Listen, we know it’s tough to catch up on everything happening in the baseball world each morning. There are all kinds of stories, rumors, game coverage, and Vines of dudes getting hit in the beans every day. Trying to find all of it while on your way to work or sitting at your desk just isn’t easy. It’s OK, though. We’re going to do the heavy lifting for you each morning and find the things you need to see from within the SB Nation baseball network, as well as from elsewhere. Please hold your applause until the end, or at least until after you subscribe to the newsletter.
Zack Greinke is back, and just in time for the D-Backs
Friday’s Say Hey, Baseball looks at Zack Greinke’s resurgence, Jeurys Familia’s injury, and the anniversary of an infamous Roger Clemens surprise.
Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
* * *
Zack Greinke’s 2016 was terrible to the point that it created justifiable concern about what he’d do over the rest of the life of his six-year, $206.5 million contract. He missed starts with injury, saw his strikeouts drop while his walks and homers rose, and allowed the most hits per nine of any his seasons of 2010. Given his career workload and the fact he was 32, panicking after one season like this wasn’t out of line.
Greinke is doing his best to make everyone forget about last summer, though, with his most recent performance: an eight-inning, one-hit effort with 11 strikeouts against the Pirates. For the season, Greinke’s strikeouts have shot back up to over 10 per nine innings, he’s averaging comfortably over six innings per start, and opponents are once again having a hard time notching hits against him. Homers are still a bit of an issue, but that’s probably not going to change given he pitches in Arizona half the time — so long as the rest falls in line, Greinke will be fine.
This is good news for the D-Backs, too, who have seemingly gotten over the unexpected disaster of 2016 that went far beyond the struggles of their ace. While the offense has been nowhere to found, Arizona ranks second in the majors in team ERA+, in large part due to a rotation that has managed to be above-average or better in all five spots. If they can get themselves a bench upgrade and literally anyone to play catcher besides the Mathis/Iannetta tandem they have, the D-Backs might be in a position to stick around in the West all season.
- James Hoyt is a 30-year-old rookie for the Astros, and where he was and how he got here is worth your time.
- Craig Kimbrel tossed an immaculate ninth inning to close out a Red Sox win against the Brewers on Thursday, striking out the side on just nine pitches.
- The Blue Jays not only lost Edwin Encarnacion this winter, but they didn’t prioritize depth. The latter has been a real problem for them to this point.
- Jeurys Familia was diagnosed with a blood clot in his shoulder, and surgery is a possibility for the Mets closer.
- The Tigers will get slugger J.D. Martinez back on Friday, giving the outfielder a chance to make his 2017 debut.
- David Price hasn’t thrown a pitch yet in 2017 thanks to injury, but the Red Sox’ (other) ace begins a rehab assignment on Sunday.
- Hoping to lessen the chance of another injury to Michael Wacha’s shoulder, the Cardinals will skip his next start.
- Are the Phillies getting any better or not?
- Baserunning matters, and Viva El Birdos will tell you how and why.
- Ben Lindbergh looked at the seven teams outperforming their preseason projections and tried to explain why it’s happening.
- Ten years ago, we got the return of Roger Clemens and the Suzy Waldman reaction heard ‘round the world.
- Yan Gomes has been a void at the plate for too long now, but Cleveland’s catcher is starting to heat up.
See More:
