O's scouting LHP Chen Wei-Yin and SS Hiroyuki Nakajima; D.Stockstill returning?

[Frobby]

Good, bad or indifferent, the Stockstills are now a symbol of failure for the Orioles.

If they're truly qualified, they can find jobs with other organizations. If not, they shouldn't be hired here. Either way, it's a bad sign that either of them are guaranteed a role in this organization in advance of a newly hired GM'y type of person.

According to Joe Jordan, almost all of his scouts were offered new contracts by the Orioles, and almost all of them are coming back. Is it your position that we should have waited for a new GM and/or a new scouting director to offer them contracts?

[NewMarketSean]

Lost in all this is that the O's are scouting Japanese players. That's good, but they do need to hire a full-time scout(s) for Japan, as well as Korea.

[DrungoHazewood]

Good, bad or indifferent, the Stockstills are now a symbol of failure for the Orioles.

If they're truly qualified, they can find jobs with other organizations. If not, they shouldn't be hired here. Either way, it's a bad sign that either of them are guaranteed a role in this organization in advance of a newly hired GM'y type of person.

Would it be nice if the O's completely cleaned house, divested themselves of all Angelos' buddies, and went about hiring 150 new high-profile, fully vetted scouts all with a seal of approval from the new GM who was hired on October 5th? Sure, that would be great.

But back in reality sometimes you have to take incremental progress. The O's are scouting multiple Japanese players and are have had some qualified success in other international markets. It's not going to win the World Series, but it's better than a hole in the head.

[Lucky Jim]

It's not going to win the World Series, but it's better than a hole in the head.

Trepanning is under-rated.

[DrungoHazewood]

Trepanning is under-rated.

Absolutely. Who doesn't read The Auger? For some reason I'm now in the mood for some Ned's Atomic Dustbin...

[Lucky Jim]

Absolutely. Who doesn't read The Auger?

That picture deserves an OH caption. Which one is Trea?

[higgybaby]

Talk about your derailed thread... Does anybody know anything about this LHP or SS?

[Can_of_corn]

Talk about your derailed thread... Does anybody know anything about this LHP or SS?

http://www.npbtracker.com/2012-free-agents-etc/#content

As far as I know npbtracker is the go to site for info on the Japanese league.

Wei-Yin Chen (SP, Chunichi Dragons) — Chunichi’s Taiwanese lefty ace negotiated a free agency clause into his agreement last offseason, and intends to move to the Bigs for 2012. I’ve only watched Chen once this year, and it looked like he traded some velocity for pitchability. It’s unusual to have an established lefty with a good arm freely available on the market at age 26, so it’ll be interesting to see where he winds up. Expect more on Chen in a later post.

Hiroyuki Nakajima (SS, Seibu Lions) — Nakaji made multiple requests to be posted last offseason, all of which were denied by Seibu’s management, citing a desire to compete this season. It hasn’t really worked out, as the Lions are currently in last place in the Pacific League (despite my preseason optimism). Like most of NPB, Nakajima’s numbers have been suppressed by the new ball, but he still sports a .279/.339/.431 line. Sadly that .430 slugging percentage is good for sixth in the Pacific League. I don’t really see Nakaji as an MLB shortstop, but if he can come close his current .770 OPS at the MLB level, he’d be a useful second baseman.

Nakajima would have to be posted.

[EagleOriole]

Good, bad or indifferent, the Stockstills are now a symbol of failure for the Orioles.

Awesome, I was looking for someone to blame.

[RVAbird]

Dave Stockstill just started as director of international scouting last year (not sure -- someone feel free to correct me on this). He's already added Eduardo Rodriguez and Gabriel Lino, both of whom are legit prospects, from Venezuela, where the Orioles have historically had absolutely zero presence, plus the aforementioned very solid results out of the DSL team. He may have been an awful farm director, but the returns since he was switched over have been much better than they had been previously (which is definitely not saying much).

Both Gabby and Eduardo Rodriguez were signed in January of 2010, two months before the Stockstills switched roles. Calvin Maduro was the primary scout who negotiated their deals.

I don't know of any signficant IFA signings for BAL this period, though I have heard some good preliminary reports on a couple of guys.

[square634]

http://www.npbtracker.com/2012-free-agents-etc/#content

As far as I know npbtracker is the go to site for info on the Japanese league.

Nakajima would have to be posted.

Hadn't read about the ball change... could that partially explain Darvish's improved stats this year?

[Can_of_corn]

Hadn't read about the ball change... could that partially explain Darvish's improved stats this year?

No idea but a 10 second google search resulted in this:

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/sports/T110408004012.htm

Although NPB's new ball is made by Mizuno, it is nothing like the company's old strato-sphere that sent home run totals soaring a decade ago.

"Our tests indicate a ball struck with the same force this year will travel one to two meters less than balls previously used," NPB official Katsuhiko Nakamura told The Daily Yomiuri in January.

The more energy a ball retains from its impact with the bat, the livelier it is and the farther it will travel. According to Nakamura, this year's standard ball will be at the very bottom of the allowable range.

[Sports Guy]

According to Joe Jordan, almost all of his scouts were offered new contracts by the Orioles, and almost all of them are coming back. Is it your position that we should have waited for a new GM and/or a new scouting director to offer them contracts?

Of course, especially if the guy you are bringing on is as good a candidate as some of the people being talked about.

This entire organization needs to be changed.

Now, Drungo brings up a good point about sometimes needing to be happy with incremental progress...perhaps that's right, which is why I am ok with keeping some of the scouts around...HOWEVER, I am not happy keeping around ANYONE who has clearly been kept around because they are an "Angelos boy".

Under no circumstances am I in agreement with that...I would say Buck would be my exception although I would give the new GM the power to get rid of Buck if he wanted to.

[Lucky Jim]

I think the real issue is how are both of these guys guaranteed jobs before a scouting director, and more importantly, a GM is named. I think we all know the answer.

My guess is that they're one year contracts, and that a wholesale overhaul wouldn't be feasible given the need to get going. I mean, if we fired everyone, how long would it take to get folks hired? Why not keep them in the system for one year and then move on under the guidance of the new boss?

[mweb]

My guess is that they're one year contracts, and that a wholesale overhaul wouldn't be feasible given the need to get going. I mean, if we fired everyone, how long would it take to get folks hired? Why not keep them in the system for one year and then move on under the guidance of the new boss?

Yeah, they're one year contracts I believe and yes, it's not that big of a deal. The new GM can re-assign them if he so chooses and there's no harm in letting him pick their minds during his first year on the job.