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When Dizzy Dean was young, he would rare back and throw the ball as hard as he could on every pitch. 'Ol Diz knew that the faster he threw, the less chance of the batter hitting the ball. A scout saw Diz and signed him up.
Now, we need to remember that Dizzy Dean hardly ever had a pitch count in a game that was lower than his iq.
Even when relieving.
When he started out at the professional level, there was something new to Diz. The catcher giving him signs.
In the first game in which the catcher was flashing Diz signs, Diz looked a little agitated after walking a batter.
The catcher seeing Dizzy's frustration's went out to see what was the matter.
Diz looked at the catcher and said, "Hey, Y'all mind giving me that two finger pitch more?
I'm having trouble throwing the ball with just one finger."

That story isn't to make fun of Diz, more so to show that we can all see one thing and think it means another.
For the most part, baseball fans are as naive as Dizzy Dean was with catchers signals. Not us NFBC'ers, the typical fan.
In their minds, they think that their team is doing everything they can to win.
That just isn't the case.
Jeffrey Loria has shown that money in his pocket is more important than winning.
I can almost respect that. Loria is the most criticized man in baseball right now.
What happened between the Marlins and Blue Jays was clearly a salary dump and that has fans riled.
At the same time, if it was ALL about the money, Loria would have done things differently. This deal would have been consumated in March, not November. Season ticket holders can now refuse next years tickets and possible season ticket holders already know that the Marlins are dumping.
Marlins fans are upset because their team has little hope of winning.

And hope is the one thing that makes fans of every team say, "Wait till next year!"
Fans do not like their hope taken away in one fell swoop.
Like Miami fans have suffered.
Nope, they prefer a slow death of hope.
Which leads us to KansasCity.
And the Bob Hope of hopes.
Dayton Moore.
Royals fans have been fed the hopes and dreams since Moore took their reiegns.
They eat hope.
They drink dreams.
And they poop losses.
Dayton Moore cannot general manage at the big league level. He is perfectly happy in getting scraps thrown his way like Gil Meche, and Bruce Chen, and Jonathon Sanchez, and Ervin Santana.
I call these used pitchers.
Used pitchers give fans the impression that there is a chance of winning a ball game.
Wise guys know that used pitchers are merely innings eaters who try to pitch an agents idea of a good game-
Six innings, three runs.
They're not winners. On the contrary, most are pitchers who are trying to eke out a couple of more years and hoping that somebody will pay for another contract.
And Dayton Moore loves used pitchers.
The Twain meets.
At the same time, Moore will throw Kyle Davies and Luke Hochevar types till the cows come home. He is almost unbelieving that these pitchers cannot do at the major league level, as they did at the minor league level.
And his non-believing lasts years, not months like other GM's.
He'll trade for or sign non- Royal farmhands like Jason Kendall, and Jeff Francoeur, and Yuni Betancourt (twice!).
This is all ok. Ask any Royals fan.
You know why?
Because they have hope.
And they're naive.

Granted, Moore is excellent at building a minor league system. But, he is a pauper to Billy Beane's King, in how to USE that minor league system.
Each year, the A's have a lower payroll and each year, a better record than the Royals.
Baseball America has trumpeted the Royals system as being loaded with 'Can't Miss' stars. They've had Butler, Gordon, Hosmer, Cain, Duffy, Moustakas, Crow, Holland, and Perez all come up during that time.
They haven't missed. But more importantly, they're not big hits either.
And Moore's mismanaging at the big league level has left little in the way for viable players for these kids to play with.
Alcides Escobar is the only decent player to meet them.
There are no starting pitchers to be feared and no support on their bench.

I bring this up because now there are trade rumors circling Billy Butler, Alex Gordon, Hosmer, and Moustakas.
Butler and Gordon were supposed to be the foundation of the team when these kids arrived.
Now, they are on the trading block.
And the circle of Royals life continues.
The object is not to pray at the 'Church of Winning Baseball' in Kansas City.
Nope.
For Royals fans, it's better to go to that Church across the street.
'The Church of Perpetual and Eternal Baseball Hopes'- Pastor, Dayton Moore.

Dayton Moore churns hope.
He'll beat the drum that Wil Myers and Bubba Starling are still to come through Omaha.
Omaha has become that minor league mecca that has borne most of the fruits from Moore's labors.
Omaha wins because of Moore, while Kansas City loses for the same reason.
It's a vicious circle, and one that won't be stopped till Moore is gone.
Moore is in his seventh year at Kansas City and I seem to be the only one that beats the drum for his dismissal.
In those seven years, the Royals have lost 653 games. An average of 93 games a year.
They've never had even a .500 record.
All the while, playing in a division that some folks look on as the worst division in baseball.
We are in the midst of when these young players were supposed to flourish and carry the Royals to the promised land.
But, there is nobody to meet them.
Moore is less.

But, you know what?
Royal fans have hope.
They're still buying what Dayton Moore is selling.
He'll talk about the future headed by Wil Myers and Bubba Starling, while good Royals fans pay money to see a starting staff led by Ervin Santana.
It's not their fault.
They're naive.
They have hope.
And that, is what Dayton Moore is good at supplying.

I have to give Dayton Moore credit, he is consistent.
Yesterday my annual rant appears and today he signs Jeremy Guthrie to a three year contract for 25 million dollars.
Moore's consistency in buying into used pitchers continues. Guthrie's future is like that of the Royals under Moore in that they are both going nowhere fast.
Guthrie has proved to be hittable everywhere he has gone.
I look to see that Guthrie allowed hitters to bat .288 against him last year.
Moore sees that he has thrown 200 innings or more the last three of four years.

It's another example of a poor General Manager. He doesn't do what's needed to win. He fills holes with mediocrity.
And then wonders why the wonderkids that are brought up to the Majors play the same way.
He manages the Royals as if they're also rans, not to win.
Moore has trophies on his mantle for competing, never for winning.
If it weren't for the other 10 teams ahead of the Royals record, they would be in first place.
Moore doesn't get it. He plays for the middle of the pack and finishes lower.
He never finishes the phrase, 'Winning Isn't everything...'
because it is good for him right there.

Jeremy Guthrie is not a winner. He can't even ride a bicycle.
He throws a lot of innings and doesn't embarrass himself. The perfect Moore pitcher.
Guthrie is an also ran. A pitcher that would not make most staff's five man rotation, let alone pocket 25 million over three years at the age of 33.
What Moore saw last year was Guthrie doing well over a 14 game stretch for the Royals.
He's had good stretches like this before.
Apparently, this good stretch netted Guthrie 25 million dollars from a Santa who will plead poverty when others compare him with other GM's
It's crazy.
And, it's Dayton Moore.
I have no doubt that any of us reading this page would be as capable, and probably better, at how to mold a Major League team.
No doubt at all.

One more thing, Guthrie, like Kansas City under Moore,has never had a winning record except for that 14 game stint with KC where he finished 5-3.
While Moore seems to painstakingly scout every young prospect, his Major League approach is the opposite.
Bruce Chen, Aaron Cook, Kevin Correia, and Freddy Garcia are also used pitchers.
All mediocre.
Moore mediocrity.

That signing raised my eyebrows today as well...where was the competition for Guthrie that they needed to throw that much money for those number of years? That is a signing that they will live to regret.