Keith Law was on 105.7 today

[carolinaoriole]

CarolinaOriole...are you actually going to challenge anything he said here or are you just going to pretend he is some hack?

I did not listen to what he said this time. But I assume he said the same thing he always says.He is a broken record and never says anything new as far as I know. I remember he did an interview a few weeks ago with Melewski at Masn and was challenged about his opinions and I see this as more of a na,na,na,na,na,na moment where he is saying I told you so moment. I just am not a fan. I would rather hear from those that have actually built or ran a team. I will not call him a hack. But I will say he has built or ran the same amount of teams that I have.

[Frobby]

He really is stating the obvious in this interview...Much of what he is saying has been said on here many times.

It simply amazes me that people on this site, smart people who see this team everyday, still can't grasp many of these simple ideas and concepts. Heads are still buried in the sand.

It is hard to see reality. I struggle with this all the time. There is always a part of me that thinks we are having a run of bad luck, that some breaks will fall our way and suddenly the skies will clear and the angels will sing.

And some of it seems justified, to be honest. This is the third year in a row that we have drastically underperformed our PECOTA projections offensively. I'm not making up those projections. They are supposed to take age, experience etc. into account. So why is it that, three years in a row, our players haven't been anywhere close to where they were expected to be? It's really tough to explain. And then you see the Jays getting unbelievably lucky with Jose Bautista, or other teams who pick up a 35-36 year old player and they exceed expectations. It really feels like this team is overdue to catch a break.

But then I step back. There really is no doubt that our farm system stinks right now. There really is no doubt that, even if we were getting the breaks, we still wouldn't be contenders. If everything were going our way, we'd be like Toronto, except with an inferior farm system. That's the cold truth.

[DrungoHazewood]

It is hard to see reality. I struggle with this all the time. There is always a part of me that thinks we are having a run of bad luck, that some breaks will fall our way and suddenly the skies will clear and the angels will sing.

And some of it seems justified, to be honest. This is the third year in a row that we have drastically underperformed our PECOTA projections offensively. I'm not making up those projections. They are supposed to take age, experience etc. into account. So why is it that, three years in a row, our players haven't been anywhere close to where they were expected to be? It's really tough to explain. And then you see the Jays getting unbelievably lucky with Jose Bautista, or other teams who pick up a 35-36 year old player and they exceed expectations. It really feels like this team is overdue to catch a break.

But then I step back. There really is no doubt that our farm system stinks right now. There really is no doubt that, even if we were getting the breaks, we still wouldn't be contenders. If everything were going our way, we'd be like Toronto, except with an inferior farm system. That's the cold truth.

I think we're to the point where you have to question whether or not this is bad luck. I think you have to seriously doubt the abilities of the scouts and the coaches and the talent/infrastructure/support network throughout the organization.

Basically what we'd all called out prior to Buck last year: the Orioles make their own bad luck by not having the stuff in place to identify, acquire, develop, and sustain a major league organization.

[Frobby]

I think we're to the point where you have to question whether or not this is bad luck. I think you have to seriously doubt the abilities of the scouts and the coaches and the talent/infrastructure/support network throughout the organization.

Basically what we'd all called out prior to Buck last year: the Orioles make their own bad luck by not having the stuff in place to identify, acquire, develop, and sustain a major league organization.

There is no question at all that the Orioles make their own bad luck to a significant extent. Even so, I don't see how the organization caused Markakis to start declining the minute his long-term deal went into efect, caused BRob to suddenly become injury prone the minute his long-term deal went into effect, caused Matusz to lose velocity over the winter, and numerous other things. You can say that lack of depth causes the Orioles to suffer more than they should when something goes wrong. You can say their scouts are poor at identifying when a player who used to be good is falling off the table. You can say the O's don't have a good conditioning program. But still, I feel that at least some things are just bad luck, period.

