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Royals express interest in Mulder
Kendall reportedly offered deal; Chapman on radar

By Dick Kaegel / MLB.com
INDIANAPOLIS -- Left-hander Mark Mulder, once a 21-game winner but out of baseball last season, is being given a once-over by the Royals.

Mulder, 6-foot-6 and 215 pounds, is on the comeback trail after missing 2009 because of shoulder surgery. The Royals would like to bring a left-handed starter into their all-right-handed rotation.

Royals general manager Dayton Moore acknowledged on Wednesday that the Royals have interest in the two-time American League All-Star.

Mulder posted a 21-8 record for the A's in 2001 with a 3.48 ERA and was named to the All-Star teams in 2003-04. He was in the AL playoffs with Oakland in 2001-02 and in the National League playoffs with the St. Cardinals in '05.

But he hasn't pitched a full season in the Majors since then.

"Last year and the year before, he was trying to do something," Moore said. "I think he'll try to come back and pitch. He went through the rehab process, I think two years ago, and he just couldn't quite make it back. Some guys push it too fast."

The Brewers also have interest in Mulder. They could have an edge because of Mulder's relationship with the Brewers' new pitching coach, Rick Peterson. He worked with Mulder when both were with the A's.

"We'll go through the process like everybody else," Moore said. "I'm sure it'll be a low-base, incentive-type deal predicated on him making the team or getting to the Major Leagues, so we'll see."

Mulder has a Major League career record of 103-60 and a 4.18 ERA in 205 games, all but two of them starts. But he missed all of last season.

"In deals like that, players [sometimes] choose the opportunity where they can progress at a slower pace," Moore said. "Maybe our situation's right, maybe it's not for those types of players. You just evaluate them as they come."

The Royals' search for a catcher yielded nothing new Wednesday.

"In that particular market, things are moving slow, which leads me to believe that the clubs that are seeking players that we're seeking are all consistent with their approaches and nobody's really winning the negotiations," Moore said. "Everybody's probably pretty similar."

Kansas City is reportedly looking at, among others, free agents Rod Barajas, Jason Kendall and Jose Molina.

There was a report on Wednesday night that the Royals had offered Kendall a two-year contract, but Moore declined to comment.

"I can't comment on people that we've offered contracts or haven't offered contracts to," Moore said. "Someone told me that, too, but I just can't say anything about that."

Nor was there any progress on a center fielder or pitchers. By late Wednesday afternoon, the Royals had made no deals at the Winter Meetings, which close Thursday.

"It's unpredictable," Moore said. "I wouldn't be surprised if we got something done or if we didn't get something done and two weeks from now, we're in the same boat. It's just unpredictable."

The Rule 5 Draft comes at 8 a.m. CT on Thursday, and the Royals have the fourth choice. But they'd have to clear a spot on their 40-man roster to use it.

Just before the Winter Meetings began, the Royals agreed to spend about $7 million on Cuban left-hander Noel Arguelles. Next week in Houston, another highly-regarded lefty from Cuba, Aroldis Chapman, will have a showcase event in Houston for Major League clubs.

Moore indicated the Royals would take a look. Chapman, however, has been rumored to be looking at a signing bonus of $15 million or more.

"I don't know," Moore said. "Arguelles was rumored at $14 million at one time, so you don't know. You just do the work."
 
Unless someone is beating me to it now, this is hit 4257 on this thread breaking Pete Rose's hits record.
 
Lord, I was born a gamblin' maaaaaaaaaa-haaaaaaaaan.
Tryin' to make a livin' and doin' the best I caaaaaaaaaan.
 
For LEC:

haltertop03.jpg
 
per ESPN Scott Pod is a royal...
Free agent outfielder Scott Podsednik could be a Royal by the end of the day. Podsednik has reached agreement with a team pending a physical, - per Fox sports...
 
Saw that on the ticker. Not sure what that does for us, never thought much of the guy. Probably b/c he played for the bastard white sox.
 
I've never been a fan, but he might be ok for a couple of years.

-Podsednik, who will turn 34 in March, hit .304 with a .353 on-base percentage and 30 stolen bases in 132 games for the White Sox last season -- mostly as a left fielder.

