New Article: "Matt Hobgood: Mid-Term Report" by Doc Shorebird

[JackO]

How about we not worry about how the Hangout conducts business and just stick to baseball? No chance?

Hey... we all discuss all sorts of things here. This is my O's Hangout niche... the media side.

You are free to ignore me .

[flashjordnk]

Hey... we all discuss all sorts of things here. This is my O's Hangout niche... the media side.

You are free to ignore me .

The way you present a lot of what you say can be construed as...elitist and condescending. To say this is your niche

activity for which a person or thing is best fitted

you presume you're best suited for something. And you comment on issues that are designed for fans to enjoy.

Don't attack someone's business model as though you know it's intent or outcomes. It does seem rather simple to know that media outlets are for producing news and you seem to purport this as a member of that media genre. But don't assume you know what the OH was designed to do, whether it's successful and that it needs to appeal to each and every individual poster in particular.

Or maybe you'd rather post some of the specific things you've also written, show your real name on them and allow some of the OH posters to openly critique what you've done. I'm quite sure that's not really the place for these boards, and I'm not sure your comments are either.

[neverknew97]

how do we know he threw that hard to begin with? that's what concerns me. but if he really can throw that hard then all of this might be a blessing in disguise. he's being forced to learn how to pitch now without his best stuff and that could make him scary good if he gets his old velocity back.

[ScottieBaseball]

Nope... different ax to grind. I am just saying share and share alike when it comes to passing around reported information. If the Hangout couldn't pass around articles from The Sun and MASN, there would be a paucity of content here. As an entity that relies on aggregation, it's a nice little paradox.

But, heck, posters here relay stuff behind the paywall at espn insider all the time... would be cool if someone could post some tidbits from the Hobgood story here. (hint. hint )

You seem to have several axes to grind now. My apologies for not keeping them straight.

Message board rules forbid the posting of an article in its entirety, premium content or otherwise and regardless of the author. Instead, we require that a relevant sentence or two be posted along with a link to the source. Posts not adhering to this rule are deleted or edited as the staff sees fit.

We have plenty of free content here. However, when it comes to something exclusive that you won't find anywhere else on the web (such as this Hobgood interview), I think that's worth a few bucks a month (nearly half the price of ESPN's Insider, by the way) for that information. Many people agree with me.

[Miller192]

Hey... we all discuss all sorts of things here. This is my O's Hangout niche... the media side.

You are free to ignore me .

We do so in the proper places.

But you're right, I'll ignore you.

[McLovin]

Just saying that a good number of posts here are started with a link to s story in another publication, it would be awesome if the Hangout became part of that information sharing process...

You're confusing the message board and the proper 'media' portion of the site. Members can discuss whatever they want on the message board, from Hobgood to the Lost finale. It's simply 'discussion'. It's not part of any sort of media business model where the OH is actively a part of an 'information sharing process'. It's member driven.

Now, on occasion there might be a big front page headline that says "Rock Kubatko is reporting Tejada traded to the Astros". But that article will simply include a brief citation and a reference in the form of a link to the original content. And nothing is stopping Roch from linking to the Hobgood content. In fact, Tony would probably love that.

[ScottieBaseball]

agreed... and I totally agree with charging for over 500 posts... it's nominal fee anyway.

Just saying that a good number of posts here are started with a link to s story in another publication, it would be awesome if the Hangout became part of that information sharing process...

It would be good for marketing O's too if other sports bloggers could pass on the Hobgood story and others....

We are part of that information sharing process. We have plenty of free content. We've been mentioned/quoted/etc. in other outlets locally and nationally.

Depending on the audience, it may or may not be good marketing for other outlets to get on top of the Matt Hobgood story. They're not. We are, though, and judging from the feedback our customers are satisfied.

[McLovin]

Here's an interesting quote from Hobgood, prior to throwing a professional pitch:

"I’d tell them don’t listen to Baseball America or whatever else they read or hear,” Hobgood told Baseball Beginnings. ”Don’t base it off what someone else says. Base it off what (scouting director) Joe Jordan sees in me. I don’t throw 88-90 mph; that’s obviously not what I throw. I think people are a little confused about what they’re getting in me. I’m looking forward to getting it going right away and I think if people give me a chance, I’ll show them why Joe Jordan picked me at that spot.”

http://baseballbeginnings.com/2009/06/12/hobgood-catchup/

[Sanfran327]

You're confusing the message board and the proper 'media' portion of the site. Members can discuss whatever they want on the message board, from Hobgood to the Lost finale. It's simply 'discussion'. It's not part of any sort of media business model where the OH is actively a part of an 'information sharing process'. It's member driven.

