Posts tagged DaytonMoore at FanHouse

To fans and the media, what a team does in the MLB Draft pales next to a big free-agent signing or blockbuster trade.

Part of that is the gaudy figures thrown around during the hot stove season. The Red Sox, this year's top spender in the draft, couldn't even buy one year of Gil Meche if they shifted their draft outlay to the open market. Most of it stems from immediacy, though. A big winter signing answers the question who will help me today? A big haul in the draft answers who will help me tomorrow, but in most cases tomorrow is years away, if it ever comes at all.

Still, as the cost of free agents escalates, the draft continues to become the most important way to ensure long-term success. With that in mind, and with the deadline to sign picks in the books, here's a look at three teams who won and three teams who lost in the 2008 draft

Kansas City Royals starter Gil Meche hasn't exactly been living up to that $11 million price tag of his this season. Meche is 3-8 with an ERA of 5.54, a WHIP of 1.47, and nearly halfway to matching last season's walk total of 62 already.

So when a pitcher costs a lot, is struggling, and plays for a small budget team who is in last place, the rumors start to swirl that he may soon be on the move. This is the case for Meche as teams like the Cubs are interested in his services, but Gil and Dayton Moore want you to know that it's not going to happen.

Right-hander Gil Meche just laughs at those rumors circulating regarding a possible trade sending him to the Chicago Cubs.

"How's that going to happen?" he asked.

Meche has a no-trade clause in his contract and said he hasn't been asked to waive it. Furthermore, he has no interest in doing so.

General manager Dayton Moore declined to comment on the rumor, but club officials privately dismissed it. One said, "If we're going to make a run at this thing in 2010, how are we going to do it without Gil Meche?"

Meche had a chance to be a member of the Cubs before joining the Royals, as they were one of the teams bidding for his services before last season, but he chose Kansas City. It doesn't look like a year and a half of losing has done anything to help change his mind.

Still, if you ever thought you'd hear a general manager question how a team could win without Gil Meche, well, you must be his mother or something.

Over the last few seasons since Dayton Moore took over the general manager's job in Kansas City, I've been a pretty big fan of what the Royals are doing as an organization. Yes, they overpaid for some free agents like Gil Meche and Jose Guillen, but in order to convince free agents to come to Kansas City, you have to pay them more than they're worth. That's what happens when you routinely finish in last place in your division.

Of course, finishing in last does have some benefits as well, as it gives a team a lot of high draft picks, and the Royals have used them to find players like Alex Gordon. The Royals aren't tearing things up by any means this season, as they're currently 21-23, but they're only 2.5 games behind the White Sox for the division lead.

All of which has gotten Royals legend George Brett to start talking about a division title.

"Why couldn't they contend?" Brett said. "In our division, I think they can. No one is head-and-shoulders above anyone else."

"If you live in Kansas City right now," he said, "and you're not excited, then you're not a baseball fan."

Yeah! Get excited Royals fans!

As odd as it may sound to hear Brett or anybody involved with the Royals talking about a division title this season, what George said is right. The AL Central is wide open this year as nobody has really stepped up and taken control of the division. The White Sox may be on top right now, but it's not like they don't have problems that could cost them in the long run, and the same can be said for Cleveland, Minnesota, and Detroit.

I don't think it's going to happen this season, unless the Royals offense starts hitting anyway, but at this point they're just as likely as anybody else to pull it off. They're basically only a five-game win streak away from climbing to the top.

The growing trend in baseball is for teams to sign their young players to contract extensions in hopes of locking them up before they become too expensive. While it's a smart financial move for all teams, it's generally a real good move for teams with lower payrolls. The Indians started it with Grady Sizemore a few years ago, then the Rockies followed suit with Troy Tulowitzki. This season it's been Evan Longoria and Hanley Ramirez reaping the rewards of baseball's new trend.

One smaller market team that is yet to adapt to this new philosophy is the Kansas City Royals, but that doesn't mean they don't have some young, talented players who wouldn't mind an extension.

"It's just kind of a feel thing," general manager Dayton Moore said. "Obviously, there has to be a willingness on both sides. We talk about a lot of things, but we're still very early in the process."