He has stolen at least 30 bases in each of his five full seasons in the big leagues, including a career-high 70 for the Brewers in 2004.

Podsednik has a good reputation in center field. He was +4 as a center fielder in John Dewan’s Plus/Minus system, with a 1.7 ultimate zone rating.
 
'85 Royals fondly recall capturing glory
FanFest continues with memories of World Series triumph
By Dick Kaegel / MLB.com

KANSAS CITY -- It took a while. It wasn't until after 4,200 fans passed into the very busy Overland Park Convention Center on Friday. The evening was winding down at the Royals FanFest, and there was a commotion on the main stage. Loud music, K-Crew girls tossed souvenir gloves and pennants into the crowd, the fans chanted "Let's go Royals!"
Finally, onto the stage they came, the 1985 World Series champions -- 18 of them plus broadcaster Denny Matthews, the master of ceremonies. They wore their uniform jerseys, the popular powder blue, of course.

The 25th anniversary celebration of the Kansas City franchise's only World Series victory was under way. There was a happy drift through nostalgia as Matthews asked each player for a memory of 1985. Not hard to do for a team that twice was down, 3-1, in the postseason, and both times came back to win the series.

Interestingly, several of the men recalled little, offbeat memories.

Buddy Biancalana mentioned George Brett's second home run in the third game of the American League Championship Series in Kansas City, a 6-5 victory over Toronto that revived the Royals.

"I was looking out toward the left-field-bleacher area and, all of a sudden, I saw the fans start to stand up. It was like they were saying, 'One more time!' And it was the next pitch -- the most amazing, vivid memory of my life -- when he drove it over the left-field fence," Biancalana said.

Steve Farr was a rookie when, in Brett's big game, he pitched the final 4 1/3 scoreless innings to get the victory.

"So after the game, George comes up and says, 'Hey, we've got to go to the media room to get interviewed.' I didn't know we had a media room," Farr said. "So, that was my highlight, sitting in that media room with George."

Danny Jackson was on the training table before pitching the fifth game against Toronto with the Royals down, 3-1.

"Jamie Quirk walks in and says, 'D.J., don't worry. You pitch bad, we lose, we go home,'" Jackson said, laughing. "That's a little bit of incentive for you. It's like I didn't know anyway. It did kind of break the ice a little bit."

Jackson went the distance to beat the Blue Jays, 2-0.

After the Royals lost the first two World Series games at Kansas City, there was a small moment at St. Louis that Brett felt was responsible for firing up the Royals.

"When they introduced the Cardinals and Ozzie Smith and he ran out onto the field and did a backflip, I think everybody on this team looked at each other and said, 'Let's go kick their you-know-whats,'" Brett said. "Every time I see Ozzie, and that's about two times a year, I thank him for waking us up."

Frank White remembered sitting in the lockeroom before Game 5 with Willie Wilson.

"We were facing elimination in St. Louis and ABC came in and were setting up all the cameras because they wanted to get the losers crying and all that other stuff," White said. "And Willie said, 'We're not losing this game tonight.' And he looked at the guys putting the lights up and said, 'You guys might as well take those lights down, you're not going to use 'em tonight.'"

The Royals won, 6-1, and it was back to KC.

Steve Balboni remembered after the Royals won Game 6 to tie the series, he was sitting at his locker next to Hal McRae.

"And Hal just looked up and said, 'It's over. We're going to win.' And, sure enough, we all came out the next day and that was the attitude we had on the team. And I looked across the way and [the Cardinals] looked worried," Balboni said.

As well they should have, because Bret Saberhagen pitched a shutout in an 11-0 runaway.

"Before the game was probably the most nervous I've ever been in my life," Saberhagen admitted. "I was next to George and I couldn't sit in my locker. I was back and forth, all over the place before the game. But once we got out on the field we got so many runs so early."

Wilson thought about the last out of the World Series, a fly ball by Andy Van Slyke.

"Darryl Motley and I were fighting for the ball in right field and I was calling it all the way from center field," Wilson said. "As it turned out, Darryl made the catch and it was probably the happiest moment I've ever had in Kansas City."

Motley, after the catch, recalled the party in the clubhouse.

"Hal McRae came up to me and said, 'Well, Darryl, maybe now you'll be as great as me,'" Motley said.

