CBSSports.com - Greinke admits dogging it with Royals

[PC]

In a wide-ranging interview with the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Zack Greinke admitted he "just did what he was asked" the second half of 2010 for the Royals, a tacit admission he wasn't invested in his or the team's production.

"When the games started, I pitched 100% every time," he said. "But in the second half, I just did what was asked."

Why?

"Close to the trade deadline and I was doing all this stuff, the organization wasn’t really doing the same effort. They were doing the same effort the long run but not for that season or the next season. It’s not easy to play 162 games and be focused the whole time. It takes a lot out of you."

No one's denying that it's difficult to be focused for 162 games. After all, it's a marathon, not a sprint. But to admit that he didn't do all that he could have done in the second half is not just a disservice to himself, but a disservice to the game. His frustration doesn't appear to stem from the way the Royals did business -- just how they were approaching the season, which speaks to Greinke's personal motivations.

"They’re probably No. 1 in prospects in all of baseball," he said. (In fact, they are No. 1, and by far.) "When your prospects are that good, it’s hard to ignore it. It had to almost change the path of the organization."

That's exactly what happened in K.C., as the Royals are preparing for a brutal season this year, all in the name of working in their top players over the year and into 2012. That doesn't give Greinke license to take the year off, however. And looking at his first- and second-half splits, it's easy to see the difference. In 18 starts prior to the All-Star break, Greinke posted a 3.71 ERA, whiffing 101 and walking just 22. That's not close to his 2009 AL Cy Young Award season, but still a darn good pitcher.

The second half, however, saw his ERA spike to 4.72 in 15 starts, punching out 80 and walking 33. While his strikeout rate only dipped 0.8 points, his walk rate ballooned. So the statistics back up Greinke's claim that he didn't do above and beyond what was asked of him (which was simply to take the ball every fifth day).

And yeah, even though the Royals weren't -- and didn't -- win, you don't get paid $7.25 million to jake it.

The Royals may not have put a winning team around Greinke, but to repay this way K.C. for the hoops it jumped through to make sure Greinke got the treatment and time needed to deal with his social anxiety disorder is disturbing. Then-GM Allard Baird was tireless in defending Greinke for walking out as one of the best pitching prospects that had come along in quite a long time. To hear Greinke tell it, he could have sworn he was done with baseball.

Greinke"I was done playing [in my mind]," he said. "I was surprised I came back. They had me see a psychologist. We found out what was going on and why I didn’t like going on a baseball field. I thought it was a 10 percent chance of coming back."

Now that he's admitted how he dogged the second half of the year, it will be a reputation that ends up following him for the rest of his career. Now, teams know to keep him happy and keep the team winning, or he'll check out. And that's not a reputation you want, especially when the team already has to manage keeping him happy, which is clearly difficult to do.

And what happens if Milwaukee fails after the year? They gave up major pieces of their future to get Greinke, expecting him to pitch at the top of his level for at least the two years he is under contract. But this is a team going for it this year, with Prince Fielder as a free agent. Although Grienke says he expects the Brewers to win beyond 2011, Fielder or not... what happens if they don't win? Does Greinke check out?

As a Brewer, he's been pleased with how camp has gone so far, saying he has fit in easily. But then you hear this: "I like a lot of the guys. I haven't seen anyone yet that's annoying to me. They've all been good."

Now, it's very difficult to judge Greinke for this particular bit, as the fact remains that he has social anxiety disorder and it clearly affects him, and those that don't suffer from it can never truly know what it is like. Still, it's notable that he looks out for people that could be "annoying" -- and given his social anxiety disorder, he could find simple chit-chat annoying. That appears to be why he dislikes talking to the media, because of all the "eyewash comments" he gets when "random people come and waste my time talking every day. It takes eight minutes to get a real question out because they’re like buttering me up," Greinke says. "Then they get to the question and it’s a stupid question. So it’s a waste of 10 minutes, and in that 10-minute time I don’t get to do what I needed to do."

Except that's a cop-out, right? After all, Greinke had plenty of time for the media last year given he wasn't preparing to pitch after the All-Star break.

"To talk to people, I have to spend energy talking to them," he said. "If I expend my energy on talking to people and making friends, it takes away from the energy I could focus on getting ready to pitch. I try to avoid nonsense talk."

Greinke clearly views communicating with people as an expense, and he admits it affects him in meetings with the team or the daily pitcher/catcher meetings prior to each game.

"It wears me out to do stuff like our meetings every day," Greinke admitted. "If I actually listen to the person talking, it’ll wear me out. So I kind of go into a little daze. Then I’m still refreshed from it."

Give Greinke credit for this: he's honest, and he's not afraid to show how he feels. This allows us to understand where he's coming from. It can't be easy to suffer from social anxiety disorder and play a profession that demands constant interaction.

Openly admitting not giving his all, however, is unacceptable no matter the circumstances.

UPDATE: This is important -- Tom Haudricourt wrote a follow-up article later Wednesday that made clear that none of the reporters sensed any "malice" on Greinke's part with regards to the comment about annoyance and the media. "These are simply the daily demons that he deals with," Haudricourt writes.

Let's be clear about one thing. I certainly wish no malice on Greinke's part. In fact, I find it impressive and commendable how far he has come and how successfully he has managed his disorder.

It remains no excuse for dogging it. And Greinke clearly stated that he did.

http://eye-on-baseball.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/22297882/27623175

[PANatsFan]

Thank God we didn't offer that clown 90 million dollars . . . oh wait

[Lintyfresh85]

Thank God we didn't offer that clown 90 million dollars . . . oh wait

I don't know if you're hating on Rizzo or trying to pump up the Lerners.

[PANatsFan]

I don't know if you're hating on Rizzo or trying to pump up the Lerners.

Just saying we dodged a bullet. Not everything is about Rizzo or the Lerners. This about Greinke being a jerk.

[Lintyfresh85]

Just saying we dodged a bullet. Not everything is about Rizzo or the Lerners. This about Greinke being a jerk.

We didn't dodge a bullet. He'd have been fine if the Nats were winners... just like he'll be great for the Brewers.

[Obed_Marsh]

So is the catcher or pitching coach in K.C. an idiot? If he "just did what he was asked" it could mean he quit bickering about pitch selection. It doesn't take much confrontation for someone with social anxiety to want to pull the blankets over their head and stay in bed.

The story doesn't grok. The direct quotes seem to tell a different story.

[KnorrForYourMoney]

Here's Zack Greinke explaining this to reporters:

We didn't dodge a bullet. He'd have been fine if the Nats were winners... just like he'll be great for the Brewers.

IF and only if the rest of the Brewers play well enough.  Good luck keeping Marcum healthy.

[Coladar]

How stupid is Greinke? Yeah, he's happy to be out of there and thus tells this as a "This is how bad it was for me" anecdote. But GMs remember **** like this, and a player can't hurt themselves much worse than admitting they didn't put their full effort in. Yeah, we all realize some players don't on losing teams. Some don't even when they aren't on losing teams. See Lopez, Felipe. And look where he is. We all know Greinke is a head case, but really, admitting this, and so soon after it happened, is insane. There is no benefit for him to reveal this, and a ton of potential harm. I bet his agent had a nice little phone call with him today.

Let's all be happy this jackass turned us down. Because let's face it, he likely would have been just as unhappy here with the losing for at least this season, likely next, and thus given the same half-assed effort.

[Lintyfresh85]

Let's all be happy this jackass turned us down.

Lets not.

Because if he went to the Nats and said the exact same thing about the Royals... nearly every person that's trashing him now would be riding his sack regardless of what he had to say about his prior team.

Aces are Aces. They don't just show up on your door step.

I guess I'd rather have a malcontent with amazing talent than the dreck we have now.

[KnorrForYourMoney]

I'd rather have this guy since, y'know, he's not the Albert Haynesworth of starting pitchers

[Coladar]

Lets not.

Because if he went to the Nats and said the exact same thing about the Royals... nearly every person that's trashing him now would be riding his sack regardless of what he had to say about his prior team.

