Special K's dicejob

by IHateMitchMustain on Feb 1, 2008 5:39 AM EST

I was just wondering how everyone would rate Keith Laws on his pitiful job at trying to work while drunk, high and fighting through temporary memory lapses and bouts of insanity.

Clearly I think the guy needs to be fired or at least re-assigned to working on something he knows anything about, but what does everyone else think about his last top 100 while working for ESPN.

Poll

How do you rate Keith's top 100

4

10 votes

3

10 votes

2

4 votes

1- toilet paper

21 votes

10- the $hit

19 votes

9

13 votes

8

22 votes

7

14 votes

6

15 votes

5

9 votes

137 votes | Poll has closed

Tweet Comment 30 comments | 0 recs |

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Comments

Maybe you should change your username to

IHateKeithLaw...

I give your post a 1/10.

by AucklandGM on Feb 1, 2008 6:38 AM EST reply actions

+1

Send your top 50-100 prospects to slurveone@yahoo.com!!!

by slurve on Feb 1, 2008 8:44 AM EST up reply actions

Law

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that someone's team got ranked, in general, a little lower than they wanted.

by Lunkwill Fook on Feb 1, 2008 9:25 AM EST up reply actions

not for me anyway. he gave the cardinals three in the top 100, which is pretty much what i thought. the head scratching thing was which prospects were ranked and why. his scouting reports often differ from those of others. i'd put more stock into his opinions if he actually scouted the players. when asked questions about his rankings, he often says something to the effect of--i saw him once a year and half ago and wasnt that impressed. he gets basic facts wrong a regular basis as well.

by dmb60614 on Feb 1, 2008 10:41 AM EST up reply actions

pretty sure

he's seen these guys, I 've seen him at games, the area code games and others.

by SoCalSoxFan on Feb 1, 2008 1:04 PM EST up reply actions

04:39:25 AM

Yeesh. Get to bed buddy. Keith Law, or Special K, will still be around in the morning for bashing. I never thought it was possible for one person to get so fired up over subjective lists...but alas, along comes IHateMitch.

NMS should be publicly applauded for his efforts yesterday. Well done.

by ftheyankees on Feb 1, 2008 9:24 AM EST reply actions

nms

is probably Keith Law himself LOL

"The Dodgers won't win a playoff series until the Cool-a-Coo returns." -mckeeno

by PujolsJunkie on Feb 1, 2008 9:40 AM EST up reply actions

nah

just a bored guy at work.

And I really don't care about Law specifically. It could have been KG, BA, anything. It wasn't the specific disagreements that bother me, moreso the attitude

by nms on Feb 1, 2008 6:16 PM EST up reply actions

I dont get why the list is thought to be so bad...

A few thoughts:

1.) He did choose to omit a few guys from the middle area and back area of the top 100, but every guy after the 20s or so likely has some serious question marks. If he sees them as a major deal, it doesnt make his list automatically invalid.

2.) Having unexpected players late on his board makes sense as well. If he feels that a player has a likelihood of breaking out, theres no reason not to put him near the back. Its not like 1/3rd of the players after 50 arent going to fail to develop anyway.

3.) He actually has really good write ups for the players, and why he chose them to be in the spot. He gave valid reasoning to question some players, or why he thinks highly of others. He wont be right on every player, but he gave good reasoning for all the players. He actually has some insightful comments on players' swings/deliveries, etc that are very interesting.

I really just dont get why people getting all up in arms over some unexpected picks late in the top 100. Its not like he had German Duran in his top 20 or something.

And if you are complaining because Law's list is implying that some move you made in a fantasy league was a bad idea, have some confidence in yourself. You made the move for a reason, dont freak out just because Keith Law disagrees.

by grozzy on Feb 1, 2008 9:52 AM EST reply actions

Well

He did have German Duran ahead of Reid Brignac and Chin-Lung Hu, in the top 50, though...

I have to say, though, that as a Royals fan, the list was a disappointment. Law wouldn't answer any of the questions in his chat submitted by Royals fans asking about the omission of Dan Cortes, who is kind of starting to become a big deal, and Law's reason for omitting Luke Hochevar was that he saw him last year at the Futures Game and his stuff didn't look that good. How long ago was the Futures game? Hochevar pitched to what, three batters (and got all of them out, thank you very much)?

If we want to base our rankings on one game...I saw Hochevar pitch eight innings of one-hit ball and K 12 in San Antonio in April. Therefore he is my number one prospect.

by ajohnst1 on Feb 1, 2008 10:08 AM EST up reply actions

Quick point

"Law wouldn't answer any of the questions in his chat submitted by Royals fans asking about the omission of Dan Cortes..."

I assume when you say questions submitted by Royals fans, you mean questions submitted by you? Seriously, he gets thousands of questions in each chat, and can't be expected to answer every single one. And what's more, he's said in the past that people who just keep submitting the same question over and over will just be ignored. Not to say that's what happened, but cut the guy some slack.

"A little rudeness and disrespect can elevate a meaningless interaction to a battle of wills and add drama to an otherwise dull day." - Calvin

by RVachon on Feb 1, 2008 10:20 AM EST up reply actions

Actually

I realize he gets a ton of questions, but over at Scout we asked a combined, probably 15 or 20 Cortes questions, none of them got answered.

Rowdy Hardy Fan Club member.

by doublestix on Feb 1, 2008 1:05 PM EST up reply actions

That's

what I was referring to, the questions submitted at Scout.

