FringeNC
06-04-2006, 10:39 AM
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=5150
Moore seems to be the flavor of the moment from the scouting-minded community, and while I'm sure there's a chance he might do well, I'm reminded of one former Braves' professional of unquestioned ability who went to a disastrously badly-run franchise with the expectation that he'd set things aright: the lamentable Dean Taylor, and his equally lamentable tenure in Milwaukee. Maybe it's because I'm currently wrapping up reading a history of Poland between the two World Wars, but in the same way that some outfits are so fundamentally rotten that they can't build a functioning state or craft a sensible constitution or cultivate competence in its services, those same issues can be found in a badly-run baseball team. Arguments about how self-interest demands improvement don't really matter: wrong-headed dopes, whether they're Marshal Rydz-Smigly or anybody among the Royals' board of directors (the Glass family and Herk Robinson) are going to help perpetuate something that fundamentally doesn't work, because they barely know any better.
Moore may well be a sensible guy, may well possess a canny eye for talent, and may well resurrect the Royals in five years. He might also get worn down by internecine arguments against an organizational culture of incompetence, and leave discredited and disgusted. Or he might end up crafting a farm system much like the Braves, long on drafted tools types who don't pan out, and if he isn't given top dollar to sign premium prospects at the top end of the draft or overseas, he may never achieve Atlanta's success with a few signature blue-chippers. Don't get me wrong, I'm not weeping for Allard Baird, and I'm happy to see the long-suffering people of Kansas City spared the potential indigntiy of a Randy Smith comeback (which was rumored if Moore had turned them down). But unless Moore's granted absolute authority over whatever family-bred slack-jawed Wal-Mart washouts might stand in his way, things aren't guaranteed to get any better. Change does not automatically connote progress.
And if this story from NY Newsday is true:
Moore already might be learning how bad Glass is. Word is Glass, despite getting $30 million in revenue handouts, is balking at Hochevar's asking price, making Stubbs more likely.
..then BP is probably right. If Glass is still determining how much to pay draft picks, the organization is doomed. I thought the deal would be Glass would give Moore a budget, and Moore could use it on draft picks or waste it on Joe Mays or whatever the hell he wanted to do with it.
It seems Moore has much less than total control if this story is to be believed. If Glass is doing what is suggested above, Moore would be a fool for taking the job. He should resign before he even officially takes over.
Moore seems to be the flavor of the moment from the scouting-minded community, and while I'm sure there's a chance he might do well, I'm reminded of one former Braves' professional of unquestioned ability who went to a disastrously badly-run franchise with the expectation that he'd set things aright: the lamentable Dean Taylor, and his equally lamentable tenure in Milwaukee. Maybe it's because I'm currently wrapping up reading a history of Poland between the two World Wars, but in the same way that some outfits are so fundamentally rotten that they can't build a functioning state or craft a sensible constitution or cultivate competence in its services, those same issues can be found in a badly-run baseball team. Arguments about how self-interest demands improvement don't really matter: wrong-headed dopes, whether they're Marshal Rydz-Smigly or anybody among the Royals' board of directors (the Glass family and Herk Robinson) are going to help perpetuate something that fundamentally doesn't work, because they barely know any better.
Moore may well be a sensible guy, may well possess a canny eye for talent, and may well resurrect the Royals in five years. He might also get worn down by internecine arguments against an organizational culture of incompetence, and leave discredited and disgusted. Or he might end up crafting a farm system much like the Braves, long on drafted tools types who don't pan out, and if he isn't given top dollar to sign premium prospects at the top end of the draft or overseas, he may never achieve Atlanta's success with a few signature blue-chippers. Don't get me wrong, I'm not weeping for Allard Baird, and I'm happy to see the long-suffering people of Kansas City spared the potential indigntiy of a Randy Smith comeback (which was rumored if Moore had turned them down). But unless Moore's granted absolute authority over whatever family-bred slack-jawed Wal-Mart washouts might stand in his way, things aren't guaranteed to get any better. Change does not automatically connote progress.
And if this story from NY Newsday is true:
Moore already might be learning how bad Glass is. Word is Glass, despite getting $30 million in revenue handouts, is balking at Hochevar's asking price, making Stubbs more likely.
..then BP is probably right. If Glass is still determining how much to pay draft picks, the organization is doomed. I thought the deal would be Glass would give Moore a budget, and Moore could use it on draft picks or waste it on Joe Mays or whatever the hell he wanted to do with it.
It seems Moore has much less than total control if this story is to be believed. If Glass is doing what is suggested above, Moore would be a fool for taking the job. He should resign before he even officially takes over.