Kansas City Royals: Front office gut check time for organization
By John McCarty
The Kansas City Royals’ abandonment of their building principals have left a franchise in shambles. Now it’s time to take a look at the front office and what they can do to fix this mess.
Going for a championship and trying to keep the band together has left the Kansas City Royals with a band of odd fitting pieces that betray the winning approach, which captured the very imagination of the city. As the current assemble of talent barrels toward their worst season ever, it’s time for the front office to look in the mirror and take stock of what’s right and what’s wrong.
Dayton Moore’s report card and track record go in vastly different directions after the 2015 World Series. It can be boiled down to a simple distinction, but explaining and fixing is far more complicated. When Dayton Moore has a single focus, his resumé stands up with anyone else in baseball. When he’s trying to ‘serve two masters’ his resumé and performance has been disastrous.
After being hired in June of 2006, Moore’s performance building an organization was exemplary and returned the entire organization to legitimacy. No longer did the Royals appear to be a bunch of directionless clowns taking throws off their backs and jumping walls. No, the Royals returned to being a real franchise and real team.
When Moore decided it was time to compete, that no longer was this team building, he went all in. Starting with the acquisition of Ervin Santana followed by the still discussed and dissected James Shields/Wade Davis/Wil Myers trade in December of 2012, the Royals moves showed fearlessness and decisiveness.
It’s boiled down simply to this. Moore and the Royals choose what and how they wanted to build their organization, and every move was in essence in line with those beliefs. Defense. Speed. Athleticism. Oh, and invest heavily in a strong bullpen. And it worked.
However, as soon as the glory of the parade wore off, so did Moore’s job performance. The Royals abandoned what made them who they were and if we are all being honest, became what they defeated. They became old, slow(er), and predictable.