Sports Guy
08-05-2007, 10:52 PM
http://baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=6545
justD
08-05-2007, 11:10 PM
“The only thing MLB can do is fine you if you don’t call them first,” said one scouting director, who then went into detail about the process, the annoyance in his voice coming through perfectly. “You call MLB and say you want to go over slot, and they tell you not to, and that they’ve worked so hard to put this system in place and that you are blowing everything up.” From there, things get uglier. “Now, the process can’t continue until MLB talks not to your GM, but to your ownership, where they will once again yell about your team messing everything up, but also often telling them that their own scouting director is doing the wrong thing here,” he added. “Unfortunately, there are owners who listen.”
The key to getting an over-slot deal done seems to then rely on having a supportive internal management structure. “In the end, you have to have a strong enough ownership where you can tell him that signing this player for big money is in the best interest of the organization,” he continued. “When that happens, the owner has to call MLB back and let them know that their message has been heard and considered, but we’re doing it anyway. Then after MLB yells at you one more time, you sign the guy. It’s a bad process.”
I don't even want to think about which scenario we've got with the Orioles - the owner who listens to MLB, or the 'supportive internal management structure,' because I have great fears that it is the former, not the latter, and that Weiters and Arrieta might slip through our fingers as a result...
hoosiers
08-06-2007, 12:44 AM
It's a pretty good summary of the situation, but I think talent goes more "in order" than the author allows.
As the author notes, the international market is in significantly worse shape than the draft.
Nice find.