Ned Yost: 'I'm being a punk' for withholding Royals' Series rotation
A little more than 24 hours after the Mets set their rotation for the World Series, the Royals manager declined, saying he doesn't want to reveal it right now and that he's "being a little bit of a punk," for choosing such a course.
By
Dave Brown
•
1 min read
Manager Ned Yost decided against disclosing the World Series pitching rotation for the Royals at a dugout press conference Sunday. No major-league rule compels him to do it, so he's not going to, even though the Mets announced their rotation after a workout at Citi Field the day before.
Instead, he'll announce the Royals rotation at World Series media day at Kauffman Stadium on Monday. Why wait?
"Because I'm being a little bit of a punk," Yost told the assembled reporters.
Ned Yost being a bit of a punk might look something like this:
Yost did spend the day with Salvador Perez, Eric Hosmer and others rocking out at the Chiefs-Steelers game, with Ned attending at Arrowhead Stadium for the first time ever. Usually by now Yost is back in rural Georgia, setting up a duck blind with Jeff Foxworthy or a NASCAR celebrity. So it's nice for him to get some recreation at an NFL game while still on the job.
As for his non-disclosure: It's possible the Royals are still deciding in which order to go.
The pitchers are likely to be right-handers Edinson Volquez, Yordano Ventura, Johnny Cueto and Chris Young. Volquez seems like the best bet for Game 1, given that he'd be going on five days of rest. After starting the ALCS clincher, Ventura would have his regular rest by Game 2 and, despite his status as an "ace," Cueto doesn't seem like a logical Game 1 choice given his wild inconsistency. However, Cueto might be Yost's pick for Game 2 given his performance at home in the clinching game of the ALDS against the Astros.
Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com takes a crack at guessing the order:
Ned isn't saying yet, but it's likely Volquez in Game 1, Cueto in Game 2, Ventura in Game 3, Young in Game 4. Cueto would go 2 and 6 #Royals
— Jeffrey Flanagan (@FlannyMLB) October 26, 2015
We'll all find out for sure Monday, when Yost puts away his nose rings and makes the big announcement. Unless he's still punking us.