The odd thing was that not one of the '85 Royals mentioned the famous call by umpire Don Denkinger in Game 6 that led to KC's 2-1 win in the ninth inning.

It didn't come up until, in a question-and-answer session, a fan asked Jorge Orta if he was really safe on the play that still aggravates Cardinals fans. Orta's answer was quick and concise.

"I was," he said.

The hour-long session wrapped up a busy day. There was one foulup when Saberhagen did not show for a mid-afternoon autograph session with the Royals' other two Cy Young Award winners, Zack Greinke and David Cone. Officials blamed a "miscommunication."

Saberhagen arrived later for his scheduled appearance with the other '85 players to sign autographs and take part in the main stage show.

The two-day event will conclude with a session from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. CT on Saturday. Many of the current Royals and 17 alumni, including 12 members of the '85 team, will be on hand.
 
The Royals reached an agreement with outfielder Rick Ankielon a one-year, $3.25MM deal, tweets Yahoo's Tim Brown. The contract has a second-year mutual option worth $6MM. Back on December 10th, ESPN's Jerry Crasnick tweetedthat Scott Boras wanted three years and "big money" for Ankiel, but ultimately he settled for an unsurprising contract.
 
So Ankiel and Podsednik to overhaul the outfield. So I assume Guillen will DH full time since he can't do much of anything else. Is Mulder going to be in spring training for us? And, are we the secret "other" team in the hunt for the 6-foot Wang to add to the rotation? I figure we're not, but who doesn't like to say wang?
 
That might get outta hand! I like it when Cardinal fans try to act all tough b/c they fill half the stadium during interleague. I like to remind them that it's my stadium, not theirs, and that the highest flag up there says 1985, bitches!
 
Bad news, the sports animal switched to the Rangers. WTF were they thinking. You can get 690 from Coffeyville pretty good though.
 
Royals mascot being sued for hurting some guy's eye via weiner.
This post was edited on 2/23 2:41 PM by canester2002

TMZ
 
Posted on Fri, Mar. 05, 2010
Greinke in top form as Royals beat Rangers 4-2
By BOB DUTTON
The Kansas City Star

SURPRISE, Ariz. | Wondering what Zack Greinke can do for an encore? Well, here’s a bit of sobering news for the rest of the American League:

He’s already ahead of his Cy Young pace of a year ago.

Greinke made his spring debut Friday afternoon with three overpowering innings in the Royals’ 4-2 victory over the Texas Rangers at Surprise Stadium. He retired nine of 10 hitters with strikeouts on only 27 pitches.

The only blemish was an opposite-field, two-out single by David Murphy in the first inning. Otherwise, Greinke was in complete control. Murphy’s single was one of only two balls to leave the infield.

Even Greinke was a bit surprised.

“My first outing, usually, is not good,” he said. “I’ve probably never had a good first outing before.”

Recall that Greinke went 3-3 last spring with a 9.21 ERA in eight starts while allowing 29 earned runs and 47 hits in 28 1/3 innings before producing perhaps the best season by a pitcher in franchise history.

His spring debut this year included no sliders and just two curves against one of the league’s better lineups. And, still, Greinke barely broke a sweat.

“He was good,” Texas second baseman Ian Kinsler said. “He seemed to be working on a changeup, and he threw a couple a couple of good ones.”

That changeup is something Greinke is determined to hone prior to his assignment April 5 in the season opener against Detroit at Kauffman Stadium.

“It’s just that I have time to work on it,” he said. “Last year, I felt I could use it at the end (of the season), but you don’t really want to take chances when the games matter. So I didn’t really get to see (how effective) it could be.”

Greinke’s outing also served as a successful first pairing with his new batterymate.

“He’s not satisfied,” veteran catcher Jason Kendall said. “He had one of the best years ever as a pitcher. Ever. His changeup is his fourth-best pitch, and today it was pretty darn good.”

Greinke was almost too efficient. He was cleared for 45 pitches, but manager Trey Hillman said he never considered sending his ace back to the mound for a fourth inning.

“It’s (a matter of) the ups and downs this early,” Hillman said. “I hate to say this because you love that efficiency but, from a stamina and building arm strength standpoint, you might want to see a few more pitches than that.”

