jayhwk89: Are you concerned with the lack of production from top prospects Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer?
Moore: No, not at all. We are actually very pleased with how they are performing. I was just in Wilmington, N.C., last week. Moustakas is going to be an impact bat in the Major Leagues for a long time. Even though I only saw Hosmer work out, he was very impressive

If you say something enough times it becomes true. I mean, I sort of agree with him, knowing where they play is an offensive black hole, but it’s hard to say it hasn’t been a disappointment or concerning, especially with Hosmer needing laser surgery, and a general lack of power from them.

jumbley: Mr. Moore, why is this team so bad? Plz answer. Thx.
Moore: In 2007 we won 69 games. In 2008 we won 75. Going into the 2009 season, we expected to win 78 to 84 games and compete in our division if everything went perfect. Unfortunately, we sustained several injuries to many of our key players including Crisp, Alex Gordon, 2008 Player of the Year Aviles, DL time for Jose Gullien, Soria and other members of our bullpen. Our farm system at the upper levels lacks depth and enough talent to repair the 25-man roster in a way that could have kept us on pace to win 78 to 84 games. To put it in perspective, in Atlanta in 2005 we had several injuries to some of our key players — none of by the way were season ending — and we called upon 18 players from Double-A and Triple-A that helped repair our roster and allowed us to win our 14th straight division title.

Love the question. I wonder how many of those 18 players they called up are still on Atlanta’s roster or in their system, and how many Dayton can acquire by next March?

kcbottom9: Hi Dayton. I’ve been really impressed with what Betancourt has bought to the team since he arrived in Kansas City. You have spoken before about the importance of solid defense, especially up the middle. Can we expect a second baseman with a good glove to compliment?
Moore: Pitching, defense and speed are very important to the success of our team. The types of players that we are trying to sign through the Draft and internationally will reflect pitching, speed and defense. In fact, the Los Angeles Angels are a model of player-profiling for what we are trying to do here.

Nice plant, kcbottom9. Dayton’s answer says he wants to build like the Angels? Must have forgot about the OBP part. Again.

kc_daniel: How much of a role does sabermetrics and high-level statistical analysis have with the Royals?
Moore: It is an important part of every decision that we make. In acquiring talent, we blend traditional scouting and statistical analysis with every decision we make. When we acquire a player, we recognize that there are deficiencies in some areas, but often times we are picking from a pool of players where there are many of those deficiencies but we use statistical analysis by evaluating every talent pool that exists. I was trained that way through John Schuerholz and others.

In other words, our statistical analysis includes analyzing RBIs and “slug”.

Moore: We like Meyers a lot and he has gotten off to a great start. It is our plan to develop him as a great catcher. He has the future potential to impact offensively and defensively

Well that’s a relief. I thought maybe you had planned to develop him as a mediocre catcher.

kdolan: Obviously, it has been a very disappointing season for Royals fan. Is there anything they can be hopeful for next season?
Moore: It is very important for Butler to continue to take a step forward, Gordon as well. Our starting pitching is potentially very solid. We have two things that a lot of clubs don’t have, an ace starter and a legit closer and we have them signed through 2012 and 2013. I believe our bullpen will perform much better in 2010 and I expect more consistency our of our defense. We will look to improve in other areas that we can. Getting some of our players back healthy will be very important for the 2010 season.

It really does sound like he’s reloading with the same bullets. Too bad they were blanks.

rdbrown27: You say you want to focus on defense, and yet this team is a terrible team defensively. What do you plan to do to make this a great fielding team?
Moore: We have to get more athletic. I feel like we have done that in Bentancourt. Butler has improved at first. Alberto Callaspo was very sure-handed in 2008 and has struggled at times this year. We need to improve our blocking and receiving skills behind the plate, and we will address that. Our outfield defense has been solid. The bottom line is, defense is about concentration and athleticism and we have to continue evaluating opportunities to upgrade in those areas.

Callaspo and “sure handed” in the same sentence? Betancourt athletic? OF defense has been solid? WTF is this guy watching? DDJ is the only solid one out there other than MITCH and his sporadic playing time. Tough questions, I like this.

nomarfan11: Why give up a top-flight prospect like Dan Cortes for Betancourt when in all likelyhood the Mariners would’ve designated him for assignment?
Moore: It is highly doubtful that he would have been designated for assignment. Prior to making any deal, I receive the evaluations of our scouts, our coaches and instructors. I make a decision based on that important input with regard to what the player will be in the future, what the player’s makeup is and weigh that against the potential player that we would acquire and what our needs are short term and long term. In that particular case, our need for a shortstop was very important and we feel like the strength of our farm system at this time is arm strength and I have complete confidence in J.J. Picollo to continue to fill our pipeline.

Wow! They let that question through? Somebody running the chat doesn’t like Moore a whole lot. I wonder if he got fired, or banned from the stadium? Quite the abrupt ending, only 1 more question, and like mentioned above, no thanks or goodbyes. What a douche. I now believe the Royals are in serious trouble unless the farm system starts to produce players that Dayton obviously doesn’t want. He’ll probably trade them away for the WIlly Taveras’s of the world. According to Posnanski’s “Hitting Average” post the other day, Willy was the worst in MLB. I fully expect him to be starting for us in CF in 2010.

The remained of the chat that was left unanswered: