Greinke made 33 starts at went 16-8 with a 2.16 ERA and a WHIP of 1.07. In 229.1 innings, the 26-year-old gave up 195 hits, walked 51 batters and struck out 242.

Finishing second in the 2009 CY Young Award balloting was Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners. Justin Verlander, the star hurler for the Detroit Tigers, finished third. CC Sabathia and Roy Halladay also received votes.

This Cy Young Award illustrates how far Greinke has come. Early in his baseball career, scouts loved his potential. However, he led the AL in losses in 2005 when he went 5-17. Then he missed nearly the entire 2006 season to deal with social anxiety disorder. Now, just a few years later, Greinke is at the top of his profession.

To read more on the Kansas City Royals star pitcher, read the Zack Greinke feature we did on him more than a year ago.

Zack Greinke won the 2009 Cy Young Award (Image: Zuma Press)

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Ponson, who pitched for the Netherlands in the 2009 WBC, says that he was prescribed Phentermine to lose weight. Major League Baseball won’t suspend him.

On the season, Ponson has pitched like he needs performance enhancer. The 32-year-old from Aruba is 1-5 with a 7.27 ERA. Last year, while splitting time between the Texas Rangers and the New York Yankees, Ponson was 8-5 with a 5.04 ERA.

Ponson isn’t the first big league player to have busted at the WBC. Recently, Chicago Cubs catcher Geovany Soto tested positive for marijuana. Soto played in the WBC for Puerto Rico. Since the positive drug test, Soto has apologized. Like Ponson, Soto won’t be suspended by the MLB.

Sidney Ponson - WBC Netherlands (Image: Zuma Press)

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After four starts, the 25-year-old flamethrower has a 0.00 ERA and has won all four of his starts. His latest win came on Friday night against the Tampa Bay Rays. He gave up only three hits, one walk and one unearned run while striking out ten batters. The unearned run was the first run of any kind he has allowed this season.

Last year, Greinke was very good. He had a 3.47 ERA with a record of 13-10. This season, though, he’s taken his pitching to a whole other level.

Early in his career, Greinke had some issues — both baseball and personal in nature — that didn’t allow him to reach his potential. But now that he has everything sorted out, he’s definitely the leading candidate for the 2009 American League Cy Young Award.

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-The Kansas City Royals have signed Kyle Farnsworth to a two-year contract. Farnsworth, who split 2008 with the Detroit Tigers and the New York Yankees, joins a Royals bullpen which has been given a makeover this winter.

-The Detroit Tigers have traded Matt Joyce to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for Edwin Jackson. Joyce will have a chance to start for the Rays in the outfield, while Jackson will likely be given a spot in the starting rotation for the Tigers.

-The Cincinnati Reds have signed Arthur Rhodes to a two-year contract.

-The Colorado Rockies have signed relief pitcher Alan Embree to a one-year deal.

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The 24-year-old Ambiorix Burgos hasn’t pitched in the 2008 baseball season due to Tommy John surgery. In 2007, Burgos had a 3.42 ERA and had 19 strikeouts in a little less than 24 innings.

Burgos spent his first two big league seasons with the Kansas City Royals. In 2005, a 3.98 ERA with three wins and two saves. He struggled in 2006 as his ERA raised to 5.52. Of the 144 games he has appeared in his Major League Baseball career, he has started only once.

It’s unknown at the moment whether the Mets or the commissioner will fine or suspend Ambiorix Burgos.

Photo: Newscom

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After fouling off a bunt attempt, Maier was again trying to lay down a bunt. However, a pitch came up in in from Indians pitcher Zach Jackson. Maier didn’t have time to get out of the way and the pitch hit him right in the face.

At first, it looked like Maier tried to get up. But he soon realized the severity of his injury and sat back down. Soon after, blood starting pouring. The good news is that Maier remained alert and was even able to walk off the field on his own power.

There is no timetable for Maier’s return to the Royals. Here is the link to the video of Maier getting hit in the face.

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Players, coaches and broadcasters for both the Royals and the Red Sox both said they had never seen something like this happen. It’s definitely a play that Jason Bay, Mitch Maier and Ross Gload will never forget.

Here is the video of the Jason Bay hit that turned out to be just a double due to the great effort of Mitch Maier and the quick thinking of Ross Gload:

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And to top it off, Pena didn’t disappoint. He was actually the best pitcher on the night for the Royals. His 1-2-3 inning featured a strikeout of future Hall of Famer Pudge Rodriguez. Pena, who pitched when he was younger, featured a fastball that topped at in the low 90’s and a nice off-speed pitch. If Pena, who is currently hitting .152 on the season, can’t figure out batting, maybe he can become a full-time pitcher.

Here is the Tony Pena video of him pitching:

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San Diego Padres
The Padres play in a pitcher’s park but that doesn’t totally explain why they are last in the NL in runs scored. Adrian Gonzalez is having a good season but that can’t be said for any other batter on San Diego. In fact, Gonzalez has more homers than the next highest two totals combined.

Washington Nationals
The Nationals are horrible once again and it’s their bats that are most to blame. They have a few decent bats in their lineup but they just have too much trouble scoring runs. The 24-34 Nationals really have no hope of coming out of the cellar unless they bring in a few hitters for the middle of the lineup.

San Francisco Giants
The Giants have been hot lately but they still field one of the worst lineup of the last decade. Bengie Molina is a good catcher and a solid hitter, but he’s far from your prototypical cleanup hitter. For the Giants, he’s the best thing they have going.

Cleanup Hitter?

Photo: Newscom

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On the season, Guillen is off to a bit of a slow start. He’s hitting .294 with five homers and 23 RBIs. Last season, Guillen finished the year with 21 homers and 102 RBIs.

Guillen’s injury injury is just another pain in the astroturf for the Tigers this season. With a record of 22-31, the Tigers are only ahead of the Kansas City Royals in the AL Central. The good news is that the Tigers have rebounded after starting the season 0-7. Detroit will need better fortune going forward if they hope to make the playoffs.

We Feel Your Pain, Carlos.

Photo: Newscom

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