The Friedman Interview

Bobby Miller lines up for a potential Wednesday start at the end of the homestand vs the Rockies.

Really enjoyed your interview with AF. Congrats

Who thinks Pages can’t play CF now?

I really like the way April is playing out. You have your guys that come out of the gate hot. You have guys adjusting to new teammates and cultures. You have guys struggling on short leases. You have veterans that might need a torpedo. You have injuries, but not to bad. And you have rehabbing players chomping at the bit. You have 30 teams that still think they have a shot, well maybe not the Braves. And you have the young minor league stars looking to don Dodger Blue. You have blue skys and fresh cut grass. And you have a spring breeze wafting across the infield. The only thing missing to make April a wondrous time is Vinny saying……….

IT’S TIME FOR DODGER BASEBALL

Book em

Giants lose this afternoon to the Yankees 8-4 in a rain filled afternoon in the Bronx.

Ha Ha! Iiked that both of you were able to joke about you being responsible for him being hired.

Great interview. I got a sense of his personality. Seems like a genuinely nice, low key guy who is very attached to this organization and cares about the people in it.

As Dodger fans we’re lucky to have him.

“Kopech is set to throw his first bullpen session of the year on either Saturday or Sunday, Roberts said. The right-hander remains “a ways away,” from his return, but it is a notable first step.

Kopech first began dealing with right forearm inflammation during the 2024 postseason, and after that, he did not start throwing off a mound until late February, which severely delayed him”.

9:10 PM ET

Cubs (9-7)

Dodgers (11-4)

SP Ben Brown R

1-1 7.71 ERA

SP Roki Sasaki R

0-0 4.15 ERA

Confirmed Lineup

DH S. Ohtani L

SS Mookie Betts R

1B F. Freeman L

RF T. Hernandez R

LF M. Conforto L

2B Tommy Edman S

3B Max Muncy L

CF Andy Pages R

C A. Barnes R

70° Wind 9 mph Out

Nice win last night. Yamamoto had the Cubbies flummoxed. Who cannot love the way Edman plays the game. Guy has as many homer’s in 15 games as he hit in his short stint with LA last year. Guy is definitely a baller. Rancho was the only affiliate to get a win last night. Kim hit his first HR of the season. He is slugging over .500 with most of his hit’s doubles. But his OBP is not much over .300. Justin Dean at OKC definitely has some speed. Outman is still struggling with the bat, and is playing LF more than center lately.

“Recently, CNBC’s Michael Ozanian laid out the total value of all 30 teams and found the average value of an MLB club to be $2.62 billion. The Yankees are worth $8 billion and the Dodgers are at $5.8 billion, per his valuations.

As for this number compared to other professional sports teams, the Yankees are still up there, but are tied for third with the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams behind the Dallas Cowboys ($11 billion) and the NBA’s Golden State Warriors ($9.4 billion).

In terms of revenue sharing, Ozanian reported that the Yankees barely edged out the Dodgers with $705 million compared to the defending champion’s $701 million. No other team made more than $600 million in revenue last season.

The Dodgers actually generated the most revenue last year in baseball,” said Ozanian, “but we show them second in revenue behind the Yankees because the Dodgers had to pay so much in revenue sharing but we net that out.”

There is a considerable difference between first and second place in terms of CNBC’s valuations, but the No. 3 team on the list is the Boston Red Sox who are at a little more than $1 billion behind the Dodgers at $4.7 billion”.

Friday scores

Round Rock 2, Oklahoma City 1

Arkansas 6, Tulsa 5

Lansing 4, Great Lakes 3

Rancho Cucamonga 5, Stockton 4

Saturday schedule

10:05 a.m. PT: Great Lakes (Payton Martin) at Lansing (Steven Echavarria)

4:05 p.m.: Tulsa (Jacob Meador) at Arkansas (Garrett Hill)

5:15 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Matt Sauer) at Round Rock (TBD)

7:05 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Jakob Wright) at Stockton (Tzu-Chen Sha)

Hyeseong Kim & Zyhir Hope homer, Evan Phillips continues rehab. Bobby Miller walks three but pitches two and one-third scoreless innings.

For more detailed recaps,stats,schedules, standings and box scores for Dodger minor league teams go to the top of this page and cIick on MINOR LEAGUE AFFLIATES.

