Dayton Hired Seven Years Ago Today ... Sigh

Dayton was hired seven years ago as the Royals general manager. He is obviously on the hot the seat, but here are some quotes from him on that day which Royals fans thought things were going to be turned around:

"To me, this is the perfect opportunity for me to be a general manager, do something I love to do and build something special and give my family an opportunity to thrive. That's simply what it is."

Definitely something "special" is going on.

"I feel very comfortable with the autonomy I've been given as general manager of the Kansas City Royals to not only get the answers that we need but also the flexibility to go forward and make decisions and do what needs to be done to be successful," Moore said.

On the latitude he has been given by owner David Glass and his son, Dan, to run the show: "It doesn't matter if you're the general manager in New York, Kansas City or Atlanta. There has to be autonomy for your baseball people to make good decisions, and the Glass family recognizes that. I have 100 percent confidence that our people will have full authority to make good baseball decisions."

He got enough rope to hand himself for sure.

But he was drawn, he said, to "the great baseball fans, the great tradition there in Kansas City and the wonderful atmosphere and a climate to raise my family."

And thanks for ruining it.

On his timetable for bringing a winner to Kansas City: "It's not as simple as saying, 'This is what's going to happen in Year 1 and Year 2.' That's bull. If you make enough good decisions, three-year plans turn into two-year plans and five-year plans turn into three-year plans. If you make bad decisions, 10-year plans turn into no plan."

Just three more years to go.

On the stats versus tools debate: "I cut my teeth in scouting, but we always used statistics to substantiate judgments and lead us to a player. I think they're more sophisticated in Atlanta than people give them credit for."

Maybe Ned showed him what a computer does.