It's official. Moore in, Baird out
 

:)

Good deal

Royals fire Baird to clear path for hiring Moore as GM
By BOB DUTTON
The Kansas City Star

OAKLAND, Calif. — The Royals fired general manager Allard Baird on this morning in anticipation of announcing the hiring of Atlanta assistant Dayton Moore as his replacement.

The club declined official comment regarding the moves, but Baird confirmed he had been fired.

“I was told this morning,” he said. “Beyond that, I don’t have anything to say.”

Sources say Moore is getting a five-year contract and complete control over baseball operations in a commitment to turn around a franchise that has lost 100 or more games in three of the last four seasons.

Moore, 39, is expected to take control, officially, next week upon completion of baseball’s two-day draft. Sources said assistant general manager Muzzy Jackson will replace Baird on an interim basis.

Moore could not be reached for comment.

Club owner David Glass signaled Baird’s job was in jeopardy April 20 after the Royals fell to 2-12 after a winless nine-game road trip through New York, Tampa Bay and Chicago.

“It has to change quickly,” he said. “We are not willing to wait to see if it gets better. We have to make it get better… If it doesn’t turn around, we’ll have to change things.

“We can’t wait too long. I’m not willing to go through a season like we did last year. None of us are.”

Glass’ patience seemed exhausted by May 4 when he declared: “I’m out of patience. I have never been this frustrated. I’ve got to do something. This can’t continue.”

It was at that point, from all indications, that Glass accelerated his search for a new general manager. He initially hoped to complete the process within a day or two.

It soon became an ordeal that lasted nearly four weeks and effectively paralyzed the organization as Baird’s administrative effectiveness steadily waned amid the mounting speculation of impending change.

Baird, 44, finally called publicly for “closure” earlier this week.

The Royals, ironically, entered Wednesday’s game in search of their first sweep in a road series in nearly three years after victories Monday and Tuesday over the A’s in Oakland.

Even so, their 13-37 record is the worst in baseball and matches the worst in franchise history through 50 games. They were also 13-37 last season, when they finished 56-106.

Moore, 39, will be the sixth general manager in franchise history. He is currently responsible for overseeing all aspects of the Braves’ scouting and player development as an assistant to general manager John Schuerholz.

The Star reported Saturday that Glass offered the job to Moore after more than 10 days of discussions. Sources said Moore wanted written assurance that he would have full and final authority on all baseball-related decisions before accepting the offer.

The Royals were 381-576 in Baird’s tenure, which began June 17, 2000, when he replaced Herk Robinson. He spent 12 previous seasons in the organization in various roles.

The organization’s primary failure under Baird was in its inability to draft and develop high-quality players in recent years. The current 25-man roster has only two players — outfielders David DeJesus and Shane Costa — who were drafted in Baird’s six seasons.

Further, several recent lineups mocked the very idea that the club is engaged in a rebuilding plan. The Royals started five players Tuesday against Oakland who were 30 years or older.

While Baird and his staff succeeded in uncovering some real bargains on the free-agent fringe, they proved far less successful in obtaining top value when forced by financial considerations to trade players such as Johnny Damon, Carlos Beltran and Jermaine Dye.

It was the Beltran trade — on June 24, 2004 — that marked the latest full-scale effort to rebuild their roster. The Royals received catcher John Buck, third baseman Mark Teahen and pitcher Mike Wood in return.

They are also 99-206 since that point.

This year’s disappointing performance comes after Glass authorized a payroll increase that allowed Baird to spend nearly $25 million in the off-season on veteran players to supplement a youthful and often-overmatched roster.

The anticipated mix has been derailed by injuries.

Three of the club’s anticipated starting pitchers — Mark Redman, Denny Bautista and Zack Greinke — have spent time on the disabled list. Greinke and closer Mike MacDougal have been out all season.

Another starter, Runelvys Hernandez, required three-plus weeks of additional conditioning time in the minors before joining the club. He was recently optioned back to Class AAA Omaha because of poor performance.

Injuries also sidelined two of the club’s key regulars: DeJesus and DH Mike Sweeney. DeJesus returned Monday after a 34-game absence, while Sweeney, who has already missed 26 games, isn’t expected back for several more weeks because of a bulging cervical disk in his neck.

To reach Bob Dutton, Royals reporter for The Star, call (816) 234-4352 or send email to bdutton@kcstar.com

This is a very good hire. Sure hope he in fact is given full control. I do find it dissappointing for Royals fans, that he won't take over until after the draft.

this is very good news

You know it would be just like the Royals to fire Baird before they actually have a deal with Moore, only to see him (Moore) go elsewhere.

I fear it is because Glass wants to hold the reins in one more year, and will only allow Baird to draft "Signable" players.

Great news. I don't know much about this Moore fellow, but he wouldn't go to KC unless he was given full authority. There will actually be authority and accountability, which is the first time the Royals have had that in ages.

I hope Baird writes a book on what a blathering idiot Glass and his offspring are.

Thank god we got off to this record-setting terrible start. It took us becoming a laughingstock before Glass realized the whole front office had to be revamped and little Danny taken out of the loop.

It would seem to me the logical thing would have been to fire Baird 4 weeks ago and name Muzzy Jackson the interim GM then, until Glass found the permanent GM he wanted to hire.

Of course logic doesn't apply to David Glass' decisions.

Still based on Moore's credentials this is a good hire. One crappy GM in KC down... one more to go

Exactly. It doesns't read like anything other than Baird's firing is official.

Just to add a bit...

Royals GM Allard Baird was told Wednesday that he's been fired by the Royals. Braves assistant Dayton Moore is in line to replace him.
It's not offical yet, but it looks like the Royals are finally going in the right direction. Sources told the Kansas City Star that Moore is getting a five-year contract and complete control over baseball operations. He'll officially take over the GM role after next week's draft.

It's a done deal.

I've got a lot of respect for the way Baird has handled the situation. He could be spitting venom at the organization, tearing it apart and he would be completely justified in doing so. But no, he's handling it and has handled it with class. Glass could learn a thing or two from Allard.

Finally.

Excellent news, that actually has me excited about the Royals, other than opening day!

Best thing I have read all day.

That being said, the attitude of ownership here has to change. If David & Dan don't realize that a corporate executive and a jewelery salesman don't know how to run a baseball team, Moore will fail here too.

To me, the poor record the last 5 years is mostly on Glass - not because we don't have a $100 million payroll, I understand that - but because he doesn't know he doesn't know baseball.

I'm not talking about blindly throwing money at free agents and catapulting the payroll into orbit. I just mean that I don't want to hear anything about drafting on signability, I don't want to hear anything about ownership nixing free agent deals over a couple of bucks or vetoing sensible trades. If you don't like what Dayton Moore is doing, fire him, or shut up and let him do his job.

I agree that it was time for Baird to go, and this is the best possible scenario for a new GM, but Baird could end up being vindicated here. If ownership's practices don't change, nothing else will either. I don't know how you can judge Baird by the record when he wasn't allowed to make the decisions he wanted to make.

Hopefully ownership realizes their mistakes now. Good luck to Moore, and don't worry about Baird, another team will realize what he was working under here and he won't be out of work too long.