Now, on occasion there might be a big front page headline that says "Rock Kubatko is reporting Tejada traded to the Astros". But that article will simply include a brief citation and a reference in the form of a link to the original content. And nothing is stopping Roch from linking to the Hobgood content. In fact, Tony would probably love that.

I would think that if my core audience routinely linked readers from another site to my blog, I'd be extatic. The OH must provide tons of views on Roch's MASN page on a daily basis.

[McLovin]

I would think that if my core audience routinely linked readers from another site to my blog, I'd be extatic. The OH must provide tons of views on Roch's MASN page on a daily basis.

I'd wager the OH is their biggest referrer, right behind Google.

[sangar]

I don't see why anyone pays attention to this guy. It's obvious he is not a real journalist. He is nothing more than a troll and has exhibited nothing aside from attention getting behavior.

He reminds me of a mosquito bite. If you continue to scratch, he will continue to itch. Ignore him and he will go away.

[jerios55]

So Hobgood...yeah...that's what this thread was about. Here are my thoughts related to the stuff you can't all see.....

Good article, I'm most please to see the info about his muscle gains. Drafted at 245 and up to 265 seems to be in line with a lot of the negative stuff people were seeing the last few months. Combined with the drop in velocity (from ramping up innings and number of pitching days) and the change-up addition, it should give folks a reminder to let the kid grow a few years before knocking the pick.

I like that he has similar stats to Loewen at about a year younger. I still believe that Loewen would have been a solid pitcher had it not been for injuries. Of course it makes all the difference in actually being a pitcher, but gives me hope that Hobgood can still be solid if he stays healthy (and he seems to have a more durable body).

If you have a little more from Troy about Beal and Bundy I'd be very curious. I liked hearing his perspective on how life is for 20-ish year old pitchers learning to be pitchers instead of throwers.

[JohnD]

JackO, since you love the media side of things, allow me to introduce myself. I was once far more heavily involved here as an editor and writer. Now I write opinionated articles mostly for fun. For my day job though I'm a legitimate journalist. I'm heard reporting and anchoring news in DC, and am regularly interviewing police, professors, and lawmakers at the state and federal level. I previously worked for a major broadcast network, and to keep my sports bonafides in order, I work for a sports station in DC on the side and for fun. Past and current contributors to the site have been other sports writers, as well as those from the copy desk.

The journalism that goes on here isn't "pro-am" or any such BS word you want to use. It's as legitimate, if not more so, than the kind you supposedly perform. It's as real, and progressive, as you'll find. If anything, it's the future of news, in a lot of ways. Look at sites like the Washington Post, which has a mix of news stories, features, blog items, and even video. It's why the National Press Club (of which I'm a member) has workshops that touch on all these things that guys like Mike Miller, Adam Vencill, and Scott Hoffman do regularly here. People are paying big bucks to learn about the things these guys are doing here.

There are some papers around the country (typically smaller ones, but done by major ones as well) that have a mix of free and paid content. Baseball Prospectus does a similar thing.

The lack of a journalism or comm degree for some of the people here is absolutely meaningless. While I have my j-school degree from one of the top schools nationally, some of the best people I've worked with and for have no degree at all.

It's past time you get over yourself, and your supposed credentials and bonafides, and let go of any ax you still have with the place. Your perception of it is so absurdly off base that it makes you look like a total jackass. While it annoys those who perform real journalism here every day that you're so hellbent on downplaying the work they do, I find it infuriating and stupid, since I know the work and effort that goes into it, and I know how legitimate things here are. Not only do you not have a clue, you defiantly make it clear you don't know nearly as much as you think.

[Matt's Uncle]

(I don't have access to the article that Doc wrote but I will address some of the concerns here.)

Matt's velocity - Matt may have touched 98 somewhere along the line when he was in high school but most of the time when I was watching him he was around 91-94 on his fastball. That's with a dozen + scouts sitting behind the plate with guns and all taking stats.

I just posted awhile back this...

http://forum.orioleshangout.com/forums/showthread.php?t=96252

A loss of 8 mph?!:eektf: I don't think so and I teach math to little kids. When Matt said he touched 98 that's like saying, "My record on the gun is 98 but I consistently hit around 94."

Can of Corn - I don't have numbers for his junior year but I can probably get them.

I think TGO called it right. "If anything the low velocity and lack of sharpness on the curve may be contributing to his willingness to learn the changeup now (rather than waiting until he's forced to learn it on the fly by better hitters) and become a more complete pitcher."

Matt's could go to the FB and the big curve all day long but that won't cut it as he moves up the ladder. He knows it. The coaching staff knows it. So he's working on nailing the change up and probably a few other pitches.

My 2 cents for what it's worth and in this economy, it might be worth a penny.

[Can_of_corn]

No need to strain yourself, it was just an idle thought that I had. Truth be told what is more important is how he finishes this season and what he looks like next season.