammel in the third inning. With two outs, they strung together a pair of hits and back-to-back walks. Then Bogaerts drove the eighth pitch of his at-bat over the Green Monster in left field for a grand slam that gave the Red Sox a 6-3 lead.

One theme emerged, Hammel said: An inability to get the Red Sox to swing at his slider. He entered the game inducing 44.5 percent swings with his breaking pitch, according to Brooks Baseball, but he struggled to fool the Red Sox in the third inning.

The outing was a departure from Hammel’s recent starts. He entered the game with a 3.38 ERA, the second-lowest in the starting rotation. After a 2017 campaign in which he struggled to keep fly-balls in the ballpark, he’d only allowed one home run in his first 32 innings.

The Red Sox, who rank second in baseball with a .451 slugging percentage, hit two homers off Hammel.

“I don’t know whether I was doing something, maybe tipping or whatnot,” Hammel said. “But usually I get more swings than in that inning. They did a good job, put up some really good at-bats and stretched me out. I don’t know, I probably threw 40 pitches that inning. That was a tough one.”

The Royals attempted a rally in the fourth inning, pulling within a run of a 6-6 tie. Alcides Escobar drove home Gordon on a double and Escobar immediately scored on Whit Merrifield’s two-base hit.

Escobar later scored in the ninth inning when Merrifield knocked his second double of the night into center field. The pair had three hits each and accounted for two-thirds of the Royals’ offense, which mustered nine hits.

But their efforts were dwarfed by a Red Sox offense that countered with four more runs. Boston scored twice against reliever Scott Barlow, who made his major-league debut in the sixth inning. The 6-foot-3 right-hander, who grew up in Connecticut, faced 15 batters in three innings, allowing five hits along the way.

“Did a nice job, coming in here in a tough place to make your major-league debut,” Yost said. “They’ve got a good offense over there, so he did a nice job.”

Meanwhile, the Boston bullpen held the Royals to four hits after Rodriguez departed at the end of the fourth inning.

The Royals stranded seven men on base and dropped to 7-21, keeping pace with the Cincinnati Reds (7-22) in baseball's cellar.

X-rays come back negative on Royals' Mike Moustakas, who was hit by a pitch in BostonApril 30, 2018 By Maria Torres/KC Starhttp://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article210184399.html

The Royals' Mike Moustakas was removed from Monday night’s game against the Red Sox at Fenway Park after he was hit by a pitch in the first inning.

He was diagnosed with a right forearm contusion. X-rays were negative.

Red Sox starter Eduardo Rodriguez struck Moustakas with an errant 85 mph pitch. Moustakas was removed from the game for precautionary reasons.

Since Moustakas was the Royals’ designated hitter, the Royals subbed him out for switch-hitter Abraham Almonte.

Moustakas was originally penciled into the Royals lineup at third base, but the Royals decided shortly before the game to go with Cheslor Cuthbert at third base instead.

Did Royals' Salvador Perez join the Fun Police? Writers around country think soApril 30, 2018 By Pete Grathoff/KC Starhttp://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/for-petes-sake/article210147464.html

You'll have a chance to vote on this, but was Royals catcher Salvador Perez in the wrong Saturday night?

You may recall that Perez was not happy with how White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson celebrated his home run in the second game of a doubleheader and the two exchanged words that led to both dugouts clearing at Kauffman Stadium.

Perez said Anderson was disrespecting the Royals (you can hear all that he said in this video) and that was why he was upset.

Anderson said he was just having fun.

“I'm a leadoff guy so my job is to get my teammates going. It's not about them, it's about my teammates. I play the game with a lot of energy, lot of confidence," Anderson told reporters after the game. "Just having fun.”

Just having fun. Does that mean Perez is part of the Fun Police?

I wrote Sunday about Steve Rosenbloom of the Chicago Tribune, who asked "who made Royals catcher Salvador Perez the new chief of the Fun Police?"

Blake Schuster of Yahoo Sports wrote: "Et tu, Salvy? Now that the Royals’ World Series window has closed, you’ve resigned yourself toenforcing baseball’s unwritten rules? Because we’re pretty sure Kansas City had plenty of fun before they even made the playoffs in 2014 ...

"The hypocrisy here would be depressing if it weren’t so laughable. That Perez even felt the need to say something else to Anderson while on second base later in the game, let alone cause the benches to clear, is the height of baseball’s cognitive dissonance. ...

"This core group of White Sox might not reach that pinnacle, but it certainly won’t be from a lack of embracing who they are.

"If Perez doesn’t like it, he’s got only himself and his teammates to blame. They helped set the standard. Now they get to live with it."

Tom Gatto of the Sporting News also noted that Perez had become the fun police:

"The Royals won the game 5-2 to split Saturday's doubleheader, so they had that going for them afterward.

"Perez said his nemesis won't get a fastball in his ribs/legs/shoulder in retaliation — on one condition (per the Chicago Tribune): 'I don’t want him to do it again (or) we have to make some decisions.'

"Jot all that down, Tim. Get those unwritten rules straight in your head."

Rany Jazayerli, a contributor to The Athletic, tweeted: "Salvador Perez calling out Tim Anderson for playing with too much joie de vivre because the White Sox haven’t won anything completes the circle of life. These White Sox embody the ethos of the 2014-15 Royals more than the Royals do. And that hurts almost as much as the losing."

Max Rieper of Royals Review wrote: "Keep in mind, Anderson didn’t bat-flip, didn’t showboat, didn’t run around the bases with his arms wide like he was pretending to be an airplane. He said the f-word, and 'let’s go', almost certainly as a way to rally himself and his teammates in a season where they have already lost a lot of games. Salvy says that while he too enjoys fun, and that Anderson can have fun, he felt like being loud on the bases was disrespectful, particularly in a non-playoff game.

"So to have Salvy of all people get upset at a player being animated....well it seems a bit hypocritical, right? Salvy’s excitement at playing the game of baseball is a feature, not a bug. It is one of the most endearing things about him. I mean, I don’t think you can call out a guy for being excited about a home run in a non-playoff game, then douse a teammate in Gatorade following your sixth win in 26 tries."

What do you think? From what I saw on Twitter, the reaction was mixed among Royals fans. Some thought Perez crossed the line, while others thought he was in the right.

The Royals struggled to sell tickets in April. Weather wasn't the only issueApril 30, 2018 By Maria Torres/KC Starhttp://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article210129404.html

Attendance at Kauffman Stadium through the first 15 games of the Royals season is down about 34 percent compared to the same span of games last year.

Average ticket sales have checked in at 17,450 — 8,861 below the average in 2017.

Unseasonable weather affected single-game sales in early April, when the temperature in Kansas City averaged 37 degrees through April 13, according to data compiled by Major League Baseball. A snowstorm on April 1, the first Sunday home game of the year, forced a postponement of the Royals' third game. Another weather system swooped into the region the weekend of April 13, bringing with it rain that turned into snow by the end of the Royals’ 5-3 loss to the Angels on April 14. Temperatures plummeted below freezing, causing the postponement of the next game of the series.

