International FAILURES Continue...

[TiredofLosing20]

See this is an area where AM haters should be focusing their negativity. We simply do not appear to be doing near enough. Granted, we do not get all the information in regards to our international efforts but I can now count two articles discussing us lacking in our international efforts. There is no excuse for this whatsoever. I would love to understand why we do not have a regular presence at these games.

The O's should be all over this. I think AM has had plenty of time at this point to have made a bigger impact internationally. Inexcusable.

[byrdz]

Also, though most teams' scouts have shown up regularly for games, Mejia notes that some teams -- like the Chicago White Sox and the Baltimore Orioles -- still have not had a regular presence at games.

Wow, just wow, I need a drink.

[hatepaste]

It says "regular presence". Maybe there just isn't anyone there that the O's are interested in after watching a few games.

[RandyM]

Waiting for all the excuses:

- it takes time to change things

- AM has beefed up the scouts from 1 to 3 full time.

- we can't just throw money at international players

We aren't even in the same room with teams like Boston and the Yankees. Teams like Minnesota, PITT, and Oakland are running circles around us too.

We CANNOT consistently compete if we are not at least at par with Boston and the Yanks internationally. Because obviously we can't compete in the FA or payroll. The amateur draft we are doing well, but only at par with Boston. How can you compete then?

Terrible that we are losing out to teams like Minnesota, PITT, and Oakland!

[JTrea81]

C'mon John Stockstill can't be everywhere at once...

I'm glad people are finally seeing the light on MacPhail's international efforts or lack there of...

Pathetic and inexcusable.

[Hooded Viper]

Yeah I'd really like to hear the FO response to this. I know they are making inroads, and they signed a lot of guys this year, but it seems just stupid to ignore something like this.

Its like ignoring the combine in the NFL.

Except the combine is put on by the league whereas this seems to be a league put together by 3 agents hell bent on getting their clients signed. Which is fine assuming they have good clients but I would like to know more before throwing the FO under the bus. Now, if all of the major prospects are in this league then it is inexcusable. Also, don't the WS have a great reputation amongst latin players, especially with Ozzie as their manager? I find it interesting if not provacative that they are also listed as not sending scouts on a "regular" basis to watch this league.

[Stotle]

Except the combine is put on by the league whereas this seems to be a league put together by 3 agents hell bent on getting their clients signed. Which is fine assuming they have good clients but I would like to know more before throwing the FO under the bus. Now, if all of the major prospects are in this league then it is inexcusable. Also, don't the WS have a great reputation amongst latin players, especially with Ozzie as their manager? I find it interesting if not provacative that they are also listed as not sending scouts on a "regular" basis to watch this league.

Well, 7 players out of the 80-player league have been signed for mid-five to low-six figure deals. Apparently someone likes the kids on display...

[Hooded Viper]

Well, 7 players out of the 80-player league have been signed for mid-five to low-six figure deals. Apparently someone likes the kids on display...

Again, I am not making excuses and I am on record saying it is inexcusable if this league has the majority of the best players but I would like a little more clarification. Is one of these 3 guys Sano's agent, I can't recall his name? If he isn't one of the three guys, it would be interesting to find out if Sano played in the league.

[TiredofLosing20]

C'mon John Stockstill can't be everywhere at once...

I'm glad people are finally seeing the light on MacPhail's international efforts or lack there of...

Pathetic and inexcusable.

I think most of us Pro-AM folks have been fairly critical of the lack of progress made internationally. I suppose we have different metrics (i.e you value big splashes where as I value increased presence)

If this comment is true, then it tells me we are far from where we need to be and we haven't made near the amount of progress we should have over AM's tenure considering his stated intentions internationally.

[Lucky Jim]

Yeah I'd really like to hear the FO response to this. I know they are making inroads, and they signed a lot of guys this year, but it seems just stupid to ignore something like this.

Its like ignoring the combine in the NFL.

It seems a bit more like skipping the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament for overflow college basketball players than skipping the combine. These are, by definition, guys who didn't get signed.

To be clear, that doesn't make it less inexcusable. But it's a slightly different measure of value.

[JTrea81]

BTW this shouldn't come as a shock:

Spending big bucks on 16-year-old unknowns is not a philosophy that easily meshes with MacPhail's conservative approach, especially when it doesn't guarantee they'll become major leaguers.

"You have to be careful," said John Stockstill, whose departmental efforts are concentrated in the Caribbean, Japan and parts of Europe. "In some countries, those higher bonuses don't always equate to better players, and sometimes there is no correlation at all between money and better players in certain countries."

So the Orioles' focus is now more on quantity and potential than reputed quality.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/bal-sp.orioles27dec27,0,3939309.story

Stockstill has said repeatedly we aren't going to be in on the top Latin prospects.

Not attending workouts that buscones set up, pretty much would confirm that.

[LookinUp]

In the Chapman thread, I said:

The second discussion in my mind is whether the O's are doing enough in this arena. I contend that they are not, though I recognize that this could still be somewhat of a matter of time because they could be building their scouting apparatus. My concern in this arena therefore is twofold: the lack of current results and indications that they only have something like 3 international scouts, including the far east. The former would be less concerning if the latter weren't the case.

If what ESPN is reporting is true, I hope the O's FO gets called out. I was already hoping for some tough questions before that link. Now they're mandatory.

[Ruzious]

Jeebus, I'd be happy to go to the games there and chart the players' progress for the O's for a nominal fee. The DR is nice in the winter, and there isn't exactly a lot of baseball to watch in the US this time o year. Just pay for my expenses and a room at the Marriott, and I'm there.

[Hooded Viper]

BTW this shouldn't come as a shock:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/bal-sp.orioles27dec27,0,3939309.story

Stockstill has said repeatedly we aren't going to be in on the top Latin prospects.

Not attending workouts that buscones set up, pretty much would confirm that.

I honestly don't have a problem with what Stockstill said here. If I read what he is saying correctly, we will be paying guys our Scouts feel have a greater upside rather than just throwing money blindly at a prospect based upon the hype machine. Now we all know how much you love the hype, but really would you rather us rely on our scouts?

[TiredofLosing20]

Well, 7 players out of the 80-player league have been signed for mid-five to low-six figure deals. Apparently someone likes the kids on display...

You know we really need to be in on these types of players. I mean it is a tough pill to swallow when we are told we can't compete for the top end players (the Tex's, Holliday, Lackeys etc) and then we don't appear to be sufficiently investing in international scouting for the low risk guys. Its like a double whammy.

If this is true it is really disappointing.