30 replies to this topic

[Greg Pappas]

First time poster here.

I saw this thread and wanted to direct you to some of Law's quotes in case you're at work and can't listen. I transcribed most of the interview for my post on BaltimoreSportsReport.com. - http://baltimorespor...rt.com/?p=27212

Here's an excerpt.

“Dylan Bundy should have started his professional career in Double-A, that’s a mistake by the Orioles,” Law said on his podcast, Baseball Today. “It’s only be compounded by the fact that they are leaving him in Low-A, two levels below where he should be, and they’re not stretching him out. He’s going three innings, that’s not a starter’s workload.”

Law explains that he thinks there is no evidence that pitchers stay healthy with low pitch counts.

Welcome Zach and thanks for the info!

[SportsGuy]

I sent a twitter message to Law about how I think the word mishandled is wrong.

He responded that this is no way to develop a starter...So I asked him to go on record as saying Bundy won't develop into a starter...see if he responds.

[LanceRinker]

I sent a twitter message to Law about how I think the word mishandled is wrong.

He responded that this is no way to develop a starter...So I asked him to go on record as saying Bundy won't develop into a starter...see if he responds.

I doubt he will respond - and even if he does it will likely be some incredibly snarky remark. I'm not discounting his experience and years of thoughtful analysis of the game, but he's kind of a jerk and hates being questioned about anything.

I've tried to get him to back up his opinions on twitter and via email before but he just doesn't.

[Nuclear Dish]

Look, there is no doubt that Delmarva was too low a level to start him at. He should have been at Frederick to start, whether or not they intended to ease him into things.

As for the 3 innings business, my only real complaint is that he's not seeing batters more than once. You can't really work on your secondary pitches much unless you have to show the batters something other than your fastball. We have no way of knowing whether they'll be able to start timing him or and whether his location is good enough to use the fastball in any case. We don't know whether the secondary pitches will make the fastball that much more effective, or whether they will be off target enough for batters to wait on the heat.

He should have been going 4 or 5 innings to start with, at Frederick, and then allowed to stretch it to 6 innings or 100 pitches (eventually). Also, if he had started at Frederick, it would be easier to announce a plan to move him to Bowie the second half of the year if he's successful.

[Mackus]

I can understand why the Orioles are handling Bundy the way they are, but I agree with Law that they should be pushing him a bit more. However, all of this early season stuff is irrelevant. All that matters is where he is at the end of the year, and how healthy he is at the end of the year.

I think as long as he reaches Bowie, gets near the innings number they want him at, and is perfectly healthy, then the season will have been a success for Bundy. There never has been a chance that he was going to be on the Opening Day roster next year (it simply doesn't make sense from a service time standpoint) so as long as he gets to Bowie so he can start at or reach Norfolk in early 2013 and be on the doorstep for a callup to the bigs at any time, things will have progressed as quickly as possible for him.

[SportsGuy]

Look, there is no doubt that Delmarva was too low a level to start him at. He should have been at Frederick to start, whether or not they intended to ease him into things.

As for the 3 innings business, my only real complaint is that he's not seeing batters more than once. You can't really work on your secondary pitches much unless you have to show the batters something other than your fastball. We have no way of knowing whether they'll be able to start timing him or and whether his location is good enough to use the fastball in any case. We don't know whether the secondary pitches will make the fastball that much more effective, or whether they will be off target enough for batters to wait on the heat.

He should have been going 4 or 5 innings to start with, at Frederick, and then allowed to stretch it to 6 innings or 100 pitches (eventually). Also, if he had started at Frederick, it would be easier to announce a plan to move him to Bowie the second half of the year if he's successful.

I agree with all of this...but does that mean he is being "mishandled"?

I would use the words overly cautious.

But I don't see how this hurts him in anyway long term.

[Nuclear Dish]

I agree with all of this...but does that mean he is being "mishandled"?

I would use the words overly cautious.