[Sports Guy]

There is no question at all that the Orioles make their own bad luck to a significant extent. Even so, I don't see how the organization caused Markakis to start declining the minute his long-term deal went into efect, caused BRob to suddenly become injury prone the minute his long-term deal went into effect, caused Matusz to lose velocity over the winter, and numerous other things. You can say that lack of depth causes the Orioles to suffer more than they should when something goes wrong. You can say their scouts are poor at identifying when a player who used to be good is falling off the table. You can say the O's don't have a good conditioning program. But still, I feel that at least some things are just bad luck, period.

Well, it is their fault that they gave BRob an extension when they shouldn't have...It is likely their fault that BMat has the issues he has.

[Darkhawk]

Well, it is their fault that they gave BRob an extension when they shouldn't have...It is likely their fault that BMat has the issues he has.

Exactly. I hope we're not making the same mistake with Hardy, who is an even bigger injury risk than BRob was at the time he signed his extension, even though he's been great this year and I love to watch him play.

[Frobby]

Finally had time to listen to this interview, which was very well done and ran almost 20 minutes. The main thing I took away was that Law is pretty high on the Orioles' amateur scouting, but questions why the talent isn't developing as it should.

It seems to me that part of this is why Buck is here. He's supposed to put his stamp on how we do things in the minors as well as the majors. He's supposed to be a guy who can look at how things are done and say "that's wrong, we should be doing it this way." If Buck sees that we don't have a good offseason workout regimen, I'd expect him to speak up.

There isn't going to be a quick, easy fix here.

[Frobby]

A couple of tidbits from a Keith Law chat today (he came out with his midseason top 50, which has Machado at #5 and Schoop at #38):

Alex (NJ)

Nice to see Schoop at #38. Any idea about where Dylan Bundy would rank overall, if the 7-8 2011 draftees you mention all sign?

Klaw (1:47 PM)

Very high. I'm guessing the top 4-5 guys on my draft top 100 will end up top 20 guys in next winter's pro ranking.

steve (anaheim)

Jake Arrieta - is he what you expected or is there upside left?

Klaw (2:09 PM)

This is roughly what I expected. Better defense behind him and he's probably a solid 4.

http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/chat/_/id/39333

[DannyO]

I just think it is fair to ask why this person opinions is so widely accepted as a respected opinion on baseball. As far as I know he worked briefly for the Blue Jays

It's a lot easier and safer to get paid writing about decisions other people have made than to earn your living making them youself and living by them.

[BaltimoreTerp]

I did not listen to what he said this time. But I assume he said the same thing he always says.He is a broken record and never says anything new as far as I know. I remember he did an interview a few weeks ago with Melewski at Masn and was challenged about his opinions and I see this as more of a na,na,na,na,na,na moment where he is saying I told you so moment. I just am not a fan. I would rather hear from those that have actually built or ran a team. I will not call him a hack. But I will say he has built or ran the same amount of teams that I have.

So you don't count four years helping to run the Blue Jays?

And, as SG said, you are shooting the messenger while ignoring whether or not the message is right.

[carolinaoriole]

It's a lot easier and safer to get paid writing about decisions other people have made than to earn your living making them youself and living by them.

Exactly!! and thanks for seeing my point.

[carolinaoriole]

So you don't count four years helping to run the Blue Jays?

And, as SG said, you are shooting the messenger while ignoring whether or not the message is right.

Right I give no credit for him helping to run the Blue Jays. I just appreciate folks like John Hart and people that were actually in charge more than Law. Thanks.

[BaltimoreTerp]

It's a lot easier and safer to get paid writing about decisions other people have made than to earn your living making them youself and living by them.

So you don't read any sportswriting? Movie or restaurant reviews? You think your teachers and professors were failures?

There are many different ways to apply knowledge. Especially in an industry where the number of open positions is so small compared to the number of people who desire one.

[BaltimoreTerp]

Right I give no credit for him helping to run the Blue Jays. I just appreciate folks like John Hart and people that were actually in charge more than Law. Thanks.

Well, what does John Hart have to say on the subjects compared to Law? Anything different? The same?

[Nigel Tufnel]

It's a lot easier and safer to get paid writing about decisions other people have made than to earn your living making them youself and living by them.

Exactly!! and thanks for seeing my point.

What did you guys think about the interview, though - did you agree with what Law was saying?