Breaking 100: A new philosophy

NOTE: My apologies for the delay in updating the last few games. I was out of town for my son's baseball tournament so I was out of touch for a few games. The same will happen this weekend since we are again travelling for another tourney.

Since Dayton Moore’s infamous introductory press conference, the Royals have gone 5-6 for a .455 winning percentage. Small sample, I know, but if they continue at that pace, they could finish 62-100; a much more respectable record than the 116 losses that they are currently chasing, and terribly close to avoiding the dreaded 100 losses.

When changes are made to a baseball team, such as a new manager or general manager, it tends to cause a short burst improvement. Most agree that the players feel more pressure to perform under new management in fear of losing their job. Perhaps this is happening to the Royals.

Moore has made a handful of moves in his short tenure. He hired Dean Taylor to be his assistant GM. Taylor is a well-respected baseball executive, a former GM, and a former Royals employee who returns to the team this week. Taylor’s hiring represents a new level of respectability that Moore has brought to the team.

As for player moves, Moore’s first priority seems to be shoring up the pitching. His first scrap heap acquisitions include pitchers Brandon Duckworth and Todd Wellemeyer. Duckworth has pitched well in his two starts and is sporting a respectable 3.18 ERA. Wellemeyer, a reliever, has also pitched well for the Royals, including three solid innings in Saturday’s game against the Astros in which he gave up just 3 hits and one run. It has been suggested that Wellemeyer may get an opportunity to start, again to help shore up the rotation.

In addressing defense, Moore sent Shane Costa to Omaha after struggling in the outfield.

Moore has denied the many trade rumors involving the Royals veterans. He has said that he is not going to just dump salary because of a poor season. In a true change of philosophy, Moore has indicated that Royals prospects will spend time in AAA Omaha. Moore’s predecessor, Allard Baird, had a nasty habit of promoting young players from AA Wichita to the major league team. In almost every case, those players have proved to not be ready. The most obvious case is that of Ambiorix Burgos. Last season, Burgos was promoted after only a handful of appearances in Wichita. With Mike MacDougal’s injury, Burgos was installed as the closer at the outset of this season. He has struggled in this role, with 6 blown saves in 16 opportunities. The problem with Burgos is that he never had the opportunity to develop another pitch. He has a fantastic split fingered pitch, but his fastball, while thrown in the upper 90’s, tends to be straight. If he can’t get the splitter working, he’s toast. Perhaps another season in the minors would allow Burgos to develop another pitch to make him more effective as a major leaguer. Instead, his confidence must be shaken as he struggles.

Of course, Moore’s philosophy suggests that Royals fans will not see prospects Alex Gordon, Billy Butler or Mitch Maier in Kansas City anytime soon. This is probably for the best. Baird’s practice of using AAA as a holding pen for aged veterans seemed to go against building a young team. Instead of letting a major league player like Aaron Guiel rot in Omaha, why not trade him for a mid-level prospect with a 50-50 chance of developing into a contributor?

It’s obviously too early to determine what kind of effect Moore will have on the Royals. So far, indications point to a slow development approach as opposed to an “on the job training” approach. The previous approach obviously hasn’t worked out, so Royals fans can only hope that something different will produce better results.

Let's go get 'em.