MLB Update: Milwaukee Brewers- Zack Greinke eyes playoffs in 2011
The Kansas City Royals needed depth in their squad and the Milwaukee Brewers traded in their best prospects to fill the void. In return, they received the services of Zack Greinke and Yuniesky Betancourt. The two ball stars will be the focus of next season’s
campaign and like before, General Manager Doug Melvin will look to pack the season with a tough rotation. The objective of the trade that went through between the two major clubs was to fill the need on both sides.
The Brewers lost prospects but gained two quality players. Zack Greinke is someone they can be content with. The A-Grade pitcher is one of the highly followed players in Major League Baseball. He won the American League Cy Young Award in 2009 and the supporters
will expect the fast ball thrower to get Milwaukee in to the post season. The supporters will not be the only ones looking for a shot at glory. Greinke has never taken part in the playoffs and that is something he would like to do soon before he reaches a
point in time where he wouldn’t be able to realize his dreams.
"The main reason I preferred to get out of Kansas City was I wanted to be on a team that was trying to win this year,” said Zack.
"As a pitcher, you don't know how long your career is going to be, and I really wanted to be in a place they were playing to win games right away. So Milwaukee is obviously that place. I was really happy that it worked out."
Whatever the ambition may be, the Brewers will be happy to see Zack at the helm. The team’s pitching rotation was in jeopardy when the last season concluded. Now with additions coming in the form of Shaun Marcum and Zack Greinke, things look better for the
club. Manager Ron Roenicke will now be pleased to have a competing pitching line up.
Zack had an Earning Runs Average (ERA) of 2.16 in 2009 and a 4.17 ERA in 2010. One thing to admire about the ball thrower is his ability to shut hitters. He has a figure on 242 strikeouts in 2009 to prove just that. For the manager, that could be the quality
that boasts Greinke up the pitching rotation on opening day.
"The deceiving part is you look at the ERA and it wasn't as good as the year before," Manager Roenicke said. "Well, the year before was ridiculous. He has the ability to shut down a really good offense. That's the difference between the good
pitchers and the great pitchers. The good pitchers, you hope they can hold them to two, three runs. The star-quality pitchers, they can shut out a really good offense."
Tags: