KC Star: Greinke seeing sports psychologist

tk13 · 03-08-2006, 02:26 AM

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansas...s/14043050.htm

Royals: Greinke wasn’t driven out
Pitcher is seeing sports psychologist in Florida

By BOB DUTTON
The Kansas City Star

SURPRISE, Ariz. — Royals pitcher Zack Greinke is undergoing counseling from a sports psychologist near his home in Orlando, Fla., as part of a treatment program for longstanding emotional issues, The Star has learned from multiple sources.

Club officials declined to confirm that Greinke is undergoing such treatment, and efforts to contact Greinke and his family were unsuccessful.

Club officials did say Greinke, 22, appears to be making progress in dealing with what they still term “personal matters,” but they remain leery of predicting any timetable for his return.

“I’ve talked to him quite a bit,” manager Buddy Bell said. “He seems to be doing better, but I don’t have any expectations on when he’s coming back. He’s dealing with it as best he can. I hear a little energy in his voice.”

Club officials bitterly denounced reports suggesting a confrontation with Bell triggered Greinke’s Feb. 25 departure from camp.

“I’m getting feedback about that — if that’s what you want to call it,” general manager Allard Baird said, “and it’s extremely unfair to Buddy Bell.

“It disturbs me because the relationship between those two people has actually allowed Zack to move forward to address these personal matters. People who are out there saying Buddy drove him out of camp are one of two things: They’re very misinformed, or two, they’re liars.”

Bell was similarly vehement.

“That’s obviously not the case,” he said. “I don’t even like commenting on it, but it’s totally irresponsible. That’s just people running out of things to write about or talk about.

“You don’t just make up stuff. That (messes) up someone’s life when it’s not true. I know people have a job to do, but if you can’t get the information, you just make it up?”

Sources told The Star that Greinke is dealing with emotional issues that prevented him from adapting to the big-league lifestyle, but club officials remain confident he will return to the Royals.

“Zack is important to this team,” owner David Glass said, “and we believe he’s going to get his personal situations squared away and be a contributor this year. We just have to take a real positive approach because this kid is going to be back.”

Baird and Bell previously indicated that Greinke needs to be in camp by mid-March to remain a candidate for the opening-day roster. That seems unlikely because sources now suggest a best-case scenario is for Greinke to return in two to three weeks.

“I think he’s making progress and moving forward,” Baird said. “The time frame, I just don’t know. And I don’t want to guess. We’ll see.”

If Greinke returns this month, he would probably remain in Arizona for extended spring training when the club breaks camp. He could also probably spend a brief period in the minors before returning to the big-league club.

Greinke was the sixth overall pick in the 2002 draft. He was picked as baseball’s minor-league player of the year by The Sporting News in 2003 and the club’s pitcher of the year as a rookie in 2004.

But Greinke struggled last season, when he went 5-17 with a 5.80 ERA in 33 starts.

03-08-2006, 02:26 AM	Topic Starter
tk13 ... Join Date: Nov 2001 Casino cash: $-1837500	KC Star: Greinke seeing sports psychologist http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansas...s/14043050.htm Royals: Greinke wasn’t driven out Pitcher is seeing sports psychologist in Florida By BOB DUTTON The Kansas City Star SURPRISE, Ariz. — Royals pitcher Zack Greinke is undergoing counseling from a sports psychologist near his home in Orlando, Fla., as part of a treatment program for longstanding emotional issues, The Star has learned from multiple sources. Club officials declined to confirm that Greinke is undergoing such treatment, and efforts to contact Greinke and his family were unsuccessful. Club officials did say Greinke, 22, appears to be making progress in dealing with what they still term “personal matters,” but they remain leery of predicting any timetable for his return. “I’ve talked to him quite a bit,” manager Buddy Bell said. “He seems to be doing better, but I don’t have any expectations on when he’s coming back. He’s dealing with it as best he can. I hear a little energy in his voice.” Club officials bitterly denounced reports suggesting a confrontation with Bell triggered Greinke’s Feb. 25 departure from camp. “I’m getting feedback about that — if that’s what you want to call it,” general manager Allard Baird said, “and it’s extremely unfair to Buddy Bell. “It disturbs me because the relationship between those two people has actually allowed Zack to move forward to address these personal matters. People who are out there saying Buddy drove him out of camp are one of two things: They’re very misinformed, or two, they’re liars.” Bell was similarly vehement. “That’s obviously not the case,” he said. “I don’t even like commenting on it, but it’s totally irresponsible. That’s just people running out of things to write about or talk about. “You don’t just make up stuff. That (messes) up someone’s life when it’s not true. I know people have a job to do, but if you can’t get the information, you just make it up?” Sources told The Star that Greinke is dealing with emotional issues that prevented him from adapting to the big-league lifestyle, but club officials remain confident he will return to the Royals. “Zack is important to this team,” owner David Glass said, “and we believe he’s going to get his personal situations squared away and be a contributor this year. We just have to take a real positive approach because this kid is going to be back.” Baird and Bell previously indicated that Greinke needs to be in camp by mid-March to remain a candidate for the opening-day roster. That seems unlikely because sources now suggest a best-case scenario is for Greinke to return in two to three weeks. “I think he’s making progress and moving forward,” Baird said. “The time frame, I just don’t know. And I don’t want to guess. We’ll see.” If Greinke returns this month, he would probably remain in Arizona for extended spring training when the club breaks camp. He could also probably spend a brief period in the minors before returning to the big-league club. Greinke was the sixth overall pick in the 2002 draft. He was picked as baseball’s minor-league player of the year by The Sporting News in 2003 and the club’s pitcher of the year as a rookie in 2004. But Greinke struggled last season, when he went 5-17 with a 5.80 ERA in 33 starts.
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