"Baseball's stars are here, nearly all the big names, the men with the powerful bats and the dominating fastballs and this used to be the company that Gil Meche kept.

Remember that?

Three years ago this week, Kansas City's biggest sports story was the Royals' new ace pitching his way onto the All-Star team. The Mark Redman jokes became outdated, and general manager Dayton Moore's $55 million investment went from league-wide scorn to something closer to praise.

Meche was terrific that first year, very good the second, and solid again last year until some gross misuse helped turn him and his contract into what now feels like a permanent, expensive mess. The trend is unmistakable.

Three years ago, Meche was the pride of the Royals' organization.

Two years ago, he was the ace and big brother to help along Zack Greinke.

A year ago, he went on the disabled list for the first time with the Royals."