Who Are You .... and what have you done to Bill Rowell?

[jamesenoch]

From today's BA's Chat :

Jarin McKay (Greenville, NC): Whats the deal with Billy Rowell when do you see him getting out of Frederick and helping Brandon Snyder out there?

J.J. Cooper: Not any time soon I would expect. He's having a tough time adjusting to the outfield and he's hitting OK, but nothing that says "move me up." A scout who recently saw him wasn't impressed with his body language. The implication was that he didn't looked thrilled to be at the ballpark.

Not good.. Not good at all..

[Mackus]

From today's BA's Chat :

Jarin McKay (Greenville, NC): Whats the deal with Billy Rowell when do you see him getting out of Frederick and helping Brandon Snyder out there?

J.J. Cooper: Not any time soon I would expect. He's having a tough time adjusting to the outfield and he's hitting OK, but nothing that says "move me up." A scout who recently saw him wasn't impressed with his body language. The implication was that he didn't looked thrilled to be at the ballpark.

Not good.. Not good at all..

I'll put more stock into what the Orioles scouts and coaches think of him than an unnamed scout said. From all accounts from our staff, his attitude has been very good this year.

He's got a long way to go to get back on the prospect map, but he's also got a lot of time to do it.

[Old#5fan]

From today's BA's Chat :

Jarin McKay (Greenville, NC): Whats the deal with Billy Rowell when do you see him getting out of Frederick and helping Brandon Snyder out there?

J.J. Cooper: Not any time soon I would expect. He's having a tough time adjusting to the outfield and he's hitting OK, but nothing that says "move me up." A scout who recently saw him wasn't impressed with his body language. The implication was that he didn't looked thrilled to be at the ballpark.Not good.. Not good at all..

Wow, I wonder if he thinks he should just keep his multi-million dollar signing bonus for doing nothing?

[crawdad]

Wow, I wonder if he thinks he should just keep his multi-million dollar signing bonus for doing nothing?

I just wonder if he is one of those guy who is just not emotional about the game. There is nothing wrong with that. I wonder if they see how he acts and then finds it a good way to rationalize underperformance.

[Frobby]

Wow, I wonder if he thinks he should just keep his multi-million dollar signing bonus for doing nothing?

Eh, I am always a little skeptical when I hear about somebody observing someone's "body language" at a game and drawing conclusions about the player's attitude. The Orioles' brass has been very complimentary about Rowell's attitude this year. i will believe that until there is some solid evidence to the contrary.

More importantly, Rowell is off to a solid start with the bat: .284/.369/.405 and still one of the youngest players in the Carolina League. In his last 9 games he's hit .393/.474/.515. I don't call that "doing nothing."

[Old#5fan]

Eh, I am always a little skeptical when I hear about somebody observing someone's "body language" at a game and drawing conclusions about the player's attitude. The Orioles' brass has been very complimentary about Rowell's attitude this year. i will believe that until there is some solid evidence to the contrary.

More importantly, Rowell is off to a solid start with the bat: .284/.369/.405 and still one of the youngest players in the Carolina League. In his last 9 games he's hit .393/.474/.515. I don't call that "doing nothing."

I wasn't referring to his stats but the scout's apparent observation that Rowell looked like he would rather not be on the field, which is a very bizarre observation for such a young ball player. I mean what else does he want to be doing? Most fans I know would give their right gonad to be able to play a baseball game while making millions of dollars.

[byrdz]

I just wonder if he is one of those guy who is just not emotional about the game. There is nothing wrong with that. I wonder if they see how he acts and then finds it a good way to rationalize underperformance.

Good point, similar things were thought of Erik Bedard.

[allstar1579]

I wasn't referring to his stats but the scout's apparent observation that Rowell looked like he would rather not be on the field, which is a very bizarre observation for such a young ball player. I mean what else does he want to be doing? Most fans I know would give their right gonad to be able to play a baseball game while making millions of dollars.

Some of them give off the impression that being in a certain level is "beneath them" but I don't think a scout could gather that watching him once or twice. It would show on the field too, you can't just turn off emotions like that if you are having them. Look for signs like not running balls out, dogging it in warm-ups, trying to be the first one for cuts in BP and then heading inside every time, things that will incur the wrath of a manager.

[Frobby]

I wasn't referring to his stats but the scout's apparent observation that Rowell looked like he would rather not be on the field, which is a very bizarre observation for such a young ball player. I mean what else does he want to be doing? Most fans I know would give their right gonad to be able to play a baseball game while making millions of dollars.

I know what you were referring to, but let's look at where this comes from and where you've now taken it:

J.J. Cooper: Not any time soon I would expect. He's having a tough time adjusting to the outfield and he's hitting OK, but nothing that says "move me up." A scout who recently saw him wasn't impressed with his body language. The implication was that he didn't looked thrilled to be at the ballpark.

OK, so the only thing we are going on here is "a scout who recently saw him wasn't impressed with his body language." We don't know who that scout was. We don't know what "body language" he saw, or why the scout "wasn't impressed."

Then J.J. Cooper spins that to "the implication was that he didn't look thrilled to be at the ballpark." Mind you, that's not what the unidentified scout said, that's J.J. Cooper's "implication."

And now you are taking Cooper's implication to mean that "Rowell looked like he would rather not be on the field." Which is even a little further than Cooper took it.

