The Major League Baseball trade deadline is approaching. The NFL is about to get it’s collective act together open up free agency before training camps open. These two things happening at the same time are going to make the coming week one of the most exciting for sports fans all over the country. Twitter will be busy. So will websites similar to www.flightaware.com. Where, if you know the tail number of your favorite player or general manager’s aircraft you can see where they are flying. I’ve never done this by the way.

It’s ironic that what makes me look forward to this next week doesn’t involve any action on the field in either sport. These battles will be won and lost on the phone, through texts, and in face to face negotiations. And really, we won’t know the winners and losers of many of these battles for several years. It’s a high stakes, high pressure game. And that’s why I’m kind of glad I’m an Arm Chair GM.

All of us are Arm Chair GM’s. If you’ve ever made an opinion about who should be called up, sent down, franchised or traded you know what I’m talking about. Most of us do this every day. Some of us take to Twitter to tell the world what an awesome General Manager we would be, me included. However, I was faced with a certain irony last night while listening to the Royals game.

Many of us, including some very smart baseball people, have been screaming for Johnny Giavotella to be called up to replace Chris Getz at Second Base. Giavotella has been destroying PCL pitching, going .394/.485/.879. Meanwhile, Chris Getz has gone .256/.312/.598. If I take these numbers out of context and slap them beside each other it’s easy to see why this argument is made. But this article is not why Giavotella should be brought up. I just use the situation as an example. Besides Kyle Davies still being in the rotation this seems to be the biggest point of discussion among Royals fans.

This example is no new or unique. It’s happened before. Remember Kila Ka’aihue? Kila destroyed PCL pitching. The cries for him to be on the major league roster went on for a couple years. Yet, Dayton Moore kept in him down in Omaha. He got a cup of coffee in 2008 and did good enough for the rest of us to scream for more. Yet, in 2009 the Royals were Kilaless the entire season while we suffered through the Mike Jacobs experiment. Yet, in late 2010, and early part of this season Kila mostly struggled. Turns out the Royals front office did know what they were talking about.

Not to say front offices don’t deserve criticism. After all, a really good reliever was surrendered for Mike Jacobs. Kyle Davies is still pitching. You don’t have to be a sabrematircian, scout, or “baseball guy” to know these two players are terrible. There is this continual debate among fans of baseball between the “eye test”, and the statistics test. Like most things. The answer is somewhere in the middle. Most of us only see the numbers put up by minor leaguers. On top of that, even if we see video, we’re not watching in real life. And even if we are, most of us are not baseball scouts.

So, remember the next time we’re playing Arm Chair GM, that the front office of our favorite team might have access to better, and more information than we have. But that shouldn’t ever stop us from being an Arm Chair GM.

The Kansas City Royals, more than likely, still have a few minor moves to make before extending all of their offers to spring training. However, the minimal splash from the weak cannonball that the Royals landed in the free agent pool the offseason has subsided. It’s now to take a look at who came out of the kiddie pool as winners and/or losers.

Winners:

1) Mediocrity

The Royals entered the 2010 season with an overcrowded outfield. After the trades of Scott Podsednik, Jose Guillen, Rick Ankiel, and the beloved David DeJesus, the immediate need for the 2011 was to re-tool the outfield. The Royals were never believed to make a run at the two biggest names out there in Jayson Werth and Carl Crawford, but fans were still optimistic about the possibility of landing at least one impact player. Their optimism was rewarded with the likes of Melky Cabrera and Jeff Francoeur, who combined to put up a line of .252 BA/.308 OBP/.369 SLG last season; not exactly world-beaters. The good thing is that the Royals have only committed $3.75M to these two players, so they turn about to be low-risk/high-reward moves.