Aces are Aces. They don't just show up on your door step.

I guess I'd rather have a malcontent with amazing talent than the dreck we have now.

I guess I'm in the minority on Greinke, as I was happy when there was talk he might be trade here knowing he would never waive his no trade clause for the Nats. I was a huge fan of his when he had his breakout year, and still was so long as he isn't on my team. Before this comment, at least. But as far as him coming to the Nats, prior to this comment, I didn't want it because he is a genuine head case. He has some serious issues, which have had and likely continue to have an impact on his performance. Considering he was or will be hardly the only option for an ace SP we can get in the next couple of years, as much raw talent as he may possess, which is undeniable, the risks involved simply made him incredibly undesirable in my opinion.

Then add these comments? Any player who doesn't give their all is an jerk no fan should ever, ever want on their team. Fine, you don't like losing, no one does. But as an athlete, you play for your team. What it says about a players character that they half-ass it because they're tired of losing, in essence saying they don't care about their teammates and fans, that they consider themselves too good or their teammates/fans aren't worth someone of their level giving 100%? That's an issue totally separate from his depression/psychological issues, and one far more troubling. Hell, he already says he hasn't found anyone that "annoys" him in the Brewers yet. He doesn't seem like a team player at all, and admits to going out there and just winging it...

I'd rather have a AAAA guy who wants to be here and gives 110%, even if he doesn't get the numbers Greinke gets giving 40%. Just on the basis alone, and further what a player like that does to the clubhouse and the effect it has on all the other players numbers. Then you add the psychological issues he's had, and is at risk of having in the future? No, I'm definitely thrilled he's not a Nat, and I'll gladly take any other ace SP even if it means we have to wait a year. A player like Greinke is not someone I want on the team I root for, and in the end, for a struggling, developing, likely losing for the near future team like the Nats, he's likely to have an overall negative net impact over said random AAAA guy. After these comments, I don't understand why any team that isn't a lock to win 90+ would want this bum. And considering his comments about not finding anyone that annoys him yet, combined with the personality it takes to half-ass it and then openly admit to doing so, I don't know why any winning team would want him either. Putting up great numbers is awesome, but clubhouse chemistry and having an albatross in it can seriously mitigate the value of said numbers. And as Knorr already brought up, if you need any evidence for my viewpoints, see Haynesworth, Albert. That's without the depression/social anxiety we already knew before we found out Greinke is a jackass.

[Lintyfresh85]

In my opinion, "chemistry" is overrated.

Winning cures all ills.

[KnorrForYourMoney]

But you can't reasonably anticipate being a winning team all of the time.

Even a lot of the Yankee teams of the past decade have had very rough patches of baseball, only to win the AL East by season's end.

So what happens if your team isn't meeting expectations by mid-season and Greinke decides to phone it in when the rubber hits the road?

Hell, I won't pretend that I wouldn't have liked to have had Greinke.  But this certainly assuages me that the Nats can find better, if nothing else.  It also makes keeping Zimmermann et al. look that much better.

[Nathan]

In my opinion he comes off as a douche bag.  Not that quotes can't be taken out of context to fit a certain view.

[Coladar]

In my opinion he comes off as a douche bag.  Not that quotes can't be taken out of context to fit a certain view.

A lot of quotes can, to be sure. But Greinke's? Not so much. "When the games started, I pitched 100%." In the second half, "I just did what I was asked." ie, I didn't pitch 100%. add that to the "I haven't found anyone that annoys me yet." crap, and this is one time I feel confident Greinke didn't need any help from unprofessional reporters to look like he's a jackass and doesn't care.

The interesting thing here is, ignoring everything in my prior post, why any ball player would "Just do what I was asked." when they are so close to a contract year. Fine, you understand why someone, a selfish, egotistical jackass, mails it in if they're Werth or Pujols in 2012 on contracts that take them to the end of their careers. But in addition to hurting the team, not giving 100% resulting in worse performance and stats near a contract year ends up hurting himself in $$$$$$$ as much as anyone. Of course, plenty of players, aka Felipe Blowpez, do it, but anyone on a team that would pull such a stunt clearly aren't the most intelligent of people to begin with. Like I said, I'm glad this jackass is someone I won't have to think about aside from two series with the Brewers this year.

