Notes from the NL Central…
- Zack Greinke talked to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about his frustrations with the media and the reason he believes he can get to know his teammates without going out to dinner with them every night.
- MLB.com's Adam McCalvy has more from Greinke.
- Brewers owner Mark Attanasio told Haudricourt that this year's Brewers team could help him reach one of his biggest life goals. "One thing I want before I kick the bucket is a World Series ring for the Milwaukee Brewers," Attanasio said.
- Colin Dunlap of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette explains that Corey Wimberly, who arrived in Pittsburgh in an offseason trade with Oakland, intends to make it impossible for the Pirates not to place him on their 25-man roster. The speedy utility player stands just 5'8" and says he's well-suited for the National League.
- Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle wonders where the critics of the Brandon Lyon signing have gone. Many analysts panned the reliever's three-year, $15MM deal last winter, but Lyon went on to stay healthy and produce for the Astros in 2010. His performance may have helped other relievers, as I explain here.
- Jiovanni Mier, the Astros' 2009 first rounder, has added 20 pounds of muscle and impressed the team's front office, according to Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle.
- Clint Barmes is looking forward to playing shortstop again, reports MLB.com's Brian McTaggart. The new Astros infielder admitted that while he enjoyed playing in Colorado, he knew he'd have to go elsewhere if he wanted regular playing time.
- Miguel Cairo is happy to have finally earned a multiyear contract, writes MLB.com's Mark Sheldon. The veteran infielder signed a two-year deal with the Reds in December.
I don’t see how you don’t give Wimberly every chance to make the major league lineup. He is probably the fastest guy in the minors, and got on base at a career .373 clip. Could be a Scotty Pods-esque late blooming lead off hitter, which can be a good player when be used right.
Yeah I’m pulling for him too. Its good to see him and even guys like Corey Brown start over in new places. That Oakland outfield has always been pretty crowded and now even more so.
Just interested to see how he plays defensively at shortstop…would love to see him beat out Cedeno for the starting job.
Cedeno is bad and has no upside. Hopefully the Pirates are smart ienough to start Wimberly over him.
“Smart enough?” Cedeno is actually above replacement level. That is not to say he’s good. But he sure as hell isn’t “bad,” as you describe him.
Perhaps you should stick to the White Sox.
There is no chance on God’s Green Earth that wimboslice beats out Cedeno. In fact, he probably won’t beat out Josh Rodriguez.
That said, I do hope he’s the 25th man SOMEhow. Perhaps if the Pirates were confident enough (or, to be more precise, good enough & DEEP enough) to go with an 11-man pitching staff instead of 12…
Mark – you want a World Series – get your checkbook out
Yeah, you don’t need to spend to win. Money can only get you so far.
Greinke doesn’t seem like the best locker room guy.
i absolutely hate his attitude. He’s had one ace-worthy season and now he seems to think he is the hot shot in the MLB.
Looking for Brandon Lyon critics? Try asking Drayton how spending 15 million on a relief pitcher is helping him sell the team.
I can relate with Greinke, I’ve got a similar approach to life myself, social anxiety sucks.
The Lyon critics still exist. We’re just busy criticizing the latest deals.
Now that’s funny. To Richard Justice I’d say, we’re only 1/3 of the way through the deal. Good, great, the Astros are pleased so far. Let’s talk about it after we are 3/3 of the way through the deal.
How is a guy like Greinke going to even handle the playoffs….let alone the world series? Game 7 of the World Series??
Think Sanchez in game 6 of the NLCS, the first time he gets rattled he’ll need to get pulled.
Speaking as a Royals fan, I know that when Greinke puts his mind to it, he can be among the best in the game. His problem is, he doesn’t do it all the time. He’s even admitted that was the case. And yes, I know, pitching for the Royals wasn’t exactly his greatest experience, but lets be honest, if it weren’t for them standing by him through his disorder where would he be now? I think that deserves giving the Royals and their fans back everything you can…something he certainly didn’t do.
“IF” he were to ever pitch game 7 of the World Series, I would put my money on him…but, as it is, I don’t think he’ll ever get that far…I really don’t
How much money are we talking about here?? I hope not more than $10…this guy has these sort of issues during spring training, I just cant imagine what would happen prior to a game 7. The media and all the attention, maybe its even better for his health if he doesnt get that far…
Between him and Meche the Royals dropped a ton of cash on contracts they had committed. Greinke saved you guys about 27MM plus got you some cheap prospects back, won you a Cy Young, and you still feel slighted? On a team that had no future for years you are on the cusp of a great team and that isn’t enough.
YOu can take that money saved and invest it into the new players coming up. Yes the Royals stood by Greinke through his issues, but if they hadn’t they wouldn’t have a legit 1-2 in the minors a starting ss and a cf all at the league minimum for years.
