MINNEAPOLIS -- One day last week, Royals left-hander Danny Duffy decided to walk from downtown Kansas City to Kauffman Stadium, a trek that took him nearly four hours.
It's that type of walking or "long hike," as he calls it, that provides instant relief, clearing his mind.
But when Duffy's recent hike became public knowledge, the reaction on Twitter ranged from snarky to simply cruel, suggesting he must be some kind of "head case."
"It's easy to act like it's weird," Duffy told MLB.com. "I'm an easy target because of what's happened to me in the past. I'm cool with it until they bring up mental illness."
Duffy once walked away from baseball as a Minor Leaguer, essentially to reset his mind. That doesn't make him a head case, he said.
"Everyone has a vice to maybe clear their mind," Duffy said. "Mine is taking long walks. Would you prefer I have a different type of vice? No.
"I've been doing this forever. But it's insulting to those people who really do have mental illness to make those accusations. "
Duffy said he is experienced enough on social media to know he likely won't win any Twitter wars.
"I don't have a major issue [with the Twitter snark]," he said. "I mean, I have a platform to talk about things that are important to me and along with that comes [criticism]. When life gets a little tough, I take long walks. I've always done that. It's not like I'm walking in circles. I have a destination. Oh well. It is what it is."
Kennedy back to DL
As expected, the Royals placed right-hander Ian Kennedy back on the disabled list Wednesday with a strained left oblique. Kennedy came off the DL on Tuesday from the same injury and pitched three innings before feeling tightness again.
Kennedy had an MRI Wednesday morning in Minneapolis. The results are not yet known.
Right-handed reliever Jason Adam, who had just been optioned to make room for Kennedy, was recalled.