Greinke has left KC spring training camp

[Yankeebiscuitfan]

Zack Greinke has left the Royals' spring training camp for undisclosed reasons.

Here's the link:http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/a...=.jsp&c_id=mlb

[Paulmcall]

That's too bad. He's the kind of guy you need to turn things around.
He has great stuff and could become a great pitcher.

[KCGHOST]

It now sounds like he will be gone a long time. Leave it to our boy Allard to Draft a goof ball.

[Cironnu]

There's still no definite word that I've heard as to WHY he left. All we can really do now is wait, and hope that it's not as awful as we currently fear. The Royals need all the good young pitching it can get, and Greinke is right at the top of that list. Hopefully, he'll get things settled and get back to camp in a couple of weeks, and be ready to join the rotation by the end of April, but the way the Royals' luck runs, I wouldn't count on it.

[KCGHOST]

All the Royals are saying is that it is not a medical or legal issue. I have heard he wants to go play golf.

[TrojanSkipper]

So apparently he is so fed up with the Royals he's willing to take a year off and then re-entera as a free agent???
If this isn't the end of Baird what will it take????

[Cironnu]

No, it's not that, especially since sitting out a year won't get him out of a Royals uniform. IF he were to sit out a whole year with this, it'd be no different than if he were to sit out after blowing out his arm. He's under contract to the Royals until he can file for free agency after accumulating 5+ years of service time, which he hasn't barely begun to accumulate.

According to the KC Star, it is "ongoing emotional issues." It's something that he has to deal with personally, that can't wait. It's anyones guess what that means, of course.

Oh, and as for Allard, I'm guess that another 95+ losses will finally do the trick. I wish to God he'd been fired LAST October instead of sometime THIS year, but alas.........

[unJAM]

Interesting take on the Greinke situation at somebody's Colorado Rockies blog.

The Royals should have realized long ago that they needed to deal with Zach's problems seeing eye-to-eye with the old-schoolers like Hansen and Bell by getting Zach some time with a sports psychologist. I'm not suggesting Zach has psychological problems per se. But he seems to lack experience in accepting advice (being coached) and might need some counseling about that.

But I also have to say that if I were in his position, regardless of counseling, I'd be loathe to accept advice from the dumbbells that run and manage and coach the Royals. I truly feel sorry for this youngster.

[gfester]

Hi all. I have just joined up to get away from the emotional problems of some posters on another baseball board that's been JAMMED. Glad to find another place to talk, gripe and ultimately find some justification for investing in a 31-year relationship with the Royals.

After first being dismissive of Greinke, I'm really thinking now the poor guy and the Royals have told us everything we need to know. Reading between the lines, it's seemingly apparent that the kid simply has some sort of depression, stress or anxiety issue that is overwhelming him. So until I hear otherwise, I'm not going to knock him or think any less of him, and hope he's able to conquer whatever's troubling him.

[lautrec]

I agree that Zack is probably having some problems dealing with all this; the stress of being a major leaguer at a hyoung age, playing on a particularly bad team, not being able to handle old school managers, etc.

You have to wonder if the so-called "youth movement" of Baird and the rest of those front office hacks has something to do with it.

I think the Royals, in their gasps of desperation, have called up what little minor league prospective talent they have, too early. Think about it: Since Herk Robinson was the GM, the Royals farm system has gone from one of the best, to argueably one of the worst. Add to that, an owner who won't pony up to be competitive (I don't care if they lose money, if you are going to take on the reins of a MLB club, you better spend the jack to at least TRY to win), and growing unrest in a very congenial baseball community, then you have a recipe for disaster. Allard Baird, true enough, has not had the freedom or the money to get quality FA's. HOWEVER, he has done NOTHING to address to flailing farm system, and the Royals player developement is the laughing stock of the league.

Throw Zack Greinke in, after ONLY 180 minor league innings,,,GUESS WHAT?

yeah, the kid is flaky, yeah, he's got some isssues. But, geez, what do these idiots expect? I've been a Royals fan since 1972, and have attended many games, despite living 400 miles away. I'll always be a Royals fan, but they gotta do something about those monkeys in charge!

Greinke,,,? Just another casualty of poor management.

[KCGHOST]

Herk Robinson just destroyed the farm system and Baird hasn't done a thing to improve it. Greinke was not rushed. Even though he was just 20 all the independent scouting reports I've read said he had nothing left to prove in the minors.

As for Glass he needs to get a GM that knows how to build an organization. Glass has never shied away from a reasonable expenditure money, but he needs baseball guys who know how to spend it wisely.

[Ravenlord]

Originally Posted by KCGHOST

Herk Robinson just destroyed the farm system and Baird hasn't done a thing to improve it. Greinke was not rushed. Even though he was just 20 all the independent scouting reports I've read said he had nothing left to prove in the minors.

