Zack Greinke was not only the best player on the Royals in 2009 but he was the best pitcher in the American League. Last season he regressed significantly but was still good. After telling the Royals he no longer wanted to be there, nearly every team had a chance to get him. After about a month of speculation, a winner emerged when the Milwaukee Brewers traded four players for Greinke.
The breakdown is after the jump.
Showing posts with label Zack Greinke. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Zack Greinke. Show all posts
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Thursday, March 4, 2010
2010 Kansas City Royals team preview
2009 Record: 65-97 .401
Run differential: -156
Spring training of 2009 was filled with optimism for Kansas City fans, as it appeared the AL Central was moving backwards which would allow the Royals to catch up. Expected improvements from young players and GM Dayton Moore’s penchant for building a bullpen seemed to back up this theory. Unfortunately the Royals were downright awful and narrowly avoided 100 losses. In the winter Moore traded one of his most effective relievers in 2008 for likely non-tender Mike Jacobs and his career .318 OBP. Not only did Jacobs fail to hit, but his defense at first base was so bad Billy Butler became the full time starter while Jacobs DH’d . Compounding this trade was the fact that the acquisition of Jacobs blocked one of the better prospects in the system, Kila Ka’ahue. If this wasn’t bad enough, Moore traded for the worst starting infielders in the majors in August (SS Yuniesky Betancourt) and allowed Trey Hillman to find regular at- bats for Willie Bloomquist and his .655 OPS. Fan outrage called Moore out for his ineptitude leading to a tirade about trusting the process that may never die. Injuries to Alex Gordon, Mike Aviles, and Coco Crisp also played a part in driving this team to the cellar.
2010 seems to arrive with tempered expectations.
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