A good dream I have in my head

[OsEatAlEast]

It may be just me with this thought. But I believe that Dan Duquette is going to do something great with the O's minor league system. He has a good track record with aquiring good talented players. But with constrictions on spending in the draft and what not. I think that DD may put his focus into making sure the guys that we do get have every chance to make it.

Here is what I'm getting at in a nutshell. With a limited amatuer budget MLB teams are going to have to switch some of the focus on making sure the guys that they get pan out. Instead of what they mostly do now with having players do what they will in the off season and letting the cream rise to the top. Then in spring being somewhat suprised by the shape or lack there of that the players come in with.

What DD needs to do I think is get on the cutting edge of baseball specific sports training. By hiring an expert or experts, and locating them locally with say a state of the art (year round) baseball training facility. Get it regimented and down to a science (1980's Bulgarian Olympic weighlifting team style) so that O's players know what they need to do to get better. So as to leave no doubt in their minds that if we do this program we are going to get better at said task.

This comes from a simple belief that in baseball to much is left to chance. Especially with helping minor leaguers get better. I also believe that if the O's get to this thought ahead of mostly every other MLB team. That we as O's fans will reap the rewards of a system like this for many years to come.

[Frobby]

Dan said on Day One that his biggest strength was player development. He hired Rick Petetson and Mike Boulanger to coordinate development of pitching and hitting and brought in Ron Johnson, who by all accounts was a huge asset as AAA manager. Not bad for Year One. There's probably a lot of other things going on behind the scenes.

[OsEatAlEast]

Yes I agree, he could very well be doing things like this already. I think DD is a guy who gets that you have to have a good foundation. To do just about everything a winning team needs to do.

I know alot of people are frustrated with the slow offseason but I keep my head by thinking of stuff like this.

[weams]

I liked it so much that I put it on the front page.

[Dipper9]

I liked it so much that I put it on the front page.

When I was younger, most of my good dreams dealt with things like this.... http://forum.orioleshangout.com/foru...fficially-dead

Now, I'd settle for this....

[crowmst3k!]

I think that's being missed in the lack of flashy moves, he's really focusing on getting our guys in the system to where they need to be.

He's not trading packages of young pitchers for individual players, heck...he won't even go after LaRoche because he doesn't want to lose the draft pick (I'm sure that's not the ONLY reason, but a significant one).

The farm system has gone from barren to fruitful, and with the depth moves DD has made, it's looking even more promising. The prospects don't have to be rushed up to fill a need (Machado was arguably rushed, but he certainly played at a high level for a rookie coming from AA), the rotation is mostly filled out as is, giving the O's the change to leave guys like Gausman and Bundy down to get their appropriate development time, add pitches, work on the small stuff. This is how the Rays do it. This is what DD is going for.

[OsEatAlEast]

Wow, thank you weams! I'm both humbled and honored!

[epic]

I think this is a great post and topic of conversation. I have been having the same thoughts recently that DD is really going to build this organization. The first step was going out and hiring some good baseball people who he knows and will be on the same page with with their philosophies and ideas. He accomplished that by hiring Peterson, Ferreira, and also keeping guys like Buck, Allenson, and Bordick.

I've been wondering if and when a team will set up an offseason plan for a majority of its organization's players. I think for Minor Leaguers a winter league, especially for a hitter, can be very beneficial (more so than simply lifting and baseball specific exercises). For Major Leaguers as they become fully adept to the big league level probably benefit from more of a regimented workout plan than a winter league.

If a facility was set up in Baltimore I wonder how many players could comfortably take a month or two to work out with Orioles "trainers" like Brady? I'm guessing a decent amount.

[crowmst3k!]

I mean, what if, after he arrived in New York, Buck Showalter was pushing for a true MOO bat so badly that it involved trading one of Jeter, Posada, Pettitte, or Mariano Rivera?

It would have derailed the Yankees for quite some time.

I think he recognizes this, and is on the same page with Duquette regarding the prospects and the pros/cons to trading them. I don't think he's necessarily overvaluing them, as much as he's identifying how drastically a good crop of players can turn the fortunes of a baseball team.

[OsEatAlEast]

You know one of the most interesting things I've heard about in recent times is pre-frontal cortex training. I remember Gary Sheffield saying one time that if he concentrated hard enough that he could slow down time. What if one of the experts they brought in could help the O's with the mind muscle connection. If used right we could see another offensive golden age. Without the chemical enhancement. But which team will bye into it first? I bet it isn't to far on the horizon!