Play Ball!

Pedro Moura had a Q & A on The Athletic yesterday about the Dodgers. Some moron named Edward V. asked this:

How long till Friedman and co are kicked out by Dodger fans for not delivering a championship?

Pedro Moura wrote:

Fans are not the bosses of big league executives, Edward.

So, Edward came back and said:

Fair. How about how long till Dodger fans turn on the executives for not delivering a championship?

Pedro responded:

It seems like many fans turned on them long ago?

Those are the people that drive me crazy! The Dodgers are in the best shape they have been for 30 years or more and the idiots are calling for Andrew Friedman’s head? The Dodgers are picked by Vegas as odds-on one of the TOP THREE team in baseball and guys like Edward ask stupid stuff like that? What is wrong with you, Edward?

This team is deep and the farm is elite. MLB.com rates their lineup as the 5th best in baseball. Most analysts pick them to win the NL West (Jim Bowden picked the Rockies) and so do I but it is never easy. The Giants and Padres could be better than many people think and the Rockies are good – I just don’t see them winning. Bowden wrote this telling line in The Athletic:

The lineup is expected to have less platooning than in the past, but with a little more contact, fewer home runs and a little less drama in the clubhouse.

“Less drama in the clubhouse” speaks volumes. Just a few people on this site and many on other sites, criticize Friedman and say he has failed. Everything they say is from a negative point of view and I am not going to stop them from saying it, because it is free speech, but I will say it is dumb simply because it is not true. It’s not true because the record speaks for itself.

To say I am a “homer” shows you have no clue about what I have said in the past. I was no fan of Ned Colletti, Joe Torre and most recently, Don Mattingly and I was frequently criticized for being so vocal in my criticism. It’s not homerism – it’s what I believe. I have been right about Friedman from Jump Street… and that really pisses some of you off.Is he perfect? Hell no! He has made his share of mistakes and will continue to do so, but I wonder why the irrational hated of him is so prevalent when the facts say otherwise.

I have no problem with people saying it’s going to be tough to get back to the World Series, because it is. It’s going to be very hard. History shows that very few teams have made it three years in a row. If the Dodgers don’t get there this year, I am sure you will say “I told you so.” So, if they do get back again, will you promise to Just Shut the Hell up? Do we have a deal?

I do not believe that “Everyone who questions whether the Dodgers will win the World Series is wrong.” That is not true. I believe that anyone who questions everything is wrong! Read that line carefully – that is what I believe! When your point of view is always negative, you are TOTALLY WRONG! There’s a lot of positives on this team and this organization. The positives outnumber the negatives. You can say what you want and if it’s dumb, I will say that too. To use Dave Dombrowski as a example is shallow and silly. Some of you have no clue. I would be happy to elaborate if you want to beat that horse. Sorry if I offend you, but I call it the way I see it and you are seething because you have been calling for Friedman to fail since he started and it’s not happening.

Today starts the new season. The Dodgers have put a new hitting philosophy into place that stresses the importance of moving runners, cutting down on strikeouts and improving situation hitting. How it works will take time to determine, but so far, the players are buying in. There will be challenges and the Dodgers will need some luck to get back to the Fall Classic. If you think they can’t get there, you are wrong. If you think it will be difficult, you are right, but the pieces are there. It’s up to the team to execute. A lot can go wrong. A lot went wrong last year and they still made it. A lot can still go wrong this year. If it does, the depth has to step up. No excuses!

You cans say that Joe Kelly can’t throw strikes and might fail, but to say that totally ignores the fact that when the stakes were highest and the Red Sox needed him to step up, he delivered. HE BIG TIME DELIVERED! You can point to the negative, but you have to give the positive equal time. Houston Mitchell just delivered his take via e-mail:

Dodgers will win the NL West

Yes, I am predicting the Dodgers to win the NL West for the seventh consecutive season. Do I think they are better than last season? Not necessarily. They could be, if everyone plays to their potential. But they underachieved last year, getting off to a 16-26 start and still finishing with 92 wins, which means they went 76-45 the rest of the way. I think they will win 91-95 games this season. Here’s why they will win:

The other NL West teams aren’t that great. It’s possible the Dodgers finish as the only team with a winning record in the division.

Full seasons from Corey Seager and Justin Turner will off-set the loss of Manny Machado. Seager may be a bit rusty and may get off to a slow start, but he is too talented for any extended slump.

I believe Austin Barnes is a much better player than he showed last season and will hit better than .205 and that Russell Martin’s defense, walks and power will make up for a relatively low batting average. By the way, here’s how Dave Roberts will give each playing time at the beginning of the season: “Early, call it the first week, first seven days, it’s gonna be four-three, Austin,” Roberts said. “And I think that’s just kind of letting both these guys get their legs under them as the season progresses. I see Austin getting more of the lion’s share, but as any season goes on, performance matters.”

Losing Yasiel Puig hurts on the field, no question. It hurts the defense in right field. But A.J. Pollock is an upgrade defensively in center. His injuries the last few seasons have been from playing hard. I’m hoping he stays healthy most of the season and makes up for most of what was lost in the Puig trade.

Also, Puig was not a great clubhouse guy. I’m not big on clubhouse chemistry at all. Like I’ve said, you give me 15 guys who hit .300 but are jerks and I’ll give you 15 guys who hit .200 and are saints and we’ll see who wins the most games. However, I think sometimes changing the dynamics of what is going on internally can give you a boost, sort of like changing managers sometimes spurs a team to greater heights. We’ll see.

The Dodgers have the best pitching in the division, even with Clayton Kershaw and Rich Hill on the shelf. Walker Buehler, Kenta Maeda, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Julio Urias and Ross Stripling are the best rotation in the division. Stripling and Urias, who are in the rotation only because of injuries to others, are good enough to be in almost any other rotation in baseball.

The bullpen will cause fans to pull their hair out as usual, but Kenley Jansen should be better this year, and I’m hoping the gains Pedro Baez made in the second half last season weren’t a fluke.

Mostly though, the other teams in the division aren’t that great.
I could go on, but I can already hear some of you saying I’m crazy, so I’ll stop. We have all season to discuss the Dodgers, so let’s not burn out today.

My wife, who is from San Francisco and was a Giants fan 25 years ago when we met, has now been transformed and turned from the Dark Side. She arrived at work today dressed for the occasion.