George Brett Tells Royals P Zack Greinke To 'Grow Up'

On Monday, Royals pitcher Zack Greinke talked with MLB.com about his 2010 season, staying healthy and whether he was burned out. Greinke admitted to feeling the grind of the long, 162-game season.

"I kind of came with the approach to win games and a couple of months in, you kind of figure it really wasn't going to happen and a lot of stuff just kind of wears you out a little bit," he said. "Your mind, with how much focus you have to put in to doing something, and I was just a little burned out a little bit."

Greinke says when mid-season came -- remember the Royals took a tumble right before the All-Star break -- and he realized the Royals weren't making the playoffs, there was a let down for him. Via OTC:

"But about the midpoint of the year, it's kind of tough, realizing we weren't going to make it to the playoffs this year. That was really the only goal coming into the season and it was kind of a letdown when that happened. You just had to find a way to re-motivate yourself when that stuff happens."

Royals Hall of Famer George Brett's response: "Time to grow up."

"You can’t have that attitude. You gotta go out there every day regardless if it’s August, September, to go out there and give your best effort and to be motivated. … He’s got to grow up a little bit. He’s got to go out there and take the mound and compete like he’s having a great year and the Royals are having a great year every day he goes out there."

Of course Brett played most of his career in the '80s when the Royals were among the elite in MLB. He never faced a streak of bad baseball quite like Greinke has.

This is all speculation but I think Greinke, as off-the-wall as he can be, is starting to realize that he's a hot commodity in baseball. Some star players think they can say what they want and demand different things. I'm not saying that's happening with Greinke -- I think he's naive more than anything -- but we previously haven't heard him openly talk about wanting to leave Kansas City or saying he was burned out at times.

(H/T OTC)