Trey Hillman: Doing Us a Solid, Better Late Than Never

I've been pretty hard on Trey Hillman this year.

We all have been.

While I do not think the criticism levied against him is baseless or without cause, I will say that I am completely behind his decision to bring Joakim Soria in for a two-inning save behind another gem of a Zack Greinke start.

I am not even especially upset that Hillman let Soria throw 46 pitches en route to closing it out. After all, he is not going to be needed until Greinke's last start.

At this point, there is only one thing that matters for the Royals (the reasons behind that fact are too depressing to dwell on today): Zack Greinke getting the Cy Young he so rightfully deserves (even if he doesn't seem to want the recognition).

Thankfully, Trey seems to sense that we all need this.

At the end of Sam Mellinger's linked article, Greinke's manager acknowledges the problems the Royals have had supporting their ace: "Just look at the statistics,” he said. “This is an individual award. 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.”

While it may be too late*, it is nice to see the effort on Trey's part to assure that a victory seemingly in hand was not going to slip away as so many others have.

*I am still not sold on the BBWAA actually awarding the CY to the best pitcher in the game. Hopefully, this win over his Twins pushed that 'number' into a realm in which Patrick Reusse could fathom voting for Greinke...

The gesture, as simple as it may have been, should not go without a little acknowledgment and gratitude.