Royals watching in Augusta

There are only so many big baseball days a year in Kansas City. There's Opening Day. There's, er, well, Paul Molitor got his 3,000th hit in Kansas City. And there was that Game 6 of the '85 World Series. OK, the point is, there aren't too many big days.

So, it broke my heart to miss Thursday's Dice K-Zack Greinke pitching duel. I mean, OK, I'm exaggerating there ... I'm in Augusta, at the Masters, writing about golf and azaleas and birdies and bogeys, so I'm not actually heartbroken about anything. But I will admit that Thursday I wished I was back home -- where it was really cold -- and watching some big-time baseball in my hometown.

(I also wished I was back home to write about Bob Huggins bolting Kansas State for West Virginia -- and the semi-pathetic way the Kansas State officials cried and whined about it afterward. I love the movie the Music Man ... it's a flaw, I know. To me, those Kansas State officials complaining about how Bob Huggins didn't do the "right thing" sounded like the clueless Mayor screaming, "Where's the band? Where's the boy's band?")

In any case, here are a few thoughts about Thursday's game based on watching very small snippets between chip shots, emails from friends and guesswork.

Zack Greinke: I guess Dice K really was impressive, but in many ways Zack Greinke was even better. That's a terrific sign -- the Royals really need a pitching break. The thing I liked about Greinke all spring was that he really seemed to have this new sense of purpose. I don't mean in his life -- I have no idea what's going on in Zack's life. But when pitching, he actually had purpose to his pitches -- fastball in, slider away, fastball away, slider in, up and down, it's really good to see him pitching like that.

Greinke spent his first couple of years trying to trick people; basically he was just goofing off on the mound -- throwing 48 mph curveballs and quick pitching and all that. He was successful some of the time and as my friend Rob Neyer says, he was fun to watch. But unless you are Gaylord Perry you can't really trick people in the big leagues for very long.

Besides, it's now clear that he was pitching like that not because he thought that was the best way to get people out but because he didn't care if he failed. I remember once hearing a very perceptive comment from Martina Navratilova -- she was announcing a tennis match, and there was a player losing. She started going for a winner on every shot. She was hitting crazy shots, aiming for the line, charging the net with wild abandon. The play-by-play announcer said something like, "Well, you have to give her credit; she's not going into a shell. She's really going for it."

And Martina said something like: "You know, I hear that all the time. But I think that when a player goes for winners all the time, they've basically given up. It's like: 'OK, I'll just go for it, and if I make it, great, and if I don't make it, too bad.'" That's how Zack was pitching: If he got people out with his slow curveball and ever-changing fastball, great. If not, too bad. I think he has a new commitment to throwing his fastball hard every time, really breaking off his slider and battling. That takes concentration and effort -- and so far he's been showing that. Good sign on Thursday: He struck out seven in seven innings against the Sox.

Alex Gordon: He got his first big-league hit -- he's now 1-for-11 with five strikeouts -- and he made his first big-league error. You know, he hasn't really looked comfortable at the plate or at third base yet . He will settle down, there's no doubt in my mind. But it will be interesting to see how the Royals handle him in these tough early days. Will they just keep sending him out there everyday saying, "You'll be fine?" Will they rest him a couple of days? Will Mark Teahen go back to third base, even for a day or two? Will they overreact if he's hitting .197 in early May? Sorry, everyone in Kansas City has seen the Royals screw up with prospects before.

Bill James: Got this email from Bill after the game -- "You can quote me if you want. . .there is NO way this Royals team is going to lose 100 games or anything close to that. These guys are MUCH, MUCH better. " Got two capital "MUCHES" out of Bill -- that's not bad.

Emil Brown: He is off to his usual April start -- he's one for seven. I actually like Emil more than a lot of people -- he can mash a fastball and he'll take a walk now and again. But he's one of the worst early season hitters I've ever seen. The last two years in Kansas City, he's hit .178 in April (he's hitting .303 after April). Emil should feel quite a bit loyalty to the Royals -- it seems unlikely that any other team would keep playing a guy hitting .178 on May 1.

One golf note: Brett Quigley had a baby born on Wednesday morning and he was playing in the Masters on Thursday. He's been getting a lot of congratulations and peppy columns for that. But I can't help but think the guy is kind of a loser -- his wife had a C-section and delivered their first child, and 12 hours later he was on a plane heading to Augusta to play in the Masters. Apparently (according to the stories) she told him to go. When I mentioned this to my wife Margo, she asked: "Yeah, under how much medication."

Anyway, I've been spending the day rooting for Quigley to make bogeys so he can miss the cut and do the right thing -- go home to his wife and newborn baby. I was going to write this for my Saturday column, but now Tiger is four over par for the tournament, so I'm sure he will be the column focus.