The Implosion of 2015

[Stotle]

You can say he's improved some of the people in positions of the development team, but the system is not well regarded. A little late in the game to be just bringing it into focus. I hope it's not just lip service.

Yeah, agreed. I'm not sure how anyone could rationally look at the state of the system and state things are on the upswing from and draft and develop standpoint.

[Stotle]

Could be relatively simple. Could be nearly insurmountable. I know that's kind of silly and flip, but I really don't know. I assume there will be significant challenges to be overcome before the Orioles are a top development organization. I know the fan response is always to fire everyone, and in some cases that may actually have some merit - but Angelos mightn't allow that to happen, and that situation in the past may have led to the rumors of internal dissent.

I don't believe it requires firing everyone. But if rumors are true than a good first step is getting everyone on the same page with an organizational plan. You can make personnel improvements along the way. The systemic stuff you need to line-up. It's possible the rumored friction is what is preventing a cohesive plan from being implemented. I don't know.

[Stotle]

Pretty honest article and appraisal. Delmon Young got brought up again. I never would have guessed that was a source of frustration, but denying it after this many mentions would seem imprudent.

I liked DD taking responsibility. Much better than I've seen from other executives.

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I agree. Honestly, I think he said more than he needed to, and went above and beyond in calling out things the org needs to do better (which is not uncommon when saying "we all need to do better").

It's just a bit disheartening to hear that the organization is not happy with the current state of draft-and-develop after such a big deal was made about shaking things up when Duquette took over. Makes you wonder if there are still barriers from ownership as to changing certain things. Also makes you wonder if there is a Buck's guys vs. Duquette's guys dynamic on the Baseball Ops side.

[Frobby]

The people who thought Duquette was too distracted by the Toronto dalliance last winter should love this quote:

"Anybody that wants to talk about an isolated personnel decision is thinking about the wrong things. They're not thinking about their job or helping the club or their career long-term. In the game of baseball, if you don't have a clear mind, it's very difficult to go out there and do your job."

As to Duquette's other quote that Stotle quoted, I didn't take it as him admitting that the organization has failed over the last four years. I think he just didn't want to assign blame in any one place so he said we need to do everything better.

I thought the article was fair. One fact I found interesting is that the team has gone from 57 defensive runs saved to zero. Fangraphs defense says the drop is from 55 to 15. BB-ref has us going from 50 Rtot to 8. So, we've lost 40-57 runs on defense? I'm a bit surprised by that. I would have guessed we were down a little, but nothing that drastic.

[Stotle]

The people who thought Duquette was too distracted by the Toronto dalliance last winter should love this quote:

As to Duquette's other quote that Stotle quoted, I didn't take it as him admitting that the organization has failed over the last four years. I think he just didn't want to assign blame in any one place so he said we need to do everything better.

I thought the article was fair. One fact I found interesting is that the team has gone from 57 defensive runs saved to zero. Fangraphs defense says the drop is from 55 to 15. BB-ref has us going from 50 Rtot to 8. So, we've lost 40-57 runs on defense? I'm a bit surprised by that. I would have guessed we were down a little, but nothing that drastic.

I don't think he believes the organization has failed over the last four years. But I do believe he is accepting of the reality that there is nowhere near enough internal talent coming through the system for the organization to continue on its course. I also believe he would like to be more involved internationally (J2, not Toronto).

[wildcard]

The people who thought Duquette was too distracted by the Toronto dalliance last winter should love this quote:

As to Duquette's other quote that Stotle quoted, I didn't take it as him admitting that the organization has failed over the last four years. I think he just didn't want to assign blame in any one place so he said we need to do everything better.

I thought the article was fair. One fact I found interesting is that the team has gone from 57 defensive runs saved to zero. Fangraphs defense says the drop is from 55 to 15. BB-ref has us going from 50 Rtot to 8. So, we've lost 40-57 runs on defense? I'm a bit surprised by that. I would have guessed we were down a little, but nothing that drastic.

Anyone who has watched the O's on a regular basis should have a hard time believing the defense is down. Its the one part of the game the O's have done well this year IMO. They haven't hit well and they haven't pitched well but the defense has been good.