BTW, I am going to be back in Long Beach from the 21st to the 27th of this month on business (https://convention.wqa.org/). I MIGHT catch a Pirates game…

Great interview Mark. Steady camera work by Jon too. You can always tell the interview is good when you’re disappointed that it ends. Very informative questions and answers.

nice job Mark. You can tell Friedman was all in . A lot of times people will agree to interviews and it’s evident immediately they don’t want to be there. He was just the opposite. 60 minutes awaits you Mark! …. Yamamoto looks fantastic. 2 hits from Rojas and error free at 3rd. i don’t know how, but if pages can’t cut it at center, maybe the kid they just got from the A’s would possibly get a look. i love Tommy Edman at 2nd. Mookie is just fine at shortstop. Freddie is Freddie at first. 3rd and center? Pages could possibly be just fine eventually, but Max is Max. Hopefully his bat will get better, then maybe. his defense won’t stick out as much! A 40% strikeout rate? Not good! i know, patience! Max’s bat is needed for this lineup to be complete. Is Taylor just a defensive replacement now? sure looks like it. Excited fot the Catman to get back!

I did not have time to mention this while I was gone, but Noah Davis is a potential high-leverage reliever who has four pitches that the Dodgers believe they can build upon. BA said this about him:

Track Record: Davis had Tommy John surgery his junior year at UC Santa Barbara, but the Reds liked his stuf and gave him an above-slot $127,500 bonus to sign as an 11th-round pick. Davis returned to make his pro debut a year later and, after waiting out the coronavirus pandemic, was off to a strong start at High-A Dayton in 2021 when the Rockies acquired him as one of two prospects for Mychal Givens at the trade deadline. Davis showed well at High-A Spokane after the trade and was added to the 40-man roster after the season.

Scouting Report: Davis has a well-rounded four-pitch mix headlined by a 93-94 mph fastball that can get up to 96 mph with slight sink. He complements his fastball with a mid-to-high-80s slider, a high-70s curveball and a developing changeup. His potentially plus curveball is his best secondary, and he is confident throwing it in any count. Davis’ control is inconsistent and has been below-average at its worst. The Rockies primarily want him to throw more fastballs and continue to develop his fastball command. Davis’ biggest concern is his health. In addition to his Tommy John surgery, he has also battled shoulder soreness and blister issues at various points.

The Future: Davis has the stuff to be a back-end starter if he can hone his control and stay healthy. He’ll move to Double-A in 2022.

He has been converted to a reliever and could move quickly back to the Dodgers if they are successful in “Fixing” him. He is 27… he may be up in 2026… or sooner.

Tommy Tanks is a ballplayer. Pure and Simple! Stats alone do not capture his intrinsic value to the Dodgers.

Last night, it was Yamamoto for six and then Yates, Treinen, and Scott, in that order. The pen gave the Cubs no chance! Evan Phillips will be back soon (Garcia will be the odd-man-out), and the pen will be the deepest one I have ever seen.

Andrew has a great deal of Admiration for Alex Freeland… as do I.

Nice interview!

What stood out for me was Friedman’s enthusiasm about the young Dodgers, ages 18-20. This is reassuring because the ’25 Dodgers are a such a veteran crew, putting out lineups in their 30s.

Maybe one of these guys will prove to be true prodigy. The Dodgers are due.

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts announced that Clayton Kershaw will make a minor-league rehab start next Wednesday, according to Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. The Dodgers have been cautious with the future Hall of Famer, but have been far more open with providing a timeline for the veteran’s return in recent weeks. Kershaw will make his first start in Triple-A Oklahoma City.The earliest the left-hander can come off the 60-day IL is May 17th.

Dang Mark…That was one sweet interview. Professional yet casual. Inquisitive yet conversational. Very nicely done. Andrew just keeps going up in my book. Oh and you too!

Book em

10:10 PM ET

Cubs (9-6)

Dodgers (10-4)

SP Matthew Boyd L

1-0 0.00ERA

SP Y. Yamamoto R

1-1 1.69 ERA

Confirmed Lineup

DH S. Ohtani L

SS Mookie Betts R

RF T. Hernandez R

1B F. Freeman L

2B Tommy Edman S

C Will Smith R

LF M. Conforto L

CF Andy Pages R

3B Miguel Rojas R

70° Wind 8 mph Out

04/11/25 Los Angeles Dodgers activated 1B Freddie Freeman from the 10-day injured list.

What a treat! Excellent choice of topics Mark. AF made one statement that stood out to me when discussing the Dodgers prospect pipeline, this is the best batch of 18-20 year old prospects AF has ever been around. When you consider what he did in TB and some of the prospects that have come out of the Dodgers minor league system during his tenure, that is quite a statement.

Go Dodgers!

Great interview, made me feel I was sitting in the dugout with you chatting about a game and team we love.

No pressure, like two good friends.

Dodgers pitchers have walked more batters than any other team, and it’s not just the result of starting the season early with two games in Japan. They also have the highest walk rate in the majors, at 12.9 percent entering Friday. In the last 70 years, only one team posted a 12-percent walk rate over an entire season — Cleveland in 1971, who walked 12.2 percent of batters faced en route to 102 losses and a last-place finish.

“Scoop” Timmons

Congratulations, Mark!

I’m glad you got the opportunity, and impressed with how you absolutely made the most of it.

Well done!