Early Morning Links: Really, All Credit Must Go to Olivo

http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/chat/_/id/28081/mlb-with-buster-olney

I think Greinke set himself apart as the clear front-runner, but as we’ve seen with Beckett in the last couple of weeks, things can change quickly. My 1-3 today would be 1. Greinke, No. 2 Halladay and No. 3 Verlander. If anybody is going to run down Greinke, I think the best shot probably belongs to Verlander, because he has a chance to pitch in some games that will matter in the AL Central race.

I’d have Lincecum, Carpenter and Wainwright No. 1-3 on my ballot right now, but I don’t think the gap is as large in the NL between Lincecum and the two St. Louis guys as the gap between Greinke and the rest of the AL field.

and shortstop is often thought of as a position where lesser offense is acceptable than for outfield, so that magnified Berroa’s stats a bit.

Also, that was the “miracle year” for the Royals, which probably got some love for the Royals from writers.

were the Glasses willing to hire a man who insisted that he be allowed to spend?

Quite frankly, Baird didn’t inspire any confidence in them. For all the rumors we hear about Baird’s supposed brilliant moves that were squelched by the Glasses, I’d love to see a single one that was confirmed either by Baird (he works for a rival team now, he doesn’t need to be a gentleman) or by the Glasses (who I’m sure would love to feel justified if they believed they were right).

We’ve seen so, so many trade rumors, before Baird, during Baird, and after Baird (i.e., under Moore), that were never anywhere near true, or that had a grain of truth but were far from being the complete story.

The fact is that somehow, when the Royals had Sweeney, Dye, Beltran, Ibanez, and Damon, the only one the Royals shelled out for was the one whose subsequent years proved to be the worst investment. Could $11MM a year for five years with a “.500 season” clause have kept any of the others? Aside from Beltran, I think it’s possible. Whose job was it to evaluate which of the pending free agent departures were worth going to the mattress for?

Who interpreted career seasons from Jose Lima, Brian Anderson and Curtis Leskanic as worthy of re-signings? Who gave us Albie Lopez and Chip Ambres and Ambiorix Burgos? Who hired a manager who never led a team to better than an 82-80 season? No, Allard Baird was not good. 2009 may have been a disappointing season, but it’s only disappointing because we had hope. Dayton Moore, if only by virtue of being able to project the confidence necessary to loosen the purse strings of the Glass family, is better than Baird. Hillman may be disappointing, but at least he was hired after two winning seasons in Japan, and a solid minor league track record. This off-season’s trades and signings may not have worked out well, but the prior two years were net positives. Seriously, we may have overpaid for Jose Guillen, but didn’t he look better on the roster than Reggie Sanders?

If I may be allowed a Biblical parable, we’re like the Israelites in the desert, who, every time something bothered them in the desert, said, “Let’s go back to Egypt, where we were well-fed.” i’m not saying that Moore is a Moses who can faithfully deliver divine salvation, of course. He’s a man, and he makes human mistakes. But the Baird revisionism is forgetting what the Baird era was like. Hopelessness is not better than disappointment.