Beanpot Posted October 7, 2009 Report Share Posted October 7, 2009 Good stuff here from TheBigLead.com: MLB Postseason: An Interview with a Scout Baseball TheBigLead October 7th. 2009, 1:20pm The MLB postseason gets underway in about an hour, and we thought instead of pummeling you over the head with stats and matchups and all that stuff that’s everywhere else, why not get some perspective from somebody on the front lines? So we reached out to a scout from the National League. He has to remain anonymous for obvious reasons. We hope Murray Chass don’t come down too hard on us. Q: Let’s get started with a day in the life of a scout. Are you juggling two phones all day? At the ballpark nightly? Criss-crossing your territory looking for talent? A: Actually three phones. I’m at the park almost daily after 3 pm from high school games to practice games to college games or minors in case of a trade. Look for talent even on a street corner if they are playing stick ball. You also look at high school quarterbacks in case they don’t go to Division I football. Even if they never played high school baseball you invite them to tryouts to see if they can pitch. Q: How many scouts does each team have? Is life as a scout cloak-and-dagger, or are you out there wearing team colors and logos? How often do you break out the radar gun? A: If you buy a scouting report book, you won’t see the names of every scout. Or even close to it. I’m scouting in a region, and then I’ll have a staff of guys under me. I might have 10 or more guys under me who are cross-checkers and bird-doggers and assistants and interns. Their names will never be listed in a media guide anywhere. We usually throw them some money each month to keep us updated on new kids coming up in the ranks that we may not have seen or heard of. The areas are just too wide for one guy to handle. There are weekends where you’ll have big tournaments and I can’t be everywhere, so I have guys who I work with go out and report back to me. Once you’ve been in an area for awhile, and people can identify you, there are games you can’t go to. It’s like college football recruiting. Charlie Weis isn’t going to turn up at a game in Idaho to watch two teams you’ve never heard of. That will spread like wildfire, become a big story, and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out who Weis is scouting. The next week, all the other big schools will be there looking at the same kid. So usually in a situation like that, I’ll send an assistant and maybe he’ll bring a radar gun. If anyone asks him what team he’s with, he might just say he’s “training to be a scout.” Q: The Dodgers led MLB in ERA and WHIP this season, and they have a terrific closer in Jon Broxton. If pitches rules in the postseason, why aren’t the Dodgers the favorites in the National League? A: Because in a short series it’s about who has the top two guys and the matchups matter more than stats that are put together over 162 games against many teams. The offenses in the West don’t hit as well as the teams in the Central. Tough to compare the stats of the pitchers based on the season-long stats. If there’s a stat you want to go with pitchers, try batting average against. The Cards have the best 1-2 punch but I like the Dodgers’ chances. Q: The Red Sox absolutely own the Angels in the postseason. And the Angels absolutely own the Yankees in the postseason. Can this strange trend be attributed to statistics? Matchups? Is it mental? What can it be attributed to? A. Shit happens. There are some thing you cant explain. Or maybe Jeter isn’t clutch against Angels? I’m kidding. We all know New Yorkers blame A-rod. The thing is everyone wants or thinks every single detail has to have a reason as to why everything happens … and it isn’t like thatt. I use this example: Two guys have lung cancer. Both of them go to same doctor. Both of them take same treatment. Both were diagnosed with the same type in the same stage, yet one of them dies right away and the other doesn’t. Yet the same science was used!! You can’t explain it. Some call it a miracle, others religion but the truth is you cant explain it. In baseball terms, miracle is really luck. Q: It is often argued that Derek Jeter is “clutch” in the postseason, while Alex Rodriguez, in the last few postseasons he has played in, has largely come up empty. Do you believe in “clutch” or is it all a myth that can be shot to hell by stat-lovers? A: The problem with clutch is that everyone has a different meaning as to when is a clutch moment. For example … the Red Sox were down 3-0 in the series with the Yanks. Does this mean Captain Clutch choked because he couldn’t get one more victory? If you are a Jeter fan, you blame someone else. If you are an A-rod fan, you say “look around, no one else did anything.” If Jeter is so clutch and Posada is such a great leader, how come they haven’t been able to win anything since Bernie Williams left? Maybe Bernie was Captain Clutch. You want clutch? One name: Mariano Rivera. The one argument I have with the stat guys is OBP. You obviously want people to get on base. And it is a great stat. But it has a flaw. When the game is played at its highest level - the postseason - you’re not facing 4th and 5th starters. And you want people who can make contact and drive in runs. In the important postseason situations, bottom of the ninth, would you rather have three guys with a high OBP up - like JD Drew - or would you rather have three sluggers - like Ryan Howard - up? I’d always want the sluggers because you need that one run and you’re very likely going against that team’s best pitcher. Q: How much stock do you put in the value of analysts like ESPN’s Steve Phillips and