Hillman then paused and smiled before adding, “I feel sure we can get him where he needs to be.”

Greinke said he felt no extra need for strong performance in his first appearance since his landslide selection as the Cy Young winner.

“You just pitch as well as you can,” he said. “If you pitch well, you’re probably going to put up good numbers. If you don’t pitch well, you’re probably not going to put up good numbers. So you just take care of what you can take care of.”

Yet, Greinke did assert he is a far “different” pitcher than last year in spring training. And for different, read better.

“Then,” he said, “I was still learning to work on fastball command, and I was trying to figure out some changeup to use. I didn’t know exactly how I was going to us the curveball.”

Now it’s more a matter of fine-tuning his four-pitch arsenal.

“It’s starting to get to where when I play catch,” he said, “the ball comes out right just about every time. It’s starting to get to where I kind of have a feel for where things are going.

“The off-speed hasn’t been real consistent, but that’s the last thing to come, usually, too. I’m trying to take the next step in pitching _ not that it’s going to be better (than last year), but I’m trying to work on stuff that needs to be worked on.”
To reach Bob Dutton, send e-mail to bdutton@kcstar.com. Follow his updates at twitter.com/Royals_Report.
 
Josh Fields to miss season with hip surgery. That resolves one of the Royals' more puzzling acquisitions, at least for this season. Trading for Josh Fields makes sense only if you are putting together a slow-pitch softball team.
 
Let's hope Alex Gordon stays healthy and he matures into the player he's capable of being.
 
Getting Josh Fields allowed us to unload Teahen.

Good win last night over the second best pitcher in the AL. The reigning Cy Young winner is looking to make it 3 straight for the Boys in Blue. The April schedule has been very tough, if we make it out around .500 we could make a run in May.
 
There definitely are some good things happening with the Royals. The outfield defense is much improved from last year (especially if Mier stays in center); catching defense, despite a couple of rough games, is improved (I bet Olivo moved more opposing baserunners into scoring position last year than any five opposing batters.); infield defense isn't as bad as feared, and the offensive players who are expected to produce for the most part are producing. Starting pitching has been OK, not great. Soria's tendency to give up the home run is sometimes frightening. The middle and long relief are absolutely destroying the season.
 
I see the Royals are back in their familiar place in dead last in their division. Go Royals!
 
Hey man even the Nats are doing better (and of course my beloved Cardinals) -- but my favorite is the collapse of the Capitals -- not that anyone cares about hockey.
 
I am about ready to give up on Alex Gordon. I don't think he will ever develop into the player he was expected to be.

He will probably be sent down to the minors when Getz comes off the DL tomorrow.
 
Grienke has been one of the best starting pitchers for some time. What a waste of talent, regarding the lack of team success. Two years left after this season of the four year contract he signed before the 2009 season.

If we don't sign Grienke to a five to seven year contract before the 2011 season begins, I would not be surprised to see the Royals trade him before or during the 2011 season. His trade value will be much greater in 2011 than it will during his last season in 2012. I will be sick if he ends up with the Yankees.

Good article below describing Grienke's success the past couple of years.



Posted on Fri, Apr. 30, 2010
Royals are no help to Greinke
By JOE POSNANSKI

On Aug. 16, 2008, the Royals were out of things, of course … it being August.

But that day, they went to Yankee Stadium. And that day, a 24-year-old pitcher named Zack Greinke pitched 6 2/3 innings against a lineup that had three certain Hall of Famers (Jeter, A-Rod, Pudge v 2.0) and three more who, at the very least, will get some votes (Damon, Abreu, Giambi) and one who might win a batting title this year (Robinson Cano). Greinke did not give up an earned run.

He did give up two unearned runs, thanks to a satisfying double error by Royals third baseman Alex Gordon ? error on the scoop, error on the throw to allow the advance ? and then Greinke was knocked out of the game after another error, this one by shortstop and defensive replacement Tony Pena Jr.

Anyway … something clicked for Greinke that day in New York. Well, I don’t know whether things in life really “click” or whether people slowly blossom and mature and the clicking is just for the observers. Whatever, since that day ? Aug. 16, 2008 ? Zack has been a great pitcher. Truly great.

