What happened to Greinke?

[Chicago RedSox]

Greinke started out the season blowing teams away. His last 4 games he has fallen off the planet. Anyone know if he is dealing with an injury, or mechanical issues? I feel like there MUST be a reason for the sudden drop off.
I wasn't expecting much in the way of W's from him this year, but I was expecting a 3.20-3.50 ERA and 180-200 K's. He was on pace to do much better then that, but got derailed somehow.

From Stats:

Jun 9 Greinke's struggles continued Sunday in the Bronx, as he allowed four runs and two homers in five innings of a 6-3 loss to the Yankees.

Advice: In his last four starts, Greinke is 0-3 with a 7.88 ERA after starting the year 5-1 with a 2.18 ERA. He's allowed six home runs, six walks and 12 earned runs in 11 innings in his last two outings.

From Yahoo:

Jun 8 RHP Zack Greinke, who was considered the ace of the staff after not allowing more than three runs in his first nine starts, is 0-3 with a no-decision in his past four starts. In his past two starts, Greinke has yielded 12 earned runs in 11 innings in losses to the Yankees and White Sox. He has given up 13 home runs, including two Sunday at New York, in 86 innings. He permitted just 12 home runs in 122 innings last year. Gil Meche, who is in the second year of a $55 million contract, has not won since May 15 and is 3-7 with a 5.35 ERA.

[Slayer Rules]

I'm a (former) owner, so I watched each of his starts this year up until now (I dropped him a couple of days ago).

I've heard nothing of an injury, and I've seen no difference in his mechanics. He's not keeping the ball down right now like he was earlier in the yr, hence more HR's.

He's always had great talent but there have been persistent questions about his mental make-up to maintain the consistency of which he's defintely capable. Many thought that this would be the year he'd "put it all together" - his last 4 starts have been enough to convince me that this is not true - not this yr. Severe inconsistency has been the trademark of his career thus far = not a good fantasy pitching option.....

[dclark0699]

From Stats:

Jun 9 Greinke's struggles continued Sunday in the Bronx, as he allowed four runs and two homers in five innings of a 6-3 loss to the Yankees.

Advice: In his last four starts, Greinke is 0-3 with a 7.88 ERA after starting the year 5-1 with a 2.18 ERA. He's allowed six home runs, six walks and 12 earned runs in 11 innings in his last two outings.

That's some good "Advice" from Stats.

I've been debating letting him go and going with Jonathan Sanchez. I'll probably give him one more start and see how it goes.

[mysportsrumors]

Personally, I think Greinke will be fine. it's just a rough stretch in a long season. I look at it like this, he's not going to be as good as he was in the beginning of the season, but at the same time he's not going to be as bad as he has been. In the end I'd expect him to wind up with an era around where he is now, which is a 3.77. My guess anywhere from about 3.60 to 4.10 which isn't too bad since he'll give you a couple strikeouts a game as well.

[pangbones]

Relax people. Dude has 9 quality starts out of 13. He's been knocked around a bit lately, but I wouldn't be too worried about that. He's always been prone to the long ball, but as long as he's not walking guys, he should be ok. I've only watched 2 of his starts this year, so I can't comment on his mechanics, or how he's looked lately. The 2 games I did watch he was fantastic. I'm sure you didn't invest much in him, so I'm not sure what the problem is. He was pitching over his head in April, so this was bound to happen. He was my favorite sleeper pick this year, and I think he'll be fine. Even the best pitchers go through rough patches.

[dclark0699]

Throwing a shutout right now - but 7 walks

[jdsun1]

Throwing a shutout right now - but 7 walks

If he was pitching against the Phils he would be toast right now. 7 walks ain't gonna get it done in the big leagues.

[wildbill]

7 walks ain't gonna get it done in the big leagues.

Yeah just ask Rich Hill

[Relentless]

7 walks ain't gonna get it done in the big leagues.

Yeah just ask Rich Hill

or you can ask Zambrano for a different response.

[Inukchuk]

I look at it like this, he's not going to be as good as he was in the beginning of the season, but at the same time he's not going to be as bad as he has been.

Well put. I think the OP's initial projection was closer to Greinke's ceiling than his mean production. He certainly won't pitch like he is right now for the rest of the season...