Earlier this season dedicated Royals fan and Olympic level sarcasmatist jonfmorse wondered aloud (if one can do anything "aloud" on a blog) what the ethos of the current Royals rotation is.  He pointed out that in some rotations, the pitchers compete against each other and in others they work with each other for the betterment of all.  The Braves rotation including Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz was mentioned as an example of a rotation that worked together and succeeded.  At the time we had little information about what was going on behind the scenes in the 2008 Royals rotation.  As always, Dick Kaegel makes all things clear in this article from the Royals official site.

"I've been on some teams where guys won't talk about game plans. They won't talk about anything because they just worry about themselves. It's tough. It's like being on an island. I don't see that here at all," Tomko said. This bunch puts their heads together regularly in the clubhouse, in the video room or even over dinner. There's a bonding in the works.

"I would say it's pretty good, because usually there's someone that I don't like, that I just don't want to be around," Greinke (4-1, 1.80 ERA) said. "But this time I like all of them, so it makes it easier. Because I'm the type that if I don't like someone, I avoid them and I don't even think about doing that with these guys. I like them all equal -- they're all cool guys, so it's nice."

"The reason we kind of mix together well is that everybody kind of has the same demeanor about them. Nobody is really outspoken," Meche said. "Everybody just kind of works the same. We all want to pitch well. We actually do talk a lot about pitching -- this is probably the most I ever have within a group."

To be sure, there are other topics mixed in -- golf swings or video games -- but it's mostly how to win baseball games. Hochevar (2-2, 4.94 ERA), who replaced injured John Bale in the rotation on April 20, is the eager-to-learn rookie in the group.

"Meche really helped me with my curveball in between my last two starts," Hochevar said. "I talked to him a lot because he's obviously got a good curveball, and I kind of picked his brain about what he does and what he thinks about on his curveball. It really helped me in my game and I was a lot more consistent about it."

I take every feel good story about the Royals from any source with a grain of salt.  But this "they get along and they all work together to improve their pitching" story actually comes from the players themselves.  It doesn't appear to be the product of Royals-official-site spin.

And this might just be my man-love of Brian Bannister talking, but I get the strong feeling that he doesn't have a particularly big head and that he's just happy to pitch well and help the team.  He doesn't need to be the leader or the staff ace:

"Zack's kind of jumped out and is pacing us right now like Gil did last year," Bannister said. "It's always good to have that lead horse out there setting the pace. And I think we're kind of all falling in behind."

And then there's the nickname issue:

"I think the mark of a good player or a good staff or a good team is they create a nickname for themselves, so it's something to strive for," Bannister said. "My dad was a member of the 'Winning Ugly' White Sox. It's fun when you come together as a unit and people can identify you with one name. So it's something to strive for, but it only comes through a lot of hard work and, obviously, good performance on the field," Bannister said.

I think it is a very good sign that these guys are getting along and working together.  Bannister and Meche have a particularly thoughtful approach to pitching and I'm sure they share a lot with the other pitchers, as well as learning something themselves.  And, of course, the biggest asset in the rotation is Greinke.  As we all know, he has a social anxiety disorder.  I've got to think it's good for him to have other pitchers who he feels comfortable hanging around with and talking about pitching with.  I also think it is going to help the Royals prospects of keeping Greinke long-term.  Do you think he'd rather go into a strange clubhouse with new players in New York, Boston, Chicago or L.A. or re-sign with the Royals and pitch with the same group of guys that he's comfortable with?

Anyway, I haven't had any success coming up with a good nickname for the Royals rotation.  I think they deserve one.