Pardon this blog if the relief and pride of seeing Zack Greinke win baseball’s highest pitching honor hasn’t yet faded, but there is a fast-approaching reality that the Royals will have to face.They now have anywhere from 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 years to build a contender around the game’s best pitcher, or risk losing the franchise’s greatest asset since George Brett.Dayton Moore’s most important move as general manager came last January, before Greinke’s breakout season, when he signed the emerging ace to a contract extension through 2012. Greinke agreed to the deal — extending his potential free agency two years — in large part because he liked the direction of the franchise.This was Greinke in spring training: “I mean, we might not win the World Series, but we have the talent that we could make a run at it.”This was Greinke in July: “The way we’ve been playing, it’s as bad as any team I’ve played for.”And this was Greinke on Tuesday, when asked if he felt as strongly about the Royals’ future as he did after he signed the extension: “Maybe not as strong as that time, because at that time I really thought we had as good a chance as anyone to win our division. Obviously, we didn’t even come close, so my thoughts aren’t quite as strong as they were.”Winning is important to all athletes, of course, or at least most, but Greinke is different here. This is the guy who said he’d rather pitch for a winner in Wichita than a loser in Kansas City, remember?In Kansas City, Royals fans celebrated when he told the New York media he’d rather pitch for the Royals in the playoffs than the Yankees, and while it’s true that Greinke would probably prefer not to pitch in New York, he could make most any other big-league market work.Even during the news conference announcing his extension, he mentioned Tampa and Miami as places “I would like more than this,” because he’s from Florida.Hell, what about St. Louis? That’s a smaller market with a team that consistently competes and a fan base that would both love him and respect his space — plus, he could hit.The point is, as much ownership as Kansas City feels from having watched Greinke rise, fall and rise again, baseball is a business and Greinke is already tired of the losing. If his contract comes up without him having experienced at least some team success, it will probably be impossible for the Royals to keep him.Losing Greinke without ever building a winner around him would be a special kind of hurt for Royals fans.

Posted on Wed, Nov. 18, 2009 11:00 PM

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For Greinke and Royals, the clock is ticking

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Pardon this blog if the relief and pride of seeing Zack Greinke win baseball’s highest pitching honor hasn’t yet faded, but there is a fast-approaching reality that the Royals will have to face.

They now have anywhere from 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 years to build a contender around the game’s best pitcher, or risk losing the franchise’s greatest asset since George Brett.

Dayton Moore’s most important move as general manager came last January, before Greinke’s breakout season, when he signed the emerging ace to a contract extension through 2012. Greinke agreed to the deal — extending his potential free agency two years — in large part because he liked the direction of the franchise.

This was Greinke in spring training: “I mean, we might not win the World Series, but we have the talent that we could make a run at it.”

This was Greinke in July: “The way we’ve been playing, it’s as bad as any team I’ve played for.”

And this was Greinke on Tuesday, when asked if he felt as strongly about the Royals’ future as he did after he signed the extension: “Maybe not as strong as that time, because at that time I really thought we had as good a chance as anyone to win our division. Obviously, we didn’t even come close, so my thoughts aren’t quite as strong as they were.”

Winning is important to all athletes, of course, or at least most, but Greinke is different here. This is the guy who said he’d rather pitch for a winner in Wichita than a loser in Kansas City, remember?

In Kansas City, Royals fans celebrated when he told the New York media he’d rather pitch for the Royals in the playoffs than the Yankees, and while it’s true that Greinke would probably prefer not to pitch in New York, he could make most any other big-league market work.

Even during the news conference announcing his extension, he mentioned Tampa and Miami as places “I would like more than this,” because he’s from Florida.

Hell, what about St. Louis? That’s a smaller market with a team that consistently competes and a fan base that would both love him and respect his space — plus, he could hit.

The point is, as much ownership as Kansas City feels from having watched Greinke rise, fall and rise again, baseball is a business and Greinke is already tired of the losing. If his contract comes up without him having experienced at least some team success, it will probably be impossible for the Royals to keep him.

Losing Greinke without ever building a winner around him would be a special kind of hurt for Royals fans.

| smellinger@kcstar.com

Posted on Wed, Nov. 18, 2009 11:00 PM

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