GREINKE SHARP ON, OFF MOUND
NL starter with analytical mind delivers sublime first half
CINCINNATI You want to hear the truth, or are you afraid of it?
You want your answers unfiltered, or do you want political correctness?
You want to talk to the most interesting man at the 86th Major League Baseball All- Star Game, or do you want to listen to the typically varnished thoughts of most other superstars?
Go ahead, if you dare, and talk to Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke, the National League starter in Tuesday’s Midsummer Classic at Great American Ball Park.
And if he doesn’t like your line of questioning, don’t worry, he’ll let you know:
“Sorry, for some reason, I’m not understanding your questions,” he told a TV reporter asking him to compare this year with his past in Kansas City. “They’re probably too proper for me.”
Someone thought he was supposed to go on a live TV spot, following American League starting pitcher Dallas Keuchel, but no one asked Greinke until moments before he was supposed to be on air.
“Sorry,” he said, “I don’t do live TV.”
It was no different from when Matt Vasgersian, host of the All-Star news conference, asked Greinke if he wanted to make a comment Monday after it was
announced he would be the starter. He shook his head no. Next question?
Yet when you corner him, and he gives you time, he can be the most fascinating man in baseball.
What player do you know who will spend his off days, and free time in spring training, scouting amateur players?
What player do you know who, when teammate A.J. Ellis casually asked him how he would make the Dodgers better, would tell Ellis they’d be better off if he were traded?
And what player do you know who has an opt-out clause after this season that could make him the richest right-handed pitcher in baseball and would honestly tell you that he loves where he is and would leave Los Angeles for only a couple of teams, if he even elects to become a free agent.
“It’s a pretty darn good situation,” Greinke said, citing the Dodgers’ facilities, coaching staff and attendance. “If you could get rid of some of the traffic, it would be perfect. Or get closer to the beach.”
That’s Greinke, not only the finest pitcher in baseball these days but also perhaps the game’s ultimate gym rat.
“He’s just such an interesting guy. There’s no one like him,” Dodgers teammate Clayton Kershaw said. “He has a ton of different things that interest him, and he’s constantly gaining knowledge from different things. He wants to learn stuff, read stuff. And if he deems you worthy of listening, he’ll tell you about it.”
Go ahead, pick his brain. Greinke isn’t afraid to share his thoughts.
Should the Dodgers trade one of their prized prospects for the chance to win their first World Series title since 1988?
“When you add an All- Star starter, that’s always going to help,” Greinke said. “It just depends on what it’s going to cost.”
OK, would you give up Julio Urias, the Dodgers’ top minor league pitcher?
“It depends on who it’s for,” he said.
How about Cincinnati Reds ace Johnny Cueto?
“For half a year of someone, no,” Greinke said. “I don’t care who it is. I would never do that.” Never? “It’s not like this is the last season the Dodgers are ever going to play, so you’ve got to think about beyond just who they could bring in for this year’s benefit,” he said.
Now, if the Reds throw in closer Aroldis Chapman or if you’re talking about Philadelphia Phillies lefty Cole Hamels, who’s under contract for 3½ more years, you have Greinke’s attention.
You want to know who he was rooting for in last year’s World Series, the Kansas City Royals, the team that drafted, signed and raised him, or the archrival San Francisco Giants?
“I like the Giants players,” Greinke said, a comment that surely will horrify the Dodgers’ passionate fan base, “so I couldn’t even decide who I wanted to win the World Series.”
It’s premature to know which team had the best and worst draft in June, but Greinke says he scouted about 100 players in this year’s class and, just as as he did when he was with the Milwaukee Brewers, spent time in the Dodgers war room during the draft, even going over amateur hitting video with manager Don Mattingly.
“I really enjoy the draft, more than probably just about anyone,” Greinke says. “Ever since I can remember, I’ve enjoyed it. This year, I did more quantity than quality.”
Greinke, 31, even scouted in his spare time after he was drafted out of high school in 2002 by the Royals, with his career almost ending because of battles with depression and anxiety issues. He missed almost a full season in 2006, was a reliever for most of 2007 and won the Cy Young Award two years later.
“He’s the absolute real deal,” said Boston Red Sox special assistant Allard Baird, who drafted Greinke for the Royals, stayed patient with him during his time away from the game and remains close to him today. “He’s so competitive and is always looking to stay one step ahead.
“This guy would never go out at night, come in during the morning, watch our prospects and then give me a report. He loves evaluating players and prospects. One day I get a text from (scout) Eddie Bane, and he says, ‘Is this guy serious? Your guy is out here scouting and breaking down one of my players.’
“He’d be a great scout, not just in the future, I’m talking right now. Of course, he’d have to take a pretty good pay cut.”
Yes, no scout is making $23 million a year, and Greinke is pitching so sensationally, he could opt out of the $71 million left over the final three years of his contract and perhaps triple it.
Greinke, whose wife is three weeks away from having their first child, a son, enters the All-Star Game with the lowest ERA (1.39) of any starting pitcher with at least 100 innings at the break since 1968. The man hasn’t given up a run since June 13, with a scoreless streak of 35 2⁄3 innings, yielding 16 hits with three walks and 31 strikeouts. He’s a no-hitter waiting to happen every time he steps on the mound, throwing his changeup more than at any other time in his career while mixing in his fastball and slider.
“I’ve probably changed more than anyone else in baseball over the past 10 years,” Greinke said.
Let’s see, he was a control pitcher out of high school. Then a power pitcher. And then a struggling power pitcher. Then a solid control pitcher. Then perhaps the best pitcher in the game.
“He’s probably as well prepared as any pitcher in baseball as far knowing the hitters, evaluating the swings and knowing their weaknesses,” says Brewers GM Doug Melvin, who traded two future All- Stars to Kansas City for Greinke in 2010. “And he has such a passion for the game of baseball. I couldn’t be happier for him.”
Certainly, he can make life easy for a manager, even if his brutal honesty can leave Mattingly scratching his head about whether to keep him in the game or take him out.
“There was a recent game when I asked him how he was feeling,” Mattingly said. “And he said, ‘I don’t really want you to ask me. I want you to make the decision.’ I said, ‘Zack, Give me some help here.’ ”
Now, if you ask Greinke if he wants to shag balls on the days he doesn’t pitch, he’ll tell you.
“Most guys would just try to fake it and be on the field shagging,” Mattingly said. “But Zack will tell me, ‘Hey, it doesn’t do me any good being out there.’ He’ll still do it, but he’ll tell you what he thinks about it.
“That’s Zack. He’s one of a kind.”
And that’s a shame.
“He wants to learn stuff, read stuff. And if he deems you worthy of listening, he’ll tell you about it.” Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, on teammate Zack Greinke