To me, this is just so much rumor-mongering. I do not know if Rowell still has attitude issues or not. But so long as the Orioles are saying they have been happy with his attitude this year (and they have said that at least 2-3 times), I am not going to assume otherwise because some unidentified scout went to a game and didn't like his body language.

And yes his statistical performance on the field is relevant to this, because it shows Rowell has been working on his game and improving.

[Fairfax Bird]

Wow, I wonder if he thinks he should just keep his multi-million dollar signing bonus for doing nothing?

Why do you constantly hammer this kid? He is 20 years old and at High A. I know that he hasn't met your expectations, but you have NEVER seen him play yourself and are taking the word of an unnamed scout during a random chat at BA as gospel. Since your an Oriole fan why don't you try to root for a kid who has had a rough adjustment to pro ball instead of a seemingly bitter old fan who thinks this kid is just lazy and not wanting to work.

I just don't understand how anyone can take the information we have and have hate for a 20 year old kid. To me, Billy Rowell is my new Brandon Snyder, the more people kick him the more I will root for him.

[Old#5fan]

Why do you constantly hammer this kid? He is 20 years old and at High A. I know that he hasn't met your expectations, but you have NEVER seen him play yourself and are taking the word of an unnamed scout during a random chat at BA as gospel. Since your an Oriole fan why don't you try to root for a kid who has had a rough adjustment to pro ball instead of a seemingly bitter old fan who thinks this kid is just lazy and not wanting to work.

I just don't understand how anyone can take the information we have and have hate for a 20 year old kid. To me, Billy Rowell is my new Brandon Snyder, the more people kick him the more I will root for him.

Well for one thing, all I seem to hear and read are negatives. That is not what I want to see in any highly touted prospect regardless of their age. Root for him all you want, but these reports are disturbing to me.

[weams]

Eh, I am always a little skeptical when I hear about somebody observing someone's "body language" at a game and drawing conclusions about the player's attitude. The Orioles' brass has been very complimentary about Rowell's attitude this year. i will believe that until there is some solid evidence to the contrary.

More importantly, Rowell is off to a solid start with the bat: .284/.369/.405 and still one of the youngest players in the Carolina League. In his last 9 games he's hit .393/.474/.515. I don't call that "doing nothing."

Bill was at Spring Training a week before position players. He was working extremely hard at drills the day I watched him. If he is a slacker with a bad attitude, he hid that for an entire day. I think more likely, the "body language" author has an addenda. You know. Like Nestor.

[OSfanfromCT]

Bill was at Spring Training a week before position players. He was working extremely hard at drills the day I watched him. If he is a slacker with a bad attitude, he hid that for an entire day. I think more likely, the "body language" author has an addenda. You know. Like Nestor.

Could it be an agenda or simply that his perception is skewed by the constant negative reports that are offered for Rowell day after day? I think scouts might sometimes be looking for the negative with a kid that they've heard only negative things about not because they have it out for Billy but more because that's what they're expecting. I'm personally much more bullish on Billy right now than I was at the end of last season after the many of the reports on here and his moderately successful start to the season.

[Duke2010]

Well for one thing, all I seem to hear and read are negatives. That is not what I want to see in any highly touted prospect regardless of their age. Root for him all you want, but these reports are disturbing to me.

It's pretty easy to find all the negatives when that's all you want to look for. Has he had some possible trouble in the past? Did he have a rough adjustment to pro ball and did he have a rude awakening? Yeah, he did, but give the kid a chance. You seem so willing to berate him and yet so unwilling to let him learn and grow. Maybe I'm too young and naive to understand the world like you do, but I do know that from age 17 to current age 19, I learned a lot about myself and I experienced a lot of growth, and I considered myself to be a pretty mature kid. I'm also sure that from 19-21 I'll learn a lot too. Billy has probably learned a lot about himself since he entered pro ball, and I bet that in the next few years he'll naturally mature as a person. You seem so stubborn that you won't give him a chance to right the ship.

Honestly, I think you should steer clear of the Rowell threads until the season is over. Let the season play out, let him develop and keep the biased criticisms to yourself. Just give him a chance to prove his lofty prospect status, and if he fails both physically and mentally then you can have at him all you want. Sorry for the rant.

[Malike]

I know what you were referring to, but let's look at where this comes from and where you've now taken it:

OK, so the only thing we are going on here is "a scout who recently saw him wasn't impressed with his body language." We don't know who that scout was. We don't know what "body language" he saw, or why the scout "wasn't impressed."

Then J.J. Cooper spins that to "the implication was that he didn't look thrilled to be at the ballpark." Mind you, that's not what the unidentified scout said, that's J.J. Cooper's "implication."

And now you are taking Cooper's implication to mean that "Rowell looked like he would rather not be on the field." Which is even a little further than Cooper took it.

To me, this is just so much rumor-mongering. I do not know if Rowell still has attitude issues or not. But so long as the Orioles are saying they have been happy with his attitude this year (and they have said that at least 2-3 times), I am not going to assume otherwise because some unidentified scout went to a game and didn't like his body language.

And yes his statistical performance on the field is relevant to this, because it shows Rowell has been working on his game and improving.

I don't mean to nitpick, Frobby, but you left out the scout also saying he is having a hard time adjusting to the OF position, and is not hitting enough to scream promotion. I just figured if we're going to break down what the scout said, everything should be included.