Alright, it's time to get this rolling already...

[interloper]

I love the new regime as much as anyone and I am going to be very patient knowing that it will take them the better part of 2019 to get the organization built the way Elias wants it. 

That being said, the news needs to start coming very quickly now. The O's are currently in need of:

• 5-6 major league coaches
• 2-3 minor league coaches/managers
• a scouting director
• a farm director
• many analytics hires
• a catcher
• proof of some kind of plan for Chris Davis' offseason

I'm not concerned at this time, I'm just anxious. It's time to get it together a little bit, and I expect the news to start to flow swiftly. 

[NCRaven]

Sounds more like we're all bored than we are concerned or anxious.  That's where I'm at.  Just tired of nothing and hoping to see some progress on the front office and coaching hires (both major and minor leagues).  I do wonder if they are considering any internal candidates for the major league staff, other than Wasdin as bullpen coach.  Kendall at 1st or 3rd base?  Jeff Manto hitting or assistant hitting coach?  Not really advocating, just wondering.

[interloper]

1 minute ago, NCRaven said:

Sounds more like we're all bored than we are concerned or anxious.  That's where I'm at.  Just tired of nothing and hoping to see some progress on the front office and coaching hires (both major and minor leagues).  I do wonder if they are considering any internal candidates for the major league staff, other than Wasdin as bullpen coach.  Kendall at 1st or 3rd base?  Jeff Manto hitting or assistant hitting coach?  Not really advocating, just wondering.

I'm definitely not just bored. It's... a little weird that we don't have a scouting or farm director at this point. Graham and Rajsich were let go weeks ago. Elias and Mejdal can do these tasks by themselves for now, but it's less than ideal. I'm not worried, I just think this is all taking a very long time.

[interloper]

And just like that:

 

[Frobby]

“We will continue to augment our operation until the Baltimore Orioles are leaders in recruiting and developing international players.”

Gotta love that quote from Elias.   

[interloper]

The fact that this role wasn't even on my list says a lot about where the Orioles are in regards to the international market. Big hire.

[LookinUp]

27 minutes ago, interloper said:

I love the new regime as much as anyone and I am going to be very patient knowing that it will take them the better part of 2019 to get the organization built the way Elias wants it. 

That being said, the news needs to start coming very quickly now. The O's are currently in need of:

• 5-6 major league coaches
• 2-3 minor league coaches/managers
• a scouting director
• a farm director
• many analytics hires
• a catcher
• proof of some kind of plan for Chris Davis' offseason

I'm not concerned at this time, I'm just anxious. It's time to get it together a little bit, and I expect the news to start to flow swiftly. 

I definitely understand the sentiment, but personally I'm neither concerned nor anxious about any of this. Elias certainly knows that all teams need coaches and managers, for example.

I do agree it would be ideal if we had a cohesive organizational plan in place before spring training so our scouting, coaching and analytic approaches are all integrated across all levels of the organization. However, I just don't think that's reasonable, I don't want it rushed and I know that apparatus has to be built and nurtured over time. While I'm sure changes will be apparent this spring, I guarantee we see much more development of that approach over time. 

As a side note, I have no desire for any proof of Chris Davis' plan. I actually expect the opposite. I'll assume they have a plan in place with Davis and I expect they'll publicly focus on that plan as infrequently as possible. The pressure is already there and the eyeballs will all be on the man, so why bring extra attention to it?

[interloper]

8 minutes ago, LookinUp said:

I definitely understand the sentiment, but personally I'm neither concerned nor anxious about any of this. Elias certainly knows that all teams need coaches and managers, for example.

I do agree it would be ideal if we had a cohesive organizational plan in place before spring training so our scouting, coaching and analytic approaches are all integrated across all levels of the organization. However, I just don't think that's reasonable, I don't want it rushed and I know that apparatus has to be built and nurtured over time. While I'm sure changes will be apparent this spring, I guarantee we see much more development of that approach over time. 

