<table> </table> LAS VEGAS | The main point of this column is to say that I think the Royals should go for it, they should push their budget and take a chance and sign shortstop Rafael Furcal if they can. The time is right. But before we get there, it might be good to talk a little bit about Royals manager Trey Hillman.</p><p>You already know that Hillman had a rough first year. He made quite a few mistakes. He readily admits that, which is a good sign. He made some tactical errors &#8212; like having lefty reliever Jimmy Gobble face too many right-handed hitters in big moments. (Gobble is good at getting out the lefties, not so much against righties.) He made some rookie errors &#8212; like not being as frank and open with his veteran players as he might have been. Mostly, though, he just wasn&#8217;t himself.</p><p>&#8220;I need to enjoy myself more,&#8221; he says. &#8220;Because I know that permeates in the clubhouse and on the team. But I don&#8217;t want to lose the edge. I don&#8217;t want to lose the edge that people so often tell me that I have of the intensity and want to win, because I think we need that. I&#8217;ve just got to do a better job of balancing that.&#8221;</p><p>That right there is the challenge of being a big-league manager &#8212; balancing your personality so that over a very long season, you have both the players&#8217; respect and their trust. The key is having confidence in yourself. On Wednesday, for instance, I talked for a while with Twins manager Ron Gardenhire, who I think is the best manager in the business.</p><p>&#8220;I just chuck and duck,&#8221; he says, describing his managing style, but it&#8217;s more than that. He told this great story about his gifted young center fielder Carlos Gomez. He just turned 23, and he&#8217;s wildly talented, and he&#8217;s also a bit wild.</p><p>So it seems that one game Gomez chased down a fly ball, and he wheeled and threw. Kid has a good arm. Unfortunately, the ball did not go anywhere near one of his actual teammates. Instead, it bounced a couple of times and went right to Ron Gardenhire, who caught it while in the dugout.</p><p>So the inning ended, and Gomez ran in, and Gardenhire stopped him. And this is what he said: &#8220;Hey, Go-Go, I need a favor. Can you sign this ball for me? I&#8217;ve never had anyone throw a ball to me in the dugout before.&#8221; Gomez did sign it, and the ball is on Gardenhire&#8217;s mantel at home, and, seriously, isn&#8217;t that just the right way to handle that? Don&#8217;t you think you would <em>love</em> to play for a manager like that? Gardenhire manages to get his point across without being overbearing, he manages to maintain a friendly relationship without anyone doubting who is in charge. It&#8217;s why they are called &#8220;Managers,&#8221; and it&#8217;s hard to do well.</p><p>Hillman has some of the good Gardy qualities. He&#8217;s likeable but tough, competitive but willing to learn, and a guy who loves baseball, but honestly, he just did not show a lot of that last year. Maybe it was because the team struggled the first four months, maybe it was because he just did not feel at ease as a big-league manager, maybe it was because he had to deal with a whole lot of Jos&#233; Guillen. He rarely let down his guard.</p><p>All of which brings us back to Wednesday and the winter meetings and Rafael Furcal. One of the rumors buzzing around Vegas is that the Royals might try to sign Furcal. It seems like a long shot &#8212; the Royals&#8217; payroll is already pushing $70 million, and Royals general manager Dayton Moore admits that he doesn&#8217;t have much wiggle room. He is not ruling out anything &#8212; there are a few money maneuvers he can still make &#8212; but it&#8217;s clear that the odds are against the Royals making a big-money signing.