What’s My Motivation?

Zack Greinke talked with mlb.com’s Dick Kaegel recently about motivation and his disappointing follow up to a stellar 2009 Cy Young campaign.

We heard back in August about how Greinke just wasn’t sure about the direction of the franchise.  The Royals fanbase online went crazy with fear that Greinke wanted to walk at the end of his contract in 2012, no matter what.  Kaegel’s discussion seems to indicate that Greinke has at least softened his stance.

Still, the point in the article is that Greinke’s having trouble getting motivated in 2010 – maybe he’s relaxed after a successful year, maybe he’s overconfident and not plotting out a gameplan the same way.  Zack even mentioned that he may up the dosage on his medication to deal with his anxiety disorder.  There are all kinds of reasons that could go into it.

Or maybe, Zack’s just frustrated.

Who can really blame him? I’ve been a Royals fan as long as I’ve been a baseball fan. And with the exception of 1989, 1994 and 2003, the Royals have pretty much never been in the mix at all. As a fan, that’s as frustrating as anything you witness. When your team is consistently out of it, it’s tough to stick around (unless you’re crazy like me)

And I can’t imagine how frustrating it is to be a player in the organization that has those continual struggles. That Zack signed his first extension at all is pretty amazing, because he couldn’t have been too assured that the team was taking a leap.

But when day in and day out, you have a solid chance to lose, it’s probably tough to go out and play your best. What does it matter? If you make 35 starts, that’s all you can control, and when you get no run support in half of those (like Greinke ran into almost every game in the first half), it has to wear you down.

For now, Greinke is allowing for the fact that the minor league prospects could be up soon and that the franchise is committed to winning with them. Also, by the tone of his words, he seems more optimistic than back on August 5. If that’s the case, 2011 could be a nice rebound year for Greinke and the Royals. With the continued development of Billy Butler, Kila Ka’aihue, the arrival of Mike Moustakas and hopefully, the realization of Alex Gordon‘s development (finally), he might look around and see a team that has a chance down the line.

That could be all the motivation Greinke needs.

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