A flurry of thoughts about Zack Greinke, S.I. cover boy ...
Number one thought ... Zack Greinke, S.I. cover boy!
How big is this? Posnanski offers a list of Royal cover subjects, and Greinke is No. 10 but the first since David Cone more than 13 years ago.
Has any team gone longer than the Royals without an S.I. cover? This was the first question that occurred to me after seeing that it's been 13 years for the Royals. My first guesses: the Brewers and the post-Barry Bonds Pirates. And the answers? Again courtesy of Posnanski, we find only two teams have gone longer: the Brewers (Rob Deer) in 1987, and the Pirates (Barry Bonds) in 1992.
And finally, I hate to seem the old curmudgeon ... but gosh, they sure don't make S.I. covers like they used to. I'm not even going to go back to the real beauties of the 1960s and '70s. Look at this David Cone cover again. Not including the date and the name of the magazine, there are 14 words. It's clean and dramatic, something you might want to get signed and framed.
And Zack Greinke's cover?
Nearly 90 words. As a marketing tool, it's probably a fantastic cover. Particularly when one considers how few people outside the Heart of America are likely to pick up an issue of the magazine upon the sight of Zack Greinke's back. Artistically, it's a train wreck.
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ABOUT THIS BLOG
Rob Neyer
Neyer is a senior writer at ESPN.com. He began his career with legendary baseball author (and now Red Sox executive) Bill James, then joined Stats Inc. and wrote about MLB, the NFL and the NBA. Neyer joined ESPN.com in 1996, and it's believed that he's written more words for the site than anybody.
Neyer moved to Kansas City in 1976, just in time for the Royals' first division title, and fell in love almost immediately. He attended the University of Kansas the same four years as Danny Manning, and is now happy to wait another 20 years for the Jayhawks' next championship.