And from his teammates.
Not that he’s like everyone else. Nor anyone else, for that matter. Planet Zack still follows its own orbit. Even a quick conversation confirms this.
Nonetheless, Greinke’s spring this year centers primarily on his ability to prepare for the only duty the Royals envisioned when they selected him with the sixth overall pick in the 2002 draft.
Becoming a reliable, perhaps dominant, member of the club’s starting rotation.
“This year,” he said, “I’m just trying to get ready for the season.”
Greinke made his spring debut Saturday by yielding three runs and three hits in two-plus innings during a 15-7 loss to the Texas Rangers. He worked two scoreless innings before exiting after allowing three straight singles to start the third.
“Hopefully, I won’t throw that badly again for the rest of the season,” he said. “I mean, it wasn’t good. Hopefully, it gets better every time.”
How Greinke does this spring, in reality, probably matters little. The Royals already have him slotted alongside Gil Meche and Brian Bannister as locks for their rotation. It’s hard to see that changing no matter what happens here in Arizona.
Greinke earned that status by compiling a 1.85 ERA in seven starts last season after returning from an extended tour of bullpen duty designed to ease his return to the big leagues.
One opposing scout, in fact, points to Greinke, still only 24, as the key to the Royals’ season. A Greinke in top form, the reasoning goes, elevates the rotation to a formidable collection.
“Look, Greinke has No. 1 stuff,” the scout said. “We’ve all seen it. Put that alongside Meche and Bannister and if (the Royals) get anything from four and five, that’s a pretty good rotation.”
“Now if (Greinke) blows up for whatever reason, take him away, and that group looks less than average.”
That such heightened expectations might be unfair doesn’t make them less accurate.
The Royals, publicly at least, are seeking 200 innings from Greinke — “I don’t see why he can’t do that,” general manager Dayton Moore said. That frames him as a steady contributor, then.
Anything more would be a bonus.
“You can say potential all you want,” pitching coach Bob McClure said, “but it’s a learning curve. How do you pitch? There are a lot of guys who have potential but don’t quite know how to use their stuff. His stuff is there. There’s no question about that.”
Here, then, is a crossroad.
McClure contends Greinke must learn to mix an increased number of off-speed pitches to his repertoire in order to succeed as a starter. Greinke is not only unconvinced. He admits to doubts in matter-of-fact candor.
“It’s always tough for me to believe something until I see it,” he said. “In the bullpen, I was so used to throwing a lot of fastballs and some sliders. When I was starting again, still, the fastball and slider were working.
“Mac keeps telling me, though, that I will have to use other pitches. And I know that. But until I see it, I won’t 100 percent believe it.”
This is the Greinke that former manager Buddy Bell once described as honest to a fault.
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