International Signing Period

[Walladarsky]

The international signing period begins in a couple weeks and it will be interesting to see with a new regime in place if the Orioles take a more aggressive approach. They're not listed in this Baseball America article as a team that is showing more interest in the big-money signings. This to me is probably the most important issue left to address for the organization. Would be interesting to hear what McPhail and co. have to say about it.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/international-affairs/2008/266316.html

[wayne25]

The international signing period begins in a couple weeks and it will be interesting to see with a new regime in place if the Orioles take a more aggressive approach. They're not listed in this Baseball America article as a team that is showing more interest in the big-money signings. This to me is probably the most important issue left to address for the organization. Would be interesting to hear what McPhail and co. have to say about it.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/international-affairs/2008/266316.html

It didn't draw much interest when I posted this before, but since you mentioned it: The guy the Orioles recently named "in charge of international something or other" was on one of the sunday sports talk shows, and said he did not think the orioles would bid on the prospects who would cost alot of money because he thought it wouldn't pay off. Or something to that effect. So count on the Orioles to continue to do basically nothing on that front. I guess Hanley Ramirez, Tejada, and all the other Latin studs don't interest the orioles unless they can pay them 50 million or so , once there establised players.

[DEbird]

If the Orioles aren't going to get committed to scouting and making a true effort to sign the best Latin players, then they should just abandon the program and focus on Asia. Maybe even be the first to send a scout to Antarctica and sign a polar bear to be on the team. I think a German born polar bear got more press last year then the Orioles.

[FarmSystem]

It didn't draw much interest when I posted this before, but since you mentioned it: The guy the Orioles recently named "in charge of international something or other" was on one of the sunday sports talk shows, and said he did not think the orioles would bid on the prospects who would cost alot of money because he thought it wouldn't pay off. Or something to that effect. So count on the Orioles to continue to do basically nothing on that front. I guess Hanley Ramirez, Tejada, and all the other Latin studs don't interest the orioles unless they can pay them 50 million or so , once there establised players.

Honestly you could just put friends of the ownership in charge of our international scouting and achieve pretty much the same results. Liz and Cabrera since 1999, thats hang your head in shame pathetic.

[hoosiers]

Seems like a lot of premature whining here.

It would be nice to sign one of the $1M bonus babies, but I'm not prepared to conclude it's the same BAU if we don't. AM does not seem the type to put all his eggs in one basket, but more likely to spread it around among several lower tier guys.

I'm looking to see a healthy increase over our spend last year. That would be a satisfactory indication of an improved commitment to me.

[Walladarsky]

I'd agree that I don't think they should go out and be spending like crazy. They have to do it in a smart, disciplined manner. It is interesting though that many of the smaller market teams are becoming much bigger players in this market. It'll be something to pay attention to in the next couple of weeks -- now that the draft is over -- to see how McPhail is different from the previous GM's.

[amateurfan]

It didn't draw much interest when I posted this before, but since you mentioned it: The guy the Orioles recently named "in charge of international something or other" was on one of the sunday sports talk shows, and said he did not think the orioles would bid on the prospects who would cost alot of money because he thought it wouldn't pay off. Or something to that effect. So count on the Orioles to continue to do basically nothing on that front. I guess Hanley Ramirez, Tejada, and all the other Latin studs don't interest the orioles unless they can pay them 50 million or so , once there establised players.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Tejada, or should we say Tejeda, signed with Oakland for $10,000. It's not necessary to sign FA International players to huge contracts to get a return. It's more necessary to have sound scouting, and a lot of it. This is where the Orioles were lacking.

[wayne25]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Tejada, or should we say Tejeda, signed with Oakland for $10,000. It's not necessary to sign FA International players to huge contracts to get a return. It's more necessary to have sound scouting, and a lot of it. This is where the Orioles were lacking.

Well, APPARENTLY, its necessary for the Orioles , given their track record of producing about ONE PITCHER per decade up to this point, from our Latin signings.

[Mackus]

I don't think its fair to heap the past failings of the organization onto the new regime. MacPhail has made scouting and development a priority, not just for the draft and in Latin America, but in other markets like Asia and Australia.

Just because they aren't getting in on the super high-priced guys, doesn't mean they aren't doing work. They aren't passing on these guys because they are cheap, they are passing on them because they don't think investing in one high-priced guy is a good use of the money they are spending there.

