A year after Johan Santana won the 2006 American League Cy Young Award, the Twins traded him away. Months after CC Sabathia won the 2007 AL Cy Young, the Indians traded him away.
Cliff Lee, 2008 -- well, you know the story.
Somewhere this streak has to end. Somewhere, like right now with 2009 AL Cy Young Zack Greinke, it's sure to end.
Right, Dayton Moore?
"I hope so," the Royals general manager said with a chuckle. "Zack's a very important part of our team."
True enough, but it's a team that lost 97 games and finished tied for last place with the Sabathia-less, Lee-less Indians. And a team that is now planning to cut a payroll that it allowed to rise to $70 million in 2009.
It's nice that the Royals can keep Greinke rather than trade him, because they were smart enough and fortunate enough to sign him last January to a four-year, $38 million contract. It'd be nicer if they would find a way to build a team around him, something they failed miserably at in 2009, something they now have two or three more chances at before it's time to sign him again or send him away.
They signed him in January, at least in part, because owner David Glass proved to Greinke that he was interested in winning.
"Most times when people say this I don't believe it, but if it wasn't for him doing consistently what he's doing, I wouldn't consider [signing long-term]," Greinke said this spring.
Asked Tuesday if he's still a believer, Greinke's tone was different.
"Maybe not as strong as at that time," he said. "At that time, I thought we had as good a chance as anyone in the division. Obviously, we didn't come close. ... I have faith in all our players. Everyone's capable of it. We just have to do it, or else we won't have a good year next year, either."
Greinke obviously wants to win in Kansas City, but then Santana wanted to win in Minnesota and Sabathia and Lee wanted to win in Cleveland. The difference is that the Royals committed enough money to get Greinke signed, and he agreed to take it.
In some very important ways, Greinke is different from the others.
It's near-impossible to see him ever craving the New York spotlight, as Santana did, or even accepting the spotlight if it means making the most money, as Sabathia did. Kansas City suits him well, and if you didn't know that already, listen to how he described the thought of now being referred to as "Cy Young winner Zack Greinke."
"In that way, it's kind of a negative," Greinke said. "I don't really like getting all that stuff. Back [home] in Orlando, I haven't really gotten that much attention from people, which is nice."
Kansas City suits him fine, but only if the Royals also give him some chance to win.
Ten months ago, there were many (including Greinke) who believed it could happen. Now, after another 97-loss season, it's not as easy to find true believers.
Critics point out that the Royals' everyday lineup is amazingly bad, offensively and defensively. They say there aren't enough difference-maker position players in the system, and that too many of those who are there project as first basemen.
Moore would counter that the 2009 record was strongly influenced by some key injuries (Coco Crisp, Mike Aviles and Alex Gordon, to name three), and that the roster now includes a No. 1 starter (Greinke), a top closer (Joakim Soria) and a developing middle-of-the-order slugger (Billy Butler).
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| If the Royals want to keep Zack Greinke, fielding a winner is of the utmost importance. (US Presswire) |
The question, as always, is whether the Royals can keep them together long enough to build a winning team around them. Everyone in Kansas City remembers that Johnny Damon, Carlos Beltran and Jermaine Dye were once Royals property, too, but that all three went the way that Santana did in Minnesota, that Sabathia and Lee did in Cleveland.
No, the Royals aren't going to trade Greinke next July or, in all likelihood, next winter. He's signed through 2012, and the plan is to win with him.
Or maybe the point really should be that the Royals aren't planning to trade their Cy Young winner now, but that they may have no choice but to deal him when he gets closer to his now-delayed free agency (at which time he'll still be just 29 years old).
Maybe we need to remember that the Twins didn't deal Santana after his first Cy Young (in 2004), but only after he won his second, two years later.
And maybe as much as we want to believe that Greinke is different, and that the Royals are going to be different, this story is going to end the way those other stories ended.
"He's signed for three more years," Moore said. "I know our ownership is committed to keeping as many good players as we can, and that we want to keep homegrown players. That's how we'll ultimately be successful, with homegrown talent."
You want to believe him. For now, maybe it's better to just let him and the Royals celebrate.
"This day is great for baseball in Kansas City," Moore said. "You have to remember, the Royals have only had one winning season in the last 15 years. There has not been a lot to celebrate here."
Let them celebrate having Greinke. Let them celebrate being able -- for now, anyway -- to keep Greinke.
The streak of AL Cy Young winners collecting their plaque -- and then getting a ticket out of town -- is sure to end.
Let the Royals celebrate that for a day, before they get back to work on doing something worthy of a real celebration.