April temperatures hovered around 60 degrees in previous years, including when the Royals sold an average of 26,311 tickets in the first 15 games last season.

But the Royals haven’t only battled Mother Nature this season. They’ve also worked with a smaller season-ticket base than in years past.

“I’m not authorized to give numbers, but it's safe to say we start with a few thousand fans less each night to try to make up for in single-game sales each day or night,” said Toby Cook, Royals vice president of publicity. “Of course, as the weather gets warm and school is out, it'll improve. But we've certainly struggled in April.”

Weather trends have impacted all of Major League Baseball, resulting in 25 postponements within the first three weeks of the season. The number rose to 28 with two postponements last week.

The only other time since 1986 that baseball saw as many weather-related postponements in April was in 2007, when there were 25.

The rest of the American League Central Division has labored to draw fans in April, too. The Minnesota Twins are the only one of the five teams in the division to average more than 20,000 tickets sold, through Sunday.

Minnesota Twins (11 games) — 21,491Detroit Tigers (13) — 18,868Royals (15) — 17,450Cleveland Indians (14) — 16,660Chicago White Sox (12) — 15,251Overall, the Royals rank 25th in average attendance.

“The postponements did figure into us not getting into much of a rhythm with our fans as well, I imagine,” Cook said.

On Monday, the Royals announced a $29.99 per month offer that provides fans with a guaranteed standing-room ticket to any home game starting May 3. The pass can be purchased at royals.com and requires the use of the MLB Ballpark App.

Royals say their run with KayCee 'The W Guy' is over; critical Facebook post surfacesApril 30, 2018 By Pete Grathoff/KC Starhttp://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/for-petes-sake/article210127384.html

The Royals are 3-12 at home this season, so fans haven't had much of a chance to miss Dave Webster, who is better known as "KayCee" or "The W Guy."

Since 2014, when the Royals won a home game, Webster would go to the roof of the team's Hall of Fame and put a W on a star. He even ran it around the field in Chicago in 2014, when he witnessed the Royals beat the White Sox to clinch a spot in the playoffs.

Royals officials say the team ended the W celebration before the start of this season and said Webster is no longer with the team.

"We had a great run with KayCee and the W, but as we’ve come into the 50th season of Royals baseball, we’ve decided to focus on the tradition of Sluggerrr’s postgame celebration," Toby Cook, the Royals vice president of publicity, said in a statement.

Webster, who was the Manager of Hall of Fame Educational Programs, told The Star in 2015 that he had been the early-baseball historian since the Royals Hall of Fame opened in 2009. He and Curt Nelson, the Royals Hall of Fame director,

came up with the idea of Kaycee Baseball, a character who embodied the old-timey feel of Kansas City’s baseball history. Webster’s collection of uniforms span from the 1866 Kansas City Antelopes to the 1914 Kansas City Packers.

The Royals let him go before the start of the season, although he is listed as a Royals associate in the team's media guide.

"There was a change in employment status after that but before the season started," Cook explained.

Because this is a personnel issue, Cook said he couldn't offer more details on the team's decision.

After the news broke about Webster's departure from the team, a Facebook post he allegedly wrote before the season started was widely shared on social media.

The post made derogatory remarks about Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas going back to "his original loyal girl," apparently in reference to Moustakas staying with the Royals.

"Even though he is back, I can still see him checking out the room for a prettier girl. All that said, the Royals are still a better team with Moose on the roster."

The Facebook page for "KayCee — The W Guy" apparently has been taken down.

In 2015, Webster explained how he and his Hall of Fame colleagues brainstormed about what they could do after a Royals win that could become a tradition. And that’s when Webster thought of putting up an old-looking “W” sign on the roof.

“I had no idea how this would go over,” said Webster, a Kansas City native. “I figured people would think this is the corniest thing ever and not pay attention to it.”

But it did soon become a postgame ritual.

"One fan told me during the year no matter what the score is at the end of the game, we don't count it as a W until we until we see that W go up on that star up there," Webster said.

Alas, that is no more.

The Royals are bad with the bases loaded, and it surfaced again in a 10-6 loss to the Boston Red SoxApril 30, 2018 By Rustin Dodd/The Athletichttps://theathletic.com/337338/2018/04/30/the-royals-are-bad-with-the-bases-loaded-and-it-surfaced-again-in-a-10-6-loss-to-the-boston-red-sox/

When a baseball team has seven victories in 33 days, there are more pressing problems than what transpires in the rare moments when the bases are loaded. The Royals are living proof.

Their offense strikes fear in no one. The lineup revolves by the day. The ace of the rotation is winless. The manager wryly states that his club plays like a good football team: “One win a week,” Ned Yost said last week.

Yet there are still moments that serve as microcosm, offering a window into ineptitude, moments that show why the Royals

are on pace to lose 100 games. One surfaced Monday in the first inning of a 10-6 loss to the Red Sox at Fenway Park.

On a misty evening, the Royals had loaded the bases with nobody out against Boston starter Eduardo Rodriguez on a single, walk and a hit by pitch. They had scored twice when Salvador Perez and Lucas Duda drew the second and third walks of the inning. Yet they mustered just one hit on a soft single from center fielder Jon Jay, who became the first left-handed batter to record a hit off Rodriguez this season. When the inning was over, they had scored three runs. It felt like a missed opportunity to gain separation.

The sequence underscored a season-long flaw. The Royals entered Monday with four hits in 25 at-bats with the bases loaded. The .160 average ranked 25th in baseball. Yes, five other clubs have been worse.

They had hit one grand slam, of course, off the bat of Abraham Almonte in Detroit, a blast that won a fan $25,000 in the local sixth-inning home run contest. Yet it was in stark contrast to the club sitting in the opposite dugout, the one with the mirror record and dynamic offense.

So it was that the Red Sox loaded the bases against Royals starter Jason Hammel with two outs in the third. One batter later, after a walk to Mitch Moreland, shortstop Xander Bogaerts clubbed a 3-2 two-fastball into the rainy New England night for a grand slam.

“Anytime you can get four runs on one swing, it can do some damage,” Hammel said. “That’s pretty much the story.”

The blast came after an eight-pitch battle in which Hammel spun four straight sliders after getting ahead 1-2 in the count. The Red Sox had spent most of the inning laying off the breaking ball, Hammel said. Bogaerts had spoiled two with foul balls and laid off two others before barreling a sinker, turning a 3-2 Red Sox deficit in to a 6-3 lead.

As Bogaerts strutted around the bases, the crowd inside Fenway Park came to its feet. The Red Sox had collected their sixth grand slam of the season, tying the major-league record for the most by a team before May 1.

“Xander put a good swing on a pitch,” Hammel said. “It wasn’t a great, well-executed pitch. But I wasn’t getting very many swings on the slider, which was surprising.”

Inside the clubhouse, Hammel wondered if he was tipping on the slider. Perhaps the Red Sox were just disciplined. In the end, it mattered little. For the rest of the night, the Royals (7-21) put on a clinic on how to lose 100 games, racking up fielding gaffes, watching Mike Moustakas exit after being hit in the arm (he was fine) and wasting a strong night from their offense.

