Now, let me state this right off the bat:  I am not a Trey Hillman fan.  But when you give a guy crap to work with and you get crap out of it, you can’t blame the guy you gave the crap to.  Garbage in, garbage out.  Yes, there has been some underachieving involved as well, and the injuries haven’t helped, but in general Hillman is getting what Moore paid for.

I hope that’s the dreaded “kiss of death” version of the vote of confidence David Glass gave to Dayton Moore.

Hillman is a terrible manager. Sure, he’s got crap to work with. But that doesn’t stop him from making out a line-up a little league coach could get more production out of, it doesn’t keep him from handling a pitching staff, it doesn’t mean he has to bat Bloomquist 2nd and Gordon 8th, and it doesn’t explain the terrible decsisons he has made.

Moore might be a bigger problem, but Hillman is part of it. He needs to go.

I’m generally inclined to agree with Bob, excelt that the board of directors (or whatever) for the Yankees is also rife with nepotism:

George M. Steinbrenner III   Principal Owner / Chairperson
Harold Z. Steinbrenner   Managing General Partner / Co-Chairperson
Henry G. Steinbrenner   General Partner / Co-Chairperson
Jennifer Steinbrenner Swindal   General Partner / Vice Chairperson
Jessica Steinbrenner Lopez   General Partner / Vice Chairperson
Joan Steinbrenner (George’s wife)  Vice Chairperson
Felix M. Lopez   Senior Vice President

And before his DUI last year, The Boss’s son in law, Steve Swindal, was in line to take over the team someday.  And they’re doing OK.  Mostly because Brian Cashman

A) knows what he’s doing and

2) is allowed to do his job.  Usually.

Bob—I’ve noticed you commenting here before and have meant to say something, but I greatly appreciate having a former Major Leaguer reading ShysterBall. I’ve said it a couple of times before, but it bears repeating again: the 1970s-80s Royals were, in my mind, the class of baseball in those days, and as a young Tigers fan, I often dreaded seeing you guys show up in Detroit (that’s a compliment).

Agreed on all points with the Royals. Glass views them as a bauble, and the very fact that he has to have a bunch of meetings to figure out why the team sucks is telling indeed.  You don’t need to be Steinbrenner, but any owner who isn’t around the team and engaged in its processes isn’t worth a hill of beans.

You’ll be able to ‘date’ this story by the response….
Prior to my move to Missouri, I lived on the East Coast.
My son, an avid baseball player and fan, attended Wichita State and brought his girlfriend home to visit.  She had no knowledge of baseball and my son was “teaching” her.  I asked what she had learned.
Her response: “Nolan Ryan is the pitching god; Frank Thomas is the hitting god; Never bet on the Royals.”
The Royals issues certainly predate Hillman. There’s a problem in every part of the organization including the coaching, scouting, and medical staff, but it all emanates from the top and nobody can fire the owner.