As I write this, the Dodgers have just beaten the Angels 3-0 in the Opening Game of the Freeway series. Then, they lost 5-4 in the second game. It’s still Spring Training, and wins don’t mean what they do in the Regular Season, but the Dodgers look ready, and then I read some comments that make me question why I should continue to do this. Really!
When have I ever said that Andrew Friedman is perfect or doesn’t make mistakes? Like never! Andrew Friedman took over as President of Baseball Operations for the Dodgers in 2015. I am not even going to talk about his accomplishments before he came to the Dodgers – this is not about that. In the time he has been with the Dodgers, the Dodgers have won more games than any other team in baseball. They have won seven division titles and three pennants. They have won a World Series, which should have been two, but for the Cheating Asterisks. Baseball America has called the Dodgers “Baseballs Model Franchise” under Andrew Friedman. Despite winning 100 games every season and picking at the bottom of the draft, the Dodgers have the #1 or #2 Top Farm System in all of baseball (depending upon who ranks it).
Most Las Vegas Oddsmakers have the Dodgers as the #2 to the #4 Favorite to win the World Series behind the Astros. In my opinion… no, it’s not an opinion; it is a fact… this is the best time EVER in Dodger history to be a Dodger fan. Let me also state another fact: Due to the number of rounds in the playoffs now; it is more complicated than it ever was to Win a World Series because it requires more rounds and more games to win. If you disagree with that, seek help! Seriously!
Some try to denigrate the Dodger’s World Series Win in 2020 as tainted. HELLO! The Dodgers of 2020 had to win more playoff games (rounds) than any other team in MLB history up until that point in order to take the Trophy. Then, I read that signing Jason Heyward and trading for Joey Gallo was because Andrew Friedman was “stubborn.” Really? REALLY? Are your being serious?
I challenge you to even attempt to explain how it is “stubborn.” As Bluto so aptly said yesterday:
How the hell was the thinking around Gallo one of stubbornness??!?!??
That boggles my poor mind.
Mine too! It has nothing to do with being stubborn (maybe some of you are confusing yourself with Andrew Friedman). Both acquisitions were what are called “Low Risk – High Reward” I am not very smart), and I do not know what Andrew Friedman knows… because I do not have his resources. Before I go on, let me tell you how the Dodgers operate:
- Andrew Friedman is the President of Baseball Operations, but he does not operate in a vacuum;
- He has surrounded himself with a plethora of advisors, consultants, scouts, and statisticians, including Brandon Gomes, Josh Byrnes, Jeffrey Kingston, David Finley, Ismael Cruz, Billy Gaspirino, Galen Carr, Will Rhymes, Chase Utley, Pat Corrales, Ron Roenicke, Joel Peralta, Jose Vizcaino, and coaches, managers and others throughout the farm system.
- When players are under consideration of being acquired, a large number of those people are part of the decision. Andrew seeks input from all of these people. Yes, he has the final decision, but he values the input and usually goes with the consensus. Why are people so loyal to him? Simply because he gives them a say and values their opinions.
“Stubborn?” Joey Gallo was acquired in a trade with the Yankees for one of the “hundreds” (not literally) of RHP the Dodgers have in the minors. Clayton Beeter may or may not be an excellent major league pitcher, but the Dodgers gave up very little to get what had the potential to be a “lot.” Joel Gallo, in his eight years of MLB baseball, has hit 41 HR, 40 HR, and 38 HR in a season. Hindsight is 20/20, and it FLAT OUT did not work. They could not fix him. However, the Dodgers have been very successful at “fixing” players, such as Chris Taylor (at one time), Max Muncy, and others. The Dodger Brass reached a consensus that this was a low-risk, high-reward move that could bring them a great return. Yes, it did not work, but it was worth a try, in their opinion. Why do people like to point out one thing that failed out of 10 that didn’t? I have my opinion, but I am not saying it.
Jason Heyward is costing the Dodgers about $600,000, as the Cubs are on the hook for his other $21,000,000. He is in great shape physically, and Freddie Freeman believes in him (yes, he is biased). What does it hurt to allow him to earn a spot? What’s the worst that can happen? Why all the vitriol? He flames out, and they replace him. That’s it! He is universally respected by his teammates and in baseball in general. It’s a LOW RISK – HIGH REWARD MOVE! Stubborn? Are you out of your rabbit-ass mind?
