Sam McDowell writes about the positives from a bullpen that blew it on Opening Day.
During a month (or two) in which Royals manager Matt Quatraro will probably be tinkering with how to use his new-look bullpen, there will probably be some second-guessing of his decision to yank ace Cole Ragans in favor of Zerpa in the sixth inning Thursday.
There shouldn’t be. Zerpa spanned all of 2024 without allowing a homer to a left-hander, and he dominated in spring training, throwing nine innings without allowing a single run.
Fine decision. Bad result.
You move on.
Let’s move on, too.
Vahe Gregorian focuses on some of the gaffes.
“Live and learn,” Isbel said, adding that he was going to “keep making aggressive mistakes.”
Contradictory as that sounded, Isbel made the point they’d worked that play “a thousand times” in practice situations. But …
“It just didn’t go right today,” he said.
Much like a few other things the Royals need to count on in the cumulative long run that will define them.
David Lesky writes about that baserunning blunder late.
Okay, so my initial reaction on social media was that Isbel isn’t good enough to make that bad of a baserunning error. I still maintain that. Isbel has actually been rated as a very good baserunner in his career, and I’d be shocked if that ever happens again. It doesn’t mean that this wasn’t horrific, but I’d bet it’s a one-time thing. I understand what happened a little better in watching this from a different angle than my angle from the stands. Isbel expected Blanco not to get tagged there. If Ramirez’s final lunge hadn’t gotten Blanco’s back, Isbel would have been on third with India on second, and nobody thinks twice, but Ramirez does what he does and makes a really nice play, and that led to Isbel being caught in no-man’s land.
Craig Brown also dives into the play.
To start, Blanco broke for home on a contact play. That’s not something you generally see with no outs. The contact play is used when there is one out. I’ll let manager Matt Quatraro explain:
First and third, nobody out…it’s not a true contact play, but the rule of thumb is if it’s a hard ground ball that’s a double play ball, you go to the plate. Blanco, in retrospect, he should just keep going so they only get the one out. That’s the reason you go on a hard hit ball, you know they’re going to get one instead of two.
As with most of Quatraro’s explanations, this makes all kinds of sense. The Guardians are not going to let Blanco get home without a play. He’s the tying run in the bottom of the eighth inning. That’s what attempting to turn a double play would do. Had Blanco held, it’s an easy twin-killing and the rally would be on fumes. So he went.
Anne Rogers writes that health is a primary goal for Vinnie Pasquantino this season.
“Anybody [who has] asked what my goals are for the season, it’s to be available every day,” Pasquantino said. “We were running it a little close there. But we’re available today, and that’s all that matters.”
Denny Matthews recounts his memories with the late Bob Davis.
Kevin O’Brien at Royals Reporter has his reactions to Opening Day.
Omaha drops their season opener 6-3 to the Iowa Cubs.
Mookie Betts wins it with a walk-off homer as the Dodgers rally to beat the Tigers.
The Brewers trade former Royals outfielder Brewer Hicklen to the Tigers.
Arizona signs starting pitcher Brandon Pfaadt to a five-year, $45 million deal.
Kansas City native Kameron Misner becomes the first player in major league history to hit his first big league home run for a walk-off on Opening Day.
Pirates second baseman Nick Gonzales fractures his ankle doing a home run trot.
The best stories on 2025 Opening Day rosters.
The Red Sox and Garrett Crochet will table extension talks.
How will the new ballparks for the Athletics and Rays play as hitting environments?
Japanese-Americans incarcerated during World War II had baseball to pass the time, and now a baseball field will be located where the camp once stood.
The Memphis Grizzlies fire Taylor Jenkins, the winningest coach in club history, just weeks before the playoffs.
Ranking the best players in the women’s Sweet 16.
Your TV is watching you.
How to tell if you’re watching a good Jason Statham movie or a bad Jason Statham movie.
The Sex Pistols go back on tour for the first time in two decades.
Your song of the day is Ram Jam with Black Betty.
