KANSAS CITY:  Dayton Moore, who allegedly declined a job offer as general manager of the Red Sox just three seasons ago is making a bid to become that organization’s assistant GM.  Attempting to follow in the footsteps of former Royals GM Allard Baird, Moore is doing everything he needs to do to make himself attractive to current Red Sox GM Theo Epstein.  Baird won the job mainly through his ability to build a starting pitching staff, signing the likes of Scott Elarton, Mark Redman, Joe Mays, and Jose Lima.  Moore, opening his third full season at the helm of the Royals, initially looked as if he had no chance of qualifying for the position of Red Sox assistant.  Signing Gil Meche to a large contract in the face of nationwide media and fan pressure, he looked like a boon for the Royals when Meche became one of the American league’s better workhorses on the mound.   Another trade, for Brian Bannister, the Rule 5 selection of All Star Joakim Soria, and under-the-radar trade for Ramon Ramirez had Moore looking like a Royals fixture well into the next decade. 

Yet, suddenly, Moore appears to be thrusting himself back into the Red Sox assistant picture.  “It’s like someone once said, don’t ever give up,” said Royals manager Trey Hillman.  Giving up is one thing Moore doesn’t do.  With a rotation that initially appeared to be a far cry from the one that netted Baird the Red Sox assistant job, including burgeoning young talent Kyle Davies who Moore himself pried from Atlanta, Moore cleverly removed Luke Hochevar, the team’s only viable #4 starter, replacing him with Horacio Ramirez, a pitcher in the Baird mold.  Then he added Sidney Ponson, another nod to the Baird era.  Finally, just yesterday, he cut Ryan Shealy—a big right-handed bat who could have platooned with Mike Jacobs against left-handed pitchers if Jacobs showed difficulty with AL lefties, a late-inning defensive replacement at first base, and a decent trading chip failing all else—choosing instead to keep a quintessential Baird-esque player in fan favorite Tony Pena Jr., despite having already signed TPJ replica Willie Bloomquist for approximately 1.5 million recession dollars per season. 

Voila, he’s right back in the running.  “We look at guys who maybe didn’t quite work with other organizations for one reason or another,” said Epstein regarding the Red Sox assistant job.  “A lot of times they have good ideas.  Other times, they have not-so-good ideas.  Former GM’s flourish here because we’re able to veto those bad ideas, just sweep ‘em under the rug.  Sometimes at meetings we just pretend we didn’t hear them.  Saves everyone a lot of useless conversation.” 

It should be mentioned that the impressive overhaul of the Royals farm system may eventually prevent Moore from obtaining the Red Sox job, but some decisions at the major league level suggest he’s not done trying.