The woes of Zack Greinke are nauseating. The 2009 AL Cy Young Award winner, who finished last season with a 16-8 record and a miniscule 2.16 ERA, is having more than his share of troubles finding his name in the win column of the morning papers. The Kansas City Royals have already fallen 8.5 games back in the AL Central with an 11-17 record, and not even their star right-hander has been able to limit the damage in support of his club.

Greinke’s 2010 numbers are rivaling his 2009 totals - except in the wins column. He is 0-3 in six starts this season, including a complete game, 1-0 loss to Tampa Bay on May 2 where he only gave up four hits; including a home run. His team around him hasn’t been able to give the run support necessary to get some W’s. Last season in Greinke’s 17 losses and no-decisions, he received just 2.2 support runs. This season isn’t getting much better for him.

It seems that in order for Greinke to get some wins under his belt, he might have needed to have just as good a start as he did last season when he didn’t give up his first earned run until his fifth start – 29 innings later. He didn’t give up a home run until after throwing 83 1/3 innings. Winning isn’t easy, but it should be a lot easier than it’s been for Kansas City when you have a pitcher like Greinke on the hill.

The Royals have Greinke locked up until after the 2012 season, but it still doesn’t look like they’re putting a team around their Cy Young Award-winning ace that will help them win, and that’s too bad. Kansas City is one of the smallest sports markets around, and the team is doing anything but spoiling their loyal fans by continuing to put a losing product on the field. The Royals’ front office needs to take a look around the league at other teams before their star jumps ship and the team falls deeper into a rebuilding program.