The Royals are loaded with young players who project as key players for years to come. Of those, the closest to free-agency are pitcher Zack Greinke and catcher John Buck. Both are on track to enter the market after the 2010 season.

Neither has been contacted by club officials about possible extensions.

The Kansas City Royals have gotten off to a decent start this season, going 9-10 in their first 19 games, but any success they've had on the young season should be solely credited to their pitching staff. It's guys like Brian Bannister and Zack Greinke who have been solid as starters, and Joakim Soria, Jimmy Gobble, and Leo Nunez who've yet to give up a run working out of the pen (a combined 18.1 innings between them) that's responsible for any wins the team has gotten.

It damn sure hasn't been the offense, which has managed to score a Major League worst 63 runs (they're actually tied with the Giants) this season, and hasn't managed to score more than 6 runs in a single game. So obviously, the Royals could use some help on offense, and there are a few options out there. So why not go after Frank Thomas?

Sure, Frank has some pretty enticing offers from other teams at the moment, but the Royals could be a nice fit for him as well. Since he's still going to be getting paid by the Blue Jays this season, he'd probably be willing to accept a deal in line with the $500,000 the Athletics paid him in 2006. Which would work well within the Royals limited budget. I'm not sure the same could be said if the Royals tried to go after Barry Bonds, not to mention the headache that accompanies Barry where ever he goes.

The only drawback I could see to the Royals signing Thomas would be the fact that Billy Butler would have to move to first base, but even though Billy Boy isn't exactly a defensive standout, he couldn't do that much damage at first. This would also allow Ross Gload to return to more of the utility role he's better suited for.

If I were Dayton Moore, I'd probably be giving the Big Hurt a call in the next few days.

To be honest with you, I'm not all that surprised that the Royals are off to a 6-3 start on the season. They have a lot of young talent on the roster, and a pitching staff that's pretty underrated. If this team finishes at or just below .500, I wouldn't be surprised.

What has surprised me, though, about Kansas City's start is the teams they're beating. So far the Royals have played six games against the Yankees and Tigers, the two highest payrolls in baseball, and they've compiled a 5-1 record against them. It's something owner David Glass has noticed as well, and he's pleased with what he's seeing.

"It really comes down to the fundamentals," Glass told me. "The Twins have proven over the years that (it's not about payroll). If you execute and play the fundamentals and don't beat yourselves, you can compete and you can win.

"What I have liked so far is that we're not beating ourselves. Last year and the year before, you could sense that there were games we lost just because we beat ourselves. I think we'll do a lot less of that this season."

What Glass says is true, but there's one important thing he left out. The biggest difference between the Royals now and the Royals of a few years ago is Dayton Moore. Moore came into the organization from Atlanta, and unlike previous general manager Allan Baird, Moore actually has an idea of what he's doing.

When the Royals hired Moore back in May of 2006, I knew it was only a matter of time before the team started to matter again, though I didn't expect it this soon. In all reality, it's only been nine games, so I can't say for sure the Royals are going to keep winning all season. Still, with Moore in charge and no longer wasting what little money the Royals have on underachieving veterans instead of young talent and pitching, this team isn't going to be a doormat much longer.

Jose Guillen was originally supposed to have been suspended the first 15 games of the season, but Major League Baseball postponed the punishment for the first 10 days of the season while negotiating potentially harsher drug penalties with the players' association that may or may not include a retroactive pardon (or less likely, a longer punishment) for Guillen's sins. His 10 days are up and the two sides are still talking, so MLB decided to put things off another week. From MLB.com:

General manager Dayton Moore was told the extension was through April 15 while negotiations continued on a joint drug agreement.

"I'm not real concerned about it, I don't have any control over it and the fact that they're lengthening it obviously is a positive sign," Moore said. "I don't think they'd lengthen it if they didn't feel like ultimately there was going to be some resolve."

