Reality check: Greinke's success means the clock is ticking on Dayton Moore and the Royals

Pardon this blog if the relief and euphoria 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 of the Royals 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 -- Anaheim, Arizona, Chicago, on and on.

Even during the press 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 Greinke's contract comes up without him having experienced at least some team success in Kansas City, it will probably be impossible for the Royals to keep him.

And there will be 29 other teams tripping over themselves to sign or trade for Greinke, if and when he becomes available.

Greinke talked a little on Tuesday about the possibility of catcher Miguel Olivo signing somewhere else: "That's baseball. Back in the day, I used to get mad because every time I'd make a good friend, he would get sent down or traded or whatever. That's how baseball is nowadays. Your best friends are only with you one year, at most, a lot of times. So you just kind of get used to it."

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

The good news is that the team has Greinke under contract three more years.

The bad news is they have a lot of improving to do in that time.

they hold the cards in a potential trade

This is the reason baseball needs a REAL salary cap.  I hate that the Yankees AND Red Sox can BUY Championships.

This is the reason baseball needs a REAL salary cap.  I hate that the Yankees AND Red Sox can BUY Championships.

Welcome to the disscussion Phillies fan, of coruse your team losing to the Yankees has no merit on this post right?

This is the reason baseball needs a REAL salary cap.  I hate that the Yankees AND Red Sox can BUY Championships.

.............

A little bitter, are we?


I eagerly await your next column. I even have a title for you.

"A dynasty derailed"


Whaddya think?

Beckett, Bay and a few other mercenaries they pick up this offseason.