Q.  Is he a reliable staff ace?   His ERA+'s the last five years are 115, 125, 125, Cy, 100.

A.  Greinke is a staff ace for sure.

Those ERA+'s wayyyyyyyyyy undersell Zack Greinke.   Check rather his BPV's the last several years.  50 is draftable for a Shandler roster; 75 is the gem you look for:

• 2010:  80 (estimated)
• 2009:  135
• 2008:  100
• 2007:  80
• 2006:  80

This is a guy who walks a measly 50 men year after year, in 200+ innings, with a K rate well over 7, and he keeps homers real low.

If there were some non-celebrity doing what Zack Greinke is doing, we'd go off the rails on a crazy train to roster him.  Greinke's done it five years in a row.

Hey, make a list.  Every starting pitcher who gets you 7+ strikeouts, 2+ walks, no homers, and 200 innings every year, five years now.  His Established Level of Performance (ELP) is as solid as anybody's.

Semantics are semantics.  Call that an ace, or don't.  I'll take the guy Opening Day.

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Q.  Is he hurt?

A.  He could be.  Anybody could be.  Felix could be.

Greinke backed off the devastating slider in 2010, and his curve was worthless.  Sounds like a stiff elbow to me.  And of course that account perfectly for his slumming in the 7.5 strikeout range.

But, all these guys pitch in pain.  The Brew will look him over.

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Q.  What does the savvy M's fan learn from the trade return?

A.  and if I claim to be a wise man ... it surely means that I don't know....

Last week, Dr. D's sanity was wayward indeed, as he read on site after site that "Drabek, Snider and some minor leaguers" ought to "get it done" for Greinke.

This would well-and-truly equate to Dustin Ackley, Michael Pineda and ? for two years of a social-anxiety Greinke, and they even had me goin' with that pap.  M's were supposed to be calling, too.

Then the deal is announced, and the Royals take back what is .... I dunno.   Four role players?!

.................

A couple years ago, Alcides Escobar was pitched locally as a super-valuable commodity -- because he fit the mold of glove-first rookie that you were going to get to underpay.  Mercifully, this "any $425k player is worth more than Johann Santana at market salary" fad is beginning to taper.

I'd been resisting the temptation to pile on Dayton Moore, but relievers and benchies back for Greinke?  SSI will resist no longer.

....................

If Jack didn't top that for Greinke, then he didn't have the permission or the inclination to get serious. 

So you have six teams call in ...and four scrubs take Greinke?!  What are all the other clubs doing?!

One bit of conjecture's as good as the other, I guess.  Teams didn't like what they heard about Greinke's head, or elbow, or ?

.

Older I get, the less attention I pay to the Marquee Name Rumor Mill.

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See ya in the NL,

Dr D