Every time I use this logo, you know it's not going to be good.

This is something I’ve been waiting to write about for some time now. I spent most of today thinking about how I would attack this news, and I think I’ve decided on just saying it outright:

The Orioles scouted a player that eleven other teams looked at and passed on. The other eleven teams didn’t see anything in Kim Seong-min at all. In fact, they kind of thought Kim was useless and not worth the time, with many calling him a non-prospect.

Apparently, Orioles scouting thought he was pretty fantastic for whatever reason, so they decided that there was plenty of competition to get him and cranked up the price tag, then even risked international relations with South Korea and signed him illegally. Yup.

To sum this up, here’s a quote from the article I just linked to by Ben Badler of Baseball America:

However, Baseball America surveyed 11 other teams that scout Asia (two of which did not have a report on him on file) and could not find any organization that had interest in signing Kim or had a similarly glowing scouting report. While scouts often disagree about the futures of international teenage prospects, most of the other teams’ reports on Kim’s present ability and future potential were consistent with each other.

According to the other teams, Kim’s fastball ranged from 78-85 mph. The maximum velocity another team had on Kim was 87 mph. Other scouts called his breaking ball a slurvy curveball in the mid- to high 60s and graded it from 20-30 on the 20-80 scouting scale, which rates as well below average. Scouts say he’s likely an inch or two shorter than his listed height of 5-feet-11, has little projection and some funkiness in his arm action. Scouts were mixed on his command, though some said he was generally around the plate and would be able to pitch in the KBO.

Many believed the Orioles were the only team interested in Kim. Several teams turned him in as a non-prospect.

“Where was the competition,” asked one international scouting director, “to drive the bonus to $575,000 when they could have signed him for $5,000?”

Yeeeeaaaah. About that. See, the Orioles are kind of stupid, so things like this are inevitable and kind of normal here in Birdland.

By the way, I’m convinced the anonymous international scouting director looks like this:

Anyway, let’s move on here.

Let’s look at the next thing Badler is telling us:

Duquette said he never personally had seen Kim pitch and was going off the team’s internal scouting reports, though he declined to identify the scouts who had seen him or what other teams they believed were interested in Kim.

“I’ve been doing this for a long time,” Duquette said. “I don’t have to answer for the integrity of our scouts (from people) outside the organization. We’ve signed players based upon their ability and their capability to help the team, period.”

After hiring Duquette in November, the Orioles announced the hiring of Ray Poitevint as their new executive director of international baseball in a Jan. 9 press release. Poitevint has extensive experience signing players in Asia, including during Duquette’s tenure as Red Sox GM from 1994-2001. The two have worked together since Duquette began his career in baseball with the Brewers in 1981. Poitevint said in an interview that Duquette started out as his assistant, and the two were together in Milwaukee until Duquette left to join the Expos after the 1987 season.

Poitevint said he scouted Kim for two and a half years, and that he and an associate he has known for 30 years—whom he declined to name—evaluated Kim for the Orioles. When asked who else was interested in signing Kim, Poitevint said, “Everybody,” adding, “This is the type of guy who draws scouts.”

“What he has is difficult to come by as a scout,” Poitevint said. “He has mental toughness and emotional control. Those are a couple of things that are hard to find. He’s advanced in his composure and things of that nature. He’s a little advanced in his physical tools, but what’s really going to get him over the top is his mental toughness and the way he can control himself.

I really can’t find Dan Duquette at fault here. He’s just taken on the GM role for this team and he’s got a lot of things to get done, so he doesn’t have the time to personally see every single player the team scouts. He certainly doesn’t have the time to fly out to South Korea right now. Additionally, he’s known Ray Poitevint for a very long time and apparently trusts his opinon, so it’s really not Duquette’s fault that this happened – except the signing bit kind of being against the KBO and KBA’s rules, which he should have probably pointed out to his scouts in Korea.

Poitevint’s opinion suddenly looks questionable, however, in light of this new report. If he’s the only one saying Kim is this incredible pitcher, do we believe him considering that everyone else says otherwise? Then again, there are certainly times when someone with a minority opinion does end up changing the minds of many people and becoming influential (numerous figures in early Christianity and Islam come to mind for me). In this case, though, Poitevint’s not trying to convert anyone to a new religion – he’s just trying to convince people that the pitcher everyone else agrees isn’t very good is incredible.

Basically, here’s what we’ve got here: Ray Poitevint is either delusional or a Barnum-style salesman (“there’s a sucker born every minute”), and Duquette either trusts him blindly or…well, trusts him blindly, I guess. Duquette doesn’t really have access to other teams’ scouting reports, since teams generally don’t share that information, so how was he supposed to know that what Poitevint was sharing wasn’t really the truth according to the eleven other teams in South Korea?

