Zack Greinke's Amazing 2009 and Division Series Recap/LCS Preview

It would be difficult to count how many pitching prospects have not worked out. Many of them with great hype, and some came seemingly out of nowhere. As a general manager all you can do is put faith in your scouts and your own eye, because no amateur or minor league numbers can compare to pitching on a big league mound. Zack Greinke found that out the hard way and struggled mightily. One thing was unique about Greinke's struggles though, and it never really gave him a chance to shine like the pitcher he was all along.

He dealt with some personal mental issues. He saw a doctor about it and received medication to deal with the disorder and from every count it seemed to unleash every burden that had held him back previously. In essence, he should have left a memo with the rest of the American League that said "I hope you enjoyed the hits", because next season Greinke was a completely different pitcher and a different guy.

"The Royals are 1-7 in Greinke's eight no-decisions, despite the fact that he has a 1.95 ERA in those starts (12 earned runs in 55 1/3 innings) and that he left with a lead on four occasions (4 blown saves). He has been shut out four times, three in losses and once in a no-decision. He has a 1.05 ERA in his 15 starts the club has won (14 wins for him) and an opponents batting average of .196 in those games. The club has scored 13 runs in his 8 losses (1.63 per game) and 30 runs in his 16 starts that have wound up a loss or no-decision (1.88 per game). He became the fourth major league pitcher since 1900 to follow a 15-strikeout game with a one-hitter, matching Vida Blue (1971), Randy Johnson (1998) and Pedro Martinez (1999). He will enter his final three starts 20 strikeouts shy of the club record of 244 set by Dennis Leonard in 1977."

Not satisfied yet? Here are Greinke's numbers out of all the pitchers in the AL this season.
This comes from Buster Olney's Blog on ESPN.com As you can see he was not only dominant in his own league, but across the entire game he was absolutely dominant across the board.
This does not factor in how many times I saw this season (thanks to MLB extra innings) that Greinke would give up 1 ER in the first couple of innings and it literally felt like the game was over. As amazing as it was, getting a singular run off of Greinke at one point looked like it was a morale boost for the opposition. That is where the comparisons to Randy Johnson in '98, and Pedro Martinez in '99 don't stop. When you watched them pitch, much like Greinke this entire season, you couldn't take your eyes off of the game. They were on another level. Felix Hernandez has been phenomenal, and he's another guy that you're amazed by watching, but the command that Greinke has on all of his pitches puts him at the top.

This years division series went as planned, with the exception of the NL West where the Dodgers got over their end of season slump to beat the St. Louis Cardinals. Not only did they beat them, but they swept! That suprised me, even though I had picked the Dodgers to win. Chris Carpeneter looked uncomfortable and did not have his usual stuff and poise. He did whatever he could though and gave his chance a team to win, they just couldn't pull it off.

Looks like the Dodgers are hot again, and it all begins with Matt Kemp hitting in the 2-hole in the lineup. If they can get Manny to contribute they will be dangerous. They key to their success, however, is if they can get any type of consistent production from Chad Billingsley. Clayton Kershaw has emerged as the staff ace, but you cannot put an entire teams hopes on the shoulders of a 21-year old pitcher. Billingsley will have to step it up, along with Randy Wolf if they're going to have a chance in a 7-game series.

The rest of the series basically went as planned. The Red Sox lost to a really good LA Angels team. The sentiment around New England is a little bit of shock, but I think most baseball fans realize that the offense they had in place would not get it done without a very effective Josh Beckett. I look forward to seeing Beckett in the coming year, since he will be in a contract year and there will be growing anticipation since the Sox did not make it to the league championship. Mark Texeira who? It's amazing that everyone can forget about Tex so quickly with the emergence of Kendry Morales. His success comes as no shock to me, because he has always had the talent and never got the chance. Now he has a chance to shine and looks like he might be the next switch hitting power threat at 1B, a la Lance Berkman comparisons!

Not much to touch upon with the Yankees/Twins series. In reality, the Twins had no chance when they lost Justin Morneau, and you could see the look on Morneau's face on the bench that he really wanted to be part of it. The Yankees face a much better opponent in the next round, however. This will be a good series and I expect it to go 6 games.

Tomorrow night the NLCS starts, I think this game is of ultimate importance to the Dodgers.

Organizations in Transition

For my first entry I would like to review a few articles I found around the industry. Many clubs are moving forward, while others are treading the water. Sure, it is a business. I am the most realistic about the industry and what kind of investment it is as just about anybody. Here's the thing, the public will not accept that, because that is not part of what it is to be a fan. So why are so many clubs blatantly squeaking by and the fans continue to go. When you watch the Yankees games and you see empty seats in the background you are puzzled and it looks awkward. When the same thing happens at a Pittsburgh Pirates game, you accept it because that club is not as successful.