He finished the season allowing just nine earned runs in his final 44 innings ? a 1.84 ERA, if you’re curious ? and he had a 41-9 strikeout-to-walk ratio, and the league hit just .214 against him. If you watched him pitch in those final weeks, really watched him, you could not help but notice that Zack had become something really special.

It wasn’t any great bit of genius that inspired me to pick Greinke to win the Cy Young Award before the season started last year. If you were watching, you could not miss it.

Greinke lived up to everything in 2009, as you know. His 2.16 ERA not only led all of baseball, but it also was the best mark by an American League pitcher since Pedro Martinez in 2000. We don’t need to go over again Greinke’s many achievements in 2009 ? lowest WHIP, fewest home runs allowed per nine, 4.75-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio ? you already know how good a year he had.

Move into 2010, and it hasn’t been quite as smooth. Nobody really thought it would be. Zack got smacked around a little bit against Boston. He was uncharacteristically wild against Minnesota.

Still, he has allowed one, four, two, two and zero earned runs in his five starts, so it’s not as if he fell apart, either. He has a 2.56 ERA through his first five starts, a more-than-respectable 27-7 strikeout to walk and just about the same WHIP that he had last year.

So what’s the point? Well, here’s the point: Since Aug. 16, 2008, Zack Greinke has made 46 starts, and he has a 2.11 ERA.

The Royals’ record in those 46 starts? You betcha: 22-24.

A losing record with the dominant Zack Greinke pitching? The Royals have pulled off a lot of crazy stunts in the last 10 or 15 years. But this just might top them all. How do you have a losing record when the starting pitcher is allowing two earned runs every nine innings?

Well, it hasn’t been easy, that’s for sure. Here is a quick recap of those 24 losses.

?Aug. 16, 2008: Greinke left the game with the score 2-2 in the seventh. Yankees won in 13th inning.

?Aug. 21, 2008: Greinke pitched five innings against Cleveland and gave up one earned run. Unfortunately, Tony Pena dropped a pop-up, Billy Butler threw the ball away, the Indians scored four unearned runs and were leading 5-3 when Greinke came out. The bullpen turned that into a 10-3 loss.

?Aug. 26, 2008: Greinke gave up no earned runs to Texas in six innings. But an error by Mike Aviles led to one unearned run. The score was tied 1-1 when Greinke left ? the Rangers scored the game-winner in the eighth.

?Sept. 7, 2008: Greinke was not at his best ? a classic six-inning, three-run “quality start” ? and against Cliff Lee, that was not nearly good enough. Indians won 3-1.

?May 9, 2009: Greinke, with a 6-0 record, allowed one run in a complete game against the Angels. Unfortunately, that was an eight-inning complete game because Joe Saunders threw the only complete game of his career (at least so far).

?May 21, 2009: Greinke allowed two runs in six innings and the Royals were actually leading Cleveland 3-2. Then, as a joke, the Royals thought they might use Horacio Ramirez as a reliever. No, wait, they weren’t joking. Cleveland won 8-3.

?May 31, 2009: Sloppy start for Greinke ? three earned runs in seven innings against Chicago. Yes, others might win when they pitch like that … but that’s for others. It was 4-4 going into the ninth when the deadly combination of John Bale and Juan Cruz finished off the Royals’ chances. White Sox won 7-4.

?June 5, 2009: One of Greinke’s worst starts of the year ? five earned runs in five innings. The Royals’ defense chipped in with three errors. Blue Jays blew out Royals 9-3.

?June 11, 2009: Again, a bland, good start for Greinke ? 7 1/3 innings, three runs. The Royals were ahead 3-1 when he left, though he did leave two men on. Then the Royals botched a double-play grounder, Joakim Soria could not get Jhonny Peralta out (for shame), and Cleveland won it 4-3 in the 10th inning.*

* Pretty typical Royals finish ? Kyle Farnsworth enters, Mark DeRosa singles, Victor Martinez singles, Shin-Soo Choo singles, ball hits seagull, Royals lose, cue Three Stooges music.

?June 17, 2009: Greinke wasn’t sharp against Arizona, and he allowed four earned runs in 6 2/3 innings. Toss in three more Royals errors, an outstanding zero-inning, three-hit, three-run performance by reliever Roman Colon, and, voila, Royals lost 12-5.

