There are very few jobs that invite as much criticism as that of professional sports coaches and managers. Every transaction, every decision, regardless of how trivial or inconsequential, ends up being run through the ringer of public opinion, either to be lauded for its wisdom, or as more likely will be the case, to be questioned or denounced. I can imagine that most of us, if subjected to the same level of scrutiny in our own chosen careers, might find it more than a little difficult to perform at an optimal level. Fortunately, every time we underwhelm with a business decision, we don't have a multitude of blogs and talking heads pointing out what went wrong, or individuals calling for our dismissal on facebook or twitter. Not so with sports professionals.

So, in a way, it's hard not to feel at least a smidgen of sympathy for Dayton Moore. On the other hand, he's getting paid a lot. And despite all of his efforts, he's still never been able to assemble a team capable of being even mildly competitive. (The jury is still out for 2012, obviously, but early signs don't look promising.)

The other thing is - and this is point of this article - Moore seems to make the same type of mistakes over and over again. Some of these gaffes have been explored at length on this blog and elsewhere - Moore's predilection toward acquiring ex-Braves and ex-Mariners, his love affair with Yuni Betancourt - but there are other tendencies that have been, to my knowledge, unexplored. And in many ways, they're much more damning. Here's a taste before the jump:

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Hey guys, I didn't see anyone mentioning Giovetella on the site yet, sorry if someone else has posted it. Pardon the cut/paste job from the Star. Formatting might be messed up, so here's a direct link if it's too unreadable. - Marbotty

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Johnny Giavotella to try his luck at pitching

BY BOB DUTTON

The Kansas City Star

SURPRISE, ARIZ. -- A week ago, Johnny Giavotella found himself traveling on a bus back to Omaha, after a brief stint with the Royals spring training squad. Now he finds himself somewhere completely new: on the mound.

Giavotella, who has played second base his entire major league career, moves back to a position where he once had some success ... in high school.

Poll

This move proves that Dayton is:

24%

An idiot

60 votes

19%

A moron

46 votes

56%

A fools

135 votes

241 votes | Poll has closed

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With the parent club's quick start capturing our collective attention, it's been easy to forget what held our excitement prior to the season:  the promise of our farm system.    That changes today, possibly, with the kick off of the minor league season.  

Match-ups after the jump.

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It must feel pretty good to be Dayton Moore right now.   After an off-season (or several offseasons, rather) of criticism and second-guessing, things finally fell into place for the beleaguered general manager.   Sure, having constructed the best farm system in MLB must have provided some comfort to him, but it must have been a hollow feeling if the product on the field could not produce.

That all changed on Sunday.

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Jimmy Cagney: life-long Greinke fan
via upload.wikimedia.org

What better way to summarize the current state of the 2010 Royals than to let some famous guy do it?   I'm sure that James Cagney wasn't specifically thinking about Zack Greinke when he uttered his famous line from Yankee Doodle Dandy, but he might as well have been.  Check out the following movie lines, all pulled from the American Film Institutes' top 100 movie quotes, and judge for yourself.   Were these films eerily prescient, or is it all just a stupid coincidence?  I don't know; I can't educate.

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Minor League Baseball commenced its 2010 season, with the Royals teams seeing some heroics from the usual suspects (not pictured).  Game recaps after the jump.

Poll

Was this poll even necessary?

95%

Yes

191 votes

4%

No

8 votes

199 votes | Poll has closed

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KANSAS CITY, MO (AP) March 31, 2010 - The Kansas City Royals announced today Nick Swartz will be coming out of retirement to rejoin the team as the club's Head Athletic Trainer. The move came just hours after the front office announced the dismissal of trainer Nick Kenney, who took over the job in October 2009. 

"We have hired one of the most highly respected trainers in the game," Royals General Manager Dayton Moore said. "Nick brings a high level of energy, enthusiasm and expertise to the Royals organization. I'm extremely confident that he will lead and direct our medical programs in a very progressive and dynamic manner."

The move marks Swartz' second stint with the organization, having previously served in the same role for 21 years in Kansas City, before announcing his retirement in September of 2009.  A graduate of Eastern Illinois University, Swartz has also been honored by the American Sports Medicine Institute with the 2006 Career Service Award and a 20-year Major League Athletic Trainer Service Award from the Professional Baseball Athletic Trainer Society in 2008. 

"It feels great to be back, and I'm looking forward to the challenge in front of me," said Swartz. "We've got a few players dinged up, but hopefully nothing too serious."

Injuries to several key players, including former number one draft pick Alex Gordon, were cited as the reason for the change in the training staff.

 Before people start calling for my head, let’s get this out of the way:  Royals GM Dayton Moore’s decision to sign Kyle Farnsworth prior to the 2009 season to a 2 year, $9 million contract was, in a word, stupid.  (Or Moore-onic, your choice.)     When you’re operating on a very limited free agent budget, and you have glaring holes at several positions, the last thing you should do is spend 40% of your available funds on a relief pitcher coming off of one of the worst seasons of his career.  (The second to last thing you should do is sign Willie Bloomquist.  Ever.) 

So, just so we’re straight – this post is not intended to justify or excuse Dayton’s disastrous personnel moves in the winter/spring 2009.   What it is intended to do, however, is look at Farnsworth, from a performance perspective, in an objective light.  

Contract terms aside, was the decision to bring in Farnsworth a good one?  

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Check out these two lines:


Billy Butler, Age 23 season:  140 games, 45 2B, 17 HRs, 45 BB, 90 Ks, .303/.355/.487
Player X, Age 22ish* season:  140 games, 40 2B, 23, HRs, 41 BB, 90 Ks, .300/.350/.496


Here are their career minor league OPS's:

Billy Butler:   .336/.416/.561   (.977)
Player X:  .327/.388/.600  (.988)

Butler's had a slight edge during his early career in OBP, Player X a slight edge in the power department.  The mysterious identity of Player X is revealed following the jump....

*turned 22 in July

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ATLANTA – A report released Thursday by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia brought a collective sigh of relief to medical workers around the nation.

"The crisis has passed," said Dr. Thomas Frieden, CDC Director.  "Royals Fever is no longer considered contagious."

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