Kansas City Royals news: This is turning into Bobby’s team

Not that anyone wants Witt to be anything but himself. Or that it’s suddenly all about his vocal stylings.

It’s just that he’s got so much to offer, especially in terms of the diligence, unwavering process and stress on mental performance that animate his superb talents.

Controlling the controllables, as Witt likes to say. Kevin O’Brien looks at what the Royals do in the wake of injuries to Cole Ragans and Carlos Estévez. David Lesky recaps the series finale against Cleveland and Vinnie Pasquantino’s struggles with runners on base. I will say that this does not make up for the struggles. He answered questions and criticized himself with language that would make Lucas Erceg blush after the game. He still is hitting just .194/.277/.366. He does now have five home runs and 18 RBI, which is getting closer to the sort of pace we saw from him last year, at least on the RBI front. And he’s hitting .302/.380/.628 since April 22, whic his another arbtirary day, but it’s the day he broke out of an 0 for 16 slump. But even in that stretch, he’s hitting .182 without an extra base hit with runners in scoring position. He’s hitting just 263 without an extra base hit with runners on period. He is RAKING with the bases empty.

No, that doesn’t mean he’s a garbage time hitter or anything like that. But he has struggled in the spot that you want your middle-of-the-order bat to succeed. Anne Rogers writes about Salvador Perez’s relationship with his mother, Yilda. This Sunday is Mother’s Day, but Perez tries to thank his mom every day for the work she did. Perez’s work ethic and passion are two of his greatest attributes. He has Yilda to thank for that.

“I don’t think you appreciate it until you start to grow up,” Perez said. “When you start to work for yourself or for your family, when things are hard, that’s when you realize that your mom did a pretty good job for you and that she was working hard. I try to thank her every day for the things she did for me. I realize it was hard for her.

“She’s definitely one of my inspirations. I’ve got my kids and my wife, too. But it’s like, ‘If she can do it, why can I not do it?’ She fought as hard as she could, so I can get through a lot, too. When it gets hard, just keep going. She’s one of my inspirations every day.” Joel Goldberg writes about some of the amusing unscripted moments in recent post-game interviews. Christian singer TobyMac will headline Faith Night at Kauffman Stadium. Elliot Kalb at NBC Sports profiles Bobby Witt Jr. ahead of their Peacock broadcast. Cubs pitcher Matthew Boyd will miss a month after knee surgery. Blake Snell should make his season debut today. The Diamondbacks call up top prospect Ryan Waldschmidt and designated outfielder Alek Thomas for assignment. The Marlins have some catching depth. This is turning into a solid rookie class. Which teams could take out the Dodgers? Who are some surprise contenders that could make a playoff run? The Cubs could be looking at Mets pitcher Freddy Peralta. MLB’s new TV deals have seen strong early season viewership. Baseball America finds the origins of the injury rehab assignment in baseball. [$] The NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments will expand to 76 teams. The sale of the Seahawks is receiving soft interest. The owner of Dunkin’ Donuts may be going public. The first playgrounds were for adults, not kids. The Pentagon releases files on UFO sightings over the years. Your song of the day is Sniff ‘n’ the Tears with *Driver’s Seat.*