Quote:
Originally Posted by sedated
(Post 12381457)
I still disagree. He traded those bullpen pieces because that was ALL he had, and had shown a knack for replacing them quickly. Yeah, I'm sure he learned from not being able to replace them as easily as he thought he could, but I still don't think GMDM had any hope or intention of trying to compete on the major league level. He knew there was too much work to do in the minors first.
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I think we might be whitewashing Moore's history a bit here. There was a lot of optimism after our strong finish in 2008. Believe it or not, many were stoked that not only did we avoid a 100 loss year, but a 90 loss year as well.
On paper, Zack Greinke was finally looking like an ace, Meche looked like a an anchor in a solid rotation, Kyle Davies (yes, that Davies) had a strong finish in 08 that made many believe he was turning the corner. There was hope that Brian Bannister was due for a bounceback year, and that Hoch would start flashing #1 stuff in his sophomore year.
Moore was hopeful that adding a leadoff hitter and a cleanup guy would bolster Billy Butler's production and give Alex Gordon the lineup protection he needed to finally breakout as a hitter. However, to bolster this lineup caused the Royals to depart with the strongest part of their 2008 team.
There was a definite excitement coming from the Royals FO after 2008. It was commonly said that if KC had gone 6-6 during an 0-12 stretch in May, the Royals would have finished with a .500 record.
Unfortunately, 2009 made it clear that Moore had a bad read on the talent of his team. He relied on no talent all grit guys like Yuni and Gload, pinned the offense in hitters and defenders not suited for the park like Guillen and Jacobs, and put his trust into "all faith" guys like Barnyard Trey, who proceeded to ruin Meche's career by leaving him out for 120 pitches a start. Moore originally defended this, questioning the science behind pitch counts and arguing it was more of a "feel thing." At the time, Moore didn't even seem to put a lot of stock into defense. Openly admitting that he "didn't understand" defensive analytics and put out a team that featured Billy/Jacobs at first, Guillen in left, Yuni at third, and Buck/Olivo at the plate. Even Alex Gordon was positioned at 3rd at the time, where he was never more than a mediocre defender.
Moore undeniably thought the Royals were in a position to compete in 2009. The leaps the team has made since illustrates his evolution as a GM, and there's no one I'd rather have at the lead of our organization.
In GMDM I trust.
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