John Kruk and Peter Gammons? Are they mostly getting their cues from scouts? Agents? Is there a TV analyst who is much more respected than all of the others? A: I respect the hell out of Gammons. They get their info from scouts, the front office and players, but sometimes they just throw things out there because people love rumors and like Baseball Tonight. Kruk is good … he’s just a little too emotional with his opinions. When he talks about the Phillies, I stay away from his opinion. If there’s one guy who will say anything just to take the other side, it’s Steve Phillips. He’ll change his opinion each month if he needs to just to fit the argument. He’s a company guy. Tim Kurkjian is very good and very respected. Those guys will do or say anything sometimes just to keep people watching. Fans in Atlanta won’t stick around to watch Royals-Indians highlights. As far as TV guys, Boog who calls [Edit: Called. He's going to ESPN] Atlanta Braves games is great. Q: We often joke about contracting the Pirates, who, it could be argued, are currently the worst franchise in professional sports (NBA, NFL, MLB). They claim that there’s a plan in place … but really, in an effort to improve the unlevel playing field (which may or may not have contributed to the decline in attendance this year, which was the steepest since 1952), should baseball consider pulling a team or two out of the AL and NL? If not, should a salary cap be considered to improve the lack of competitive balance? A: I don’t agree with salary cap. In the last 30 years, look at how many teams have won in the NBA since the salary cap. Then look at the NFL since the installed the cap. Then look at baseball - there’s been a bigger variety of winners and there isn’t even a cap. Plus, there’s just too much talent everywhere around the world for a cap. The thing about the Pirates is that they have made stupid trades over and over. The Pirates are like the Oakland Raiders and Detroit Lions. QUICK HITTERS Q: What should the Yankees do with Joba? Starter or bullpen? I like him in the pen. Q: Which rookies from this past season impressed you most? Tommy Hanson was filthy. Q: Your World Series predictions are … I like the choking A-rods against either the Dodgers and the Cards. I’ll go with the storyline matchup of Joe Torre vs Captain Clutch and The Choker. Ratings bonanza. Q: How much do you think the economy impacted baseball this season? I think one of the reasons attendance took a hit is because there’s MLB.com on your computer where you can watch every game online, or MLB Extra innings. My buddies who are diehard baseball fans wont go to a game if it is raining or too hot or there are other games that are worth watching on TV. They stay home and watch and don’t have to spend $9 on a beer. http://thebiglead.com/?p=23528 Beanpot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kshutchins Posted October 30, 2009 Report Share Posted October 30, 2009 Once you’ve been in an area for awhile, and people can identify you, there are games you can’t go to. It’s like college football recruiting. Charlie Weis isn’t going to turn up at a game in Idaho to watch two teams you’ve never heard of. That will spread like wildfire, become a big story, and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out who Weis is scouting. The next week, all the other big schools will be there looking at the same kid. So usually in a situation like that, I’ll send an assistant and maybe he’ll bring a radar gun. If anyone asks him what team he’s with, he might just say he’s “training to be a scout.” I went back and read this again because I enjoy hearing what scouts are thinking. I like to sit half way up behind the screen at the minor league games because the scouts sit in that area. It's sometimes possible to engage them in conversation or overhear interesting commentary. I had to laugh at the above quote. I've been at games where I'd swear there were a dozen guys "training to be a scout." I'm sure it's different at high school and college games but it still made me laugh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beanpot Posted November 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2009 Kinda scouting related, faketeams.com had an interview with one of the guys from baseball-intellect.com and a few Tribe farmhands were mentioned: TROR: Give me one prospect from each league that you think aren't being talked about or rated highly enough. Alex: Oh man...I can't limit it to just one. I don't know where other publications will rate these players, but here are some guys that under the radar, sleepers, and/or aren't household names. - Nick Hagadone, LHP, Cleveland Indians - He's highly regarded, but people sleep on him. He's coming off TJ surgery and he's a bit old for his level, but he's a lefty with plus stuff who misses bats, keeps the ball on the ground...command is a bit of a question mark, but it projects to be solid enough. The Indians are being very conservative with him. He could be a front of the rotation starter or a multi-inning reliever out of the bullpen. ------------------------- TROR: Building on that, name one batting and pitching prospect in the AL that you think makes the biggest impact in 2010, and what about for the National League? Alex: Again, I'm going to break the rules and name a couple for each league: Hector Rondon (RHP, Cleveland Indians) - Quality pitching prospect with a solid repertoire of pitches that he commands well. He should compete for a rotation spot out of Spring Training this year. http://www.faketeams.com/2009/11/16/116028...rview-with-alex Beanpot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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