Allard Baird Forum
David Glass said yesterday that Allard Baird would return for 2006. No surprise.
The real story, however, is that if the Royals don't improve by 25 games next season (meaning a .500 record), it would be "unacceptable" to Glass. In other words, Glass has thrown down the gauntlet to Baird: reach .500 or you're fired.
It would take a holier-than-holy miracle for the Royals to win 81 games in 2006, and they already used up their Miracle Quota in 2003. End result: Allard Baird is gone at the end of 2006 if David Glass stays true to his word.
My question: Why wait? Glass has established an unreachable standard for Baird, which all but guarantees his departure. So why not start the house cleaning NOW? How does it benefit the Royals to wait another year? Reminds me of people saying "Pets.com will bounce back! It's a LEGITIMATE BUSINESS."
I'd love to hear your comments. I'm fine with seeing a "Keep AB" vs. "Dump AB" debate, but I'm working under the assumption that David Glass already has his finger on the button, so I just want to know when he's going to (and should) push it.
posted by DL @ 3:41 PM
10 comments
10 Comments:
I posted my reasons a while back here: http://dailylancer.blogspot.com/2005/08/time-to-fire-baird.html.
The right time to fire Baird was probably once the season went down the drain in April/May. But, since the Royals have let him ride it out, might as well let him finish his contract. I don't think Glass would let the new GM spend $20-25 million. He does have faith in Baird for whatever reason.
Are the Royals making progress? I think so. The depth of the position players in the farm system is improving. But, it's still severely short on pitching. Maybe the worst in baseball. Overall, I think Baird is making some progress, but not enough to keep his job. But, next year will dictate that.
If Allard Baird lacks the professional acumen and pride to realize he needs to resign, that alone disqualifies him to be the Royals front-office general.
Baird will not be re-signed, at whatever point in time his current contract expires, which I believe is at the end of 2006. He will not be fired before then. Its as simple as that. Glass is giving him the chance for a miracle next year, but is basically saying that he's probably gone. Why doesn't Glass fire Baird now? Face it, he doesn't care that much about winning, at least in the near term, and he doesn't want to pay two GM salaries for 2006.
I'd hate to believe that Glass would keep Baird around just to save a few hundred thousand dollars. But you might be right.
Keeping Baird around to save money is not going to save money. Baird throws away millions in free agency each year. If Glass was interested in saving money. The first thing he would do is can Allard.
It has to be admitted that Baird's drafts have gotten better recently, but his inability to make trades scares me. I know he got Huber and Bautista, which looks pretty good, but not getting T-Long to the Yankees is an abomination. Cashman and Torre were practically digging through graveyards to find a slightly beating heart to stick in CF (Chip Ambres at one point). Long isn't a great CF, but he beats Bernie or Matsui, and with a .270 to .280 average he should have been out of here for some A pitching prospects.
Baird has shown that he can only deal "name" players when he absolutely is forced to, and even then he's hit or miss. In his defense, I'm currently a big fan of the Beltran deal. Wood looks like a good fourth or fifth starter, Buck WILL hit .250 with 15 or more homers next year with good defense, and Teahan has shown he can pull the ball on occasion.
But I wouldn't put anything past Glass. He probably sold the real Zack Greinke to the Braves so they could study his touch, and hired some kid he found at the mall to pitch 150 innings with a 6.00 ERA, but I'm rambling.
The scary thing is this: who replaces Baird?
We're pretty mkuch screwed either way.
Who will replace Baird? Quite frankly, anyone could do better than Baird has done. He's set or tied the franchise record for losses 4 times in his 5 1/2 year tenure. That's an amazing accomplishment. I'm sure there are some good candidates out there. Assistant GMs, scouting directors of small-market teams would probably be the best bet. There are plenty of candidates available.
I would be all for trying to steal the assistant GM to Walt in St. Louis or Schuerholz in Atlanta. Try to steal from some GMs who consistently make moves to make their clubs better, but also work under some sort of a budget (not as small as budget as the Royals, but who does?).
Weatherman - I think you're wrong about the saving money issue. Baird has underspent Glass's stated payroll ceiling every year. So Baird is saving Glass's money every year. Doesn't matter in the slightest that the FA acquisitions Baird makes are bad, in terms of the economics of the team. Glass believes that under the current CBA his team isn't going to make the postseason or draw big anyway, so they really don't lose much money at the margin by being bad. The only reason Glass doesn't drop the payroll to $10 million is that he would no longer be taken seriously at the big table.
Post a Comment
<< Home