Looking back at Dayton Moore's moves, part 2

So we're looking at some of Dayton Moore's biggest moves in his two-plus years as general manager, and here's part 1.

I'm probably forgetting a move or two somewhere, but these are the big ones. Maybe this latest surge out of last place has slowly changed some minds, but I get the feeling that the rebuilding of this franchise isn't happening fast enough for some fans.

That's understandable. Royals fans have been beat down so hard and so often the last decade or so it's unfair to ask them to trust on blind faith that THIS rebuilding plan is the one that will work.

But I think the difference in what Moore and his people have done/are doing and what was done in the past is pretty simple.

Moore is more focused.

Now, comparisons to Allard Baird are as unfair as they are inevitable. Moore is enjoying resources and autonomy that Baird could only dream about.

But Moore is also sticking to his plan in a way that Royals fans haven't seen in a while. He talks starting pitching, so he goes out and gets starting pitching.

Everything is about starting pitching. When he traded pitching prospect Eric Cordier, it was to get Tony Pena Jr., a good defensive shortstop to help the pitching. When he traded J.P. Howell, it was to get Joey Gathright who he hoped would develop into the kind of speedy centerfielder to cover a lot of ground in spacious Kauffman Stadium and, um, you know, help out the starting pitching.

With the Jose Guillen signing and trade for Alberto Callaspo you're starting to see the focus shift a little, but only because he feels pretty good about the Greinke-Meche-Bannister-Hochevar-Davies rotation, and should. Those guys are all in their 20s, and none of them have had what you'd figure to be their best season, with the possible exception of Meche, and that's only a possible exception.

The Royals only recently climbed out of last place, their offense is still among the league's worst, and they don't have a lot of depth in their system to support trades or provide a cushion in the case of injuries at the major league level.

But I think sometimes fans underestimate how bad this franchise was. In an honest moment, I think Moore would admit that he underestimated how bad it was when he took the job, and, assuming I'm right about that, I've sometimes wondered if he would've accepted had he known just how bad things were in the organization.

But go back and look at what the Royals were like when Moore took over, and what they're like now. It's an enormous improvement, it took two years, and they're still tied for last place.

As Jose Guillen might say, it (stinks) having to be patient, but the Royals were very (horsebleep) two years ago. They're less (horsebleep) now, and that's progress.

A couple moves that didn't make the 10 have turned out fairly well, most notably the signing of Ron Mahay. Moore liked that Mahay was left-handed but could get righties out, too, and that's proven out as Mahay has been the team's best reliever without a cool nickname like The Mexicutioner.

Miguel Olivo has proven so far to be a great pickup, especially for the low-risk. On the bad side, Brett Tomko turned out to be a waste, and Yasuhiko Yabuta's signed through next year, though there's still hope for him.

Anyway, the rest of the moves:

Dec. 11, 2006. Signed RHP Gil Meche to five-year, $55-million contract. This is still Dayton's most talked-about move, and it was almost universally ripped at the time. He does a pretty good job, I think, of maintaining a strong public face but the criticism on this one got to him personally, mostly because he saw it as a dismissal of both his scouting department and his organization's relevance.

Meche was great last year, we've been over that, and in his last eight starts he's 3-3 with a 3.62 ERA, .632 OPS against, a 3-to-1 strikeout/walk ratio, and more than a strikeout per inning.

And this might be the kind of thing that gets overrated --- it is definitely the kind of thing that gets writers written about --- but he has taken control of that pitching staff.

He's the guy you see other pitchers gravitating toward, spending time at his locker, talking pitching or golf but a lot of pitching, and that's something the Royals were missing before and still wouldn't have if not for Meche.

Current judgment: Good signing.

July 31, 2007. Traded RHP Octavio Dotel to Atlanta for RHP Kyle Davies. Whenever Davies has a bad outing, this is the move fans seem to regret the most. But it's also a departure from reality, with some people seeming to think Moore should've traded for Dan Haren or Jake Peavy or some other unrealistic option.

They wanted to get Franklin Gutierrez, but the Indians wouldn't do it. Davies was the best deal Moore could get for an aging power arm that went on the DL within days of the trade, and from where I'm sitting, it looks like at worst they got a back of the rotation starter with potential for a little more.

His last start aside, Davies is off to a great beginning that the statistics (29 hits in 26 innings, 14 walks and 13 strikeouts) say won't continue.

He's also 24 years old with the kind of stuff and makeup scouts think will turn into a solid big league starter.

Current judgment: Good trade.

Dec. 6, 2007. Signed OF Jose Guillen to three-year, $36-million contract. Welcomed with a mixed reaction that leaned toward disapproval, especially when Guillen was suspended by baseball the same day the signing was announced for breaking its drug policy. That suspension was predictably lifted because Guillen never failed a test, and because MLB needed some goodwill.

The Royals probably overpaid, and I think in an honest moment they might admit that, but the money is justifiable under two theories: 1. Guillen makes them better, they needed run producers desperately, and run producers cost money, and, 2. If they wait around and try to negotiate down, in the meantime Torii Hunter and Andruw Jones go off the market and Guillen's the top available hitter and maybe his price goes even higher.

We've talked plenty about Guillen here lately, and you can read about his new-found patience here, but it sure is hard to imagine the Royals trying to score runs this year without Guillen's second-in-the-AL 60 RBIs and hot streak that's going on six weeks or so.

You know what's interesting? David DeJesus (124) and Mike Aviles (152) each have higher OPS+(es) than Guillen (114).

Current judgment: Great signing.

Dec. 14, 2007. Traded RHP Billy Buckner to Arizona for IF Alberto Callaspo. Unless I'm forgetting something, this was the first trade that could be viewed as a departure from the starting pitching obsession.

They made it because, I believe, they didn't think Buckner would develop into anything more than a No. 5 starter at best, and most likely a long reliever. Buckner's only 24, so you can't write the obit on him, but he's 4-7 with a 4.98 ERA in Class AAA. He's given up 110 hits in 90 1/3 innings, and opponents are batting .302 against him. His last outing he gave up 12 hits and seven earned runs in four innings.

Callaspo's impact on the Royals has been minimal. Nobody expected him to play every day, but sometimes it seems like he's in Trey Hillman's doghouse for whatever reason. It could just be that Callaspo suffers from the redundancy that's on the roster with him, Esteban German, Tony Pena Jr., and especially now the emerging Mike Aviles.

When he's played, Callaspo has showed adequate defensive skills at four positions (though he's limited at SS), a willingness to take a walk (nine in 100 at bats, the standards are low around here) and not much pop.

The Royals made this deal believing Callaspo was the second baseman of the future, and that still could be true (but maybe that guy all along was Aviles). Callaspo's out of options, so he's another player they can't move from the big league roster without losing. But they also didn't give up much.

Current judgment: Not a great trade for either team, but the Royals are ahead on this one.

Dec. 7, 2006. Selected RHP Joakim Soria in the Rule 5 draft. Um, yeah.

Current judgment: Incredible.