In short, don’t blame Duquette for this – this one’s not on him. Poitevint, you’re either an excellent spin doctor or blind as a bat, and if you’re the former, maybe you can convince people my cartoons are actually good. Please.

This is the only picture I could find.

We got a new toy, everyone!

This is Josh Banks. Josh Banks was born in Baltimore and grew up in Severna Park, so he’s back home now. Josh Banks has pitched for lots of teams (Toronto, San Diego, Houston…and San Francisco’s minor league organization).

Also, according to Baseball Almanac, he’s a Cancer. Important information to know, apparently.

Josh Banks is here to foster even more competition within the team for roster spots. That’s a good thing, because it’ll light a fire under the pitchers’ bums and get them moving in the right direction again. They need that. Really, really badly.

The weirdest part of this story – really, the only weird part about this story – is that Josh Banks’s agent is Gary Sheffield. Yes, that Gary Sheffield. After he retired, he became a sports agent, apparently. I was unaware of this until I read about it here. Here’s an article from Hardball Talk discussing Sheffield’s new job. It’s not a bad gig – he’s also representing Jason Grilli, apparently.

Anyway, before I go off-topic here, welcome home, Josh Banks! Maryland missed you!

This is Wada with SoftBank, before he was broken.

Tsuyoshi Wada is broken.

Well, that’s what it sounds like, anyway. He’s apparently dealing with some elbow discomfort, which doesn’t sound too pleasant.

Here’s the latest, thanks to Matthew Pouliot of Hardball Talk:

One wonders if the Orioles may have found the new Koji Uehara when they signed Tsuyoshi Wada to a two-year, $8.15 million contract in December.

Uehara was signed as a starter, only to end up in the bullpen late due to durability concerns. Wada could follow the same path after being shut down indefinitely Sunday because of elbow discomfort.

While X-rays were negative, Orioles manager Buck Showalter told the Baltimore Sun that Wada had fluid drained from the elbow to help with the swelling and also received a cortisone injection.

The 31-year-old Wada was expected to compete for a spot in the Baltimore rotation, but many had already penciled him into the pen because he has some history in relief. The current plan is for him to take three days off and then be reevaulated.

“As for me and how I feel, I feel like I could throw [Monday],” Wada said. “But we’ll see what happens.”

Fluid drained from the elbow? That really doesn’t sound like a good thing, to be honest. That actually sounds like a really bad thing. Three days off…I just have a feeling that those three days are going to become more than three days. This is, of course, the perfect start to Wada’s Orioles career, because he’s starting it off by showing off his skills in landing on the DL. That, if anything, tells me he’s the perfect fit for this team.

Kudos to you, Wada, for showing your stuff and having inflammation in your elbow. Now I’m absolutely positive you were meant to be an Oriole after all. You’re hurt already and there hasn’t even been any pitching to do yet.

You’re officially on our team.

(I was at a manga convention this weekend, so the next Draw Your Orioles! post will come this week. I’m aiming for tomorrow. Originally, it was going to be the Oriole Bird, but now I’m sorely tempted to teach you all how to draw Tsuyoshi Wada in a sling.)

Image courtesy of Orioles Nation.

Yes, ‘creys.’ It’s a Tumblr thing.

Matt Angle was just claimed off waivers by the Los Angeles Dodgers, tweets everyone associated with the Orioles. Now I’m going to have to go and cry. Caleb Joseph, you’ve officially been promoted to Steph’s Favorite Orioles Prospect Status.

I love Matt Angle. I love his awkwardly large ears and his speed and his outfield ability and his bunting and his ability to hit to all fields. I really hope he does well with the Dodgers because I love him so much. They had better take care of him or else I’ll be truly devastated.

Please love him for me, Los Angeles. Give him a star in Hollywood for me.

And Dodgers fans reading this, here’s how to draw him, if you’re interested. I’m going to keep drawing him myself because I can’t get enough of those ears (they’re cartoonist GOLD), but I just need to change his uniform now.

This is the last opportunity I’m going to get to post this, so here you go.

Look, everyone, Orioles beat writer Britt Ghiroli posted this (amongst other images) on her blog today:

Photo courtesy of Britt Ghiroli. (Clicking the photo links to the blog entry.)

Here is my reaction, as acted out by my sheepdog, Louise:

Seriously, though, check out the article – there’s some excellent stuff on Dylan Bundy, the new kid in town. Also, Caleb Joseph has joined the big club for now – Dane Sardina failed his physical (problems with his elbow). Basically, cue Louise making that insanely happy face again – I adore Caleb Joseph.

All in all, today’s news was pretty darn good. At least to me. (Sorry to Dane Sardina – I have a prospect crush on Caleb Joseph. He eats condiments.)

