Daily Clips
October 28, 2017
LOCAL
Source: Braves denied from interviewing Moore
October 27, 2017By Jeffrey Flanagan & Mark Bowman/MLB.com
Royals’ owner denies Braves permission to interview Dayton Moore, report says
October 27, 2017By Rustin Dodd/KC Star
Here are some of the things the Royals are selling at their garage sale
October 27, 2017By Pete Grathoff/KC Star
MINORS
Former Blue Rocks Moustakas Named AL Comeback Player of the Year
Earned the Award by Slugging a Royals-Record 38 Homers
October 27, 2017By Matt Janus/Wilmington Blue Rocks
NATIONAL
Braves denied permission to interview Royals GM Dayton Moore
October 27, 2017By Jerry Crasnick/ESPN.com
Braves denied permission to interview Dayton Moore, but stay tuned
October 27, 2017By David O'Brien/Atlanta Journal-Constitution
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred says ball not to blame for all the long balls
October 27, 2017AP via USA Today
Rizzo humbled by Clemente Award honor
Cancer survivor's foundation donated more than $4M to hospitals this year
October 27, 2017By Carrie Muskat/MLB.com
MLB TRANSACTIONS
October 28, 2017 •.CBSSports.com
LOCAL
Source: Braves denied from interviewing Moore
October 27, 2017By Jeffrey Flanagan & Mark Bowman/MLB.com
Rumors continue to persist about the Atlanta Braves' interest in Royals general manager Dayton Moore as a possible candidate for their general manager opening or another front-office position.
However, a source told MLB.com on Friday that Kansas City denied permission for Atlanta to interview Moore.
Moore has declined comment on the Braves' GM situation and has reiterated his desire to focus on structuring the Royals for the future. But he has refused to publicly deny any interest in the Braves' position, saying only it is inappropriate to comment on another team's position opening.
Moore said last week that being general manager of the Royals is "doing what I'm supposed to be doing."
Moore signed an extension of undisclosed length in 2016 to remain as the Royals' GM.
Royals’ owner denies Braves permission to interview Dayton Moore, report says
October 27, 2017By Rustin Dodd/KC Star
The Atlanta Braves’ interest in general manager Dayton Moore is a secret no longer. Royals owner David Glass denied the Braves permission to interview Moore for a job running their baseball operations department after the organization inquired this week, according to an ESPN report on Friday that cited anonymous baseball sources.
The contact between organizations was later confirmed by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, though neither the Royals nor Braves have acknowledged the details. Glass declined comment on Friday afternoon.
The reported communication represented the first public evidence of the Braves’ desire to possibly lure Moore back to Atlanta, the franchise and city in which he started his career before coming to the Royals in 2006 and building a World Series champion. Yet the Royals’ refusal to allow Moore to interview may not represent the end of the story.
Moore signed an undisclosed contract extension after the Royals’ World Series championship in 2015, a deal that means opposing clubs must ask permission to speak to him about jobs. The Royals could be maintaining leverage or positioning themselves for some type of compensation before allowing Moore to interview. It remains unclear whether Moore has interest in the job. He has twice declined comment and stressed his commitment to the Royals.
The Braves’ general manager job has been open since Oct. 2, when John Coppolella resigned in the midst of a Major League Baseball probe into the organization’s conduct in the international player market and other alleged rules violations. The results of the investigation are not expected to be made public until after the World Series. The unclear status of the probe — and the possible penalties involved — have appeared to slow the process for finding a replacement general manager.
In addition, the Braves still have a president of baseball operations in house, a position with responsibilities similar to Moore’s job as senior vice president/general manager in Kansas City.
John Hart, a former general manager with the Indians and Rangers, is currently in charge of the Braves’ baseball operations department and has spoken to Major League Baseball as part of the ongoing investigation, according to reports.
For now, the situation appears to remain fluid. To leave what he has built in Kansas City, Moore would likely need assurances that he would have full autonomy and power over all baseball decisions.
Still, Moore has been linked to the job for weeks. He spent more than a decade with the Braves as a scout and executive before taking over as Royals general manager in 2006. His ties to the organization and its current vice chairman, John Schuerholz, his former boss, make him a natural candidate for the job.
“To me, it’s really unprofessional to comment on the vacancy, the potential vacancy of another organization,” Moore said on Oct. 18, when asked about the Braves’ job at a news conference at Kauffman Stadium. “I will say this: Nobody has presented that to me at this point in time. I will say this: I’m extremely passionate about leading.”
“I’m committed to leading. Not only as a general manager, but as a citizen of this community, as a husband, as a father. As long as I get the opportunity to do that, I’m doing what I believe I’m supposed to do.”
Here are some of the things the Royals are selling at their garage sale
October 27, 2017By Pete Grathoff/KC Star
There comes a day in the life of many people when there is just too much stuff in the house and you need to have a garage sale. The same is true for the Royals.
