The problem with an 8kknd hour school day and an hour commute home means that I'm way, way late on this news and now there's way more speculation than there is news.
Here's what I know: Zack Greinke has been scratched from his Wednesday start against the Cardinals and will be completely skipped in the rotation, not pitching again til the Phillies series in 11 days.
Ron Roenicke and Doug Melvin are saying vague-ish things about Greinke being tired after starting three straight games (two before the ASG and one after) and needing to
"re-charge" his batteries.
Greinke, for his part, wasn't really talking, saying he was going along with whatever Roenicke was saying.
Can't confim it now, but I'm pretty positive I read on Twitter that Greinke said he wasn't feeling right during his last start.
The Brewers are also saying that this is to help Greinke get back into a routine. though taking a guy out of the rotation usually tends to screw up his routine, so that sounds a little like double-speak. Greinke is known to be a guy who really likes a routine, so this is a difficult explanation to understand.
There has, of course, been wild speculation regarding this move. There are folks that think this means Greinke was offered an extension by the Brewers and is being given time to mull it over.
Others think this means a trade is imminent (maybe one team wants him but doesn't have the pieces and is working on making a three team deal work?)
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Tom Haudricourt thinks the fact that Greinke isn't talking means that he's not happy about being pulled from the rotation, though it's likely that is giving the whole thing more gravitas than it has.
What's likely is that the Brewers' explanation is legit and Greinke was showing signs of fatigue. Greinke wants to fight through it, because he's a super-competitive professional athlete who also happens to be in line to make a lot of money as a free agent this offseason. The Brewers said no, so Greinke's a little peeved.
The timing is awful, as the Brewers are in the middle of the most important stretch of their season - 9 games within the division. If they make ground in the standings, they will still consider themselves in the race and will not sell. If they crash and burn, they will finally admit the season is over and start trying to make some good of the pieces theyre willing to part with.
Greinke is the number one guy they would be looking to trade to get some key players in return. This rest period will not help his stock with other teams, who will worry that he's injured.
Doug Melvin is scheduled to be in the booth during tonight's FSWisconsin broadcast of the game against the Cardinals, though I doubt he'll say anything we didn't already hear today.
Whether the trade rumors should be given any credence will probably take a few days.
Folks are eager to know what the heck this whole thing means, but my guess is patience will be the name of the game here and we'll have to wait and see what the future holds from Greinke and the Brewers.
