When decrying misuse of the peer-to-peer music sharing system, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft said, "P-to-p does not stand for
permission to pilfer." But someone apparently gave Royals General Manager Allard Baird a license to commit larceny. When his team tanked, he started accumulating promising prospects for free, like a college kid stocking his hard drive. Baird scored flamethrowers Matt Kinney and Denny Bautista, burgeoning backstop Jason Huber and outstanding outfielder Abraham Nuñez for next to nothing. In the offseason, he added Shawn Camp, Jaime Cerda and Dennys Reyes -- solid relievers all -- without sacrificing a contributor. And with absolutely no leverage, he landed three potential long-term solutions in the Carlos Beltran swap. Baird might have bad luck with big-name free-agent acquisitions, but when it comes to trade talks, there's no one better.