From Buster Olney's Blog on ESPN.com:

"Owner Bob Nutting is frustrated with the Pirates' failure this year. If his sentiments are real, and not an expression of empathy for the fan base, this is not a good sign for the club's front office, because the reality is that the Pirates are at least a couple of years away from taking long strides forward."

MLB implemented the salary compensation program in order to help these clubs spend the dollars necessary to be successful, but what have they done with it? The fans are angry, an I don't blame them. Most of them want to be in the dark about the business side of the game and that's good for big business. Don't force them to see that side, invest in the product just like you would in any other business venture to get ahead of the pack. Taking advantage of the fan base and MLB's salary sharing program will only last so long, and it will hurt everyone in the game.


Albert "The Great"

At the tender young age of 24, I cannot say that I've seen a lot of the greatest players in the history of the game. This I can tell you, I am in awe when I watch Albert Pujols at the plate. The numbers don't lie either, and it looks as though he won't slow down any time soon.

"As Jeremy Lundblad of ESPN Stats & Information notes, Pujols accomplished a Decade Triple Crown: Pujols is just the fourth player to accomplish a "Decade Triple Crown" -- that is, leading a league (AL or NL) in home runs, RBIs and batting average over the course of an entire decade. In doing so, he joins a trio of Hall-of-Fame legends. Ted Williams took the crown for the AL in the 1940s (though he missed a good portion of time while fighting in WWII), Rogers Hornsby in the NL in the 1920s and Honus Wagner in the NL in the 1900s. (Note: RBIs did not become an official stat until 1920, so Honus Wagner's inclusion is somewhat unofficial.)"

I can say with confidence that he is the best player I have ever seen. Often when the greatest all around player conversation comes up, Joe Mauer is almost always brought up in comparision. Mauer has been fantastic and remarkably got better this season by improving his power numbers drastically. The difference is this, ask any pitcher in baseball and ask them this: Who would you rather pitch to? Most will agree that facing either of them is not what they look forward to, but Pujols is the ultimate threat at the plate, and that answers the question. I am lucky to be around while he is in his prime, and nobody should underestimate what he is doing.

Blue Jays front office changes:

Nick Canepa of the Union-Tribune had an article on October 4th about Jeff Moorad and the decision to fire Kevin Towers. Towers is a Massachusetts resident and often makes appearances on local media outlets. He seems like a great guy, and really has a passion for sports. All of that aside, I feel it was a reactionary decision by Moorad, and the wrong one. In essence, you could create a pretty successful team out of the players that have been injured and unable to contribute to the Blue Jays.

The most important of all, being Dustin McGowan, is to the Blue Jays what Clay Buccholz or Joba Chamberlain/Phil Hughes are to the Red Sox and Yankees. He projected to be a front of the line starter and the heir-apparent to the dismissal of A.J. Burnett. Keeping that in perspective, all teams go through these kind of disappointments. Bottom line is that Towers did nothing but provide the organization with a chance to win. He made moves to get plus holes when he lost key veterans, he also drafted and signed some of the premier baseball talent in the game.

On top of all of this, is the economic effect on Canada. They have been hit just as hard, if not harder than any other club. They had to cut a guy they were really high on, in Alex Rios, in order to shed payroll to survive. A lot of fans accepted this because of Rios' performance of late, but one thing that needs to be clarified is that money is probably not going back into player development and signing bonuses. It will be held onto in order to pay the bills. Good luck to the replacement, it will be hard to beat what Towers did while there.

I hope you enjoyed the first round of the playoffs. In my next entry I will touch upon the division series and the performance of Zack Greinke this year.

Here it goes..

Blogging has had such an epic mark on media and the ability to voice your opinion. No longer are the days that you had to be a well respected writer for an established paper to get millions thinking about your exact words. I have seen how things have changed, and how they are changing. The credibility factor is fading, and more than ever there are people willing to take their turn at throwing a rumor at the wall seeing if it will stick. I am not interested in that, merely a place to put my thoughts. If this is to somehow turn into a career, then so be it. I have a love for this game that has taken off over the past 10 years of my life. Let's see how it goes.


MLB Perspectives is a blogging site designed to do exactly what it says, give perspectives. Right now it will just include myself, Bill King. Will others join and be able to contribute? Hey, you never know. I love finding others with a passion for the game. Nothing can excite a true baseball fan like a good discussion about a certain player, play, stat or anything else you can come up with.

Whenever I have a thought about the game I will post it here.

Enjoy.

-Bill King