When their 21st loss of the season was complete, one stat stood out: With the bases loaded, the Red Sox have six grand slams this season. The Royals have just five hits.

Where others might see failure, Yost tried to see progress. In a victory on Sunday, the Royals had loaded the bases with nobody out in the seventh before coming away with no runs. On Monday, they had managed three as Rodriguez issued two bases-loaded walks and Jay delivered a rare hit with men on base.

“The way we’ve been scoring runs, I was pleased with three runs,” Yost said. “We had a situation yesterday: bases loaded, no out, and we didn’t get any in.”

The numbers will not continue like this because no team will be this bad with the bases loaded. In 2017, the Oakland A’s were the worst team in baseball with the bags full. They batted .215 and hit six grand slams.

There is also some randomness in the numbers. The best hitting teams are generally the best with the bases loaded. The worst usually struggle. Yet a small sample of data — teams ranged from 83 to 161 at-bats with the bases loaded in 2017 — leaves room for some statistical noise.

The Royals batted .309 with the bases loaded last season. That ranked seventh in baseball. In March and April, they came to the plate 28 times with the bases loaded. They batted just .179 — 64 points worse than their .243 team batting average.

Back to Monday night. As the Royals threatened to upend Rodriguez in the first inning, Cheslor Cuthbert struck out swinging for the first out in the first inning. Alex Gordon rolled over a first-pitch fastball and grounded into an inning-ending double play. The attack produced three runs. It was not nearly enough.

The Red Sox needed just three innings to erase the deficit. The difference was one swing with the bases loaded.

“That was a tough one,” Hammel said.

Fired Royals personality KayCee, ‘the W Guy,’ holds no grudge after his dismissalApril 30, 2018 By Sean McDowell/FOX 4 KChttp://fox4kc.com/2018/04/30/fired-royals-personality-kaycee-the-w-guy-holds-no-grudge-after-his-dismissal/

The home of the Kansas City Royals won't be the same.

Over the weekend, word broke that a celebrated mascot and fan favorite was fired from his job with the Royals as the season began.

The face of "KayCee" was a familiar one during the Royals' recent run to glory. But times have changed at Kauffman Stadium, especially in the win column. There aren't as many Ws as there were in 2014 and 15.

Lenexa's Dave Webster knows that well after he was fired by the franchise during the off-season.

The Royals found their first home winning streak of the year during the weekend, taking two of three from the Chicago White Sox, and KayCee, the guy who's become known for hanging the victorious "WW atop the Royals Hall of Fame, wasn't seen.

"Baseball season has been going on for a month, and up until yesterday, nobody noticed I was gone," Webster, the man known affectionately as KayCee, told FOX4.

The 61-year-old said it was a big disappointment when he was dismissed. He confirmed for FOX4 he was let go sometime between Royals FanFest in late January and

Opening Day in late March. He refused to comment on his firing or the circumstances around it.

"There's a lot of speculation going on," Webster said. "The Royals put out their press release that said they were going in a different direction. To be completely honest, the day we parted ways, that's what they told me. There's been a lot of speculation but, honest to God, that's what was said on that day."

A press release from the Royals explained the team was parting with Webster under amicable terms:

"We had a great run with 'KayCee' and the W, but as we’ve come into the 50th season of Royals baseball, we’ve decided to focus on the tradition of Sluggerrr’s post-game celebration," Toby Cook, Royals vice-president for publicity, said in a written statement.

Webster became popular with fans by giving tours of the Royals Hall of Fame, where he worked as a historian. Fans were impressed with his knowledge of Kansas City sports history, and before long, he took on the old-time baseball uniform and the moniker KayCee.

Webster said he holds no ill will toward the Royals organization.

"Don't anybody feel sorry for me. I had a great nine-year run. I got to do some things that a guy like me would never get to do," Webster said.

Online speculation about why he was fired surrounded a Facebook post that came from KayCee's official Facebook page, in which the writer criticized Royals third-baseman Mike Moustakas, who returned to Kansas City after testing the off-season free agent market.

"Moose seems like the kind of guy that would break up with his long time girlfriend to go find a better prom date," the post said. "When none of the better looking girls would go out with him, he went back to his original loyal girl. Even though he's back, I can still see him checking out the room for a prettier girl. All that said, the Royals are still a better team with Moose on the roster."

"It could be. I don't know," Webster said on Monday.

"One thing I was worried about is people saying, 'Well, he must have done something really bad," Webster continued with a laugh. "No, I didn't abscond with the church funds or defile the Kauffman statue. No, it was nothing bad."

Webster said he originally planned to avoid the media, but chose to talk with FOX4 so he could thank Royals fans for nine fun years. During his time, only two other people hung the W to celebrate a victory at Kauffman Stadium: Korean Superfan Sung Woo Lee and retired Royals infielder Mike Sweeney, the night he was inducted into the team's Hall of Fame.

"'14 and '15. The American League Championship. The World Series," Webster reminisced. "The Wildcard Game. Even afterwards. The trophy tour. I got to do some things I never thought I'd get to do."

Now that he has free time, Webster said he intends to work on a book about local baseball history. He says he's planning to watch the Royals on television too. After all of this, he says he's still a Royals fan for life.

Looking for a win, Royals roll out new $30 per month ticket optionApril 30, 2018 By Leslie Collins/Kansas City Business Journalhttps://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/news/2018/04/30/kansas-city-royals-fountain-bar-fan-pass.html

Kansas City Royals fans now have another avenue for scoring tickets to a home game.

The Royals launched the Fountain Bar Fan Pass, which gives fans access to all of the team's remaining home games for $29.99 a month. Some of the perks include a guaranteed standing room ticket to every game and access to pregame festivities. Some of the gathering spots for standing room include specially marked areas on the Plaza levels and bars such as Rival Sports Bar and Craft and Draft.

The pass provides digital-only tickets to each game, which can be upgraded into the Miller Lite Fountain Bar Deck, Lite Rail and other Fountain area seating when available by using the MLB Ballpark app. The app is available to Android and iPhone users and is used to gain access to the Kauffman Stadium.

MINORSChasers Shut Down by Alzolay in 10-3 DefeatCubs take series opener at Principal ParkApril 30, 2018 By Omaha Storm Chasershttps://www.milb.com/omaha/news/chasers-shut-down-by-alzolay-in-10-3-defeat/c-274618426

Adbert Alzolay held Omaha without a hit until the 6th inning, Mike Freeman hit 3 home runs, and Iowa defeated Omaha 10-3 on Monday night at Principal Park.

Freeman opened the scoring for Iowa in the bottom of the 3rd, lining a home run to center field for a 1-0 Cubs lead.

Iowa scored 2 more in the last of the 4th. Mark Zagunis homered to left field, and with 2 out, Ryan Court walked. Jacob Hanneman followed with a single, and Chesny Young singled home Court to make it 3-0.

