If the Royals remain contenders in the Central, it will be because of the rotation. Greinke expects that.
"When I decided to stay here, I was positive that we could do what we're doing now," he said. "We're not even playing our best. We could be doing better than we're doing."
The rotation adds another touted arm with righthander Luke Hochevar's scheduled start in the series opener at Oakland. Hochevar, the top overall pick in the 2006 draft, was 5-0 with an 0.90 ERA in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League.
Like Greinke, Hochevar had to return to the minors after a rough initial exposure to the majors. If Hochevar continues to follow Greinke's path, the Royals can count on starting pitching to keep them together and in contention.
2:13 Hi, everyone -- and thanks for coming! Dick Stockton will be joining us in the chat room in about 15 minutes. Please feel free to submit your questions while we're waiting for him to join. He's willing to address any topic you like, from the breaking news about Manny to the Yankees as a team and beyond, so ask away!
2:26 I'm here. I will say the Manny Ramirez story is a blockbuster -- and totally unexpected. A huge pin in the balloon for the Dodgers who just last night won their 13th straight home game without a defeat.
2:26 AP: Manny suspended 50 games for positive PED test
2:27 Looks like the Yankees get A-Rod back Friday night ...
2:28 I see where Brett Favre is staying retired ... there's a report. We all thought the Brett Favre story woudl go away.
2:28 [Comment From DodgersFan ] Hey Dick, what do you think will happen to the Dodgers while Manny's out? Will they fall out of first?
2:28 I don't think they will fall out of first place.
2:29 While Manny has been a great boon to them on the field and off the field, I think the Dodgers have a strong team up and down the lineup. Their young players have come through ...