2) Zack Greinke

In the end, Greinke got exactly what he wanted: out of Kansas City. While most players will give the cliché line when looking to get dealt of “The best scenario would be to stay here and win a championship in (fill in respective city here), but if that’s not possible, then I want to go to a place that can compete,” did you ever get the feeling that Greinke loved being in Kansas City? Here’s an even

Zack Greinke is now a Brewer.

better question, can you blame him? The Royals have done nothing to make this team competitive during Greinke’s tenure, which will wear on anyone, as it did on him. Fans could tell that he was not mentally devoted to this team last year, and it showed in his performance.

3) Dayton Moore

As much as fans are upset about the trade of Greinke, they will love the players that are coming in return. Alcides Escobar is a plus defender that will eventually become a decent enough hitter to anchor the lead-off spot for the Royals. Lorenzo Cain was a regular on ESPN’s Top Ten after his call-up last season. His stellar defensive abilities were put on display on a daily basis, but his offensive numbers were impressive as well. While he may not be a consistent power hitter, he will definitely frequent the gaps, which will play right into one of his greatest strengths: his speed. Jake Odorizzi is a former first round pick, and also was the Brewers’ Minor League Pitcher of the year in 2009. Jeremy Jeffress is another former first round pick, whose fastball has been known to touch the triple digit mark. However, a history of substance abuse could come back and haunt Moore. All in all, the Royals received a great deal of talent in return for Greinke, a couple of players that will help the team now, and a couple of players who have the potential to make an impact for years to come. This may turn out to be the best move that Dayton Moore has made with the Royals.

4) Luke Hochevar

Now that Greinke has moved on to greener pastures, Hochevar arguably becomes the best pitcher in this rotation. There are a ton of expectations that come with being the first overall pick in the draft, and it’s safe to say that Hochevar has not lived up to the hype. So, this becomes a “make or break” year for the young pitcher. While the organization will obviously not give up on him if he has another mediocre campaign, he has a golden opportunity laid before him. He has the chance to win over the hearts of all Royals fans, and become the next Greinke. However, with how irritated this fan base is, he may only have this season to win them over. No pressure……

Losers:

1) Zack Greinke

One thing that we’ve learned from the Zack Greinke ordeal is that if a player does not want to be in Kansas City anymore, then the fans don’t want that player here either. This town flipped on Greinke faster than anyone could have imagined. Fans have flooded the message boards and local radio stations to give their two cents about the wayward former Cy Young winner, and the majority of the retort has been extremely negative. Don’t expect to hear too many cheers from the Royals’ faithful the first time Milwaukee comes to town.

2) Fans

While in the long run, the Greinke trade may benefit this organization, the immediate impact has to irk Royals’ fans. This situation has become all too familiar for fans in this area: a young superstar that was developed and fine-tuned in the organization, only to be traded away in the (or before the) prime of their career. Fans of the Royals should be given all the credit in the world. Time after time, they grow to love the players in this organization only to see those same players donning a new jersey sooner rather than later.

3) Dayton Moore

The Royals GM sent his ace packing.

Moore has been walking a fine line with the fans, and the Greinke trade may have just shifted him to the bad side of said line. Moore has put a lot of faith of the prospects within this organization, and also in the young players that he has received via multiple trades. Now, he needs these young guns to step in, and they better play well, or he will be run out of this town. Obviously, the chances of being competitive in 2011 are slim to none, but extreme progress needs to be shown during the 2012 season. If not, his tenure in Kansas City will be known as a complete waste of time and talent.

4) The Royals Farm system

The Royals have the most talented and deepest farm system in Major League Baseball. That’s not opinion. It’s a fact. However, has there ever been this much pressure put on kids who haven’t even played one major game in their careers? Mike Moustakas, Wil Myers, Eric Hosmer and company are expected to turn this franchise around and return glory to Kansas City. That’s a lot to ask, but what else are Royals’ fans to do? That’s what they have been told for the past few years. They have no choice but to put all of their faith in these highly touted prospects, and to be honest, what else do they have to look forward to? Let’s hope that those incredibly high expectations don’t wear on these young players before they even step foot in the batter’s box, which has happened before (*cough, Alex Gordon, cough*).