?July 3, 2009: The beginning of six consecutive Royals losses when Greinke pitched. Admittedly, he was not especially great in these six games, as exhibited by his worse-than-normal 3.65 ERA, but you know, you can make seven-digit salaries in this game with a 3.65 ERA. Six innings, two earned runs in this game. There were two more unearned runs thanks to an Alberto Callaspo error, but it didn’t matter. Royals got shut out by White Sox 5-0.

?July 8, 2009: Six innings, three runs against Detroit ? not nearly good enough as someone named Luke French and three relievers held the Royals to one run.

?July 18, 2009: How about seven innings and one run against Tampa Bay? Is that good enough, Sam I Am? No. Rays scored three in the eighth off the Lethargic Duo of Bale and Cruz. Royals lost 4-2.

?July 24, 2009: What about holding Texas to one run in seven innings? Shouldn’t that be enough? No. Scott Feldman and C.J. Wilson combined on the shutout. Royals lost 2-0.

?July 29, 2009: OK, so now he gives up two runs in six innings against Baltimore. Baltimore. There’s no way … oh wait, there’s a way. Twenty-one-year-old Chris Tillman made the start, Matt Albers and Jim Johnson finished the job, Bale and Cruz did what they do best, and the Royals lost 7-3.

?Aug. 3, 2009: Well, this one’s on Greinke ? five innings, six runs against Tampa, and heck, the Royals made only one error. Royals get stomped 10-4.

?Aug. 14, 2009: After Greinke finally breaks the losing streak, he goes out and throws seven shutout innings against Detroit. Unfortunately for the Royals, they happened to pick the wrong night to face Jarrod Washburn, who threw eight shutout innings. The right night to face Washburn would have been pretty much any other day, as the league hit .323 against him the rest of the year.

?Aug. 19, 2009: Four runs in seven innings? That’s a no-chancer. White Sox beat the Royals 4-2.

?Sept. 5, 2009: Eight innings, zero earned runs against the Angels. How did the Royals mess up this one? A Willie Bloomquist error led to the unearned run that sent the game into extra innings. Once there, Yasuhiko Yabuta, the Royals’ big-time recruit from Japan, ably gave up the game-winner in the 11th.

?Oct. 3, 2009: Greinke got beat fair and square on the last Saturday of the season. Scoreless game in the sixth, Greinke and the Royals decided to pitch to Joe Mauer with a runner on third and two outs in the sixth inning. The Tigers, watching from afar, did not like the decision, but I did. It was gutsy, and it gave the fans a thrill. Mauer singled in the run. A slightly rattled Greinke gave up three more runs. Twins eventually won 5-4.

?April 5, 2010: Greinke picked up right where he left off … six innings, one earned run on opening day. A Bloomquist error allowed an unearned run, but the Royals still led 4-2 when Greinke left. The bullpen collapsed. Royals lost 8-4.

?April 10, 2010: Greinke was not sharp but kind of held it together and gave up four runs in 6 2/3 innings against Boston. The bullpen collapsed. Royals lost 8-3.

?April 16, 2010: Again, Greinke not sharp ? walks five guys. Gives up only two earned runs in five innings. Two more unearned runs came thanks to an error by, yes, Willie Bloomquist. The bullpen collapsed. Twins won 10-3.

?April 27, 2010: Greinke threw seven shutout innings, and the Royals led 2-0 when he left the game. No way they could mess up this one. And … the bullpen collapsed. A double-play grounder was deflected into right field by reliever Robinson Tejeda. Royals lost to Seattle 3-2. Zack Greinke remains winless for the 2010 season.

And that is how a team manages a losing record with a 2.11 ERA.
Joe Posnanski, a senior writer for Sports Illustrated, also writes occasional columns for The Kansas City Star. Look for other columns from Joe at sportsillustrated.cnn.com.
 
Oh no, we suck again!!!1

Only the Royals could have a losing record with Grienke on the hill. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
 
Li'l Eric Coley - Your comments are right on.




Mellinger: Greinke Day a reminder of how bad the Royals are
By SAM MELLINGER
The Kansas City Star

Happy Greinke Day, and remember when this was fun?

