AM on Int'l spending

[Sports Guy]

http://www.masnsports.com/steve_melewski/2011/06/macphail-addresses-international-spending-with-season-ticket-holders.html

[MikeAD]

This makes me queasy. So AM gets a serious question about us being outspent in the international market and he attributes the other teams spending more to singing bonuses?

Come on! I am not a big hater on AM, but this is frustrating.

"Come out here at 5:30 and a lot of guys are hitting home runs they aren't during the game. If I'm going to put my money down on this player and bet on his future, I want to see him in a competitive environment. It's not just who can run the fastest time and hit the ball the farthest in batting practice.

"A lot of the signing bonuses that you are reading about for no doubt talented players that are signing with these other clubs for millions out of the Dominican, they are doing that without the benefit of playing games. That is a not a risk I am willing to take." he said.

Then pay for some scouts to go sit and watch them play. What will the excuse be then? Will we then say that the competition they are facing is too weak to make a risk on signing them?

[ShaneDawg85]

I get what he's saying, and on some level I agree with him. It's not an unreasonable belief to have. However, I'm still of the opinion that if talent is out there, and you really want it, you need to take a chance on it.

[NewMarketSean]

http://www.masnsports.com/steve_melewski/2011/06/macphail-addresses-international-spending-with-season-ticket-holders.html

OK...then send some scouts to watch these guys PLAY in games.

[Can_of_corn]

This makes me queasy. So AM gets a serious question about us being outspent in the international market and he attributes the other teams spending more to singing bonuses?

Come on! I am not a big hater on AM, but this is frustrating.

Then pay for some scouts to go sit and watch them play. What will the excuse be then? Will we then say that the competition they are facing is too weak to make a risk on signing them?

OK...then send some scouts to watch these guys PLAY in games.

What AM is saying is that the Buscones have evolved the process so that the players are workout wonders that do not actually play games.

[Dr. FLK]

What AM is saying is that the Buscones have evolved the process so that the players are workout wonders that do not actually play games.

The problem is, some of these "workout wonders" end up being pretty darn good players. Instead of finding a way to get this talent into the Orioles' system, AM has decided to give up. People wouldn't complain too much if he had other creative ways to flood our system with talent. The problem is...he doesn't.

[TonySoprano]

Nothing that we haven't heard him say before.

Spending more than the year before..big whoop. If they spend $1 or $1,000 or whatever $$ more by definition it's more, so his statement tells us nothing.

Spending compared to the rest of the league is the real indicator.

[Can_of_corn]

The problem is, some of these "workout wonders" end up being pretty darn good players. Instead of finding a way to get this talent into the Orioles' system, AM has decided to give up. People wouldn't complain too much if he had other creative ways to flood our system with talent. The problem is...he doesn't.

I agree I was just explaining how you can't see the kids play in actual games.

I am not defending the O's international presence.

[Sports Guy]

As I have always said, the Orioles just do not care about the Int'l side of things and it shows.

AM said enough to where the casual fan says, you know what, he has a point.

[TGO]

I have always believed what he's said about the Dominican, but my issue is that if you aren't going to play the whole buscon game down there, what else are you doing? This organization is not aggressive about going into new markets, other than Aruba 10-15 years ago. Yes, the Dominican and Venezuela are where baseball is most popular but it is played elsewhere, too. I have been saying this for three or four years now. We could be scouting Colombia, Panama, Nicaragua, Korea and any number of other countries and we would be one of only two or three teams in each one of those places. We could set up our own facilities/youth leagues to avoid the workout warrior situation that is occurring in DR. We have one guy, I think, covering Japan and Australia, and that's cool, but not enough. We have to throw more resources at other markets if we aren't going to play in the Dominican market. And we have to, have to, have to crack Venezuela. I realize there are political issues and we're making slow progress but we need to speed things up.

And why do we never go after Cuban defectors? They play games. Fine, Chapman was a little too expensive, but there have been others. It can't just be the Angelos thing.

[24fps]

Pretty words. Hard to argue with on the surface.

Of course, in the AL East, if you're not outspending the competition, you'd better be outthinking and outworking them. Neither seems to be the case with the Orioles under AM on the international front.

[vab]

This is just not going to do. Not in this division, anyway. I don't know how these other teams are doing it but the Orioles have to get in there. It's like fighting with one arm tied behind your back.

[JTrea81]

Other teams don't seem to have a problem with the current system.

It's called taking a risk, but MacPhail would rather take risks on Garrett Atkins and Mike Gonzalez, guys that our scouts saw play in games...

Of course he's also right in line with PGA with that mentality of disregarding international players, but let's not forget PGA was once against going overslot for draft picks as well before being convinced by Flanagan and Duquette it was a good thing.

[Sports Guy]

We really have the worst combo of GM and owner for this...and many other things.

[MikeAD]

Am I overreacting to think this is just a ridiculous thing to say? I mean do other organizations look at this and just think, "duh." If this is your philosophy, I mean, go for it. But why say this publicly?

"well see, the players in the Dominican are risky, often times they can be really good in a workout, but that doesn't translate to games." You can get away with that? There's an obvious cure, send scouts and watch them play. And if you can't do that, then don't just do away with the whole market, other teams find good players through these methods.