Since it appears unclear that pitching ace Cliff Lee will pick his new team anytime soon, it’s worth noting on the last day of baseball’s winter meetings that Kansas City Royals pitcher Zach Greinke is being shopped by his team. Greinke’s stock has fallen slightly, but might find itself in the mix if the Yankees’ seven-year offer for Lee gets rejected.

Greinke, 27, slumped last season to 10-14 with a 4.17 ERA following his Cy Young-winning season in 2009. He is under contract for two more seasons at $13.5 million a year.

Royals officials readily acknowledge Greinke is only available at a steep price; they want two high-impact prospects – preferable a starting pitcher and a middle infielder or center fielder – and two prospects capable of playing a supporting role.

–KC Star.

Greinke’s qualified WHIP fell from first to 13th among AL starters (min. 200 IP), so he’s still a veritable bargain if he can be poached from a trade. Ah, those Royals. They’re like a farm team that plays against major league teams. I would know; I’m a Reds fan.

We’re now in the phase of the MLB season where the leagues glacially roll out their post-season awards; and we were moderately tickled to see Kansas City Royals ace and object of female WL readers’ affection Zack Greinke scoop up the AL Cy Young Award after one of the best seasons in baseball history. Greinke finished the season with 229-1/3 innings pitched, a 2.12 ERA and a pant-droppingly low 1.07 WHIP.

Greinke’s struggles with anxiety disorder are a part of his life and cost him most of two big-league seasons. But his poised brilliance on the mound conceals a young man who still isn’t terribly comfortable with all the recognition his talent has brought him. “He didn’t even answer the Cy Young call because he did not recognize the number on his cell phone,” the Kansas City Star’s Joe Posnanski writes. –The Daily Fix [Wall Street Journal]

Of course the nerds are rejoicing, as they feared that Greinke would lose the award to one of the six players that finished the season with more wins. They pointed to a stat called Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP), but really that sounds like a bunch of hogwash. Why use a bunch of statistics for such a thing when there are plenty of unbiased sportswriters at your disposal? Those guys are really knowledgeable and certainly would weigh each player’s performance equally. Especially when Greinke goes to play for the Yankees in 2011.

Kansas City Royals starter Zack Greinke made his first All-Star team. The rosters for the Mid-Summer Waste Of Time have been released, and Greinke, whose waif-like 2.00 ERA made him a lock for selection, or one would have assumed. But stealing some of Greinke’s press is Red Sox knuckleballer Tim Wakefield. He throws knuckleballs. Knuckle. Balls. Heh. From Y! Sports:

“He’s meant so much not only to the Red Sox but to the rest of baseball,” Francona said. “He’s going to be introduced in St. Louis next week and he’s going to be one of the prouder guys.”

I just heard John Kruk on Van Pelt’s show say that, outside of one’s first appearance, playing in the All-Star Game is a pain in the ass, as it involves taking on things that players would rather not do, and that’s fine. I really think, in this highlight reel era of sports coverage, that the All-Star Game is outdated. Just scrap it because nobody cares. The best recourse? Fly all of the would-be All-Stars to Miami next year and make them play the AFC in the Pro Bowl. At least that way Adam Dunn has a chance of hitting something.

Here’s your baseball post for June: The Indians had the first walkoff seagull-poaching of 2009 after…if I can read the card here…Shin-Soo Choo hit a line drive in short center that bounced off a bird and eventually drove in the winning run. Cleveland tagged Kansas City Royals ace Zack Greinke (OMG! ZACK GREINKE!) for three earned runs, two of which were given up after Greinke left the game. His ERA has swelled to a portly 1.72 on the year, with grotesquely obese WHIP of 0.99. Disgusting.