Quote:
Originally Posted by duncan_idaho
Yes, but so are a lot of people. No baseball exec comes close to hitting on 100 percent of their moves.
Moore was ridiculed for signing Melky Cabrera on the cheap in the first place (by other executives, scouts, fans, writers, everyone). It worked out, obviously, last year. But I don't remember ANYBODY thinking Cabrera would even repeat what he'd done. His BABIP was seemingly unsustainable, and most scouts thought he would regress (possibly significantly) due to his career high K rate, low walk rate, and good luck in 2011. Folks I talked to all thought it was a great trade for KC.
So instead of sitting on the seemingly small gold claim he'd hit, Moore tried to flip an excess commodity (offense-based outfielder) for a significant need (starting pitching). The trade partner was a team that had tons of starting pitching but needed more offense. It was a good and logical match for both sides. Many Giants fans were pissed, even, in giving up Sanchez and getting only Cabrera back. There was risk involved with Sanchez, but he came back with a clean bill of health.
I'm not saying it wasn't a bad move, in hindsight. Just that it was a logical and understandable move when made. It just happened to work out that there was a talent in Cabrera that pretty much no one saw coming, and Jon Sanchez is in Oliver Perez/Steve Glass-land.
If the Royals had more control over Cabrera (he turned down an extension like the one Francouer was offered, and if he'd been signed to an Alex Gordon-like extension instead of the trade, people would have been outraged), I'd be much more upset.
As it is, it freaking sucks. But giving up one year of Cabrera is not something I'm going to say is fireable. Moore's time is running out. I can't see him surviving past next season unless the Royals are a winning club. But this is a back-breaking straw, IMO.
|
I don't think anyone is disagreeing that the move was logical and understandable. But it was WRONG, period. Baseball trades aren't a success if Keith Law and the guys at Baseball Prospectus give their approval, they are a success if they are backed up by results.
Moore's original signing of Melky was great, but it appears it was more of a blind luck scrapheap signing than any magical evaluation by Moore, as he traded him after one year.
And I agree that giving up one year of Cabrera is not something that is fireable. What is fireable is an inability to build anything approaching a winning baseball team despite seven years on the job.
The only ability he's shown is that he can convince Glass to throw millions of dollars at elite draft prospects in the 1st round.