Pena's Record Ranks at the Bottom

Pena's four year tenure as Royals manager is earning him the distinction of being the least successful skipper.

He brought a 42% winning percentage into this season, and after yet another bad start his record his poised to fall under 40% by the All-Star break.

Even the usually unreilable, and tax-happy Kevin Keitzman has begun calling for Pena's head on his daily radio show.

Summary of Recent Draft Failure (Baird)

Rany Jazayerli, M.D., an author of Baseball Prospectus, put together this great piece in February 2002 on the Royals inability to develop draft picks.

Jazayerli points to such blunders as Baird's firing of scouting director, Terry Wetzel, just weeks after the 2000 draft and replacing him with Deric Ladnier. He goes through just about every Royals prospect from the late 90's that promptly disappeared after being drafted. The 1998 and 1999 drafts were especially painful, considering the Royals had a combined ten draft picks in the first two rounds. All ten picks were used on pitchers:

Jeff Austin -- Matt Burch -- Chris George -- Robbie Morrison -- Brian Sanches -- Wes Obermueller -- Jimmy Gobble -- Mike MacDougal -- Jay Gehrke -- Kyle Snyder.

Tonis No Longer a Prospect at Catcher

When you opened the KC Star during the 2000 and 2001 season, Mike Tonis was always at the top of a list dubbed "Royals Prospects to Watch." Players like Tonis and Gobble were penciled into the 2005 starting lineup as surefire, everyday contributors.

Gobble is struggling to get back to KC after a promising start in '03. Tonis has never gotten out of the minors, and now the 26-year-old is trying to make a near impossible conversion from catcher to pitcher.

Tonis was the Royals' second-round pick in 2000, and has played in only two games with the Royals since.