As a side note, I have no desire for any proof of Chris Davis' plan. I actually expect the opposite. I'll assume they have a plan in place with Davis and I expect they'll publicly focus on that plan as infrequently as possible. The pressure is already there and the eyeballs will all be on the man, so why bring extra attention to it?

That's a fair point. I guess all I'm really looking for is a transition from Elias' quote that he "will be involved" with Davis to one saying he "is currently involved". That would suffice for me.

[LookinUp]

3 minutes ago, interloper said:

That's a fair point. I guess all I'm really looking for is a transition from Elias' quote that he "will be involved" with Davis to one saying he "is currently involved". That would suffice for me.

One of the neat things about this site is the focus on the less visible things that make up most of your list. That stuff is really important. Chris Davis will be all over the news this spring, but he's a lottery ticket. If Elias' methods and coaches are good enough to turn Davis into something resembling 2012-2014, we've hit the jackpot!

[Frobby]

50 minutes ago, interloper said:

I love the new regime as much as anyone and I am going to be very patient knowing that it will take them the better part of 2019 to get the organization built the way Elias wants it. 

That being said, the news needs to start coming very quickly now. The O's are currently in need of:

• 5-6 major league coaches
• 2-3 minor league coaches/managers
• a scouting director
• a farm director
• many analytics hires
• a catcher
• proof of some kind of plan for Chris Davis' offseason

I'm not concerned at this time, I'm just anxious. It's time to get it together a little bit, and I expect the news to start to flow swiftly. 

I do think we’ll see a spate of front office and coaching hires in the next 10-14 days.    Perez is a nice start.  

[LookinUp]

I wonder how much Elias/Mejdal's experience tempers their urgency to have a farm director. I know they need one and I'm sure they know that too, but they might feel like that position has less urgency to fill because they'll have such a large role in directing the organization's approaches to player development. If I had to rank that list, I'd say it goes something like this...

1. Int'l scouting director (done, of course)
2. Domestic scouting director (maybe this depends on particular showcases and the college season? Still, this requires a ton of planning and resource allocation. It's important.)
3. Major/Minor league coaching staffs (needs at least a little lead time before spring training)
4. Farm director
5. Analytics hires (not necessarily to be announced publicly, can likely purchase data/analytics they know they need in advance of in-house development)
6. Chris Davis plan (probably already in place to some degree)
7. Catcher

You could definitely argue that Farm Director is of primary importance and very urgent, but maybe that's not the case?

[oriole]

Why does anyone think a plan is all it will take to fix Davis? He’s done. Let him sit around eating Oreos for all I care. The guy will likely never have a productive major league season again.

[Frobby]

10 minutes ago, oriole said:

Why does anyone think a plan is all it will take to fix Davis? He’s done. Let him sit around eating Oreos for all I care. The guy will likely never have a productive major league season again.

I’d say there’s a greater than 2/3 chance that you are correct.   But for $92 mm you’ll take the 1/3 chance that something can be done to help this guy, at least for enough time to give it a fair test.    

[hoosiers]

Our new top guys are sifting through hundreds of resumes, have dozens if not hundreds of interviews to hold, offers to make, etc.  Have to lol at the impatience of opening post.  I am sure these guys are moving with appropriate speed to get things done, but getting the proper hire for the open positions is about 1000 times more important than the fastest one.  

[oriole]

24 minutes ago, Frobby said:

I’d say there’s a greater than 2/3 chance that you are correct.   But for $92 mm you’ll take the 1/3 chance that something can be done to help this guy, at least for enough time to give it a fair test.    

I don’t think they should release him but I don’t think anyone should hold out hope that there is any kind of offseason plan will help the man. I’m more interested in Bundy, Cobb, or Cashner and what offseason plans they’re working on. I’m more interested in Richie Martins diet or how much time Nunez has spent on his defense than what nonsense anyone can dredge up about the hope for Chris Davis. I’m exaggerating a bit for effect but I’ve seen “Davis’ offseason plans” mentioned a few times and it’s mind boggling that anyone thinks there’s a fix. I hope I’m wrong it but if he hits a .700 OPS next year I will be legitimately shocked.