The Orioles held open auditions recently to find a new PA announcer. Out of the 670 applicants who applied, it was Ryan Wagner, Fan Cave alumnus, who was selected for the job. I have lots of feelings about this, and they’re mixed.

I’ve met Ryan before – he and Mike O’Hara, the two men in the Fan Cave, were very nice to us when some of the Aerys girls visited the Fan Cave itself back in September. We swore violently at Kevin Gregg together, so there’s that. Obviously, Ryan knows what’s up, and he’s also a lifelong fan of this team, which makes being the PA announcer for the squad a dream job for him.

Honestly? I’m really happy for Ryan – he clearly wanted this, and I’m sure he’s going to do a wonderful job with it. If I can, I’ll get down to Camden Yards from New Jersey at some point and check out his PA skills. I haven’t been to a game in a while down there anyhow, and I miss it big-time.

Now here’s where my feelings become mixed. 670 people applied for this position: did it really have to be a Fan Cave alumnus who got the gig? Why couldn’t it have been a new person, someone who wasn’t formerly known to the public in some capacity? Isn’t it time to give a new person an opportunity? I don’t think Ryan got the position on his Fan Cave alumnus status alone – he’s an actor by trade, so this job will certainly be right in his wheelhouse as he’s used to performing for people. However, I’m sure that the other 24 finalists who were there definitely had some talent, too, and they were probably equally deserving.

I think Ryan’s a good choice as the PA announcer. I really, really do. However, I also think that it’s time to give some new people turns in the spotlight. I really don’t know how I feel about this whole appointment as a result. I sat here and thought about it for a full 24 hours before writing this and I still don’t know how I feel.

I’ll leave it at this: congratulations to Ryan Wagner, and I hope that in the future the other 669 people find opportunities that they deserve, too.

People are in camp, guys. That’s pretty awesome.

The Orioles actually made quite a few waves this offseason, and at some point this week I’m going to try to sit down and write a full offseason retrospective. Since it’s February break and my elementary school librarian mother – and my kid brother – are home from school for the week, that task has become monumentally easier.

Right now, though, let’s take a quick look at what stories are starting to emerge from camp.

• Brian Roberts is alive. He worked out today – he threw with J.J. Hardy and took swings in the batting cages. He’s also been getting in work at the Minor League complex, apparently.
• Lots of people are at camp. Also, Tsuyoshi Wada wants to be a starter. Also also, Mark Reynolds lost 20 pounds. (Click that link – Britt Ghiroli posted lots of pictures. One is a Jake Arrieta ass shot. You’re welcome.)
• Zach Britton’s getting better. He threw roughly 60 pitches at 100 feet today, including 15 in his full windup, which is a plus. He’s been able to find his arm slot – good news. Now let’s see if he can throw on consecutive days when he tries to throw tomorrow.

You know what my favorite part of this post is? I get to tag a bunch of players in it. That means that a bunch of players are here. Just being able to write that makes me smile so, so big.

Stay tuned – I’ll have a post coming up within the next few days showing you all how to draw everyone’s favorite mascot, the Oriole Bird!

This is the third time I'm using this graphic in the past two weeks. None of those posts have been positive.

Sign the team up for kitchen duty or something. Roch Kubatko just sent this lovely news byte out:

The Korean Baseball Organization’s protest over the Orioles’ signing of Seong-Min Kim will lead to Major League Baseball voiding the contract of the 17-year-old Korean pitcher, according to industry sources.

I’m still trying to receive confirmation from the Orioles.

I’m told that the Orioles could be facing some sort of punishment, and they will have to restart the negotiating process at a later date if they still want to bring Kim into the organization.

The Orioles signed Kim to a minor league contract on Jan. 30 that reportedly included a $550,000 bonus. The KBO protested the lack of protocol, saying the Orioles failed to first contact MLB, which was then to contact the KBO commissioner to get clearance for negotiations to begin.

More fallout came when Orioles scouts were banned from the country by the Korean Baseball Association.

Last week, executive vice president Dan Duquette issued the following statement regarding the controversy:

“On behalf of the Orioles organization, I offer a sincere apology to the Korea Baseball Organization and the Korea Baseball Association for the club’s unintentional breach of protocol in failing to tender a status check in the process of signing Seong-Min Kim. The Orioles respect Major League Baseball’s recruiting policies and the governing bodies and people that contribute to the growth of baseball around the world.”

Soooo…yeah. This is just not good. At all. Basically, here’s a quick summary of what this means:

• MLB is voiding Seong-min Kim’s contract, so he can’t play with the Orioles organization this year.
• The KBO has already banned him from playing, so he can’t play at home, either.
• The Orioles will possibly be allowed to sign Kim later, but they’ll have to wait for some time before this happens.
• Oh, and the Orioles could potentially be penalized for all of this, too. Isn’t sucking royally already enough punishment? Apparently not.

