Other » Kyle Zimmer remembers the feeling of failure and frustration

GLENDALE Allen Craig Jersey , Ariz. (AP) — that washed over him while standing on the mound in spring training, his fastball topping out at 82 mph and his arm feeling as if it was flying to home plate right along with the ball.The fifth pick of the Kansas City Royals in the 2012 draft had gone through elbow surgery. Biceps tendinitis. Shoulder surgery. Thoracic outlet surgery. More shoulder soreness and fatigue.Standing on a mound? He might as well have been standing in a hospital. He’d seen plenty of them.The strapping right-hander’s career had crashed so hard that when the Royals finally designated him for assignment, then requested outright waivers, nobody wanted him. So he signed a minor league deal to return to the only club he’d ever known, then began the long and arduous road to recovery one more time, unwilling or unable to give up on his big league dreams.“You’re just trying to ride it out,” Zimmer said, “each setback.”There are always stories to watch at spring training, whether it’s the hot shot prospect or the aging star or the high-priced free agent. But often overlooked are the reclamation projects, guys like Zimmer and Royals teammate Bubba Starling who have been through the wringer.You see, just like it’s hard for them to give up on their dreams, it is often just as hard for an organization to give up on them. In most cases they were once-prized prospects, high draft picks that were expected to be the building blocks of a championship team.But whether it was injuries or ineffectiveness — often both — things never really panned out. But that doesn’t necessarily mean the raw talent that so enamored scouts was merely a mirage.So in the case of Zimmer, the Royals kept an eye on him throughout last summer, watching him toil away at the new-age Driveline Baseball academy in Seattle. He threw weighted balls, went through unique stretching routines, and slowly he rebuilt his bionic arm into something worthwhile.He was impressive enough that the Royals gave him a major league contract with an invite to spring training, where he’s so far allowed three hits and no runs in three appearances.“We did lose faith in his ability to stay healthy,” Royals general manager Dayton Moore admitted. “It’s not personal. We love Kyle. Then he rededicated himself in a way that’s been well-documented. We evaluated him and felt that he deserved an opportunity to be back on the 40-man roster.”That’s also why Moore signed Starling, the fifth overall pick in the 2011 draft, to a minor league deal. Starling was supposed to be the hometown boy made good, a product of nearby Gardner-Edgerton High School who signed with the Royals rather than playing quarterback at Nebraska.Instead of starring in front of friends and family at Kauffman Stadium, though http://www.padresfanproshop.com/authentic-brad-hand-jersey , Starling has been on a rudderless journey through the minor leagues. His defense has always been good enough, but he’s hit just .236 over more than 2,500 plate appearances, numbers that hardly warrant a big-league call-up.“Yeah, the last six years have been tough, especially with injuries, staying healthy,” Starling said. “I put a lot of pressure on myself to do this, that, instead of just having fun.”The weariness is evident in Starling’s still-boyish face. Gone is the peach fuzz of a high school senior, the scruff of an early 20s heartthrob, replaced these days by a full, bushy beard.Yet the oblique injury that scuttled a breakthrough start to the 2017 season, and the dislocated finger that ruined last season are finally behind him. Starling is finally having fun, and it’s been hard to argue the results: He was hitting .471 with a pair of homers in nine spring games.“Last night Bubba, a two-strike at-bat, he made some adjustments — so you know his mind is right — and he lined out to right field, but that’s a really quality at-bat,” said JJ Picollo, who heads up the Royals’ minor league operation. “We’re really optimistic that he’s turning the corner.”Such reclamation projects can be found scattered across Florida and Arizona this time of year.Cory Spangenberg was chosen 10th overall by the Padres in 2011, and started on opening day five years later. But he tore a quadriceps muscle in April, lost a competition for his starting infield job in the spring and eventually was cast aside, left to sign with the Brewers this past December.Now Tony Gwynn Jersey , Spangenberg is trying to earn a job with Milwaukee as a utility man.More often than not, though, such comebacks end in failure. Guys get hurt again, or they run out of patience, or opportunities vanish as clubs focus on young players showing more promise.Yet the reason clubs continue to take fliers on reclamation projects, such as Zimmer and Starling with the Royals, boils down to what their GM called a simple and undeniable fact: “I would rather have them fail with us,” Moore said, “than go somewhere else and succeed.” Is the front office missing the forest for the trees?"WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Royals Trade Rumors & Hot StoveRoyals Minor Leagues & ProspectsRoyals Review ClassicRoyals Review Users GuideThe 100 