This week in baseball

I’m watching today’s Royals game and reading up on all the news that fit to print. I can’t think of a better way to spend a summer Saturday afternoon.

The Royals need to win today against these pesky Blue Jays – who are riding a high after their week in trading. Of course, the Royals scored in the first inning again today. … So that doesn’t bode well.

The #Royals scored on the Blue Jays in the first. How unusual. Surely they will win a 100% non-dramatic game. This guarantees it.

— First Time Caller (@KCSportsNerd) August 1, 2015

Watching the Royals lose the last couple nights – after taking early leads – has been brutal. Last night, the loss came on an 11th inning walkoff by Blue Jays big man Josh Donaldson. After a controversial balk called on Franklin Morales. On Johnny Cueto’s debut. And after Kendrys Morales’ incredible slide to beat a tag at home. … 

Sigh.

But what a week it was for trades.

Will Leitch offers a good take on all 30 teams here.

It feels like we say this every year, but this year we really mean it: This was the craziest Trade Deadline ever. We had massive trades, massive non-trades, buyers, sellers, challenge trades, salary dumps, tweetstorms and, in an interesting new touch, one player crying out on the field when he thought he had been traded, even though he had not been traded.

Some teams went big; some teams started over; some teams just watched everyone else. But every team (except one) is a little bit different today than they were a month ago. 

Here’s what Leitch writes about the Royals …

Saddle up, boys. That we have reached a point where the biggest buyers at the Trade Deadline are the Royals sure feels like progress to me. But it makes total sense: The Royals' window is probably only for the next year or two, and maybe even just this one. So floor it now. Every team in baseball would have loved to trade for Cueto or Zobrist. The Royals have them both, adding them to a team that has the best record in the AL. This is going to be fun.

It’s going to be fun or terribly heartbreaking. The Blue Jays and Astros scare me right now. And then there’s the poor Tigers who stood in the Royals’ way to a division crown the last two seasons. Gone from the Tigers are David Price, Yoenis Cespedes and Joakim Soria. ...

This is going to be ugly. We are sorry for what's coming over the next half decade, Detroit fans. You deserved that World Series win that never came. Just writing this paragraph is making me sad, so I need to stop.

What a week for Wilmer Flores and the New York Mets. ... Here's a good read about how the whole thing broke Twitter, which I happened to be following Wednesday night. Although, I think they’ll be just fine with Cespedes.

You go, Wilmer..



(Updated 4:02 p.m.)

The Royals win! It was another breath-taking, nail-biting game that came down to Greg Holland staring down Josh Donaldson with the tying run on third base and the go-ahead run on first with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. But the Royals won!

It snapped only a three-game losing streak, but those losses seemed like a week’s worth.

Just as nice, new guy Ben Zobrist went 3-for4 with two home runs and a double.