Quote from Tony Pena, asked about his opening day starter:

“I honestly don't have any idea now,” Peña insists. “I can tell you who it won't be. Greinke. It won't be Zack.”

And why not?

“I don't want to put that kind of pressure on him,” Peña said. “I wouldn't do that to him.”

Wow, that's a statement from someone who clearly does not grasp the essence of pressure. I can't imagine a less pressure-packed situation than the Royals-Tigers opener in front of 25,000 fans. Does he truly believe that this could cause Greinke to crack? Will it send Zack into an unrecoverable flat spin? Geesh.

I'm having serious doubts about Tony Pena. I feel were drunk and married in Las Vegas, and I'm just waking up from the daze of the last few months wondering "How in the hell did I end up with THIS guy?" Let the dalliance begin.

Since everyone else seems to be doing it, here are my rotation projections:

1. (Empty) There are no #1 starters on the Royals right now.
2. (Empty) There are no #2 starters on the Royals right now. Greinke is the closest, but he's too young, gives up too many HRs and doesn't have the K rate yet. He'll be there in 2006.
3. Greinke. He's going to be very, very good. The team's best pitcher at age 20. How pathetic is that? Its like playing kickball as a kid and your little brother is picked BEFORE you. That didn't happen to me, of course, because I didn't have a little brother.
4. Anderson. He'll bounce back to the 12-10, 4.50 ERA pitcher we all love to hate. Traded midseason for a C prospect and a case of medium grade sardines.
5. Everyone else. I have no high hopes for Lima, who I think will fall to injury before contributing to much of anything for this team. Every other rotation candidate has a lot prove. Gobble has been all but assured of a spot, so I'll stick him in here. I guess I'll put Hernandez in here as well, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him start the season in AAA. If he doesn't make it, I'd go with Mike Wood. PECOTA sure likes him for some reason.

Dark horse: Dennis Tankersley. 4 years removed from top prospectdom, he rediscovers the magic, er, strike zone.