The Latin players are even more risky than draft picks. Its not too outlandish to think that signing 20 guys to $50,000 contracts could easily yield better results than signing 1 guy to a $1,000,000 contract.

[BoysofArbutus]

It didn't draw much interest when I posted this before, but since you mentioned it: The guy the Orioles recently named "in charge of international something or other" was on one of the sunday sports talk shows, and said he did not think the orioles would bid on the prospects who would cost alot of money because he thought it wouldn't pay off.

I didn't hear the interview but I'm guessing you are talking about Dave Stockstill. I'm pretty sure he was the guy Jordan assigned to head up international scouting, especially in the Pacific Rim. From what I've read and heard, they are more focused on finding Japanese players. These guys are a lot safer than the Latin American players where lord only knows what issues will arise with their birth certificates and how much formal coaching they've received.

I'd like to see us get more involved in the Latin American scene than we are, but I don't think it's our downfall.

[catfishncwc]

Just ask the Yanks how well that Willy Mo Pena signing did for them. Highest signing bonus and he can't seem to get the ball going in the majors long enough to stick to a full time position. I would rather sign a lot guys than bull the load on one player. How many of those Latin Bonus baby have been huge impact players. Seems to be the guys that sign for less are the impact players in the long run.

[wayne25]

I didn't hear the interview but I'm guessing you are talking about Dave Stockstill. I'm pretty sure he was the guy Jordan assigned to head up international scouting, especially in the Pacific Rim. From what I've read and heard, they are more focused on finding Japanese players. These guys are a lot safer than the Latin American players where lord only knows what issues will arise with their birth certificates and how much formal coaching they've received.

I'd like to see us get more involved in the Latin American scene than we are, but I don't think it's our downfall.

Yeah, Stockstill was the guy: Japanese may be safer, but there are a ton of Latin stars presently in the Majors and Minors. It may not be our downfall, but not competing for the best talent, can have only one outcome.

[crawdad]

Well, APPARENTLY, its necessary for the Orioles , given their track record of producing about ONE PITCHER per decade up to this point, from our Latin signings.

So how different is this from our track record on domestic amateurs?

[wayne25]

Just ask the Yanks how well that Willy Mo Pena signing did for them. Highest signing bonus and he can't seem to get the ball going in the majors long enough to stick to a full time position. I would rather sign a lot guys than bull the load on one player. How many of those Latin Bonus baby have been huge impact players. Seems to be the guys that sign for less are the impact players in the long run.

Boy, you pick one guy to lament? How about the dozens of latin stars in pro baseball. Some of you guys, either have your head in the sand, or just don't realize the impact of getting the best latin talent. We don't compete in the Pacific Rim, We don't compete for the "blue chip" latin talent, We barely compete in Free Agency, ==== Yeah, that equals, NOT COMPETING IN THE STANDINGS, AND NOT COMPETEING IN THE WORLD SERIES.

[Mackus]

Boy, you pick one guy to lament? How about the dozens of latin stars in pro baseball. Some of you guys, either have your head in the sand, or just don't realize the impact of getting the best latin talent. We don't compete in the Pacific Rim, We don't compete for the "blue chip" latin talent, We barely compete in Free Agency, ==== Yeah, that equals, NOT COMPETING IN THE STANDINGS, AND NOT COMPETEING IN THE WORLD SERIES.

Which of the Latin stars were guys that signed big time contracts and which were guys that signed smaller deals and just blossomed?

Additionally, how many other big time Latin bonus babies didn't pan out?

Its not like the O's don't have a presence there, they just seem to be focusing on signing many of the less expensive guys rather than a few of the expensive guys. Considering how bit of a risk even the expensive guys are, its not neccesarily a bad approach.

Also, if they scout a guy that they think is a safer bet, but still expensive, my guess is they'd pony up to sign him.

Your criticisms here seem misplaced to me. Getting the "blue chip latin talent" doesn't really correlate all that well to "developing blue chip latin players". The stars come from both expensive guys and under-the-radar guys. As long as we have a presence and are working hard, I'm happy with the plan. It certainly seems like MacPhail is making Latin America a priority, so why all the criticism.

If you want to attack the way things have been done the last 10 years, fine, but really, do you expect us to start churning out latin talent within one year of increasing our focus there? It takes a LONG time to get established.