The Chasers, meanwhile, were thoroughly shut down by Cubs starter Adbert Alzolay (W, 2-0). Alzolay took a no-hitter into the 6th inning, when Adalberto Mondesi beat out an infield single.

That was the only hit Alzolay allowed over 7 sparkling innings. He walked 2 and struck out 6, facing just 3 batters over the minimum.

Andres Machado (L, 0-3) pitched 6 innings for the Storm Chasers, allowing 3 runs, 7 hits, and 2 walks. He struck out 6.

Mike Freeman added to the Cubs' lead against Richard Lovelady with his 2nd homer of the night in the bottom of the 7th, making it 4-0 Iowa.

The Chasers took advantage of poor Cubs defense to dent the scoreboard in the top of the 8th. Bubba Starling began the

rally with a double, and Billy Burns reached on an infield single. Ryan O'Hearn hit a fly ball to shallow left-center field, and miscommunication between 3 Iowa defenders allowed it to fall in for a single, loading the bases. With 2 out, Ramon Torres hit a fly ball to shallow left field, and Bijan Rademacher dropped it, allowing 2 runs to score. A subsequent wild pitch brought home another run, cutting the deficit to 4-3. But Omaha stranded the tying run at 3rd, and the Cubs immediately re-padded their lead in the home half of the 8th.

Mark Zagunis led off with a walk, and Mark Zagunis cranked a Brandon Maurer pitch out of the ballpark, pushing Iowa's advantage to 6-3. Bijan Rademacher reached 2nd on an error by Maurer, and Jacob Hanneman drove in Rademacher with a single, making it 7-3. After a Chesny Young single, Mike Freeman hit his 3rd homer of the night, taking Mike Broadway deep for a 10-3 Cubs lead.

Dillon Maples (S, 1) recorded the final out of the top of the 8th inning to keep Iowa in front, and then closed out the 9th inning for his first save of the season.

The Storm Chasers (8-16) will continue their series in Des Moines tomorrow evening at 6:38 Central time. RHP Heath Fillmyer (1-1, 6.35) will pitch for Omaha, while RHP Duane Underwood Jr. (0-2, 3.00) will throw for Iowa.

Monday sunshine spoiled in Tulsa in 8-2 lossApril 30, 2018 By Northwest Arkansas Naturalshttps://www.milb.com/northwest-arkansas/news/naturals-fall-in-tulsa-on-april-30/c-274551728

Northwest Arkansas finished the month of April with an 8-2 loss against the Tulsa Drillers on Monday afternoon at ONEOK Field.

The Naturals struck first in the top of the third inning and manufactured a run without acquiring a hit. Northwest Arkansas (7-16) used three walks, a wild pitch and a sacrifice bunt to score the game's first tally.

But the Drillers struck back for three runs in the last half of the frame. After Luke Raley tied the game with a solo shot with two-outs in the third inning, starter, Jake Kalish (0-1, 5.40) issued a walk to the next hitter and looked as if he would get out of the side. But a pop-up on the infield prolonged the inning and Tulsa added two more runs to take a 3-1 lead.

Trailing 4-1 entering the fifth inning, Nick Dini recorded the Naturals first hit of the game on a sharp single to leftfield. Dini raced around to score as the next hitter, Samir Duenez roped a double into the right-centerfield gap to cut the Northwest Arkansas deficit to a 4-2 game.

Kalish in the spot start pitched well despite two errors being made behind him. The left-hander worked 3.0 innings, allowed three runs - one earned - on three hits. He struck out two and walked one throwing a season-high 48 pitches.

Right-hander, Yunior Marte worked the middle frames. He struck out three batters over 3.0 innings of work while allowing two runs. Right-hander, Jacob Bodner , pitched the final two innings and allowed three runs with two strikeouts.

The Naturals drew a season-high eight walks in the game with Tulsa starter, Yadier Alvarez dishing out six of the eight free passes.

Tulsa reliever, Vinny Santarsiero (2-0, 2.08) earned the win for Tulsa (14-9). Ariel Hernandez notched the save getting the final eight outs of the ballgame.

The Naturals will head back to Arvest Ballpark and welcome in the Springfield Cardinals (St. Louis Cardinals) for a four-game series beginning on Tuesday, May 1. Right-hander, Scott Blewett (0-2, 6.08) will take the hill following his quality start against the Cardinals last week at Hammons Field. He will be opposite of Springfield starter, Casey Greene (2-1, 2.36).

NATIONALCorey Seager to miss rest of yearDodgers' star shortstop to undergo Tommy John surgeryApril 30, 2018 By Ken Gurnick/MLB.comhttps://www.mlb.com/news/corey-seager-to-have-tommy-john-surgery/c-274573656

The news wasn't surprising, but it was stunning. Dodgers All-Star shortstop Corey Seager needs Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery and is out for the rest of the season.

Seager -- who battled through right elbow pain late last season and spent the winter strengthening the ulnar collateral ligament and surrounding muscles to hopefully avoid this outcome -- said two painful throws with numbness over the weekend led to an MRI exam Monday morning. The results didn't require an orthopedist or radiologist to interpret them.

"My arm kind of told me," said Seager, who expressed relief at the finality of the diagnosis after months of wondering when his ligament would rupture. "It's almost peace of mind now. It's nice to have a plan to reach goals, instead of the unknown."

Dodgers general manager Farhan Zaidi said the club is optimistic Seager will be back at this time next year or sooner. Manager Dave Roberts said center fielder Chris Taylor will be the everyday shortstop. Zaidi added that the club will replace Seager internally "for the time being," with a "pretty high bar" for going outside of the organization, although he didn't rule it out.

"We're still kind of digesting this news right now, too," said Zaidi, sharing fans' angst. "And we still feel good about the lineup we can field on an everyday basis. We're not as talented without Corey in there, but we're going to have to adopt an approach of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts. That's what made us so good last year. We might have had a certain threshold [for a trade] and might be more motivated now, but we still have guys we think can take everyday at-bats."

Roberts said he prefers to play Taylor at shortstop instead of Enrique Hernandez, who also has outfield and shortstop experience. Taylor has been more successful hitting right-handed pitching than Hernandez, who will continue platooning in the outfield and at second base. With Seager placed on the disabled list, the Dodgers recalled infielder Breyvic Valera from Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Roberts, who declared on Sunday he still expected his club to win the division despite its slow start, still had his glass half full on Monday.

"There was a lot of time last year when we didn't have Corey, like in the second round of the playoffs," said Roberts, referring to the back strain that sidelined Seager in the National League Championship Series. "We still have to find ways to win games. As far as our active roster, I feel good about our guys to still win baseball games. We have to have other guys step up and fill the void. We can do it."

Seager gives the Dodgers three-quarters of the starting infield on the disabled list -- joining third baseman Justin Turner and second baseman Logan Forsythe -- not to mention right fielder Yasiel Puig and starting pitcher Rich Hill. The other starting infielder, Cody Bellinger, was removed from Sunday's loss for not hustling. And the club is off to one of its worst starts in half a century.