We will find out soon enough if Heyward makes a difference, and if he doesn’t, he will be gone. Stubborn? More like Crazy Like a Fox! I am not a fan of Jason Heyward or Trayce Thompson… or Joey Gallo, for that matter, but I do understand Low Risk – High Reward! It’s not even close to stubborn – it’s very smart, actually! Very, Very Smart!
Andrew Friedman has made his share of mistakes. As the President of US Water Systems, my job is new product development, and my title is “Visionary.” Guess what? I make mistakes. Lots of them. The only people who don’t are the Critics, and I hate Critics because they always know better after the fact. Their hindsight is 20/20.
Oscar Wilde once said, “Criticism is the only reliable form of autobiography.” It tells you more about the psychology of the critic than the people he or she criticizes. Astute professionals can formulate a viable diagnostic hypothesis just from hearing someone’s criticisms.
Critical people are certainly smart enough to figure out that criticism doesn’t work. So why do they keep doing it, even in the face of mounting frustration?
It’s because criticism is an easy form of ego defense. We don’t criticize because we disagree with a behavior or an attitude. We criticize because we somehow feel devalued by the behavior or attitude. Critical people tend to be easily insulted and especially in need of ego defense.
Feel free to disagree with me, but as Jim Rome says, “Have a take and do not suck.” The Dodgers and Andrew Friedman are smart… very smart, and you just may be the stubborn one. When someone takes chances, they do not all work, but if they work more than they fail, you have a winner! History has already identified Andrew as a winner, but he is not perfect!
Discussion (44)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Thank you men.
Suffered a mild stroke on Saturday, released from hospital Monday evening. Enjoyed catching up on reading LADT today.
Man I heard that word STUBBORN, so many times in last couple of days and then plenty while reading LADT.
I always thought it was a good thing. Oh well.
I guess I will be stubborn some more and root for the Dodgers throughout 2023. Yup going to stick with them.
I still say Dodgers will be the divisional champs and I offer the division field on an even bet of $200 as long odds. This offer ends when the season begins. I would ask Mark to be fund holder to pay the winner. I can only afford to bet $200.
Made it to California safely. Plane was 2 hours late leaving the Springs, broken trash can was the reason. Ready for real baseball.
Yeah and not counting 17 scoreboard says Friedman one win, seven loses. Would like to think need at least two wins before being considered the greatest GM ever
Boy mark that word stubborn really crawls up your spine. You keep twisting it around to mean things I had no intention of. You act like someone crapped in your yard if they don’t praise your genius, brilliant baseball god Friedman who you worship That many of us give a very poor grade to ever since the signing of Freeman and all your fancy word argumentative, make no sense talent and slandering opinions isn’t gonna change that
Latest winter storm to hit Southern CA seems to be less intense than predicted. When I saw rain forecast for Thur earlier in the week I started getting worried. Looks like it will pass LA by tomorrow morning. Last thing I wanted to see was our insane winter result in an opening day rainout. That would have been a first.
Some yea sayer thoughts. Plugging Vargas in at second everyday, brilliant. Word is Outman will get the majority of AB’s in center. Having gold glove caliber shortstop should glue up infield and predict will hit hit least 270 with some clutch. JD will produce just fine and better than last year. Unlike some, think max will handle third adequately and stick will be better than pre injury days with the chip he’s carrying around. Freddie, Mookie and Smith should all make all star team. Pen is strong and could very well become better with guys coming off IL by sep/ oct
In this Freeway Series, what we saw was our lineup against lefthanded pitching. It is clear we are going to platoon LF and CF. I think Heyward will be the 4th or 6th OF depending how you look at it.
I also like our chances.
93 wins is a lot of wins. With this current roster I’d be happy with that.
I won’t be surprised if we don’t win the West. San Diego has gone all in and that team looks good. I expect the Dodgers likely to be active in the trade market. Winning the Division is preferred of course but obviously not necessary. It’s how teams play in October that matter so hopefully the player or players we pick up will help light that October fuse.
