Around the Kingdom: Danny Duffy, Donald Stephenson, and Ryan Mueller

The Royals playoff train keeps rolling along as Kansas City again bounces back from a defeat by winning the next game (this time a 6-3 victory over the Rangers). The win comes after Danny Duffy hit an iceberg with 2-out sin the 6th to give up a grand slam in Colorado. Forgetting about it the next day is how you go 16-4 in your last 20 games.

More from Kansas City Chiefs

The only fly in the ointment is that manager Ned Yost can’t seem to get much rest for his stellar relief trio of Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis, and Greg Holland. He tried to use Francisley Bueno in the 7th on Friday night, but he ended up giving up 2 runs to turn a 5-1 bulge into a 2-run margin.

The secondary relievers like Jason Frasor, Aaron Crow, and Francisley Bueno need to step up their games to allow KC’s back-end trio enough rest to work their magic in tight games.

The Chiefs got more bad news on Friday when the NFL suspended starting RT Donald Stephenson for the first four games of the season due to his violation of the league’s substance abuse policy. The news follows last week’s suspension of WR Dwayne Bowe for the home opener.

Yikes. I know the mantra of the NFL is “next man up” but this is getting ridiculous.

Sporting KC will face D.C. United in a showdown with 1st place on the line. Sporting KC is still the red-headed stepchild on the KC sports scene, but consistent success is starting to change things.

They’re the only top-level professional team in KC to win a playoff game in the last 20 years.

KANSAS CITY ROYALS

Baseball Joe – Rob Neyer says we can’t judge the Shields/Myers trade until a decade has passed—unless the Royals win the World Series this year:

"By way of noting how hard these things are to evaluate, I mentioned that Wade Davis, sort of a throw-in, is (arguably) having a better season than James Shields, the big prize. And that Davis was actually pretty awful in the role for which the Royals acquired him, only to thrive upon the enaction of Plan B.All of which is true. But then Jonah sort of blew my mind. I had completely forgotten that the Royals sent, in addition to hot prospects Wil Myers and Jake Odorizzi, a couple of lesser prospects."

Kings of Kauffman – Danny Duffy is still a work in progress:

"There may still be times, such as last night, where Duffy becomes unraveled, at least temporarily. As important as it is for Duffy to get those outs when needed, it is also important to see how he rebounds after any potential meltdowns. Last night, Duffy rebounded quite well."

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS

Arrowhead Pride – Options to replace Donald Stephenson
Kansas City Star – Chiefs franchise identity defined by pass rushers:

"More to the point, there are not many franchises in the NFL whose identity is more entwined with defensive players, and specifically pass rushers. The Chiefs are like the Bears in this way, or maybe the Steelers. Ten men are in the Hall of Fame as Chiefs, and only one played on offense."

SPORTING KC

ReportingKC.com – 5 keys for Sporting KC vs. D.C. United

KANSAS STATE WILDCATS

Kansas City Star – Ryan Mueller works his way from walk-on to college football star:

"“I don’t want to boast about me personally, but Kansas State has given me an opportunity to excel that not a lot of other programs would,” Mueller said. “They have given me a fair opportunity to show what I am capable of. I have taken full advantage of it, but that opportunity is open to anyone who is willing to put in the work.”"

There you have it KC fans—the news Around the Kingdom.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/sports/college/big-12/kansas-state/article1269456.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/sam-mellinger/article1275179.html#storylink=cpy

Home/Kansas City Chiefs