A Short Note to Zack Greinke
by Freneau on Nov 15, 2009 5:11 PM EST
in Honoring & Remembering Former Kansas City Royals
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PrintDear Zack,
Thank you for an amazing 2009.
We know that if there's any athlete out there who may actually not care about the big fancy baseball awards, it's you. Still, just in case something insanely stupid happens and you don't win the Cy Young, we'd just like to say now that your 2009 season was one of the coolest things we've seen in a long time. Your starts were something we planned our life around and watching you perform brought out a side of us that many of us didn't know we had as fans. You made baseball incredibly fun. You made us proud to cheer for this team. Maybe you saw us making stupid signs. Hopefully you heard us cheer at least once or twice.
It's crazy that you've been a Royal since 2004. Has it been that long? Man, you still seem like a kid. A lot of us feel like we've gotten to know you a little bit over these last five years, which you would probably consider fairly idiotic, but it is the truth. You seem like one of us, which is crazy because well... you're Zack Greinke.
Honestly, we all really want you to win this silly thing. We really really do. Seriously though, it doesn't even matter. (Though if you don't, something, somewhere, is going to burn.) The Cy Young Award isn't big enough, isn't prestigious enough, to accurately describe what you did in 2009. Two people win the Cy every year after all. Two people don't do what you just did every season, however.
So thanks, man. Like, really. We mean it. This is getting too long... we'd give you an awkward bro hug if we could.
Sincerely,
Fans of the Kansas City Royals
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That perfectly describes it
I felt proud when watching Zack pitch. I’ve rarely felt proud when watching my favorite sports teams. But Zack did that. He made me proud to be a Royals fan.
And he’s just about the coolest guy ever.
What a great post.
You took the words out of my mouth.
Well, I'm in Carbondale, Illinois
This town riots every few years anyway, so I’m sure I won’t have any trouble starting a riot.
I'll volunteer to start a riot in St. Louis
If I wear blue, they might even blame it on the ten Rams fans left.
"It’s not about the guacamole itself," Greinke said. "I just don’t want to let them win."
by Joseph Landis on Nov 15, 2009 11:48 PM EST up reply actions
Nail Some Theses
On the commish’s door.
I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.
by philofthenorth on Nov 16, 2009 8:21 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
well said sir
“Your starts were something we planned our life around”
this is so true.
baseball rules.
true story....
i bartend and whenever i was working we rocked blue food coloring to make any shot a ‘greinke bomb’ for $1.50 less than a normal bomb shot….so much fun
Fire Everyone
by billybeingbilly on Nov 16, 2009 4:37 AM EST up reply actions
Well done
I still can’t wait for Mauer to win MVP and for eveyrone to say “hey, the voters got one right!”
Um, yeah…
Anyway, although there are some big mistakes (Bartolo COlon, anyone?), the Cy still retains a certain amount of prestige other awards (MVP, Sliver Sluggers, Gold Gloves) don’t, and that might be in large part because the voters usually get it right. I think Halladay was better than Lee last season, but it wasn’t like is was really obvious. And when guys have seasons like Zack did, voters have a hard time missing out.
So it will be fun.
By the way, CHONE hitter p rojections are out… Buter
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at FanGraphs.
Can't get enough of me? Check out my Twitter feed.
Butler regress?
heh. probably not.
and it seems like projections systems hate David. seems like they always underrate him.
baseball rules.
that's a fair projeciton for Butler
The only “regression” in that projection is the regression you have to do: regression mean. It’s still adjusting for age, etc. It can’t ignore 2007 ro 2008, though. a +18 hitter is still very good. I don’t know everything CHONE does, but that’s how projection system work in general.
With DDJ, it’s basically the same regresion to the mean, and he’s also on the slightly downside of most aging curves. I don’t know what CHONE does specifically.
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at FanGraphs.
Can't get enough of me? Check out my Twitter feed.
by Matt Klaassen on Nov 15, 2009 7:57 PM EST up reply actions
was Greinke more valuable than Mauer?
I don’t know his WAR by heart, and even that doesn’t include his defense
surely you read this
Making all the adjustments for replacement level and including catcher defense and baserunning, I still have Greinke about a win better than Mauer… and that didn’t include Greinke’s fielding, which is probably around half-a-win more.
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at FanGraphs.
Can't get enough of me? Check out my Twitter feed.
by Matt Klaassen on Nov 15, 2009 7:53 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
thanks for the refresh...
I guess that month when Poz was posting the daily Mauer Pauer posts skewed me
nah, it's cool
There are also good points to be made about the difficulty in establishing pitcher replacement level. I just like to remind non-Royals fans bitching about Jeter that Jeter is closer to Mauer than Mauer is to Greinke.
I understand why people don’t like to vote for pitcher for MVP, I just don’t agree with them. I think that the Cy Young (while more widel known) is a “positional” award like the Silver Slugger, and the MVP should go to the MVP.
Especially when the performance by the pitcher is semi-historic, in this case.
And ESPECIALLY when he plays for my favorite (for some reason) team.
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at FanGraphs.