After seeing the final roster, the Dodgers will win 93 games in 2023 and finish second to the Padres in a close race but make the playoffs as a wild card. We won’t be able to beat up on NL West teams which we were 54-21 in 2022 with less games scheduled this year against those teams. With the balanced schedule we will be playing 26 games against the AL East and AL West which we did not play in 2022. except for the Angels. Both are tough divisions. Our offense right now is not great and I’m not in love with our present pitching. AF and BG have their work cut out for them to improve the roster during the season and especially at the trading deadline. I hope I’m I’m wrong but I have the utmost faith in AF to make wise additions and subtractions. That is my opinion and fearless prediction for the upcoming season. I will cheer for the Dodgers as I always have and watch as many games as possible and hope for the best.
Here’s a commenter on The Athletic:
John J.
· 1h 10m ago
The Dodgers got an F in the off-season, not a C. They failed at everything, losing many talented players and simply not replacing them. They failed to keep the best player in the most critical position in baseball. They instead acquired other team’s castoffs as reclamation projects and now enter the season with just one outfielder in Betts and a lot of unanswered questions. Short and third are going to be black holes for a long time and second is another unanswered question.
The Padres went all in to win the division while the Dodgers turned yellow and hid their checkbooks and made horribly bad decisions. As a long-time Dodger fan I am appalled at seeing what looks like McCourt making bad decisions for the Dodgers again.
So much for excellence. The decline has begun.
What to expect from the Dodgers this season?
Keith Law’s season projection: 97-65
The Athletic’s staff voting (percentages reflect first-place votes):
NL West
San Diego Padres 61.3%
Los Angeles Dodgers 38.7%
Arizona Diamondbacks 0.0%
Colorado Rockies 0.0%
San Francisco Giants 0.0%
Personally I feel truly blessed to be a big life long dodger fan. We got a great organization from top to bottom the best in the game in my opinion but that doesn’t mean I need to pretend everything they do is gold like some do. If I can’t praises the great and criticize the not what’s the point
I know we have a lot of brilliant naysayers in here but FiveThirtyEight still has us as the slight favorite to win the WS in their component rankings. This is a tough crowd in here. I think we need to trade the LADT group out to Detroit for a year to tegain a sense of gratitude for being a Dodger fan.
If Thor after ten or so games in has a losing record and a era north of four which I think is likely and they keep throwing him out there anyway I will call that stubborn to. Same if Heyward has pitiful numbers. One bright spot our no hitting outfielders sure can play good D
Well the good news out of spring training for our bench is that Thompson and Heyward hit .286. Combined! Hopefully got that one in before Bear wakes up.
Wipe the slate clean tho. It’s time for Dodger baseball!
I never knew that “stubborn” was such a loaded term. Often learn something new here!
I will stubbornly suggest that AF & Associates will have learned from 2022 that they shouldn’t enter the playoffs in 2023 with a couple of bench player who really can’t contribute. I will stubbornly argue that, down the stretch in ’22, AF got outplayed by his peers like Preller–and that is one reason the Padres bounced a 111-win team so swiftly. It wasn’t even close.
Now, some folks here will stubbornly insist that, when the playoffs roll around, it all depends on “luck” and which team “gets hot.”
And I will stubbornly point out that Branch Rickey–AF’s greatest predecessor–said: “Luck is the residue of design.”
I think it’s fair to say that after ST it’s definitely gonna be a long season in here.
Someone said if the Dodgers got Trout Otani and Rendon what would it take to get them from the Angels. With those three would Dodgers then be World Series favorites to win. With Trout cf Otani dh Rendon 3b Freeman 1b Betts rf Smith C Rojas ss Peralta lf Vargas 2b and to the angels would it be outman Muncy Taylor Pepiot minor league players. Just like to see a lineup the dodgers would do if that trade happened.
He’s on a plane right now so I’m getting all my spring training complaining out of my system tonight!
Doesn’t look like Trayce is gonna get to .100 this spring. He’s making Belli look like a masher
Hoody got a point here – too fast an inning + lines for beer = you see a couple innings on your phone.
I’m good with the time rules, though lately it seems umps are not pushing them (true?) simply because it’s another hassle dumped on them.