The team is having what is being billed as a “garage sale” at Kauffman Stadium on Nov. 11.
“We are going to be selling at rock-bottom prices some old promotional items that have collected in storage units since we renovated in 2009,” said Toby Cook, the Royals’ vice president of publicity.
There will be old bobbleheads, T-shirts and other items. The bobbleheads include Salvador Perez, Alex Gordon, Lorenzo Cain, James Shields, Mike Sweeney, Wade Davis and Mike Moustakas’ catch from the 2014 American League Championship Series.
The sale will start at 8 a.m., and fans will enter at Gate D and enter the ballpark concourse where items will be displayed on tables. Everything is first come, first served.
“These things just pile up,” Cook said. “This represents a lot of the giveaways from 2009. We would give away all that we possibly could when these big bobblehead promotions came around. ...
“We order a very small surplus for each one of these orders for promotional, media and charity purposes and over the last couple of years, the items of surplus was smaller.”
Some of the items will be given away for free, such as baseball cards and Raised Royal yard signs.
At this point, there are 123 items that will be given away or sold (most cost $2 or less), but that list could increase.
Here are some of the other items that will be available at the sale:
▪ Miniature World Series trophy
▪ Replica AL trophy
▪ Replica powder blue jersey
▪ The Hoz T-shirt
▪ Sheriff Sal T-shirt
▪ Bo Jackson shirt
▪ Royals spatula
▪ Stocking caps
▪ Monarchs fedora
▪ Royals golf gloves
▪ KU, K-State, Mizzou, Wichita State, Nebraska hats
MINORS
Former Blue Rocks Moustakas Named AL Comeback Player of the Year
Earned the Award by Slugging a Royals-Record 38 Homers
October 27, 2017By Matt Janus/Wilmington Blue Rocks
Kansas City Royals third baseman and former Wilmington Blue Rock Mike Moustakas was named the American League Comeback Player of the Year by The Sporting News on Tuesday. The publication's awards are voted on by a panel of players in each league. Moustakas is the second Royal to garner the award, joining Bret Saberhagen, who was named AL Comeback Player of the Year in 1987.
The 29-year-old Moustakas enjoyed a career year after being limited to just 27 games in 2016 due to a torn ACL. In 2017, he slugged a career-best 38 home runs to set the franchise's single-season record, passing Steve Balboni's 36 homers in 1985. Moustakas' home run total also tied for fifth in the American League and eighth in the Majors. He also set career-bests in runs scored (75), RBI (85), slugging percentage (.521) and total bases (289). He was named an All-Star for the second time in his career, winning the MLB Esurance Final Vote, while he also became the third Royal to participate in the Home Run Derby, joining Bo Jackson (1989) and Danny Tartabull (1991).
First State fans are certainly accustomed to seeing Moustakas hit the long ball. He became the first Blue Rock to slug 16 home runs in a single season in more than a decade when he did it for Wilmington in 2009. Moustakas added 32 doubles on his way to slugging .421 in 129 games with the Blue Crew.
Moustakas is one of 168 former Blue Rocks to make it to the majors.
NATIONAL
Braves denied permission to interview Royals GM Dayton Moore
October 27, 2017By Jerry Crasnick/ESPN.com
The Atlanta Braves asked for permission to interview Kansas City Royals general manager Dayton Moore about running their baseball operation, but their request was denied earlier this week by Royals owner David Glass, baseball sources told ESPN.com.
The Braves' front office has been in a state of upheaval since early October, when general manager John Coppolella and international scouting director Gordon Blakely resigned amid an MLB investigation into a breach of rules by the Braves regarding the international player market.
The investigation has since branched out to include alleged violations in the MLB first-year player draft, according to sources, and MLB officials have questioned Braves president of baseball operations John Hart about his potential involvement.
Moore declined comment on the Braves' potential interest when reached by ESPN.com Friday.
"I'm focused on what we need to do here in Kansas City,'' he said.
Moore, 50, began his career as a scout with the Braves in 1994 and worked in the organization until he left to become Royals GM in 2006. He led the Royals to their first postseason appearance in 29 years in 2014 and a World Championship in 2015.
Kansas City has several noteworthy free agents this winter -- including Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas and Lorenzo Cain -- and is likely to be in a rebuilding mode after going 80-82 and finishing third in the American League Central this season.
Moore signed an contract extension with the Royals in February 2016, and any team interested in hiring him would have to get permission from the Royals before interviewing him.
Braves denied permission to interview Dayton Moore, but stay tuned
October 27, 2017By David O'Brien/Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Yes, the Royals have denied the Braves permission to interview Dayton Moore about their general manager job, but that doesn’t mean the door is closed on any chance of Moore returning to run baseball operations in the city where he began his front-office career.
