To the surprise of nobody who was following baseball closely this season, Zack Greinke of the Kansas City Royals was named the AL Cy Young Award winner. Even though he pitched for a bad team, Greinke was simply amazing.
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 …read more

After an amazingly strong finish to the 2009 baseball season, Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Zack Greinke has all but wrapped up the 2009 American League Cy Young Award. His latest masterpiece was on Sunday when Greinke led the Royals to a 4-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins.
In seven innings, Greinke gave up only one earned run while striking out eight batters. The win improved his record to 16-8 and lowered his ERA to 2.06. His ERA is the lowest by any starting pitcher in the majors. And his record is impressive considering that the Royals are 64-92 on the …read more

No many people consider the Kansas City Royals a threat to do much of anything this season. However, they have one player on their team that gives them a chance — Zack Greinke. The 6-foot-2 right-handed pitcher is currently the best pitcher in baseball.
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 …read more

Zack Greinke and Brian Bannister, Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals in recent years have already been eliminated from the playoffs at this point in the season. However this year, the Royals actually find themselves over .500. Why? Look no further than the pitching of Zack Greinke and Brian Bannister. These two pitchers have 0.75 and 0.86 earn run averages, respectively.
Cole Hamels, Philadelphia Phillies
After a solid season last year, many thought Cole Hamels would be better this season. But this better? Hamels has a 0.82 ERA and has given up only 11 hits in …read more

More games? Okay, if you insist:

Dodgers at Diamondbacks, 12:40 p.m. PT — Hiroki Kuroda looked outstanding in his North American debut. I expected the funky delivery that is characteristic of pitchers who come over from Japan, but the velocity caught me by surprise. He was pumping 93-mph fastballs against the Padres. Micah Owings gets the call for Arizona. He dominated the Rockies in his first start of ‘08 (although he only went 1-for-4 at the plate, LOL). Wasn’t there talk that the Snakes might stick Owings in the field at some point? I think that’s crazy, but it would be …read more

So, what are we watching today? I’ll be out at the Padres/Astros game this afternoon, but here are Thursday’s top matchups:

Royals at Tigers, 10:05 a.m. PT — First off, Kansas City has taken the first two games of this series, which I’m sure nobody expect. Second, two talented yet enigmatic pitchers square off in this one. Zack Greinke appeared to get his career back on track in 2007 and looks to continue progressing this year, while Jeremy Bonderman tries to solve his first-inning woes and become the front-line pitcher folks have been anticipating.
Blue Jays at Yankees, 4:05 p.m. PT — …read more