I want to talk about the Royals

Yesterday Brian Bannister tossed a complete game against the Twins. He is 3-0 with a 0.86 ERA. Today Zack Greinke tossed a complete game against the Mariners. He is 3-0 with a 0.75 ERA. Tomorrow the Royals trot out something named a John Bale. He is 0-2 with a 5.84 ERA. Just my luck that it's Bale's game I attend. The Bale-Batista matchup is certain to have me up late this evening as I consider the potential magic that is witnessing a combined twelve innings from two mediocre bullpens.

But back to Bannister and Greinke. Young Zack is reaching his potential after being felled by social anxiety disorder in the past. Good stuff. On Bannister, ah, Omar, does your Ambiorix hurt when you think about him? Is it a dull pain or is it humonburgos?

Alas, unless these gents keep the ERA's below one they might not be racking up the wins for long. Take a look at the Royals' offense: Last in the majors in runs (38), tied for the last in the majors in home runs (5!), last in the American League in total bases (143) and OBP (.309). None of this is surprising. Jose Guillen, Gil Meche turns his lonely eyes turn to you.

That R.A. Dickey throws a mean knuckler. And he mixes in some much harder stuff than Wake. The M's just called him up today along with Arthur Rhodes. I recall when Dickey was with the Rangers, Remy was fond of discussing "the thang." This Wikipedia tidbit (unsourced and perhaps apocryphal) is something I did not know:

His early success was considered to be due in large part to his wide array of pitches including: a fastball, changeup, curveball, and a special knuckle-combination pitch known simply as "the thang". There was some speculation that Dickey actually "stole" the pitch from Stoughton High School pitcher Paul Snyder, however after a brief dispute and failed lawsuit Dickey was cleared of any wrongdoing.

Incidentally, not long ago Omar Minaya was cleared of any wrongdoing after a brief dispute and failed lawsuit. It seems Jim Duquette claimed that Minaya "stole" his blueprint for building a championship ballclub.