Every five days the best pitcher in baseball goes for the Royals ? Kansas City’s Royals ? and you used to watch expecting a win while the rest of the sport watched with envy. Now, it’s our regularly scheduled reminder of just how bad the Royals are.

Not that any of us need to wait that long, but there is perhaps no greater indictment of the Royals than what appears next to Zack Greinke’s name today on the list of probable starting pitchers: 0-4, 2.51 ERA.

“It’s just, well…” outfielder Scott Podsednik begins. “I don’t really know what word to use. When he’s taken the mound, the runs have been few and far between.”

This is growing into something more than awkward. The Royals’ one national star is supposed to be the ace pitcher dragging the Royals toward the top of the standings. Instead, his individual brilliance becomes the easiest and stickiest joke to make during what looks like another lost season:

See that? The Royals are so bad they can’t even win with Zack!

This is embarrassing, and the Royals don’t need any more embarrassment.

The hurt is especially deep for this franchise because so much of the last four years has been about ending the Royals’ days as a punchline. General manager Dayton Moore’s stated focus is to build the farm system, and those words are backed by the Royals’ spending millions, adding scouts, hiring executives, starting a new minor-league team and building a new academy in Latin America.

That’s all technical stuff, inside baseball stuff, but watch closely and you see that winning baseball games is only part of the point.

Moore is also obsessed with making sure the Royals operate like a major-league franchise. He was aghast when he found out the Royals didn’t always take team photos, for instance. Too many of the baseball operations folks didn’t have cell phones. He renamed the spring training fields, brought back the awards banquet and made a concerted effort to honor the Royals’ history.

You crawl before you walk, and you operate like a real big-league team before you win.

So don’t believe for a second that those in and around the Royals aren’t ticked that the whole thing is so easily boiled down to a joke involving their homegrown star pitcher being winless.

Greinke has been so good, and the Royals so bad, and there are just so many ways to show how Kansas City’s homegrown star has been like Kobe Bryant playing on a rec team since late in 2008.

This is a span of 48 starts ? nearly a full season and a half ? with a 2.12 ERA and the Royals are 22-26 in Greinke’s games. Theoretically, that means the Royals are so bad they would go 74-88 with the world’s best starting pitcher going every game.

Here’s another way to look at it: Entering Wednesday’s games, Greinke ranked 10th in the American League in ERA and, um, tied for 114th in wins. Trevor Bell has pitched 1 1/3 innings, has a 13.50 ERA, and he has a win. Josh Rupe was just sent packing by the Royals, and he has a win. Heck, Brad Bergesen has a 7.36 ERA while pitching for the Orioles and he has two wins.

One more, perhaps most damning of all: Greinke has given up one or zero earned runs in 26 of his last 48 starts, and the Royals are 14-12 in those games.

When the cameras and microphones are around, Royals players and coaches and executives downplay all of this. They talk about how these things tend to even out over time, that it’s just a coincidence and bad luck and not something they spend a lot of time worrying about.

The truth is it does tick them off, at least some of them. And it should. The Royals have turned the game’s best pitcher ? a 26-year-old phenom on a club-friendly contract ? into a symbol of their own special brand of fail.

How many franchises could do that?

Greinke Day is now a nervous day, the joy of watching a bright young star replaced by the anxiety of avoiding more shame. That’s bad enough except for the ugly truth that’s in the background now but also a day closer to needing real attention:

Greinke’s contract is up after the 2012 season, and it’s hard to imagine him re-signing with a punchline.
 
On the plus side, Scott Podsednik has filled in admirably on my fantasy team while Nelson Cruz has been on the shelf.
 
Royals Fire Hillman. Ned Yost new manager
 
Originally posted by Li'l Eric Coley:
Tonight will be Grienke Drinky Night. And win or lose, at least I'll be medicated.
Click to expand...



He already won. It was a day game.
 
Originally posted by 2PoorTUFans:
How does the burger thread get stickied and this one doesn't?
Click to expand...



Gold* and No Orange still bitter about 1985.
 
How did the transition from Japan to America not work? I worked for Nomo and Matsui right?

This thread is definately worth a damn sticky at the top.
 
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