Zack Grienke Sidelined With Shoulder Discomfort: Should We Be Worried?

On Sunday Royal's ace Zack Grienke was scratched and replaced with Anthony Lerew. We all saw how that turned out as the White Sox turned off the Royals hot streak, capping it off with a 15-5 win for the White Sox on Sunday. The reason Ned Yost gave for taking out Grienke was that Zack had complained of discomfort in the back of his right shoulder. 

Should Kansas City be worried?

According to MLB.com Zack had felt a pull in his shoulder while fielding a bunt a week ago in Seattle in the third inning. Grienke stayed in, however, and pitched four more innings en route to a 3-2 win, his 5th win of the season. 

So that's a good sign right?

Ned Yost said that the pain in Grienke's shoulder wasn't a strain or a pull it was just a discomfort, which is a good sign that it isn't anything serious. Maybe it was even good that Grienke missed the start in Chicago on Sunday, as he has a 1-7 record with a 6.48 era in the windy city. Although he probably would've done better than Lerew, who gave up a shellacking. 

When you think about it, if Grienke was going to get this at any time during the season, this is one of the best times to get the discomfort. He now has the All-Star break to rest and recover. He starts next on Friday against the A's in Kansas City. Nine days should be enough for Grienke to recover from his discomfort and be back in form to take on Oakland. 

Yost has said that he won't push Grienke to far in that game and he has good reason too. With Meche and Hochever down already this season, he doesn't want to risk injuring another starter, especially his ace.  I expect Grienke to go 5 innings with 4 strikeouts and 3 hits on Friday night, nothing too fancy or too heavy of a workload. 

That's all for now, but i would like to remind you that a congressman is someone who remembers a woman's birthday, but never her age.

Good Night Kansas City

Ben Gartland

July 13th