53 innings in AA, 28.2 innings in AAA. that's a rush job.

[Cironnu]

Absolutely it was a rush job. I love all the experts who say that a kid has "nothing left to prove." How about proving that he can dominate guys at the AAA level, as opposed to only a bunch of youngsters in A ball?

It is my firm belief that EVERY minor leaguer, whether he's a hot prospect or not, should be REQUIRED to spend at least half a year at EVERY level, and do well in that half a year. Starting pitchers should be REQUIRED to pitch at least 100 innings at AAA, before moving up to the Majors.

Herk actually left Allard a pretty decent team and farm system, what with Beltran, Damon, Dye, Sweeney, etc. It's just that AB has completely destroyed it, mostly through not getting top prospects back in the Damon and Dye trades, and in rushing guys from AA on a regular basis. That's no way to run a franchise.

[KingJ]

Royals and Marlins are ruining future talent. Rushing kids like this leads to unready players with poor performances early that lower self-esteem, their ability to become better, and possibly steriod abuse. This can especially happen to guys like Greinke who were signed right out of high school (not even any college training).

[lautrec]

Originally Posted by KCGHOST

Herk Robinson just destroyed the farm system and Baird hasn't done a thing to improve it. Greinke was not rushed. Even though he was just 20 all the independent scouting reports I've read said he had nothing left to prove in the minors.
As for Glass he needs to get a GM that knows how to build an organization. Glass has never shied away from a reasonable expenditure money, but he needs baseball guys who know how to spend it wisely.

I agree with most of what you're saying, I just believe that Greinke, along with other youngsters in similar situations, are indeed rushed. IMO, I believe that a young man, with the makeup of Greinke, really could benefit from a situation where he dominates for an extended and reasonable period of time. Of course, all this is second guessing at this point, but all the signs are there, that he was rushed.

[Cironnu]

What's starting to scare the poo out of me is that now, a week later, we still haven't heard so much as a peep from either the Royals, Greinke, or the media about what's REALLY going on. This could go from "bad" to "unholy FUBAR disaster" in a hurry.

[KCGHOST]

Originally Posted by lautrec

I agree with most of what you're saying, I just believe that Greinke, along with other youngsters in similar situations, are indeed rushed. IMO, I believe that a young man, with the makeup of Greinke, really could benefit from a situation where he dominates for an extended and reasonable period of time. Of course, all this is second guessing at this point, but all the signs are there, that he was rushed.

I certainly won't argue against the point that last year a bunch of guys (Burgos, Nunez, Teahen, etc) were in the bigs before they were ready. Greinke, however, showed that he was ready to physically perform at the major league level. His 2004 performance was very good for a rookie and outstanding for a 20 year-old.

If your point is that maybe he wasn't ready emotionally then I might agree with that in light recent events.

[unJAM]

The latest "scoop" on Zach per the KC Star

Does this make us any less scared?

I mentioned the "sports psychologist" idea above, a number of days ago. More or less as expected, that is what they are reporting. I don't think that it implies any clinical psychiatric diagnosis (ie DSM-IV), such as depression. Sports psychologists have sometimes been brought in to counsel/motivate whole teams.

But that's about all I know about it.

[Cironnu]

Thanks for the heads up, even though it still really doesn't tell us much. I'm glad to hear he's making progress through whatever the problem is.

Now that I think about it, I haven't read or heard much in the way of people just wishing him the best, and hoping he gets things resolved. Everyone, including me, has seemed to focus on the "mystery" angle.

So, to resolve that, I hope that whatever issues Zach is facing, that he finds some peace and gets them resolved. I want him in the rotation, but not until he's completely ready to be there. Good luck Zach, and we all hope to see you in Royal blue again soon.

[lautrec]

If this is all true, then perhaps there is a silver lining in this particular cloud.
Maybe Zach gets back by the end of March, and ends up doing his spring training work in the minors, and can experience some success there. Possibly by the time he returns, say mid May, and the Royals are something like 7-32, and 19-20 games out of first, then he won't feel as if he's responsible for that.

However, I am an optimist, and though a 7-32 record is more realistic for this team at that time, I think they could achieve as high as a 12-27, or even a 13-26 record ....

What can I say? I'm just a silly happy go lucky optimist!

[Cironnu]

Keep that dream alive, my friend! 67 wins, here we come!!!

[lautrec]

Originally Posted by Cironnu

Keep that dream alive, my friend! 67 wins, here we come!!!

67,,,,YOU PESSIMIST !!! I think we could get 68!. You know, it's guys like you who just sour up the whole deal for everyone.