Kansas City's Greinke tires of Cy Young talk

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — All this Cy Young talk is wearing on Zack Greinke. Even when it comes from the hometown fans, Kansas City's attention-shy ace doesn't want to hear it.

"It's pretty annoying, actually. I really don't like it all," he said.

Sorry, Zack.

When you put up an ERA that looks like a misprint and make big-league hitters slam their helmets in frustration, people are going to talk.

And the buzz is building.

As he heads into the final week of the season, Greinke has put himself in position to become Kansas City's first Cy Young Award winner since David Cone in 1994.

The right-hander's 2.06 ERA leads the majors and is nearly a half-run less than Seattle's Felix Hernandez, his closest competitor in the American League. It would be the lowest ERA in the AL since Pedro Martinez's 1.74 for Boston in 2000 and would break the club record of 2.07, set by Roger Nelson in 1972.

Greinke has 16 wins, leads the majors with three shutouts and is second in the AL with 229 strikeouts in 223-1/3 innings. He's allowed one run or less in 17 of 32 starts, going 5-0 with a 0.73 ERA over his final seven outings.

"It's a no-brainer for me," Royals manager Trey Hillman said. "If anybody's going to look at it fairly ... just look at the statistics."

But it goes beyond what Greinke has done. It's how he's done it.

Talented but quirky, Greinke won 13 games last season, but was perhaps best known for his bout with social anxiety disorder. He spent spring training watching balls get knocked all over the yard while working on a new changeup.

Once this season started, Greinke was nearly unhittable, posting two shutouts in his first four starts, creating a buzz at Kauffman Stadium that hadn't been around since the George Brett days.

Greinke wasn't just getting outs, he was making big-league hitters look like T-ballers, blowing a 97 mph fastball past them one pitch, freezing them with a 68 mph knee-buckler the next.

He didn't allow an earned run the first 29-2/3 innings of the season. In August, Greinke became the fourth pitcher since 1900 to follow a 15-strikeout game — a club record against the Indians — with a one-hitter (at Seattle).

Sunday against Minnesota, Greinke worked out of a bases-loaded jam with no outs in the third inning by striking out Joe Mauer and Josh Kubel. Mauer could only shake his head, while Kubel slammed his bat to the ground, then his helmet, then screamed.

Greinke has had that effect on hitters all season.

"His stuff is right up there with the best in the league," said Mauer, who struck out twice against Greinke.

What could hurt Greinke's Cy Young chances is his win total; he has 16, tied for sixth in the AL.

CC Sabathia has 19 wins for a Yankees team that's won 100 games. Detroit's Justin Verlander has 17 wins, and leads the majors with 256 strikeouts. Hernandez also has 17 wins for Seattle and is second in the AL with a 2.49 ERA.

Greinke's numbers are skewed, though. He's had the worst run support in the AL for most of the season and failed to win six times after allowing one run or less. Greinke has a 1.95 ERA in eight no-decisions and the Royals have scored 13 total runs in his eight losses.

"This is an individual award," Hillman said. "It should not be held against you if you're the individual going for the award because you've lacked a severe amount of run support. Zack could have 20 wins, easily."

Of course, Greinke's team could hurt his chances.

"If it's an award for best performance, he's got to be right at the top for the year," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said.