Seager said having Tommy John surgery during last offseason would have been premature, so instead he rehabbed with the hope he could get through the season. But, "it's necessary now." Dr. Neal ElAttrache will perform the operation in Los Angeles on Friday.

Seager is one of the best young shortstops in the game. Since his first full season in 2016, he leads all shortstops with 13.3 Wins Above Replacement, according to FanGraphs. He ranks fifth among all position players, behind only superstars Mike Trout (18.4 WAR), Mookie Betts (15.6), Jose Altuve and Kris Bryant (15.4 each).

"I hate that that's happened to anybody," said D-backs manager Torey Lovullo before the opening of a four-game series at Chase Field. "But I can't really concern myself with what's going over there in their dugout and their clubhouse because we have so many things that are happening here. I know that they probably have the same mentality that we do where it's next man up and they've got very good depth and they're going to have somebody that's going to step in and fill that void the best they possibly can."

Ray to DL with oblique strain; Bracho recalledApril 30, 2018 By Steve Gilbert/MLB.comhttps://www.mlb.com/dbacks/news/robbie-ray-hits-dl-silvino-bracho-recalled/c-274574486

For Robbie Ray, the news wasn't the worst it could have been, but it certainly wasn't the best either.

An MRI of Ray's ailing right oblique showed a Grade 2 strain and he was placed on the 10-day disabled list Monday afternoon. No one with the organization wanted to speculate on just how long Ray would be out, but it certainly seems like it will be more than just 10 days.

D-backs starter Zack Greinke missed around six weeks with a similar injury a couple of years ago, and Randall Delgado is still working to come back from an oblique strain he sustained during Spring Training.

"It's not terrible," Ray said of the MRI results, "but it's definitely something that's going to take a little bit of time to come back from. It's one of those things where it's really just how your body reacts to it. The biggest thing is not rushing it, not try to come back before I'm ready."

Ray left his start Sunday in the second inning with pain in the oblique, the first time he had ever experienced an injury to that area in his career.

"Injuries happen in this game and it's time for our guys to step up," D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. "And we have that mentality every single time somebody goes down -- to get involved, get engaged and pick up the slack. That's what we do here in Arizona."

The D-backs have had plenty of practice with outfielder Steven Souza Jr. and third baseman Jake Lamb missing significant time already and right-hander Taijuan Walker having recently been lost for the season due to Tommy John surgery.

For now, the next man up is Silvino Bracho, who will be in his second stint for the D-backs this year. Bracho, a reliever, will give the team an extra arm in the bullpen for now until a starter is needed to take Ray's place.

ay's next turn would have been Friday, but it's possible the D-backs could tweak the rotation a bit before then, depending on matchups over the next three days with the Dodgers.

"We have internal candidates that we're walking through right now," Lovullo said. "We're leaving all of our options open."

Reliever T.J. McFarland, who threw 4 2/3 innings in relief of Ray on Sunday, has been stretched out to 77 pitches and is a candidate to start.

Others include Triple-A Reno right-handers Kris Medlen and Braden Shipley. Medlen was scratched from his Monday start, while Shipley was heavily considered before Matt Koch was called up to replace Walker earlier this month.

In other injury news, Souza (right pectoral strain) and Lamb (sprained left AC joint) both threw from 120 feet on Monday. Souza also took five at-bats in an extended spring game, but has yet to play in the field. Lamb has taken ground balls but hasn't thrown across the diamond since suffering some elbow tendinitis.

T-t-t-ten things that we learned from AprilMay 1, 2018 By Jayson Stark/The Athletichttps://theathletic.com/337046/2018/05/01/stark-t-t-t-ten-things-that-we-learned-from-april/

The coldest, snowiest, rainiest, sloppiest April in modern baseball history is finally over. It’s enough to make you want to slip into a pair of shorts, lather on some sunscreen and head for a ballpark near you, isn’t it?

So, what has the first month of this crazy season taught us? Glad you asked – because we’ve been contemplating that question. Now here come the answers, in this list of 10 Things We’ve Learned from this hellacious April of baseball we just survived:

1. THE BALL IS NEVER IN PLAY (WELL, SEEMS LIKE IT)

It was only a few weeks ago that we wrote about how much more fun baseball is to watch when something actually happens on that field below. But if you’ve been paying

attention, you’ve probably noticed that that concept we used to know as “action” is becoming a more endangered species than the Siberian tiger.

That ominous trend was already well underway before this season ever started. But what April taught us is that not a darned thing has changed. Here are the terrifying first-month developments on the Disappearing Ball in Play front:

MORE STRIKEOUTS THAN HITS: Did you know there has never been a season in history with more strikeouts than hits? But not for long, we’re afraid. So far, we’ve seen an astonishing 343 more whiffs than hits. And that’s shocking. As recently as three years ago, there were almost 5,000 more hits than strikeouts. Now, the hits are vanishing, and the swings and misses are multiplying. Help!

STRIKEOUTS, STRIKEOUTS, MORE STRIKEOUTS: Until last year, there also had never been a season – ever – with 40,000 strikeouts. Now, there might never be a season with under 40,000. At the current rate, we’ll finish this season with 42,525 K’s (which computes, amazingly, to almost one per inning). That would be about 10,000 more whiffs than just 10 years ago. And 5,000 more than five years ago. And about 2,500 more than last season. Yikes! At least the air flow in the park will be picking up on hot summer nights.

THREE TRUE OUTCOME UPDATE: Nearly 35 percent of all plate appearances (34.6 to be precise) now end with either a strikeout, a walk or a home run. Guess which way that percentage is trending? It was 33.5 percent last season. It was 32.3 the year before. It was 30.3 five years ago. Ten years ago, it was 28.8. Can anything reverse this pattern? Not that we’ve noticed.

THE GRIM TOTALS: Finally, let’s translate all that for you. At this pace, there will be 2,000 fewer balls in play this season than last season. And 5,000 fewer than just three years ago. And 10,000 fewer than nine years ago. Wow. Every ball in play is a highlight video waiting to happen. Except now, it’s a highlight video that never gets a chance to happen.

2. THE BASEMENT RACES ARE HOT!

We’ve got a personal moratorium in place on applying that word “tanking” to this sport, unless there is no avoiding it. But whatever you want to call it, the race for the bottom of this sea has never been more heated.

In case you hadn’t caught on to this, eight teams ended April on pace to lose 100 games – the Reds, Royals, Orioles, White Sox, Marlins, Padres Twins and Rangers. That would break the April record for that sort of thing in the wild-card era, previously set in these two seasons:

Year 100-loss pace Finished with 100 losses2000 7 teams 0 teams2016 7 teams 1 team (Twins)As you can see, at least past Aprils haven’t proven to be real predictive of future 100-loss seasons. But the scary part this year is that it isn’t just the losses. It’s the lopsided losses.

The Royals (on the road to minus-376) are actually on pace to break the modern record for worst run differential in a season (minus-349, by the 1932 Red Sox). And the Orioles (minus-312) also would wind up at negative-300-plus at this rate.