And he took a question about Hochevar/Cortes, then just didn't answer the part about Cortes...

by ajohnst1 on Feb 1, 2008 4:50 PM EST up reply actions

I know he put him ahead of those two, but...

... he goes on to explain his reasoning well. Even if you disagree, he puts forth good, sound reasoning.

Its not even that bad a list. There are like 5 or so picks out of 100 that people are complaining about, and none in his top 40 or so.

by grozzy on Feb 1, 2008 10:33 AM EST up reply actions

Thats what I like most

Do I agree with all his prospects ? Of course not

But he gives an explanation of ALL 100 prospects, you can read his reasoning for each prospect.

by Kanst42 on Feb 1, 2008 4:01 PM EST up reply actions

not in his top 40?

Fernando Martinez is 10th, that is 2X as high as he is anywhere else, but he was mentioned in a trade recently so that is probably why this guy just randomly added him that high, cause of the hype and cause he has no clue what he is doing. I am pumped about my new job at ESPN I am about to get. On my resume all I have to put is that I am clearly smarter than that guy.

by IHateMitchMustain on Feb 1, 2008 9:11 PM EST up reply actions

sickels

has Desmond Jennings 50-60 spots lower than most other places.

Does that make him stupid?

Can't a talent evaluator take a stand on a player? Are you really that focused on 10 spots in the prospect rankings? Do you actually think there is that much of a difference.

ESPECIALLY WHEN THE GUY IS STILL A TEENAGER???

by Galt on Feb 1, 2008 10:10 PM EST up reply actions

Keith Law

Went to Harvard and got his MBA at Carnegie Mellon.

What's your educational pedigree, numbnuts?

by Galt on Feb 1, 2008 10:10 PM EST up reply actions

I didnt see any other....

... complaining about that placement until then. Incidentally, Im very high on Martinez and might have him even higher than 10th. I highly doubt he put Martinez that high just because he had been in trade talks lately. On the other hand, it probably has a lot to do with Martinez's top notch tools, very good production when healthy (especially for his age), and star potential.

by grozzy on Feb 1, 2008 10:58 PM EST up reply actions

you

are an asshole.

Keith Law knows more about baseball than you ever will. You post on messageboards during your lunch break. You read some posts and check thebaseballcube. He's worked in baseball for years; That doesn't mean he's always right, but he definitely has much more knowledge and datapoints than you do about the subject. For you to imply that he's just "wrong" in an absolute sense shows nothing but your own arrogance.

Feel free to disagree about placement of prospects and explain why you think Boggs is overrated by Keith. But to sit there and say he's a drunk and incompetent, piss off.

Law and Goldstein had Desmond Jennings in their top 20s. Sickels had him like 78th. Does that mean that one of them is stupid or incompetent? No. They see different things and have different opinions.

You want to go head to head against Law, feel free to quit your current job and try to go into Baseball and see how many people trust your opinion over Law or anyone else even remotely close to baseball.

by Galt on Feb 1, 2008 10:34 AM EST reply actions

+1

Took the words right out of my mouth, minus the namecalling...

by goose102977 on Feb 1, 2008 10:41 AM EST up reply actions

Zero need to call the guy who posted this an

***hole. Just not cool dude. So he bashed Law big whoop. Keith Law doesn't care about this guys opinion.

by Rajah358 on Feb 1, 2008 1:57 PM EST up reply actions

+2

I am not a huge Keith Law fan and I think he comes off a bit arrogant. But he knows more about these guys than most (probably all) of us and it is nice to hear his perspective at times. He is still somewhat new to being a public prospect analyzer. He deserves a few years to see how his projections turn out.

by bl on Feb 1, 2008 2:07 PM EST up reply actions

get off his nutts

I don't care what he knows. His list sucks. He might be the greatest writer, greatest nascar driver, greatest dad, I know nothing about him...but that list blows. Who is the #48 guy, top 50!! Who the hell is that guy, i've barely even heard his name call. Did that guy autograph a ball for him once when someone else wouldn't or something. (by the way I still hate John Patterson because he wouldn't autograph a card for me once, it's cool, look what my pent up anger did to that guy).

by IHateMitchMustain on Feb 1, 2008 9:15 PM EST up reply actions

So...

What did Keith do to you again? Run over your dog? Kid? Ran over your dog with your kid?

The hate is strong in this one. Too strong, dare I say.

"...and the only things I've found better than listening to Vin Scully are listening to Keith Jackson and uncut cocaine." (bleedjaxblue)

by drjayphd on Feb 1, 2008 11:43 PM EST up reply actions

Keith Law

made Mitch Mustain leave Arkansas..

by nms on Feb 2, 2008 2:30 PM EST up reply actions

I was expecting a Dice-K referece

by GuyinNY on Feb 1, 2008 11:26 AM EST reply actions

+1

The actual content of the diary took me by surprise.

by Lunkwill Fook on Feb 1, 2008 12:01 PM EST up reply actions

+2

I was sure it was a Dice-K diary...I was actually excited to get something that wasnt a prospect list or a fantasy trade

by Kanst42 on Feb 1, 2008 4:02 PM EST up reply actions

graduating the top 50

After making a quick run through on the top 50 or so prospects on Law'w list, i noticed that there should be an unusally high amount of guy losing their prospect status by the time hte mid season lists come out. Dont be suprised if over half of the top 50 graduate out by midseason.

Batting practice tomorrow you be there....I have Pop, everyday

by laxtonto on Feb 1, 2008 12:00 PM EST reply actions