Tagged: Zack Greinke

Zack dealing quite nicely with new-found celebrity

It’s good to see Zack Greinke enjoying his new-found celebrity, even in a quiet way.

When Greinke was named American League Pitcher of the Month for April, he was genuinely pleased and happily discussed the honor with reporters. As you know by now, Zack doesn’t court publicity and can get along just fine without it. But he’s been going along with the hubbub with the smoothness of a real pro.

Mike Swanson, the Royals’ PR veep, is watching over Zack so the exposure is limited. He doesn’t like to do talk radio or sit-down TV interviews, much like Randy Johnson whom Swanson handled when both men were with the Diamondbacks.

When it was pointed out that Greinke had the third-lowest ERA, 0.40, of any pitcher that got off to a 6-0 start, the names of the previous two did not throw him off. He knew about Fernando Valenzuela, 6-0 and 0.33 in 1981, and even Walter Johnson, 6-0 and 0.35 in 1913.

Walter Johnson?

“Yeah, he was probably a pretty good pitcher,” Greinke said. “Christy Mathewson was probably my favorite, though. He just seemed more like a pitcher and Walter Johnson was just domination.”

So, you see, Zack has been doing a little reading. He knew Matty was the thinking man’s pitcher. Maybe he read Matty’s book, “Pitching in a Pinch.”

OK, probably not.

But Zack likes to look at the past and gains inspiration from some sports figures.

“In baseball, really just Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens. And then Michael Jordan is probably my favorite of all time. And like Walter Payton,” he said. “I like the hard-working guys or at least they say they’re hard-working. Larry Bird, I just like guys who train all-year round and dedicate themselves to the game.”

–Dick Kaegel

 

Will Zack attract more fans to Kauffman?

You’ve got to hand it to Zack Greinke for not being big-headed. He can’t quite believe that folks are going to come to Kauffman Stadium just to see him pitch.

He electrified a sellout crowd last Friday night with a brilliant 6-1 victory over the Tigers, his second straight complete-game victory. He’s leading the league not only with four victories but with that can’t-be-any-better 0.00 ERA and, oh yes, those 36 strikeouts.

He’s still got a string of 43 innings without giving up an earned run, even though that error-caused run scored the other night. He’s got the ability to throw a 98-mph fastball and a 62-mph curve with equally devastating results.

Beyond that, he’s got that boyish grin and good looks, a refreshingly quirky outlook on life, great intelligence and a genuine respect for the fans. And everyone knows how he overcame some personal issues and took a firm grip on his great talent and potential.

All things considered, he could become the first pitcher since the days of Bret Saberhagen or David Cone to be a real box-office draw for the Royals. Last Friday night, it was Fireworks Friday (although those were postponed because of high wind) and Buck Night, attractions that certainly swelled the crowd.

We’ll get a better read when Greinke pitches on Wednesday night at Kauffman against the Blue Jays. The only “extra” is it’s College Night Happy Hour with cheap seats and concessions for high schoolers and collegians.

The biggest attraction is young Zack Greinke.

–Dick Kaegel

Zacks feat puts him with Royals elite

Here’s a statistical nugget from the Elias Sports Bureau: Zack Greinke is the only pitcher in Royals history to pitch at least five scoreless innings in four consecutive starts. He shut out the Indians for five innings in Monday night’s 4-2 win and now has 25 straight scoreless innings. The record for a starter is 33 straight zeros by Kevin Appier in 1993.

The three Royals pitchers with three straight starts with at least five scoreless innings are Bret Saberhagen in 1989, Appier in that ’93 run and David Cone in 1994. That’s pretty elite company for the Zackmeister.

That old feeling: It’s good to see the Royals getting their alumni more involved in the last two or three years. For the last two springs, alums like Willie Wilson and Joe Randa have been brought into camp to help the Minor Leaguers. For the grand re-opening of Kauffman Stadium there were 27 alums on the field, from Marty Pattin to Bill Pecota, and a bunch of them were at the Welcome Home Luncheon on Monday. Appreciation for the past is all too rare among today’s ballplayers so some indoctrination about the Royals’ history is a great idea.