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRvnpj5H/
Shoot if Tyler O’Neil was are left fielder every day Is be okay with that. The Cardinals have alot of good outfield prospects. And with Jordan Walker jumping from AA to the starting outfield that could be a possibility. And with no where for O’Neil to start at. He sure would look good in Dodger blue a O’Neil Outman Betts in the outfield come playoff time. With a Hayward and Taylor on the bench. Could possible be
If winning the World Series is the barometer as to having a good season, then (LISTEN UP)… get ready to have a miserable existence!
It is getting harder and harder UNLESS they go back to two leagues and two teams coming to play for the World Championship. The Dodgers would win 50% of them. However, that is not happening and teams are emulating the Dodgers and the Red Sox under Theo. There is more pressure and incentive to win. Teams like the Padres and Mets are going all-in.
I think that people who believe you can “buy” a Championship now are total idiots… no I don’t think they are- I know they are! Like the Beatles so eloquently said: “Money can’t buy me love.”
You have to be smart and not make dope-fiend moves. Taylor, Thompson, Peralta, and Heyward may all be gone by June… or not. You have to let it play out and see what you have. Bryan Reynolds could be great, or the player you trade for him could be great. Slow down and see what happens.
Look, there are 162 games to figure this out. Many of you act like Children who have never seen this play out! … and you wonder why I think some of you are ____________________ (you fill in the blanks).
When you say that they should have gotten Reynolds. Was he even available? What was the cost to have traded for him? No other team made a deal for him. How can you make those statements when you have no information? Reynolds is a good player but he’s no superstar. Not worth overpaying for.
9:07 PM ET vs Angels (away)
SP Ryan Pepiot R
0-0 .00 ER
Reid Detmers L
0-0 .00 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
RF Mookie Betts R
1B F. Freeman L
C Will Smith R
DH J. Martinez R
3B Max Muncy L
LF Chris Taylor R
CF T. Thompson R
2B M. Vargas R
SS Miguel Rojas R
Clear-day
0% Rain
79° Wind 7 mph Out
Last Spring training game, Season starts Thur. night against Arizona
Spring training stats:
Position players on the 13 man roster with 3 or more HR:
Outman 3
Betts 3
Freeman 3
Muncy 3
Taylor 3
Position players on the 13 man roster with at least a .280 BA:
Smith .318
Muncy .295
Outman .294
Freeman .286
Position players on the 13 man roster with at least a .900 OPS:
Betts 1.115
Muncy 1.006
Outman .981
Freeman .950
Superstar (Freeman), stars (Betts, Muncy, Smith), a rookie (Outman), Taylor.
The only way the dodgers win 100 is if they upgrade left field position and shortstop. If they go with platooning with what they have I say 95 wins because of the pitching we have to get an everyday left fielder that hits and a shortstop that can hit. Rojas can field probable better then turner but we are going to miss tuners bat and playing everyday and producing. They should have gotten Reynolds for centerfield. And then outman and Hayward could have been in left field and Reynolds would play every day in centerfield. And probable hit second in the lineup.. But we will see at trade deadline what happens.
Via Molly Knight/Lance Brozdowski on Twitter:
First time seeing Noah Syndergaard data since the #Dodgers got their hands on him. 3 things jump out…
1) Slider now looks like a cutter. Pitch was up 4 mph sitting 88+ with more backspin, 1″ iVB ➡️ 7″ iVB.
2) Four-seam picked up ~4″ of ride, only down .5ish in velo from 2022.
3) I think the curveball is now basically a ~76 mph sweeper. It’s getting more spin direction change from hand to plate compared to 2022, now has positive iVB and picked up 3″ of horizontal movement, getting it to 14″ total.
Guessing there was a grip/orientation tweak there.
Low Risk – High Reward guys, reclamation projects that the Dodgers have had some success with or NOT. So what goes into the decision to keeping a non-roster invitee on the 26 man roster over prospects all ready in the system.
Does it come down to performance in Spring Training, which many see as meaningless or is it resume? It seems experience plays a big part. The Dodgers seem to value veterans and are are apprehensive about playing too many rookies.
I think performance in the last couple of seasons and spring training should matter for veterans trying to prove their worth. Not just with stats but the eye test.
