For better or worse

Already playing plenty well without him, the Angels will now be called World Series favorites after acquiring Zack Greinke from the Brewers on Friday night. In truth, though, they may not be any better than they were yesterday.

In Greinke, the Angels are getting a pitcher with No. 1 starter stuff. He was the AL?s best pitcher in 2009, going 16-8 with a 2.16 ERA for the Royals.

In the three years since, though, Greinke hasn?t been great anywhere other than Miller Park. He was 10-14 with a 4.17 ERA in his last year with the Royals in 2010. After being traded to the Brewers in 2011, he went 16-6 with a 3.83 ERA. However, most of his success came in Milwaukee. On the road, he was 5-6 with a 4.70 ERA. This year, he was 9-3 with a 2.56 ERA overall, but 5-3 with a 4.09 ERA away from Milwaukee.

And those results were mostly against NL lineups.

Another concern is that Greinke simply wasn?t any good in the playoffs last year, giving up 15 runs ? 12 earned ? in 16 2/3 innings in his three starts for the Brewers.

Maybe that should be dismissed, but Greinke isn?t the typical pitcher. He doesn?t want the spotlight, and now he?ll be in it more than ever, even if Anaheim isn?t exactly Los Angeles. He might not handle it well.

I certainly don?t blame the Angels for taking the chance. Middle infielder Jean Segura is aa excellent prospect, but the Halos have both Erick Aybar and Howie Kendrick locked up for the long haul, making him expendable. I like John Hellweg as a possible No. 3 starter and Ariel Pena might make it as a No. 4 or as a setup man, but the price tag was quite fair. And since the Angels didn?t need to use Garrett Richards to bring in Greinke, they could further bolster the roster by trading him for a late-game reliever.

But my guess is that Greinke will disappoint, particularly in October. For all of his talent, he?s yet to show that he can be counted on.

Source: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/07/27/for-better-or-worse-angels-get-their-man/related/

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