There is hope, though, and it comes from Jeeho Yoo, a writer for Yonhap News (he covers Korean sports in English):

At the very least, the Orioles might come out with Kim in the organization eventually. It’ll just take a little time, a lot of patience, and a ton of losing first. At least we’re used to losing, so we’ve got that part down. Now we just have to wait…and take a hit or something.

ETA: Yonhap News is reporting that the Orioles have been fined an undisclosed amount of money by MLB for their breach of conduct. On the other hand (and from the same article), here’s the deal with Kim’s contract:

  According to KBO officials, MLB said the contract, reportedly worth US$550,000, will not be approved for the next 30 days as part of its sanctions on the Orioles. Kim will have to leave the team for the duration and train on his own.

“The contract between Kim and Baltimore is still valid,” one official said. “But after receiving our complaint, MLB has decided not to approve it for 30 days in what we feel is a symbolic gesture. And fining the team is also a significant step.”

Kim gets to stay with the Orioles, but he’ll have to leave and train independently for thirty days. This could have been a lot, lot worse, to be honest. The kid will still be a member of the Orioles organization; it just won’t be official for a month until MLB approves the contract. This is a strange stroke of luck for this team – a fine and a slap on the wrist. I was just waiting for MLB to come down hard on the team and penalize them in the First-Year Players’ Draft or something. Fortunately, MLB decided to be suspiciously nice to the Orioles for a change.

I guess I’m just not used to any form of leniency with this losing team.

ETA: The Orioles’ official website is saying the contract will be voided after all. I don’t know what to believe right now. We’ll have to see which of these reports is correct in the next few days.

As it usually is with the Orioles, whenever one of those rare positive things happens, something bad has to happen, as well. So here’s a wonderful and depressing edition of your Orioles Chirps.

• The Orioles and Adam Jones agreed to a one-year deal, thus avoiding arbitration. Now they’ve got time to work on a longer deal without worrying about a tumultuous hearing hanging over their heads. This is the good news.
• Now for the bad news: Zach Britton’s shoulder still hurts. This injury was sustained in August. It is now February. This is really, really not good, especially since, you know, Britton is kind of important for the rotation.

See? Good news, bad news. It’s great to know that Adam Jones is all set to go and the team successfully avoided arbitration – that’s averted a potential major distraction for everyone. Britton still being irritated by his shoulder injury, however, is really troubling – he’s expected to compete for a spot in the rotation during Spring Training this season, and if he’s hurt…well, then we’ve lost one of our better starters. We don’t really have too many of those, so this is a huge blow. Great.

At least Spring Training is right around the corner.

Matt Angle is my favorite Orioles prospect. I’m not entirely sure why, but I just took a liking to the kid a year or two ago and he grew on me. That’s why he’s your Oriole cartoon of the day.

For previous drawing tutorials I’ve done, check my posts on Mark Reynolds and Paul Bako.

Let’s get started!

To start, draw out the basic shape of the head and neck. Remember the guidelines on the head to let you know where to place the eyes, nose, mouth and ears.

Add in the shoulders and a little bit of the chest, and you’ve got a good ‘player bust’ all set up. I also sketched in the outline of where I’m going to place Angle’s ears.

In this step, I’ve added both a hat and a hair line. You’ll see why I’ve added the hat in a short while. There’s a legitimate reason.

Start sketching in the details on the face. I’ve drawn in the eyebrows, eyelids and top of the eyes here. Notice how the top of the eyes is lined up with the highest point at which the ears connect to the head – and it’s all on that horizontal guideline.

As the sun came out, I drew in the rest of the face. Remember that Angle’s still a young kid, so make sure to reflect that in his face. Make sure he looks youthful and full of energy, which is why I gave him wide eyes.

Finish the penciling by making sure he’s wearing clothing. Unless you don’t want to and you’ve decided to fanservice Matt Angle, in which case draw in the details on the top of the chest. I’ll then ask you why you decided to fanservice Matt Angle and not Jake Arrieta.

Also, now that I’ve finished the penciling, I’ve gone over some of the details to finalize them – and look at the size of Angle’s ears. In real life, Matt Angle has larger-than-average ears, but when you’re drawing cartoons you want to emphasize things like this, so I’ve made them absolutely huge. I added the hat to actually make his ears look larger – by not drawing as much hair in, it also draws more attention to his ears.

Now start inking. Don’t forget to use a thinner pen for the smaller details like parts of the face. Save the thicker pen for the general outline of the figure.

Finish inking and erase the pencil lines! You can then color your drawing in any way you wish. I usually use Copic and Prismacolor markers, but you can use whatever medium you want!

Don’t forget to comment and tell me which Orioles to draw next! I enjoy this so much!