Jason Heyward is a 13 year veteran. His last 2 years, he’s hit .211/.606. This spring he hit .204/.645. To me those are not numbers that warrant a roster spot over a prospect. It was a foregone conclusion he was going to make the roster. What kind of worse performance would it have taken to keep him off the roster? His presence keeps a prospect with a future from getting experience.
Peralta also had a miserable spring at the plate hitting .160/.620. but in the last 2 years , he’s hit .250 in 134 games.
Roster Dodgers get a longer leash for me – but not much. I was glad to see Trayce Thompson find some success with the Dodgers last year. But a closer look reveals it may have been a flash in the pan. Now 32 and a career .221 guy with 5 teams, he hit .256. He’s penciled in to get time versus LHP but his splits show severe reverse splits hitting .174 vs LHP versus .308 versus RHP. So, how does that work?
If the great hitting gurus can fix Hayward, they need to fix Thompson vs LHP.
Thor is another reclamation project with a very short leash.
Too many question marks for me to predict much more then 90 wins at this point.
This is a year that the Dodgers could use their vaunted organizational depth, play the prospects more and get under the Luxury Tax threshold.
During these tryouts, these games do count, by the way.
It’s Low risk – High reward, except at the expense blocking the young guys as veteran projects get dumped on their heads.
I sure hope with all my being that Friedman is banking on more than getting hot
I’m well aware of how hard it is to win it all especially these days and odds year to year are slim but it’s got to be the only goal or why bother. I can accept it’s not happening on a regular basis but still anything less doesn’t satisfy me and I don’t consider the season a success. Sorry I can’t change that about myself. Winning a hundred games and the division is great but every time we get booted in the playoffs it bothers me, last year hurt like never before. Getting hot at right time helps tremendously but it still takes elite talent especially with starting pitching and no Cassidy I don’t think that at all. And mark it’s such a stupid thing to insinuate I think for a moment I could even come close to doing the job Friedman does just because I don’t agree with some of the moves. It’s my choice as a fan to think this player will do us a lot of good or not. Simple as that
Michael: Wow, “only a ring does it for you”. The Yankees have won the most World Series, 27 of them in 120 years. That is only 22.5% of the time. So I guess in your mind, the most successful World Series team in history has been a failure 77.5% of the time. Impossible for anyone to live up to that standard.
Michael do you consider your life a failure if you are not the best at what you do?
Amazing how you can completely twist things around. I’m not conceding crap. I’m sticking to my opinion. The big difference in how you and I think mark is your satisfied with winning divisions and call it success, only a ring does it for me. In case your unaware your the king of slander and puffing yourself up
Thor gets till Memorial Day to prove he’s got five innings Waiting for Ohtani while fans smolder & season looks like a write-off is PITA. Not any fun to watch.
Stubborn wasn’t trading for Gallo, stubborn was to keep playing him even though he proved wasn’t able to turn it around and striking out at 50% clip and taking a.roster spot he didn’t deserve and that’s my opinion mark, criticize it all you want makes no difference to me. What trips me out is much your feathers get ruffled anytime Friedman or doc is not put on the golden pedestal you put them on. I think signing Heyward was a bad idea. Same with Thor and I knew in my heart Gallo trade was a mistake soon as it happened. Sorry I have a different opinion then you mark. I don’t think taking up roster spots with low risks, high reward is very smart at all. It’s a Damm shame someone can’t express their opinion on here without getting ridiculed by the all mighty in his own head only mark
We live in strange times.
This is the first time the Dodgers haven’t opened the season at Dodger Stadium without playing during the day in 47 years.
First night opener since 1976.
I’ve attended numerous season openers, all during the day. Really like the day openers.
As to critics, some have legitimate points, others do not. If this site didn’t allow critics, there would no reason for it to exist.
It’s all perspective. Until it isn’t.
This should be an interesting year. Unless, of course, none of this works and the Padres run away with the NL West.
No one does it better
“A critic is a man who judges what he cannot achieve.”
Ok, I will never throw a 98 MPH fastball. I freely accept my limitations. I guess that gives me license then to criticize the hell out of Syndergaard’s 94 MPH, no-movement center cut fastballs that are consistently getting crushed.
