Greinke Mania!

Just got back from the game tonight. Is this guy serious?

It has been a LONG time since people around here have had a reason to be excited about baseball.

Go Royals!!!

Thanks for having him start tonight. My Mariners can have a shot at a sweep when they come to town.

Seriously. When was the last time you guys had a bona fide ace? David Cone?
Congrats man. Enjoy watching him. Here on the East Coast, us Mets fans can only look forward to Johan's starts, so we're kinda the same.

BTW Beltran says hi.

Our last ace was a another guy you would remember as a Mets fan, Kevin Appier.

Just the kind of guy Zack is, on the way home from the game I heard on the radio during the press conference a reporter asked him:

Reporter: Zack, are you the best pitcher in baseball right now?
Zack: No.
R: Then who's better?
Z: Johan and Halladay.
R: Are you the 3rd best?
Z: Nah.

Beltran is tearing it up right now. Ahh, memories. What an outfield the Royals had back then: Beltran, Damon, and Dye. Too bad they couldn't pitch themselves out of a wet paper bag.

Between Greinke (it's been a long time watching him develop), Meche, Davies, and Bannister and Soria out of the bullpen, that pitching staff is really shaping up.

Man, I remember the hype around Greinke 5 years ago and then that year off with the depression/mental problems ... to comeback from that is pretty amazing.

It's definitely nice to see a humble player. Wow, seriously, was it Dye, Beltran and Damon? That's insane!!!

What's happening with Bannister? He can have awesome stuff when he's on. I was pissed when the Mets cut bait on him.

JohnnyO said:

It's definitely nice to see a humble player. Wow, seriously, was it Dye, Beltran and Damon? That's insane!!!

What's happening with Bannister? He can have awesome stuff when he's on. I was pissed when the Mets cut bait on him.

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Yeah, at one point, the outfield was Dye, Damon and Beltran. '97 - 2000.

Bannister started the season in the minors but has been called up and made two starts. He's pitched well, the main problem with Bannister is he can't seem to pitch well at night. I believe nearly all his decent outings the last couple of years were during the day.

srm775 said:

Yeah, at one point, the outfield was Dye, Damon and Beltran. '97 - 2000.

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Actually, it was '98 - '00. Beltran got called up at the very end of the season. He only played like 10-15 games that year. In '99 he was the AL Rookie of the Year.

Bannister is always going to be streaky because he pitches to contact. When he has good movement, he really frustrates hitters. When he doesn't have good stuff, fans in the outfield have to pay attention and he has to get checked out by a chiropractor for whiplash after the game.

What is holding them back a little is Sir Sidney Ponson. The guy is a bum. Hopefully they only give him one more start. Luke Hochevar is pitching lights out in AAA right now.

double_e5 said:

Actually, it was '98 - '00. Beltran got called up at the very end of the season. He only played like 10-15 games that year. In '99 he was the AL Rookie of the Year.

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Right, I just included '97 in it since that's really when it began.