Can't get enough of me? Check out my Twitter feed.
by Matt Klaassen on Nov 15, 2009 10:12 PM EST up reply actions
as you can see, I'm totally objective
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at FanGraphs.
Can't get enough of me? Check out my Twitter feed.
by Matt Klaassen on Nov 15, 2009 10:12 PM EST up reply actions
He would be a serious candidate for MVP
If the Royals had made the playoffs.
It’s hard enough for the writers to make themselves vote for a pitcher, and there’s no way they’d vote for one on a last place club.
Alex Gordon screws the team again
if he has just been a 17 WAR player or so, the Royals would totally have made it and Zach would have been the MVP.
Well, can’t forget John BUck. If he and Gordon had each pulled a Pujols, the Royals would have at leat have had a shot.
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at FanGraphs.
Can't get enough of me? Check out my Twitter feed.
by Matt Klaassen on Nov 15, 2009 10:21 PM EST up reply actions
Alex Gordon needs to go back to Nebraska
Where his arrogance is wanted.
No place for that attitude in Kansas City. We only want players with inferiority complexes.
I don't think a guy should win the MVP
if he’s just meeting expectations
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at FanGraphs.
Can't get enough of me? Check out my Twitter feed.
by Matt Klaassen on Nov 16, 2009 12:08 AM EST up reply actions 4 recs
I love that photo
Complete elation & pandemonium. I want to see meaningful October baseball at the K so bad.
"You know what, I mean I cried in bed for a while, moaning 'Why!? Why did this have to happen?'"
Zack Greinke on the Brad Pitt - Jennifer Aniston split
A fine post
But we couldn’t just wait two more days to see if he does/doesn’t win, and then praise/scorn the Cy Young voters in certainty?
Chaim Mattis Keller New York City's # 1 Royals fan!
Nah.
I can’t speak for Will, but I’ve spent the last week or alternating between nervousness about whether Greinke will win the Cy, and trying to convince myself these awards are stupid, and it doesn’t matter.
The only thing I’ve known during this period is that Zack’s season was magical, and I feel privileged to have seen it. Which is what Will said, but way better, in the post. We can either sing praises for or gnash our teeth at the voters on Tuesday too…but it was good to take time in the meantime to recognize that ZG gave us something to look forward to as Royals fans for the first time in a very long time.
WTF, self?
while a funny joke, I don't get where you're coming from on this post.
I used to work with an old man that told me. Son, every workplace has a dumbass, if you don't have one where you work, then I'm afraid you're it.
k-state sucks
where's ross gload to explode the process?
by blue bandwagon on Nov 16, 2009 6:55 PM EST up reply actions
They're going to beat Nebraska in Lincoln?
Possible, but I’d bet against it.
I used to work with an old man that told me. Son, every workplace has a dumbass, if you don't have one where you work, then I'm afraid you're it.
I forgot Nebraska is undefeated at home this year.
Oh wait a second…
Home Wins – Florida Atlantic, Arkansas State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Oklahoma
Home Losses – Texas Tech, IOWA STATE
While the smart money is on the Huskers to win at home, I have a feeling that K-State will come up big.
kstate will not beat nebraska
Fire Everyone
by billybeingbilly on Nov 17, 2009 1:22 PM EST up reply actions
I'm not hating on K-State at all, just don't see it happening at Lincoln.
Although with the Big 12 North being as bad as it is, who really knows.
I used to work with an old man that told me. Son, every workplace has a dumbass, if you don't have one where you work, then I'm afraid you're it.
Honestly, I'm just hoping for a K-State win
I figure Nebraska will probably take care of business with a packed house full of red.
i would have.....
let me ammend my statement….
kstate will not beat nebraska unless nebraska turns the ball over inside the 10 five times and 8 times overall
Fire Everyone
by billybeingbilly on Nov 18, 2009 12:05 AM EST up reply actions
Excellent post, sir
I never told my daughter this, since as a 49 year old I find it a bit embarrasing, but there were 3 occasions this season that, let’s say, it suddenly became a bit dusty in the mancave. One was early in the year, when Zack was interviewed after another shutout, and he was just so damned happy. Then, the 15 K game, followed up by the awesome CG his next start.
It is completely irrational, but by God, there is no denying it. Watching him pitch brought back the same feelings of joy and pride that was once commonplace as a fan of this team in the 70s and 80s.
Mr Glass, this is a pro sports team, not a retail store - run it like one!
by loyal2sdad on Nov 16, 2009 11:44 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
Outstanding
Hey Zack (and Royals fans)
I’m an Angels guy and even WE were pulling for you… Best pitcher in baseball..period. Made it fun to check in on Royals boxscores again….Hey KC front office! Get Zack a couple of hitters so he can be the first 30 game winner since Denny !!
I'm a YANKEE fan....and I was pulling for him
Nice work. Do it again!!!!!
by Yankeefaninseattle on Nov 17, 2009 4:39 PM EST reply actions
Zach Greinke is a boon to the Royals.
It was great seeing him win the Cy Young and even better to be able to watch him pitch.
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