So, how rare is that? Only two teams – the 2003 and 1996 Tigers – have finished at minus-300 or worse in the 57 seasons since the ’62 Mets set the standard for post-expansion ineptitude (with a 40-120 record and minus-331 run differential). And the last time more than one team pulled off the negative-300 trick in the same year was 1939 (A’s, Browns, Phillies). So, who cares how early it is. This is not a pretty picture. It feels – already – as if there are more hopelessly bad teams than in any season in recent memory.

3. THE AL PLAYOFF TEAMS ARE ALREADY DECIDED

Wait. What? The races are over? With like 135 games still to play? Oh, all right. Not technically.

But going off what we’ve witnessed so far, would anyone bet against the Astros, Indians, Red Sox and Yankees making up four-fifths of the American League postseason field? Anyone?

“The only race in that league is for the second wild card,” one NL executive said this week, with no equivocation whatsoever. “You’ve basically got the Angels, Mariners and Blue Jays in a battle for one spot. That’s the way it feels, anyway.”

The Red Sox and Yankees – who hadn’t had nine-game winning streaks this close together since August 1939 – have taken turns playing the part of the hottest team in the league. The Astros look like they’re even better than the juggernaut that rode on the parade floats last fall. And while the Indians (15-12) haven’t even gotten heated up yet, the rest of their division is a combined 35 games under .500. So, in a league with such a minuscule middle class, those four teams all feel like locks – barring cataclysmic injuries.

4. THE NL ISN’T FOLLOWING THE SCRIPT

A month ago, the National League looked as if it were going to be just as predictable. But the Nationals, Dodgers, Diamondbacks, Mets and Pirates never got the memo.

The Nationals started out 4-0. They’re 8-16 since. Once, they seemed like such a sure thing to blow away the NL East that a rival NL exec joked in spring training: “They’re not going to play a game that counts until Oct. 4.” Oops!

Meanwhile, the Dodgers are already further out of first place (eight games) than they were at any time last year. They’ve lost Corey Seager for the year, and they’ve missed Justin Turner even more than they expected. They’d have laughed uproariously if you’d told them a month ago that Clayton Kershaw and Alex Wood would lose as many games in April (seven) as they lost all last season and that Kenley Jansen would blow more saves in April (two) than he blew all last year (one). But welcome to reality.

It was about this time last year that the Dodgers awoke from a 10-12 funk to rip off a historic 81-24 streak over their next 105 games. Well, if they still have that next gear in them, they’d better not wait long to find it – because their good friends in Arizona might really be this good.

The Diamondbacks just became the first NL team to win its first nine series of a season since Wildfire Schulte’s 1907 Cubs. Their rotation is averaging better than 10.5 strikeouts per nine innings. And their bullpen has been so dominant (.195 opponent average, just 17 extra-base hits allowed in 348 AB) that this team has only lost one game all year when

it took a lead in the first three innings. So, with all due respect to the Pirates and Mets, the D-Backs are the most surprising team of 2018 – and the most dangerous.

5. OZZIE ALBIES IS THE NEW JOSÉ ALTUVE

He’s 5-foot-8, 165 pounds. He plays second base. But he isn’t José Altuve. So down in Atlanta, it is Ozzie Albies who has become baseball’s most eye-popping new mini-mite.

His hitting coach, Kevin Seitzer, calls him “the strongest man, pound for pound, in the league.” And who’s to argue?

All Albies did in March/April was lead the NL (or tie for the lead) in runs, hits, home runs, doubles, total bases and extra-base hits. That’s all. And his 22 extra-base hits (vs. just 12 singles) equaled the NL record for most extra-base hits before May 1.

You might want to know that only three players ever led their league in hits at age 21 or younger: Ty Cobb, Al Kaline and Starlin Castro. And here’s the group that led in extra-base hits at 21 or younger: Cobb, Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle and Sherry Magee.

Got your attention yet? Thought so. Ozzie Albies. He’s a must-see attraction.

6. DIDI GREGORIUS IS THE NEW A-ROD

Here is Didi Gregorius’ month (and please allow us to employ a little poetic license in using the word “month” to describe what was actually April, plus three games in March):

.327 AVG/.421 OBP/.735 SLUG/1.156 OPS/10 HR/30 RBIs/24 Runs

Now, here’s a list of all the shortstops in the last 100 years who have ever had a calendar “month” like that:

Alex Rodriguez (August 2003): .340/.454/.849/1.303/15 HR/31 RBIs/30 Runs

End of list.

We’re allowing the March/April technicality because A-Rod actually had more plate appearances in his real month (130) than Gregorius had in his hybrid month (121). But this isn’t about the definition of “month.” This is about the definition of “superstar.”

“This guy’s a great defender,” said one scout. “He can run. And he can hit. And he’s hitting for power in a way nobody projected. And, most importantly, he’s changed his approach. He’s taking walks. He’s cutting down his strikeouts. So he’s an all-star. And if you’re an all-star in New York, you’re a superstar.”

7. SHOHEI OHTANI IS NOT THE BABE – YET

You thought Didi Gregorius had a tough assignment – to go out and be the next Derek Jeter? Well, that was nothing, compared with Shohei Ohtani’s mission: To go out and be the next George H. “Bambino” Ruth.

So, here we are, a month into this mesmerizing experiment. And Ohtani has put together a phenomenal highlight reel – from his home run off the incumbent Cy Young (Corey Kluber) to his seven-inning, 12-strikeout, one-hitter against

Oakland, from the four times he hit 101 mph on the mound last week to the 410-foot rocket he launched Friday off a 97-mph heater from Luis Severino.

But where exactly is this season leading him? Is he going to make a significant impact as either a pitcher or a hitter – or both? Who the heck knows yet? He’s hitting .341/.383/.682 when the Angels let him DH. And he has punched out 26 hitters (vs. 14 hits allowed) in 20 1/3 IP. So, there’s no debate anymore about whether he has the talent to pull this off.

Yet he is only on pace to get 272 plate appearances and pitch 114 innings. That’s enough to seal his fate as the most interesting man in the world of baseball, my friends. But is it enough to earn him a place as the greatest two-way player since the Babe? Hmm. We’ll have to get back to you on that one.

8. THE ASTROS’ ROTATION IS RIDICULOUS

Mark this down for future reference. The Houston Astros just might turn out to have the most dominating rotation ever.

It’s a lot to ask for these dudes to crank out five more months like the month they just unfurled. But here is the pace they’re on – stacked up against the history they have a chance to make:

STRIKEOUTS – Current pace: 1,220. The record: 1,066 (by the 2017 Indians).K/9 IP – Current pace: 10.82 per 9 innings. The record: 10.01 (by the same 2017 Indians).DOUBLE-DIGIT K’s – Current pace: 49 for the season. The record: 35 (by Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling’s 2001 Diamondbacks).HITS/9 IP – Current pace: just 6.36 per 9 innings. The record: 6.43 (by the 1968 Indians, in the Year of the Pitcher). Best in the AL since the mound was raised after that ’68 season: 7.04 (by Nolan Ryan’s 1972 Angels).STRIKEOUT MACHINES – Current pace: Four different Astros starters are averaging at least 10.8 strikeouts per 9 IP. The record: Only one team in history has had more than ONE qualifying starter compile a strikeout rate that high – the 2001 Johnson/Schilling Diamondbacks.

