- Who would you rather see the Phillies play in the Division Series?
- Looking ahead to Phillies' potential playoff opponents
- Paul Hagen: Greinke witty and royally talented
- NL SEED RACE
- Phillies lose to Astros day after NL East clincher
- No field like home
- Phillies president Montgomery named chairman of Sports Congress
- Phillies Notebook: Utley, Victorino get much-needed rest
- Sam Donnellon: Same time, same place - but it's different for Coste
- Pitching some scenarios
- Twins still fighting, earn split with Tigers
- Marlins at Phillies preview
- Rockies locked in
- Cards only need Carpenter in rout
- Broad Street Billy's back!
- 7 WINNERS
- High Cheese
- GALLERY: 2009 Phillies
- GALLERY: 2008 World Series champs
- PDF: Seating at Citizens Bank Park
- PDF: Schedule
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Paul Hagen: Greinke witty and royally talented
The Kansas City Royals visited Yankee Stadium this week and that can mean only one thing: New York reporters were all over sensational righthander Zack Greinke. Since the presumption up there is that the universe revolves around midtown Manhattan, they probably figured he'd tell them he couldn't wait to become a free agent so he can sign with the Bronx Bombers.
"I don't want to pitch for New York in the playoffs," he said instead. "I want to pitch for Kansas City in the playoffs."
Setting aside for a moment that this seems to be a distant dream for the Royals at the moment, the quip inspired Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star to compile a Top 10 list of Greinke's best quotes. A sampling:
-- "I'd say the average person couldn't eat a Chipotle burrito and still do his running, full speed, like me. That's why they call me special."
-- "Nice effort by the defense today. They didn't get tired running after balls. I was pretty impressed by that."
-- On making the cover of Sports Illustrated: "It's a mistake. They'll probably sell the least amount of magazines in a long time - except when NASCAR was on the cover."
-- On meeting President Obama , an avid White Sox fan, at the All-Star Game: "None of the White Sox guys like me. So I was hoping he'd recognize me and be like, 'You punk, I hate you.' But he didn't do that."
The only thing better than Greinke's wit is how well he's pitched this year. Going into his final start of the season tomorrow against the Twins, he's 16-8 with a 2.06 earned run average for a last-place team.
And when you consider that he's contractually prohibited from pitching against the Royals and that this team has the worst defense (as measured by advanced metrics) and the worst bullpen (as measured by earned run average) in the league, it's pretty clear that his teammates couldn't have been less helpful if they tied his shoelaces together.
That should be enough to make him an overwhelming choice for the American League Cy Young Award. Even though the guys from New York will probably vote for CC Sabathia .
The hot corner
-- The Cubs have openly admitted they'll try to trade disgruntled outfielder Milton Bradley this winter, even though it will mean having to pay off a large part of the remaining 2 years on his contract. Two possibilities are the Brewers (manager Ken Macha was with him in Oakland) and the Royals (where insiders think he might flourish in a more low-key atmosphere).
-- Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell is considered the leading candidate to replace Eric Wedge as Indians manager. One possible snag is that Farrell has a clause in his contract that prohibits from managing anywhere until 2011. That shouldn't be a problem, though. A baseball official told the Boston Globe that all it means is that the Sawx would be able to demand compensation for letting him go.
-- The Orioles had lost 13 straight going into last night and there is strong speculation that the late collapse could cost manager Dave Trembley his job.
Around the bases
-- As disappointing as the Cubs have been, they have a winning record for the third straight year. Hard to believe, but it's the first time they've done that since they had six straight from 1967-72.
-- Asked to pick his team's MVP, Angels manager Mike Scioscia named Bobby Abreu , even though Kendry Morales has better offensive numbers. He explained that he thinks Abreu's patience at the plate has been a good influence on the rest of the hitters.
-- Ken Griffey Jr. insists he won't announce whether he plans to come back in 2010 until after this season ends. So nobody knows if this weekend will be the last games of his Hall of Fame career. Even Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu , who went fishing with Griffey recently, swears the topic never came up.