[PANatsFan]

I'd rather have this guy since, y'know, he's not the Albert Haynesworth of starting pitchers

(Image removed from quote.)

Exactly - in terms of makeup, he's far more like London Fletcher. DIII school, quiet, works hard.

[Tyler Durden]

I'm glad Rizzo didn't trade the farm for Greinke.  It's just too risky bet so much on a guy with that kind of history. 

I also don't think chemistry is overrated.  Especially when it comes to your best players - Carlos Zambrano, Barry Bonds, maybe now Greinke - players like that can make or break seasons based on their whims.  Basically, if they decide to pout and be unhappy, you've spent a good chunk of your payroll on a guy who isn't contributing like he should be.  And in our case with Greinke, we would have had to give up several solid prospects.

[Obed_Marsh]

This player has a diagnosed social anxiety disorder and instead of reading his comments and thinking "douche", "jackass", "clown",  or "jerk" labels you might want to consider he has a documented mental illness. Someone with this illness could be easily manipulated by an unethical reporter in the right setting.

A description of the Self-Concept is here:
http://www.social-anxiety-shyness-info.com/art/basic/self-concept.htm

[blue911]

This player has a diagnosed social anxiety disorder and instead of reading his comments and thinking "douche", "jackass", "clown",  or "jerk" labels you might want to consider he has a documented mental illness. Someone with this illness could be easily manipulated by unethical reporter in the right setting.

A description of the Self-Concept is here:
http://www.social-anxiety-shyness-info.com/art/basic/self-concept.htm

Media Hacks? 

[tomterp]

This player has a diagnosed social anxiety disorder and instead of reading his comments and thinking "douche", "jackass", "clown",  or "jerk" labels you might want to consider he has a documented mental illness. Someone with this illness could be easily manipulated by an unethical reporter in the right setting.

A description of the Self-Concept is here:
http://www.social-anxiety-shyness-info.com/art/basic/self-concept.htm

On the other hand, having a social anxiety disorder is not an unlimited license to be an ass.

[blue911]

Looking at Greinke's second half numbers, I wish Jason Marquis showed a touch more ennui.

[Obed_Marsh]

On the other hand, having a social anxiety disorder is not an unlimited license to be an ass.

Understanding it and excusing it are two different things. It is not the most enlightened behavior to pick on someone's mental disorder when they won't join your team.

[Nat of the Living Dead]

"Dogging it" is not a symptom of mental illness. It is a symptom of douchebaggery.

If we want to play the "he has a mental illness" card, then we have to consider that being a MLB pitcher is not a job he should be doing because it seems awfully detrimental to whatever team he is on. If that is the case, then I am glad the Nats did not pick him up. DC has had it's fair share of nutcases (Dukes), fatcases (Young), and leatherpants (Bowden) already.

[Obed_Marsh]

"Dogging it" is not a symptom of mental illness. It is a symptom of douchebaggery.

You are basing his "dogging it" on his statements which are based on his flawed perception of himself and how he perceives his value related to others. I think that is a mistake.

If a pitcher with a social anxiety disorder works in a market is another question. There are so many distractions around these players it is crazy.

[blue911]

Now, it's very difficult to judge Greinke for this particular bit, as the fact remains that he has social anxiety disorder and it clearly affects him, and those that don't suffer from it can never truly know what it is like. Still, it's notable that he looks out for people that could be "annoying" -- and given his social anxiety disorder, he could find simple chit-chat annoying. That appears to be why he dislikes talking to the media, because of all the "eyewash comments" he gets when "random people come and waste my time talking every day. It takes eight minutes to get a real question out because they’re like buttering me up," Greinke says. "Then they get to the question and it’s a stupid question. So it’s a waste of 10 minutes, and in that 10-minute time I don’t get to do what I needed to do."

A comment that is worthy of Kevin Brown or Dave Kingman.