First pitch: From prospects to comebacks, 3 things I heard around MLB last week
By Kevin Henry
As the calendar turns to May, baseball fans are starting to get a feel for which MLB teams might really be ones to watch as we count down to the Memorial Day milestone of the 2023 season.
This past week, I was in Minneapolis watching the Minnesota Twins, one of the teams that has established itself as an early MLB surprise. With the Cleveland Guardians stubbing their collective toes early in the campaign and the rest of the AL Central in a complete nosedive, the Twins have taken advantage of some solid early play and dysfunction in the rest of the division to jet to the top of the AL Central.
For this column, however, let’s start on the other side of the division with the Kansas City Royals.
MLB clubhouse chatter: Kansas City Royals
The Royals entered Sunday’s play at 7-21 after losing six of its last nine games. Heading into the four-game series finale at Target Field on Sunday, the Twins were 5-1 against Kansas City this season, showing the wide gap between the top and bottom of the AL Central.
It’s clear that it’s another tough season for the Royals as they try to build a core for the future, and manager Matt Quatraro was asked about how he keeps his messaging in place for a team that is still trying to find its way.
“Well, what’s the alternative? That’s kind of how I look at it,” Quatraro said. “You come in today and it’s a new day. You have to have a little bit of a level of insanity I guess to come back and be in a good mood and take it as it comes.
“Today’s a totally new day, whether we’re on a hot streak or a cold streak, as a team or individually. What happened yesterday has no value today. You look up at that scoreboard at whatever your numbers are, good or bad, that’s the past. It’s a new start every day. Nobody on the other side of that field cares if I was 4-for-4 yesterday or gave up three runs out of the bullpen. When you come out there today, it’s a whole new set of matchups and a whole new competition.”
Quatraro will keep looking for the positives as his young Royals keep growing and learning. For now, it’s not pretty in Kansas City, but Quatraro is hoping the lessons learned today pay dividends for the franchise tomorrow.