Joe Posnanski had an item up over the weekend about Royals g.m. Dayton Moore, who has trying to set a new tone in Kansas City and who has let some folks go as part of an effort to make it clear that things have to change.
Some quotes:
Moore’s main point is this: Things are going to change around here. He’s had enough.
“That’s it,” he says. “We’re at a point now where you will never, ever hear me say again that we have young players who are improving. You will never, ever hear me say again that we are rebuilding. That stuff is over. I’m sick of all that.
“We’re not a young team anymore. We’re not an improving team anymore. There are no more excuses. It’s not like we made a lot of excuses before, but I’m sick of all that. It’s time now.”
Now we get to the heart of things: Dayton Moore is tired of conceding. He’s tired of telling people that winning will take time. He came to Kansas City to make the Royals a proud organization again. He came to Kansas City to make the Royals the team, to make everyone, in and out of town, look at the Royals and say, “Man, those guys know what they’re doing.”
That hasn’t happened yet. Nothing close. Until a big finish, the Royals seemed destined for another last-place and another dreadful year. The big finish moved them out of the basement (first time in five years) and offered a bit of hope — but this is the point. Moore doesn’t want that kind of hope anymore. Moore doesn’t want moral victories.
A team selling the idea that winning takes time is the type of team that might be willing to package Zack Greinke for a collection of prospects, as has been discussed here.
A team that is tired of that, that says that it isn't a young team or an improving team, a team that feels it should win now, isn't going to do that.
If Moore is sincere, and this is the mindset, I can't imagine that Greinke is going to be available...at least, not for the type of minor league talent we've been speculating about. For a Josh Hamilton or Ian Kinsler, a proven stud who can step in now? Maybe.
But for a Salty/Andrus/Harrison type package? Probably not, I wouldn't think...