So, are all these guys going to stay healthy enough to make all this history? Ha. That never happens. But we just wanted you to know it could – based on a March/April for the ages.

9. THE YANKEES ARE GOING TO BREAK THE HR RECORD

The all-time record for home runs in one baseball season is 264, by Jay Buhner’s 1997 Mariners. And this just in – if you’re currently enjoying the view of Mount Rainier or thumbing through your old Jay Buhner scrapbook:

Savor that record while you can – because it has five more months to live.

The Yankees somehow emerged from a cold, wet, hitter-unfriendly April on a pace to make 237 home-run trots. Which would be the sixth-most in the history of the Ruth/Gehrig/Mantle/Maris/Reggie/Etc. Yankees, incidentally. And they haven’t even gotten rolling yet.

So they are going to pass those 1997 Mariners. Book it.

Giancarlo Stanton hit 59 homers last year. He has hit five this year.

Brett Gardner hit 21 last year. He has hit one this year.

Greg Bird hit 12 in 189 at-bats last year, counting the postseason. He’s still on the disabled list this year.

We’re just beginning to find out what Miguel Andújar, Tyler Austin and Gleyber Torres are capable of. Neil Walker hit 23 homers in two different big-league seasons. Jacoby Ellsbury once hit 32. They’re all on this team’s payroll.

So, pretty soon, the sun will shine, the wind will blow out, and the baseballs will carry. You know what that means? It means the question isn’t whether these Yankees will make home-run history. It’s merely how much home-run history they will make.

10. THE MOUND VISIT RULE IS WORKING

Does anyone miss mound visits? Maybe Yadier Molina does. Maybe Willson Contreras does. But does anyone miss them who is just trying to watch a darned baseball game?

Last year, your typical team averaged nearly four mound visits per game. So, your typical game averaged 7.41 visits by the two teams involved.

This year, your typical team averages fewer than 1.9 mound visits per game. So, your typical game features an average of 3.90 by both teams. Big difference.

It’s all because of the new rule limiting visits to six per game per team. We’re now more than 400 games into this season. And exactly once has any team used up all six visits in a nine-inning game. So, the sport has gone on, largely unfazed – and with almost no sign-stealing controversy (aside from one minor Javier Báez flare-up in an April 22 Cubs-Rockies game).

So, when you take all those mound visits that don’t happen anymore and add them to the new rules tightening between-inning breaks, guess what’s happened? The average nine-inning game is nearly four minutes shorter than it was a year ago. That’s what. It has dropped from 3 hours, 5 minutes, 11 seconds to 3:01:34.

You know what that teaches us? It’s proof of just how much dead time can be surgically removed from a baseball game and inflict almost no pain on pretty much anybody if it’s done correctly.

It took one month of April baseball to teach that lesson. And here’s the moral of that story: It’s a sure sign that there will be more rules attacking more dead time coming to your favorite ballpark in the years to come. And the best news of all is, just about no one will shed a single tear.

Biggest surprises -- good or bad -- one month into MLB seasonApril 30, 2018 By Casey L. Moore/USA Today Sportshttps://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2018/04/30/biggest-surprises-so-far-2018-mlb-season/560227002/

Now that we're one month into the baseball season, rather than sound the alarm bells or make bold proclamations, we’ll

simply point out the most pleasant surprises and biggest early disappointments thus far in 2018:

Arizona Diamondbacks — Five years ago, Patrick Corbin appeared to take a step toward being an ace, but then he had to undergo Tommy John surgery and all that hype faded. Until now. Corbin is one of five major-league pitchers with four wins already and is sporting a 2.25 ERA, 0.75 WHIP and 55 strikeouts against seven walks.

Atlanta Braves — There have always been high expectations for Ozzie Albies, but he has delivered in a big way much earlier than expected. The 21-year-old second baseman leads the majors in total bases (75), is tied for the major-league lead in runs (29) and doubles (12), and he's tied for NL lead in hits (34) and homers (nine).

Baltimore Orioles — The Orioles' offense ranks third to last in the major leagues, and one of the biggest letdowns has been Chris Davis. Crush has never been a batting average guy and this year is more of the same (.167), but he's only hit two home runs while slugging .256. Davis hasn't slugged under .400 for a season since 2010.

Boston Red Sox — Rick Porcello had seven mostly mediocre seasons before winning the AL Cy Young Award in 2016. That felt like an outlier when he went 11-17 with a 4.65 ERA and led the major leagues in home runs allowed. But, after a 4-0 start that includes a 2.23 ERA and only one homer allowed in 40⅓ innings, maybe 2017 is his new outlier.

Chicago Cubs — After four consecutive 30-plus home run seasons, Anthony Rizzo is on pace for eight this year. Now it's obvious no one really expects that to happen, but Rizzo has only hit one home run — and it came on opening day. And that's his only extra-base hit, as he's hitting just .157 and slugging .200.

Chicago White Sox — It wasn't long ago that Lucas Giolito was among the most heralded prospects in the game, but he has struggled to find his footing in the majors. In his first season as a full-time member of a major-league rotation, he has posted a 7.71 ERA and a 1.71 WHIP, stats among the worst in the league by qualifying pitchers.

Cincinnati Reds — There was a lot of hope for right-handed fireballer Luis Castillo to show he could lead the Reds' young rotation. That hasn't been the case, as Castillo has started six games and is 1-3 with a 7.85 ERA, allowing an NL-worst 25 earned runs. He has also struck out 2.4 fewer batters per nine innings than last season's 9.9 average.

Cleveland Indians — After an explosive spring training, there was optimism that Jason Kipnis' woeful 2017 season was merely a product of his many injuries. But Kipnis has personified the Tribe's struggling offense, slashing .167/.248/.225 without a homer, and his strikeout rate is up 5% from his career norm.

Colorado Rockies —Jon Gray showed signs in his last start that he might be getting back on track, blanking the Padres on three hits over six innings with 11 strikeouts. But that came after turning in duds in four of his first five starts. The Rockies' opening-day starter is 2-4 with a 5.79 ERA and 1.47 WHIP.

Detroit Tigers — When Francisco Liriano finished last season as a long reliever with the Astros, there might have been some wonder whether his career was fading into the

sunset. He's put that to rest so far, leading the Tigers' staff in wins (3) and innings pitched (29⅓), while posting a respectable 3.38 ERA.

Houston Astros — It's not like anyone doubted whether Gerrit Cole could revive his young career with the defending champions. But it's just the way he has done it. Cole has racked up 11 or more strikeouts in four of his six starts, and has a major-league best 61 strikeouts in 41⅔ innings, while compiling a 1.73 ERA, second-best in the AL.