Ordinarily you'd say that it won't make a huge difference what happens -- I mean, we're talking about the Royals -- but in the "up is down" world that is the AL Central, the Royals are actually tied for first place. Jay Gibbons is in the same boat as Guillen, although the timeline for figuring out his punishment is less important considering, you know, he doesn't actually have a job.

Watching a trade between the Rockies and Royals is fascinating because there's so much at play -- personnel wise -- on those rosters. Dayton Moore has a valuation process that differs from a lot of major league teams, only because he wants to win now, but likely knows it's going to be a few years. Colorado, meanwhile, has totally respectable albeit stringent team philosophies regarding moral fiber ... or something like that.

Either way, Ramon Ramirez was able to get on the team in the first place so he's probably a good guy. But he's a gonna have to be a good guy elsewhere, as the Rockies have dealt him to Kansas City for the ever popular Player to Be Named Later.

'I am happy for this opportunity,' Ramirez said. 'I need to go there and pitch well.''

Ramirez, acquired in the Shawn Chacon trade in 2005, burst onto the scene in 2006, working as one of the Rockies' most effective relievers during the first half of the season. He struggled with his command in the second half and never got on track last year, in part because of an elbow problem.

The Denver Post is positing that the Rockies like this deal because they clear up roster room for Micah Bowie, who has impressed thus far in the spring, allowing just one hit, one walk and no runs in 6 1/3 innings. That's great and all, but is a 33 year old reliever who has looked good in very limited sample sizes really the way to go over a potential strikeout artist that had an electric 2006 MLB debut before succumbing to injuries last year? I would probably argue no. But then again, Bowie's the left-handed specialist (although what does that make Brian Fuentes with Manny Corpas closing -- just a setup guy?), and maybe the Rockies know something the Royals don't. Although I am hesitant to think that Dayton Moore, and maybe I'm just drunk on the Kool-Aid here, is getting wool yanked over his eyes, even if it's only for a PTBNL.

Maybe if this whole pitching thing doesn't work out for Royals starter Brian Bannister, he can move upstairs within the organization and help Dayton Moore put together a winning team in Kansas City again.

Bannister recently did an interview with MLBTradeRumors.com, and showed a level of intelligence about the game of baseball we don't generally hear from the players. In fact, he sounded more like a general manager than anything else.

MLBTR: What's the most misunderstood aspect of succeeding in baseball by typical fans, sportswriters, and announcers?

Bannister: There are two things that make baseball unique from other sports. One, baseball is a game of skill that is accentuated by the physical tools of the person performing those skills. Most people superficially judge a position player solely on size, strength, and speed, when his eyesight, balance, rhythm, hand-eye coordination, and mental makeup are much more influential factors in his future success. It is when a player embodies all of these qualities that we get our superstars and hall-of-famers. I would much rather face a hitter with "80" power and "80" speed but bad strike zone discipline than one with no power and a .400+ OBP. Over the course of time, the hitter with the .400+ OBP is going to hurt me much, much more, especially if he is surrounded by other good hitters.

The interview goes on from there, and Bannister answers every question with the same well-informed type of response. It's an interesting read, and one I suggest you take time out to make.

Also, if you're reading this, Brian, ever consider starting a blog? I'd certainly rather read what you have to say about baseball than Curt Schilling.

The wait is over, the news that has kept baseball fans waiting on the edge of their seats in anticipation has finally arrived, ladies and gentlemen ... the Royals sign Miguel Olivo? Okay, maybe it's not quite a blockbuster, though you wouldn't know it from the way Royals GM Dayton Moore hyped up the news. From MLB.com:

"Miguel is a talented catcher with a power bat and a very strong throwing arm," Royals General Manager Dayton Moore said. "With him and John Buck, they form one of the most powerful catching duos in baseball."

Hear that, Royals fans? One of the most powerful catching duos in baseball! Buy your Royals tickets today! I suppose the fact they combined for 34 home runs last year might make them "powerful," but but talk about cherry-picking stats: these two guys combined to slug just .415 last year, not to mention hit .230 with a sub-.300 on-base percentage and 215 strikeouts in 799 at-bats. Signing Olivo is better than doing nothing, I suppose, but the Royals still have the worst catching situation in their division.