The Royals finally fired Allard Baird today.
Baird talked a good game for a few years, and I think he made tremendous strides as a GM with the Royals, but this was a move that had to be made. The Royals need a complete overhaul of their management structure. Let’s hope Dayton Moore is up to the task.
I will say this, though: Moore’s request for complete control over baseball operations makes me think that there is a lot less blame on Baird’s shoulders for this mess.
My guess is that in the inner circles of Major League Baseball, everybody knows that his hands have been tied and a lot of moves couldn’t be made. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Baird get picked up quickly by another team (probably Atlanta now) and put in a high-ranking Assistant GM position.
His knack for finding above average fringe players will be very useful.
As long as the All’s are around, I’m A-OK.