Zack Greinke is Carrying the Royals

Zack Greinke was nice enough to give the Detroit Tigers a run in the first inning of Tuesday night's game, because he didn't give them anything else.

The Tigers' bats looked lost most of the night as Greinke turned in yet another masterpiece for the upstart Royals. Greinke was able to scatter six hits in nine innings, picking up yet another win and improving his record to 8-1.

This kid is something special, something Kansas City hasn't seen since the glory days of the 1980's when guys like Brett Saberhagen and Dan Quisenberry towed the rubber.

Grienke's story is a very interesting one, which included a bout with severe depression and anxiety early in his career.

However, two months into the 2009 campaign, he looks poised to lock down the Cy Young Award and seems light years away from the depressed kid who thought about never playing the game again just a few short years ago.

Its a great thing that Royals general manager Dayton Moore decided to lock Greinke up for four more years this past offseason, because it is already starting to pay huge dividends this year alone.

He is really starting to hit his stride, and he is only 25 years old. He's still got his best baseball in front of him.

The one thing I really love about watching Greinke pitch is that he attacks every hitter he faces. He is not afraid of taking you inside, brushing you back with a 97 mph fastball, or making you swing over the top of an 80 mph swooping slider.

There's something that the Royals, as a team, need to take from Greinke: The rest of the team could use his swagger. They need his new-found confidence, his competitiveness, and most of all, his determination to get the job done start after start.

Greinke has always had the right tools in the set, and he is finally starting to figure out how to use each one of them.

As baseball fans, we all hope to see Greinke's magical run continue deep into the regular season. As Royals fans, we hope this will bolster the team's chances at possibly winning the division and making the playoffs.

Maybe this win, and the way Greinke is playing the game, will change the mindset of this team. Maybe, just maybe.