But I don't see how this hurts him in anyway long term.

I agree with your wording more than Law's.

[RichardZ]

You really have to ask yourself this. If the Red Sox, Blue Jays, or Rays had drafted Bundy and were doing this (just accept the hypothetical) would Law say there were "mishandling" him? While I think Law has been generally fair to the O's I think he's a little over the top on this one.

[JeremyStrain]

You really have to ask yourself this. If the Red Sox, Blue Jays, or Rays had drafted Bundy and were doing this (just accept the hypothetical) would Law say there were "mishandling" him? While I think Law has been generally fair to the O's I think he's a little over the top on this one.

Yeah he would have, he really doesn't agree with the short stints at a level too low for him, that's all.

My theory is that it's easier to tax your BP and do this at low A than it is to do it higher up, so let him start with kids his own age, and move him up a step at a time. He's going to 4IP soon, and my gut says when he hits 5IP he's moving up.

[Kevin Ebert]

KLaw is entitled to his opinion. And he's looking at it the situation in terms of developing Bundy into a major leaguer as soon as possibe. I wouldn't necessarily disagree with him if that was the goal. However, regardless of the Orioles start this year, I don't think the Orioles are at the right place in the win cycle to be rushing him. I'm almost rooting for them to develop him slowly so that during his prime we might be in a better position to actually make a run. It'd be best if Bundy's and Machado's team controlled years occurred at the same time.

And as for anti-O's bias - come on guys. That's just not true. He criticized the Pirates handling of Jameson Taillon also, because they're handling him the same way the O's are handling Bundy.

Anyway, Melewski laid out the plan for Bundy a litte while ago after talking to Rick Peterson. Here's a quote and the link to the article is after. This was before his 3rd start the other night.

"He has one more start at three innings and then he'll have three starts at four innings and then from there, he'll have multiple starts at five innings. At the end of that segment, he'll have starts at the end of the season when he can pitch deeper into the game. We'll monitor that. Say he pitches eight innings in one game, we could bump it down for the next game."

http://www.masnsport... ... bundy.html

[BSLChrisStoner]

KLaw is entitled to his opinion. And he's looking at it the situation in terms of developing Bundy into a major leaguer as soon as possibe. I wouldn't necessarily disagree with him if that was the goal. However, regardless of the Orioles start this year, I don't think the Orioles are at the right place in the win cycle to be rushing him. I'm almost rooting for them to develop him slowly so that during his prime we might be in a better position to actually make a run. It'd be best if Bundy's and Machado's team controlled years occurred at the same time.

And as for anti-O's bias - come on guys. That's just not true. He criticized the Pirates handling of Jameson Taillon also, because they're handling him the same way the O's are handling Bundy.

Anyway, Melewski laid out the plan for Bundy a litte while ago after talking to Rick Peterson. Here's a quote and the link to the article is after. This was before his 3rd start the other night.

"He has one more start at three innings and then he'll have three starts at four innings and then from there, he'll have multiple starts at five innings. At the end of that segment, he'll have starts at the end of the season when he can pitch deeper into the game. We'll monitor that. Say he pitches eight innings in one game, we could bump it down for the next game."

http://www.masnsport... ... bundy.html

Without a doubt, Law is entitled to an opinion. He is certainly an informed voice, that regularly provides high quality analysis. I always enjoy reading or listing to what he has to say. I appreciate that he generally has a level of snark with everything he says. I also understand that every fan-base has rabid ears, and can interpret negative commentary as the said person having a 'bias.'

I do feel that since LaCava withdrew from consideration for the GM position, that Law has been a bit 'extra' snarky with all things O's.

I have zero problem with him saying he would handle Bundy different. I have zero problem with him saying Bundy is not being challenged, and should be at a higher level. I think saying the O's are mishandling Bundy was a mistake in terminology.

Oh well, not a big deal.

The real story is that everyone who has seen Bundy, is head-over-heels about his potential.