I understand the reasoning behind the signing. He’ll be in his second year all the way back from Tommy John. That’s typically the time frame for when a pitcher regains all of his previous velocity. Oftentimes they come back throwing harder (Buehler is an example).
Syndergaard has not regained his velocity. He’s sitting right where he was all last year, maybe even half a tick less.
He’s a completely different pitcher. He’s no longer Thor. He’s Syndy. Unless Pryor comes up with some cute ways to sequence his pitches around his secondaries and he learns how to nibble the edges, then I don’t see him being much more effective than he was last year, and he was a very unexceptional starting pitcher last year.
The Dodgers are paying him 13 mil AAV. You wanna guess what other starting pitcher is getting paid 13 mil AAV? Hint: He used to play for the Dodgers … and he shut them down last night.
Tyler Anderson was actually the Dodgers most valuable pitcher last year. His WAR was higher than Urias. They pitched about the same number of innings. Anderson’s FIP was better. He’s not a hard thrower, so he’s not really injury prone. He was a dependable workhorse the team could consistently count on to give a quality start.
Ok, yeah, sure, the Dodgers didn’t want to pay him a three year deal. They have guys in the pipeline, they want to get under the cap, they don’t want to block the youth movement, yada yada yada. But consider that Urias will probably command a 250/10 year deal … at least. Anderson was his equal last year.
If Anderson even approaches what he did in 2022, his deal will turn out to be an incredible value.
“Yeah, but Gavin Stone, Bobby Miller and Pepiot!” These are prospects. And are there any lefties in the pipeline? Don’t you want at least one left handed started in your rotation? If Urias is gone and Kershaw retires, then what? Maddux Bruns?
I think the Syndergaard signing in lieu of Tyler Anderson could turn out to be a mistake.
Damn AF and his stubbornness!.
Mark: you know I couldn’t agree with you more. In arguing with B&P about Doc, I told him (which he disputed) that a highly regarded graduate school of business compiled statistics that said the best decision makers in the world only got it right 7 out of 10 times. Even though he disputed what I said, it was verified statistically.
So decision makers are considered very good if they bat 70% just like baseball hitters are considered very good if the bat 30%. The 70% number applies to all walks of life and business, certainly including sports management. I will never understand the vitriol towards AF, Doc, etc and as I read some of the posts, I just shake my head.
I have been a fan of this team for 75 years and know this is absolutely the best time to be a Dodgers fan. As I said a few days ago, while this season does have more unknowns than others, I still believe this will wind up being a 100 win team. The beauty of this year is that the unknowns raise the level of anticipation and excitement. Sit back and enjoy the ride.
Could not agree more. Missteps, AF has had a few and like all fans I have questioned some of them. I thought he was nuts trading a first-round draft pick for a SS who couldn’t hit his weight. But Taylor, despite last year and the showing he has had so far this spring, has more than proven himself.
I thought Tyler White was a huge blunder. But he did not cost much. Felt the same way about Ron Negron. He hit two homers, he had little power, in his first week as a Dodger. Didn’t hit another the rest of the year, but he played solid defense. I did think he got Brian Dozier a year too late. He was not very good. But again someone who did not cost them a lot.
Most fans have no clue how much goes into the decision-making process when it comes to trades or player acquisitions. Remember when Farhan had AF’s ear, they would seemingly pick up someone off of the A’s trash heap almost every week. They did the same thing with players AF was familiar with, like signing Andrew Toles despite knowing the guys troubled history. Had that guy been able to stay healthy, he would have been a huge part of the Dodger offense. He was that good. Remember, an injury at the beginning of the season at Dodger Stadium derailed his career.
I was one of the non-believers when he first came to the team. A supposed Wunderkind of baseball. But he is what the prototype President of Baseball Operations are looking like now. Many teams are following the Dodgers example. It is more fun for me as a fan to watch my team win consistently than having to watch a team like say the Angels, with two of the best players in the majors fall short year after year. Be happy they are playing at all in October. They have not failed to get there in years.
Flight leaves for LA at 1:50 this afternoon. See you guys on the flip side.
Hmm, all the fans I know are excited about this team! They love the ownership, front office, the players, the food, heck even the mariachis in between innings!