[Stotle]

I think the farm system will take a step forward next year due to the additional draft picks when we lose FA and better health.

I don't agree with you guys that the quote was just him being all inclusive. DD is very exact with his language typically. If he said this, I think he meant it. I'm not losing my mind over the quote, but I do think he isn't happy with something in all the mentioned areas. Good. I'm glad he isn't happy. We do need to get better.

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That's it.

[Frobby]

I think the farm system will take a step forward next year due to the additional draft picks when we lose FA and better health.

I don't agree with you guys that the quote was just him being all inclusive. DD is very exact with his language typically. If he said this, I think he meant it. I'm not losing my mind over the quote, but I do think he isn't happy with something in all the mentioned areas. Good. I'm glad he isn't happy. We do need to get better.

If he's not happy with drafting, development and player acquisition, then he's basically saying that he has done a lousy job.

Aside from the injuries to Bundy and Harvey (which may or may not be anyone's fault), and the yo-yoing of Kevin Gausman, I'm not sure I see a lot of obvious failures in player development.

[Stotle]

If he's not happy with drafting, development and player acquisition, then he's basically saying that he has done a lousy job.

Aside from the injuries to Bundy and Harvey (which may or may not be anyone's fault), and the yo-yoing of Kevin Gausman, I'm not sure I see a lot of obvious failures in player development.

Arrieta/Rodriguez at least get an eyebrow raise, but I agree the issue seems to be more about not acquiring talent and trading away picks/talent. That said, part of development is getting production out of players other than the surefire studs.

[wildcard]

We are catching everything but we aren't getting to nearly as many balls IMO. Some of that is placement and luck dependent but some of it isn't.

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It does seem that too many times when the O's shift the other team is able to beat the shift.

[Orioles0615]

It's almost as if sticking a thumb in the dike each time a hole springs isn't a sustainable approach to maintaining a healthy dam. It is good to see Duquette state flatly the organization has work to do on the acquisition/development front. The evidence certainly seems to point to that aspect of the organization being too long neglected.

Tehehehehehe

[Frobby]

Anyone who has watched the O's on a regular basis should have a hard time believing the defense is down. Its the one part of the game the O's have done well this year IMO. They haven't hit well and they haven't pitched well but the defense has been good.

I watch regularly, and I believe the defense is down some. The team hasn't been as good at converting DP's this year, and I don't think the merry-go-round in the corner OF spots has been helpful, despite the fact that we have a ton of OF assists. Both UZR and Rtot have Jonathan Schoop having a significant downturn.

[weams]

Pretty honest article and appraisal. Delmon Young got brought up again. I never would have guessed that was a source of frustration, but denying it after this many mentions would seem imprudent.

I liked DD taking responsibility. Much better than I've seen from other executives.

Pretty Honest.

[abbott]

If he's not happy with drafting, development and player acquisition, then he's basically saying that he has done a lousy job.

Aside from the injuries to Bundy and Harvey (which may or may not be anyone's fault), and the yo-yoing of Kevin Gausman, I'm not sure I see a lot of obvious failures in player development.

Drafting baseball players must be next to impossible. Since Cap Ripken the Orioles have Produced 3 players with a career WAR 2 or in the second round, Arthur Rhodes and reimold and Larry Sheets. 3 players in 35 years. Is that average for a franchise? Scouting seems so random

[sportsfan8703]

The lesson learned is that winning over the course of a 162 game season every year is hard to sustain. Especially without a huge payroll and without producing studs from the farm. All the platoons, the hidden gems, piecing together a rotation, juggling the bullpen with the Norfolk express, all did not go as well as previous seasons.

The extra picks are going to help the system. Plus the two strong drafts of 13' and 15'. Bundy and Harvey healthy would help greatly. But we're going to have to spend some money. We need to keep Davis and sign another OF bat. Plus we need to improve the rotation while also filling Chen's spot. We have to do that plus fill the holes from last year's offseason. It can work. I'm optimistic, but DD needs a bigger budget. If Davis leaves we are looking at needing LF,RF,1B,DH,SP. That's 20% of a team.