A person familiar with the situation confirmed a report by ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick that the Braves were denied permission to interview Moore, who signed a Royals contract extension of undisclosed length in February 2016 and has to have permission before he can interview with another team.
But there is a belief among some observers that the Royals might be positioning themselves for possible concessions from the Braves to allow Moore to interview and/or leave. And it’s possible that Moore might also be waiting for some assurances about the Braves situation and his potential role if he were to join them.
Neither the Royals nor the Braves have confirmed that permission was asked for or denied.
The Braves’ front office has been in a state of limbo and high anxiety for nearly a month because of an ongoing Major League Baseball investigation into a variety of serious alleged rules infractions by the team under general manager John Coppolella, who was forced to resign Oct. 2, as was Gordon Blakeley, the team’s international scouting supervisor.
It’s expected that lawsuits will be filed by Coppolella or Blakeley or possibly both, presumably because of how the Braves handled the investigation. I didn’t say “how the Braves threw them under the bus” or sacrificed Coppolella and Blakeley in an effort to lessen the punishment that’s coming to the organization, but I’ve heard others categorize it as such and, well, I’ll leave it at that.
Results of that investigation are expected to be announced soon after the World Series, with the Braves expected to face potential fines, likely major restrictions in future international free-agent dealings and quite possibly the loss of multiple young prospects who could be made free agents if MLB determines the Braves broke rules to sign them.
It’s with this dark cloud hanging overhead that the Braves have been tasked with trying to fill out the hierarchy of their baseball operations before free agency begins and with the GM meetings only a couple of weeks away. And the man currently running the show, president of baseball operations John Hart, has had to meet with MLB investigators regarding his possible involvement or at least awareness of infractions by Coppolella, Blakeley and possibly others.
Did we mention the high anxiety that permeates the Braves these past few weeks? And not just their front office and coaches – who still await official announcement of next year’s staff – but also the team’s fan base, which has been on pins and needles, seeking information each day about the investigation and watching as other teams hire and fire managers and pitching coaches while the Braves wait for MLB’s hammer to fall before moving forward.
Moore is the man that many inside and outside the organization believe is the perfect candidate to ride in on the figurative white horse and restore both the Braves’ once-sterling reputation off the field and guide the final stages of a rebuild that’s been painful for three years — a rebuild that was embarked upon with a goal of returning the Braves to perennial-contender status after more than a decade of mediocrity. He did it in Kansas City. He knows the Braves culture as it once was, and has the respect of current players who talk to former players and hear nothing but glowing reports about Moore.
Getting the perfect candidate never was going to be easy, as Moore would understandably not be expected to come to the Braves unless he was running the entire show; a move from his current position to Braves GM would be a step down if they retain Hart as president of baseball operations. There was no president of baseball operations in Kansas City; Moore has those responsibilities.
But if Hart were to step down, change titles or be forced out after MLB announces its findings, well, then the road might suddenly be cleared for Moore, the Braves might suddenly be willing to meet whatever potential compensation the Royals demand, and Moore could be given the power to either run the show as president of baseball operations and GM, or just be prez of baseball ops and hire a GM to take care of much of the daily grind that goes with that job.
Moore, 50, started as a Braves scout and worked his way up to assistant GM under former Braves GM John Schuerholz before leaving for Kansas City in 2006. He rebuilt a Royals organization that went nearly three decades without a postseason appearance until winning the American League pennant in 2014 and the World Series in 2015.
The Royals have several high-profile free agents and are facing another rebuilding situation now, after Moore used many of their prospects to acquire key pieces in the team’s highly successful postseason runs.
Meanwhile, the next GM of the Braves will step into a talent-rich farm system that has been rated as the best and deepest in baseball. It will remain at or near the top of those rankings even if the Braves lose a prospect or three because of rules infractions.
Whoever steps into the GM role will be in position to finish off a rebuild that should yield playoff contenders for multiple seasons once the Braves’ rotation is stocked with many of the elite arms that Coppolella and Hart acquired and the lineup built around Freddie Freeman is infused with the best of the Braves’ position-player prospects, led by Ronald Acuna, and complemented by some key pieces acquired via trades or possibly free agency (but most likely trades).
Will ownership give the new GM a budge that allows for the acquisition of a couple of truly impactful players? If so, the agonizing rebuild could be over sooner rather than later. Even if Liberty Media’s middle-market budget prevents the Braves from making a big splash by bringing in outside talent, they should have enough talent stockpiled now in the system for Moore or whomever to use some of those prospects to bring in key pieces and get the Braves out of the doldrums and emerge from a rebuild that has tested the patience of a baseball market that just wasn’t used to losing the way other recent rebuilding franchises were. Braves fans didn’t suffer for more than quarter-century like Royals fans, not to mention for most of a century as Cubs fans did.