Greatest Royals Of All TimeRoyals Editorials & ReactionsThe Royals’ philosophy is just wrongNew,56commentsIs the front office missing the forest for the trees?EDTShareTweetShareShareThe Royals’ philosophy is just wrongDenny Medley-USA TODAY SportsAt the risk of being redundant, I felt that I needed to throw my own two-cents into the conversation regarding the Royals and their frustrating start to the season.You’ve likely read other writers at this site saying similar things: the bullpen is crap, the bottom half of the lineup is crap, the bullpen is extra crap, Owings is extra crap, and why, Duda, why?Really, that could be the extent of this piece, but I really wanted to explore the apparent philosophy of the organization (at least for the last two seasons) and see if I could make any sense of it.The front office appears to be afraid of using the words “rebuild” and “tanking”,and I guess I can understand their reasons for that.In the end, it’s about butts in the seats.The front office is scrambling, trying to get more fans to ballgames.Attendance dropped almost a full 7,000 per game in 2018 over 2017.I don’t know how much revenue goes through The K for every fan Dave Winfield Jersey , but using a rough, conservative estimate of $58 per-person ($233.30 for a family of four) you’ll see that the Royals likely saw revenues go down about $406,000 each game, over $32 million dollars, year-over-year.It feels like the front office is more concerned with trying to get a few extra thousand fans through the gates each game this season than doing what is best to position the team for the future.It’s unfortunate to say, but the Royals were destined to be a bad team this season.We’ve been dreading the 2017-2021 window since 2015, when we depleted our farm system in trades for Cueto and Zobrist (to be fair, only one of those players we traded, Sean Manaea, has had any real productivity at the MLB level).I am in no way saying we should not have made those trades.The Royals became World Champions for the first time in 30 years in large part because of the two players acquired near the trade deadline.The reality was, and is, that trading minor league talent for half-season rentals is something that will nearly always snowball (would the Royals have felt the need to spend on Kennedy?to trade Strahm for Cahill/et al?).So, armed as we were with the knowledge this stretch of baseball seasons was going to be difficult for fans, the losing is not, or should not be a surprise.But the front office has done everything in their power to lead fans to believe that the team has a real shot at competing this season (as they did last season).And yes, I didn’t REALLY buy it coming into this season, but in the months leading up to opening day there was that little nag planted in the back of my head by the front office.The division is weak.The roster has enough talent that with a few good breaks they could be in it.Wouldn’t being in the playoffs again be really, really fun?It would be.That’s not to say that I disagree with a lot of the moves made by the front office.Many of them, including loading the pitching staff with one-year reclamation projects in the hopes of trading them at the deadline for prospects, are moves I agree any team in the midst of a rebuild should be making.On the other hand, others, like ponying up $3 million for Owings, $5.2 million for Hamilton Rollie Fingers Jersey , and whatever it is we are paying Duda, do not make sense. None of those three are likely to command anything in return come July.And any return we do get will undoubtedly be lessened by the front office’s unwillingness to eat salaries when trading players.The front office knows this, regardless of what they might say in public.The only reason for these signings is because these players may be marginally better than the younger, less experienced players whose positions they are taking up on the bench (Starling and Arteage, along with a few others).These players may allow the Royals to only lose 98 games instead of 100, and thus, the front office hopes, see a few thousand more fans coming to games throughout the season.The sad fact is, like last year, the Royals front office are missing the forest for the trees.The fastest way to get more people out to the games to watch is to field either a winning team, or a young team with lots of potential.There are still 11 teams with a younger roster, including the Los Angeles Dodgers, and yet the Royals are not winning games. I know I don’t want to watch Lucas Duda or Chris Owings hit.Hamilton has been somewhat fun to watch, but his empty average (hitting .286 with a 69 wRC+) doesn’t do much to inspire hope.It’s time for the Royals to be rid of aging veterans and have younger, untested, unproven players take their place.The team will likely lose a few more games (though what is the real difference between 95 and 100 losses?) but at least we as fans would have a reason to watch.And after posting the lowest attendance numbers since 2010, hopefully the front office will come to realize they need a different philosophy and embrace the rebuild.Because 2014 and 2015 were a hell of a lot of fun, and the quicker we get back to contending, the better for everyone.