The Lyon deal was bad no matter how well he pitches. Reason being – he could have been had for less. Just because the team got lucky and the guy pitched great last season doesn’t mean it was a shrewd move. Shrewd is selecting players that perform well AND acquiring that talent for the least amount of resources as possible.
I have this same problem with my team. Angels fans love Torii Hunter. To date, Hunter has come pretty darn close to earning his paycheck according to WAR. However, Reagins got very lucky that Hunter just so happened to buck a trend that 95% of players experience and actually become better in his mid 30’s. It’s because of Torii that we now have Wells. Reagins thinks he can pull another one out of his hat. Unfortunately, the odds will catch up to him. I doubt we see Wells replicate his 2010 season during the remaining 4 years of his deal in Anaheim.
It’s been said multiple times that to sign Lyon the Astros had to add on a third year. The Yankees offered two (and I assume for comparable $$) and this was the guy the Astros wanted. You’re right that it’s not a shrewd move and wasn’t intended to be, but he would need to completely implode the next two years for the Wade bashers to be right on this one.
The same way he’s handled it every year so far in his career: From a La-Z-Boy recliner with a beer in his hand and a 60-inch HDTV in his media room. The Brewers have no shot at a playoff spot this year or any other.
No shot? We’re talking about the weakest division in baseball and Milwaukee suddenly has one of the better pitching staffs in said division. The Reds, Cards, and Brewers all have a decent shot at winning the division.
i’m not saying its not a weak division….but you’re telling me the NL west is better than the NL Central???
I can see it. World Champs plus a Padres team that I think surprises and the Dodgers and Rockies should be 82-87 win teams. Dbacks could be pretty brutal, but in the Central you have two of baseball’s worse teams in Pittsburgh and Houston.
Eh, it’s going to be subjective. I can’t give you any real data that says this year the NL West will be better than the NL Central that won’t be countered. But at the same time I can’t see any data that says otherwise that won’t be countered. So there, subjective.
Wow now I am even happier the yankees didn’t go after him- New York would eat him up and spit him out.
Besides, who needs an ace like Greinke when you have Ivan Nova, Bartolo Colon, and Freddy Garcia?
We didnt give up anything to see what these guys may or may not have left- Again I am glad we didnt give up a top prospect for someone who would never be able to handle the New York Media or the fans… Good to hear he finds signing autographs annoying…
Jeff Weaver, The Sequel
First off let me state that I have a great respect for that which I don’t undertand or can see(UFO’s, voodoo, social anxeity disorders, etc).
Reading the article I have great respect for Greinke and his ability to understand who he his and for doing what he needs to do to cope.
That being said, I am glad the Yanks didn’t sell the farm to acquire him, regardless of how much they need another front of rotation talent.
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As for picking his spots to talk to reporters, he said, “Probably 99% of the time I do it like this is because every day I come to the park and want to get focused on my start, and then random people come and waste my time talking every day. It takes eight minutes to get a real question out because they’re like buttering me up. Then they get to the question and it’s a stupid question. So it’s a waste of 10 minutes, and in that 10-minute time I don’t get to do what I needed to do.
“The main reason is it gets rid of all the ‘eyewash’ comments from reporters and I actually get to focus on what needs to be focused on instead of wasting energy on other stuff.”
Greinke said that also goes for shooting the bull with teammates when he’s not in the mood.
“To talk to people, I have to spend energy talking to them,” he said. “If I expend my energy on talking to people and making friends, it takes away from the energy I could focus on getting ready to pitch. I try to avoid nonsense talk.
“It wears me out to do stuff like our meetings every day. If I actually listen to the person talking, it’ll wear me out. So I kind of go into a little daze. Then I’m still refreshed from it.”
Greinke said he can still have relationships with teammates, though.
“You don’t have to talk with them an hour every day to get to know people,” he said. “Everyone is different. I don’t like to go to dinner too much because sometimes that wears me out.”
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i just can’t see that attitude towards the media working in NY where he may literally be moving from a market where he might have 4 or 5 mic in his face after a game to 20-25.
One of two things would’ve happened. Either he would be completely overwhelmed by the media spotlight and crumple to the pressure via his on field performance. Or two, his teammates would view him as the “delicate genuis” that has to be protected and guarded from the media. The latter might work as the Yanks have a number of other superstars that could take the media attention away from him. OR, and this is a longshot, they might resent the fact that he doesn’t want to face the media and be accountable during tough situations. I’m sure there are 4 or 5 or maybe 24 guys that would have his back but it can also be a huge distraction.
I can honestly understand why Cashman had reservations about sending prospects to KC to get a guy who might not “fit” NY. It’s not a knock on him, but some guys aren’t built for NY. Nothing to be ashamed of.
The article on Greinke was really good. I didn’t realize he was so averse to being a celebrity..or even being popular for that matter.