Zack Greinke now is locked up for another four years, and here's Rany Jazayerli's quick take:

I hope to have a longer post later, once we have the full details of the contract. For now, suffice it to say that I withdraw the withdrawal of my support for Dayton Moore. Well played, sir. We'll just call Willie Bloomquist the price of doing business.
And if it so happens that there's an option year or two tucked in at the end of the four-year contract, well, it's probably a good thing I already named my daughter.

You have to hand it to my friend Rany: He's still a fan. He still lives and dies with the Royals, and I'm green with envy. Me? I'm still a fan, but without the italics. Thinking about Dane Iorg still gives me a bit of a tingle, and I've still got my Bill Pecota jersey. But I no longer have the fan's perspective. Or rather, lack of perspective. I don't tear out my hair during an eight-game losing streak, nor do I make World Series travel plans during a five-game winning streak.

And when the Royals make one smart-but-obvious move after a string of mistakes, I don't change my opinion of ownership and the front office.

Rany opens his post with a famous quote from John Maynard Keynes: "When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?"

I usually change mine, too. But in this case, "the facts" haven't changed, really. Rather, a single fact has been added to a pile of existing facts. And it's a big pile.

Update: We now have full details. It's a $38 million deal with no mention of tucked-in options. Greinke's salary will increase dramatically in 2011 and 2012, which makes sense because those might have been free-agency years for him. And if he continues to pitch as he has, he'll be well worth the money. But for the Royals, the real test will come then -- if they still aren't close to contending, will they have the courage to trade their best pitcher for cheap young players?