Is this a long term commitment to increasing amateur scouting or just a temporary move that reassigns employees no longer in the teams plans? There is no question that this team needs to significantly increase it's scouting assets. I would like to see them do this by hiring the best scouts available, giving them the assets they say they need to get the job done, and paying them at a level that would make them want to stay.
Has Duquette come to accept the benefits of integrating statistical analysis into traditional player scouting? I raise this question because Duquette was mentioned on numerous occasions in Michael Lewis' book Moneyball as the flip side of Billy Beane's analytical focus on player evaluation. In fact, it was after the 2002 season covered in the book that Duquette was let go by Red Sox owner John Henry, and Beane was offered the Sox GM position that he turned down. Theo Epstein, a Sox Asst. GM and Bill James disciple, was then offered the job and we all know how that turned out.
I have learned in thirty years of running a business that there is no "one size fits all" solution and that there's a little good in every approach. I have also learned that new ideas aren't bad because I don't yet understand them. That's a round-a-bout way of saying that you CAN teach an old dog new tricks but that one trick does not fix all problems. I wish I could read Duquette's mind to know if he's willing to use all of the tools available to him or whether he's just doing "window dressing".
Do you see this as a step in the right direction? Please provide an explanation so others can better understand your POV.
Dan Duquette is taking the Orioles in a dramatic new direction, one that will renew the debate over the value of scouting vs. statistical analysis in baseball.
Duquette, the team’s new general manager, essentially dissolved the Orioles’ professional scouting department Thursday, reassigning six pro scouts to the amateur side.
Dave Engle and Bruce Kison will remain major-league scouts, and the Orioles will make greater use of video and statistical analysis in scouting the majors, Duquette said.
“As you get more video and statistical analysis on a player, the longer they’re in professional baseball, it’s not as vital to have them seen by eyes, professional eyes,” Duquette said. “Players establish a record of their work.
“Some of the trends that the statistics track, they’re not trends that professional scouts would normally see in a short look.”
The six scouts who were reassigned are Todd Frohwirth, Jim Howard, James Keller, Ted Lekas, Lee MacPhail IV and Jim Thrift.
The scouts might have little choice but to accept their reassignments; it will be difficult for them to find new jobs at this time of year.
While Duquette indicated that the changes will reinforce the Orioles’ amateur scouting department, the scouts view the reassignments as little other than demotions, sources say.
“It’s a more efficient way to structure the Orioles, better for identifying talent and utilizing people’s strengths to help the team,” Duquette said.
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/balt ... ent-121611
