should we demote Rowell?

[glenn__davis]

Thanks for the report, Hoovedawg, very interesting.

Sounds basically like your typical kid who's always been told how great he is and has never really had to work for anything. Hopefully he'll accept what he's going through right now as a piece of humble pie. Based on just about all of the scouting reports he's got the physical tools, hopefully he'll learn that that won't be enough to succeed at the ML level (or even the High-A level).

[Old#5fan]

And the hits keep coming.:rolleyestf:

Maybe Jordan should personally meet with this kid and read him the riot act. Maybe he should tell this kid that he put his reputation on the line by picking him and so far how he is performing and conducting himself has been very disappointing. Maybe that is what it will take for this kid to wise up and start applying himself properly. If not, then at least he will be put in his place, and understand the world doesn't revolve around him and nobody gets handed a big league baseball career, you have to earn it by hard work and a proper attitude and approach. I also agree with Tony that the kid should be demoted.

[ChaosLex]

Not to threadjack, but is Luis Hernandez still stinking it up at AAA?

[Old#5fan]

He whines about everything, and not just typical complaining, he takes it to a whole new level. The dirts too hard, or its too soft or theres a whole near home plate, or the grass is too tall or too short of that its too long of a drive to the mercedes dealership, becuse he needs to get his 100,000 dollar m. It is non stop whining.

He also disrespects keys staff members like when he gunned a throw to first while a groundskeeper was directly in line between Rowell and the 1b man. Luckily the ball only hit the groundskeeper in the chest and not the face. I would normally dismiss this type of thing as an accidnet but to me it appeared like one of those "Hey guys look how close to him I can get with out hitting him" (Except he doesn't have an accourate enough arm to do that). I’ve seen him yell at another one of the groundskeepers. Basically he thinks he is allowed to do whatever because he is the "big star".

When he starts to struggle then he appears to get both more lazy and more angry. He has been thrown out of several games and came close in several. Once he was tossed and then stayed in the dugout for 5 or 10 minutes after causing the umps to delay the game until he left. He looked better defensivley at the beginning of the year, but now he plays with an apparently lazy attitude. Hes got a rocket arm but when he begins to act like a kid that gets wasted.

If all of this is true, he sounds like one of the worst head cases I have heard of at such a young age. Jordan should sat him down, read him the riot act (tell him emphatically that his behavior and approach is embarassing him) and if he doesn't dramatically change his attitude to pack his bags and hit the door. I know that will raise some eyebrows in losing a top prospect but more importantly it will send a message through the entire Orioles minor league system that gigantic egos from players who have no reason to present themselves in that manner (don't produce on the field) will simply not be tolerated.

[Old#5fan]

At some point when are we going to start to blame our minor league instructors for the problem of our lack of developing good hitting talent. Either our scouts are messing up or our instructors are.

How are they supposed to work with what sounds like an arrogant, know-it-all head case? If this kid acts like this and I was his manager it would be all I could do to keep from decking him.

[DuffMan]

Thanks for the report, Hoovedawg, very interesting.

Sounds basically like your typical NEW JERSEY kid who's always been told how great he is and has never really had to work for anything. Hopefully he'll accept what he's going through right now as a piece of humble pie. Based on just about all of the scouting reports he's got the physical tools, hopefully he'll learn that that won't be enough to succeed at the ML level (or even the High-A level).

Fixed that for you;)

[jcumansky28]

At some point when are we going to start to blame our minor league instructors for the problem of our lack of developing good hitting talent. Either our scouts are messing up or our instructors are.

I think this is the major issue. Rowell might be a slumping head case, but it's downright depressing to read the minor league box scores from all of our teams. None of them can hit. And outside of Wieters and Reimold, there's really no one who can consistently lay good wood on the ball. There needs to be some kind of internal evaluation from on high--maybe even an outside consultant--to discover whether our scouts can't judge hitters, or our development guys are piss-poor, or both. Then, Stockstill needs to consider changing the way we coach position players on hitting. It's gotten to the point where the disparity between our pitching (very deep and very good) and hitting (just the opposite) is so glaring that it can't be ignored any longer.

[connja]

Rowell breaks out of his slump. 3 for 4. Single to CF. Double to LF. Homer to CF. No K's. Nice. I think part of Rowell's problem is being too pull happy so this is a good sign. He's got plenty of power to hit the ball out of any part of the park. Hopefully this will be the start of a hot streak. <Fingers crossed>.

but the real question is what was he like in the clubhouse after the game?? :laughlol:

[Old#5fan]

but the real question is what was he like in the clubhouse after the game?? :laughlol:

Yeah, was he preparing his Canton induction speech?:rofl:

[Mike B]

He's hitting .230 with no power. I'm hearing he has attitude problems (though, I don't know if that is true...).

Maybe have him go back to Delmarva/Aberdeen to see if he can regain his stroke and give him a wake-up call?

Perhaps we should just this very young man alone and let him develop. He is just 2 years out of high school.

[wickedwitch]

Yeah, was he preparing his Canton induction speech?:rofl:

Well if he goes and plays football, we won't have to worry about demoting him.

[BaltimoreTerp]

Yeah, was he preparing his Canton induction speech?:rofl:

This says an awful lot, right here :laughlol:

[Mike B]

Yeah, was he preparing his Canton induction speech?:rofl:

If your going to make fun of the kid at least know the Baseball HOF is in Cooperstown. He is a kid who still has plenty of time to catch on.

[Mike B]

This says an awful lot, right here :laughlol:

Yep. It is easy to be a ripper, harder to be factual.

[AVencill]

However, I believe the Orioles have pushed him in order for him to fail. I know that sounds crazy, but Rowell has been known to resist some coaching and the thought may have been to push him until he fails so he'll be more receptive to change.

Rowell has the raw abilities with his bat speed and power, but he needs to shorten the swing and learn about having quality at bats.

I totally agree with you Tony about these two points that I've quoted. It's funny how failure can certainly make you humble. I know that last week the rovers were in town and they worked extra hard with Rowell, including extra BP at 2:45 pm one day. By the end of the homestand, he was working the counts and not swinging at some pitches that he had been. I know he slumped through the first half of the roadtrip, but I believe he is seeing the ball well against Lynchburg pitching right now, and its going to help his confidence some down the road.

He's got uncanny ability with bat speed and power, which I saw first hand when he clobbered a shot to deep straightaway centerfield. I think there's mechanics in that big loopy swing of his that need to be fixed in the Instructional League this fall. He's adjusting to pitch sequences in the Carolina League, but he's still a step behind some of the other hitters.

It's going to be interesting to see how he reacts during the last two full months of the season. I've seen a lot of the positive (pull power to both sides, long at-bats, good lateral movement on ground balls, good with autograph hounds), but I've seen just as much on the negative side of things (deferring foul balls hit his way, the attitude after striking out, lackadaisical effort or taking some plays off, not diving on ground balls hit his way).