Kansas City Royals —Jakob Junis might be coming off his worst start, but that doesn't erase how he's started this season. The second-year right-hander began the year with 16 consecutive scoreless innings and has a 3.34 ERA in 32⅓ innings pitched. The long ball, though, has been a problem worth watching.

Los Angeles Angels — Mike Scioscia's closing options to start the year were limited to some combination of Blake Parker, Cam Bedrosian or Jim Johnson. That changed when Keynan Middleton stepped up after the second week of the season. He has converted on six of seven save chances with an ERA of 2.40 and 15 strikeouts in 15 innings.

Los Angeles Dodgers — Hyun-Jin Ryu has seemingly found his strikeout pitch again, punching out at least seven batters in each of his last four starts. In addition to 10.8 strikeouts per nine innings, Ryu leads the Dodgers' starting staff in wins (3), ERA (2.22) and WHIP (0.85).

Miami Marlins — Jarlin Garcia has been a major bright spot for the scuffling Marlins, as he leads all of baseball in opposing batting average and has yielded only three earned runs in his five starts.

Milwaukee Brewers — Despite hitting 30 home runs with a .505 slugging percentage in 2017, Domingo Santana was expected to take a lesser role after the acquisitions of Lorenzo Cain and Christian Yelich. Yet Santana has been given plenty of chances and has responded with only two extra-base hits (both doubles) and a .582 on-base-plus-slugging (OPS).

Minnesota Twins — Maybe the fact that Logan Morrison signed with the Twins late in the spring is the reason, but the free-swinging lefty has yet to get off the ground. He's only hit two homers in 79 plate appearances, with a .151 batting average, .260 slugging and .513 OPS.

New York Mets — Most things have turned up roses for the Mets, and Asdrubal Cabrera is the biggest blossom. The veteran infielder has 34 hits, tied for the most in the NL, and his .340 batting average is second in the league. His .973 OPS is more than 150 points higher than his career best.

New York Yankees — No surprise here, just follow the boos. Giancarlo Stanton has hit some mammoth shots, as usual, but he's struck out third-most in the majors and his current .239 batting average, .440 slugging percentage and .763 OPS all would be a career lows.

Oakland Athletics — Sean Manaea has taken his game to the next level, and not just because he's thrown the major leagues' only no-hitter this season. The left-hander has allowed two earned runs or less in all six of his starts and leads the AL in ERA at 1.03. He also leads the majors in WHIP at 0.62.

Philadelphia Phillies — The Phillies are off to a solid start, but Carlos Santana has struggled to adjust to his new surroundings. Santana, known for his ability to get on base, has compiled a .307 OPS, 60 points below his career average heading into the year. He's also hitting just .165 and slugging .297.

Pittsburgh Pirates — Trevor Williams was the last man into the Pirates rotation, and he's proving the staff made the right call. Williams hasn't dazzled with a high strikeout rate, but he has kept the opponent off the scoreboard (2.29 ERA) and it's helped him win four of his six starts.

San Diego Padres — Christian Villanueva drew notice quickly with a three-homer game against the Rockies in the first week of the season. He's continued to show the pop, posting the league's third-best slugging percentage (.726) and third-best OPS (1.150).

San Francisco Giants — Johnny Cueto rebounded from a rough second season as a Giant, allowing three earned runs in 32 innings pitched (0.84 ERA). He's also won three of his five starts and compiled an NL-league best 0.69 WHIP.

Seattle Mariners — There are only two players with nine or more home runs and 27 or more RBI. Mitch Haniger is one of them. He's also hitting .309 with .701 slugging and 1.085 OPS, the latter two stats that have him among the five best hitters in baseball.

St. Louis Cardinals — In 2017, Matt Carpenter maintained his 20-homer power despite all of his other hitting numbers dropping. But so far this season, even the power is gone (two home runs). Carpenter's slash line of .155/.305/.274 is substantially worse than his career norm.

Tampa Bay Rays — At 28, Joey Wendle is getting his first extended time as a full-time starter in the big leagues, and he hasn't disappointed. Wendle has quickly established himself as one of the Rays' top offensive weapons, hitting .348 with a .932 OPS.

Texas Rangers — Expectations were limited when the Rangers signed 44-year-old Bartolo Colon to a minor-league deal. But the ageless wonder has the team's best ERA (2.87) among pitchers with at least four starts and he just became the fourth pitcher ever to win a game with 11 ballclubs. Never bet against Bart.

Toronto Blue Jays —Curtis Granderson's power has persisted throughout his career, but this year, at 37 years old, he's doing a little bit of everything for his new club. He's hitting over .300, something he hasn't done for a full season since 2008, he's drawing walks and he's striking out less.

Washington Nationals — Most of Ryan Madson's 6.23 ERA came in one meltdown performance against the Mets, but the Nationals' setup man is having a tough time keeping runners off base. His 1.85 WHIP is a full point higher than last season, while he averages 13.2 hits and 3.5 walks per nine innings.

MLB TRANSACTIONSMay 1, 2018 •.CBSSports.comhttp://www.cbssports.com/mlb/transactions

T E A M P L A Y E R T R A N S A C T I O N

LAD

Breyvic Valera Called Up from Minors

T E A M P L A Y E R T R A N S A C T I O N

MINJohn Curtiss Called Up from Minors

COL

DJ LeMahieu

Placed on 10-Day DL (Strained right hamstring)

DET

Chad Bell Called Up from Minors

TOR

Chad Girodo Released

COL

Carlos Gonzalez

Removed From 10-Day DL (Right hamstring strain)

WAS

Wander Suero Called Up from Minors

PHI

Victor Arano

Placed on 10-Day DL (Right rotator cuff strain)

TOR

Gift Ngoepe Called Up from Minors

TOR

Randal Grichuk

Placed on 10-Day DL (Right knee sprain)

MINDavid Hale Refused Minor League

Assignment - Free Agent

T E A M P L A Y E R T R A N S A C T I O N

MINDavid Hale Outrighted to Minors

LAD

Corey Seager

Placed on 10-Day DL (Right UCL sprain)

WASAustin Voth Sent to Minors

TEX

Jose Leclerc Called Up from Minors

PHI

Zach Eflin Called Up from Minors

KC

Adalberto Mondesi

Removed From 10-Day DL (Right shoulder impingement syndrome)

MIADan Straily Recalled From Minors Rehab

Assignment

KC

Adalberto Mondesi Sent to Minors

TEX

Martin Perez Placed on 10-Day DL (Right elbow discomfort)

BOS

Tyler Thornburg

Sent to Minors For Rehabilitation

T E A M P L A Y E R T R A N S A C T I O N

TOR

Danny Espinosa Released

MIACloyd, Tyler Placed on Paternity Leave

List

MIADan Straily Removed From 10-Day DL

(Right forearm inflammation)

PHI

Zac Curtis Called Up from Minors

ARI

Silvino Bracho Called Up from Minors

DET

Daniel Norris

Placed on 10-Day DL (Left groin strain)

ARI

Robbie Ray Placed on 10-Day DL (Strained right oblique)