Second the motion: One of the club’s second base hopes for the future, Johnny Giavotella, had a big game for Single-A Wilmington on Monday – seven RBIs and two home runs including a grand slam. A second-round pick last year, he broke in with a .299 average for Single-A Burlington.

–Dick Kaegel

 

 

Zack attack and its Hello, Central

Hello, Central?

Zack Greinke finally answered the call at U.S. Cellular Field on Wednesday night by pitching six-plus shutout innings and ending his 0-6 career blight there. Royals 2, White Sox 0.

“My offspeed was working and I treated it like a playoff game almost,” Greinke said afterward.

Offspeed, full speed, it all worked for Greinke.

“This is just what me and Gil are supposed to do every time out, I think,” he said.

Gil Meche did all right in the opener with seven innings, leaving with a 2-1 lead that was lost. But, yeah, that’s what Gil and Zack are supposed to do.

And when Juan Cruz and Joakim Soria did what the bullpen is supposed to do, get nine straight outs, the Royals were 1-1 with only 160 games to go.

White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen has trumpeted the Royals as a coming team for a couple of years now.

And here’s what he said after Wednesday night’s game: “They got stronger. I have said that for the last couple of years and this year I said that in Spring Training. This ballclub is going to compete and they are going to give a lot of people headaches. They have a good ballclub all around.”

That’s coming from the manager of the defending division champs.

So maybe it is time for the Royals to say, Hello Central, here we are.

–Dick Kaegel

Official Assumption: Davies is No. 3 starter

Manager Trey Hillman didn’t come out and exactly say it on Sunday but he came close to anointing Kyle Davies as the Royals’ No. 3 starter.

“I think that you can assume that,” he said, knowing full well that we’ve been assuming that for two or three weeks now.

Davies will pitch on Monday, right after No. 1 and 2 Gil Meche and Zack Greinke, so he’s right on target to start the third game at Chicago.

Just who will start the April 10 opener remains in question, of course, because the fourth and fifth spots are still undecided. So it’ll be either Horacio Ramirez, Luke Hochevar, Brian Bannister or Sidney Ponson. It can’t be Meche because he’d have only three days of rest, not four, before the first home game against the Yankees.

–Dick Kaegel

 

Meches seven zeros add up to big plus for opener

Gil Meche’s excellent outing on Friday against the Dodgers gives the Royals’ rotation picture a huge boost.

Sure, everybody knew he was much better than he’d pitched this spring. He was not a 10.45 ERA guy. He’d proved himself in the last two years. Even so, there were those nagging thoughts: What if that back problem really hadn’t gone away? What if he’d just lost something? What if, what if?

Anyway, Meche blew away the doubts with seven shutout innings, breezing through in about 80 pitches and using just three in the last inning. So he looks ready for Opening Day.

Zack Greinke will go in the second game and, even though manager Trey Hillman won’t say so, Kyle Davies has the third starting job sewed up.

So how does it shake out for the other two, with Brian Bannister, Luke Hochevar, Horacio Ramirez and new arrival Sidney Ponson in the shootout?

Here’s a guess: Hochevar gets one spot because, frankly, he’s looked good enough to win it. The other spot goes to Ramirez unless that loose fingernail problem pops up again and proves to be a problem. The Royals badly want a left-hander in the rotation, just to break things up, and they think Ramirez will be better once he unleashes his cutter. He’s purposely held off on that pitch, which might be his best, while he improves his other pitches.

Bannister, who’s struggled most of the spring, gave himself a boost with five shutout innings in a Minor League game the other day. But it’d be easy for the Royals to send him to Triple-A Omaha to work on finding himself again. Likewise, because Ponson has pitched in just one Cactus League game and there’s time for him to pitch just one more, it’d be logical to send him to Omaha for more tune-ups. Then if somebody falters or gets hurt, the call can quickly go out to Bannister or Ponson.

The Royals can dip down and pull up a proven Major League starter. It’s nice to have that kind of depth and it’s something they haven’t had for a while.

–Dick Kaegel