Yeah, Follow Them Over the Cliff That s the Ticket!
Several years ago, when the Dodgers traded for Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez (among others), I called BS. I still do. Yeah, I know what Kasten and Colletti were trying to do, but that was not the only way. Five years ago, when the Dodgers hired Andrew Friedman they had the biggest payroll in baseball and had been bounced from the playoffs two straight years after missing them altogether the
Several years ago, when the Dodgers traded for Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez (among others), I called BS. I still do. Yeah, I know what Kasten and Colletti were trying to do, but that was not the only way. Five years ago, when the Dodgers hired Andrew Friedman they had the biggest payroll in baseball and had been bounced from the playoffs two straight years after missing them altogether the previous 3 years. Those were a miserable 5 years.
When Andrew Friedman burst on the scene and traded the Beloved Kemp for the Hated Grandal and Dee Gordon for who???? I was ecstatic. I saw what he was doing right away. He was bent on making the Dodgers relevant again. He rebuilt the farm, chopped bloated unnecessary payroll and for the past 5 years, this team has been a joy to watch… most of the time.
Other GM’s and teams started to emulate the Dodgers and they are held up to be a model organization. Then they got to the World Series in 2017… and lost. Dodger fans said they choked. They said Kershaw and Jansen were “choke artists” and the team was a bunch of losers. Now, we find that the Astros most likely cheated BIG TIME to win. Like Molly Knight so eloquently said:
The notion that the Astros might have walloped Clayton Kershaw in that game because they knew what pitch was coming is especially painful. If Kershaw wins that game, the Dodgers take a commanding 3-2 series lead heading back to L.A. And if they win the World Series, Kershaw, with two wins — including a dominant Game 1 performance in which he tossed seven innings of one-run ball and struck out 11 — is likely named World Series MVP. The narrative that he’s bad in October is dead forever.
Imagine the lives, legacies, and circumstances that were changed with this cheating. What is most troubling is that everyone had to know, from Luhnow to Cora, the Altuve to Verlander to Fiers (the Rat). As far as I know, the Dodgers run a clean organization… way above board. Should they resort to cheating because the Astros and Red Sox (the least two World Winners) did? Hell no! You play to win the game, not cheat to win the game.
For years, sign stealing has been an art in baseball and it is never going to stop, but overt electronic surveillance has been mandated as off-limits to MLB teams. In fact, they have been told that the penalties will be severe if they are caught. I think the Hammer is getting ready to drop on Houston and it is going to be severe!
Over the past couple of offseasons, baseball GM’s have been showing extraordinary restraint. The contracts have been reasonable and rational, but this offseason a reliever who had just two good months was given a 4-year/$34 Million dollar deal; a #3 starter who has never pitched over 150 innings or won more than 13 games and has an extensive injury history (to boot) signed a 5 year/$118 Million Dollar deal…and I didn’t even mention that in 9 or 10 starts against the Braves and Nats (teams in the same division, he has a 6.00+ ERA. What follows next is a pitcher with an injury history, who will be 32 next year, just signed a 7-year/$245 million dollar deal and Gerrit Cole is set to make $300+ million over 9 or 10 years.
So, because all the lemmings are following each other and jumping off the cliff, you think the Dodgers should do the same? If you believe that you are stone-cold freaking crazy. Just because everyone is eating dog poop, doesn’t mean you have to as well. This is like playing the lottery: the odds of winning are small but people keep on buying the tickets. People keep putting bills in the slot machines, so since everyone is so irrational, the Dodgers should do it too? Shut your mouth! Seriously. This buying frenzy is going to cause many teams to “crash and burn.”
… and Andrew Friedman will be there to pick up the pieces at pennies on the dollar. “Brian Cashman is so smart.” Yes, he is. Andrew Friedman has not gotten the Dodgers to win the World Series in his 5 years as President of baseball operations. Cashman has not gotten the Yankees to the World Series in 10 years! It’s hard to do… especially if you have bad contracts like Jacoby Elsbury and CC Sabathia (there were others before that), then he added Giancarlo Stanton and I hope they add Gerrit Cole at $320 Million.
I’ll take financial flexibility over multiple boat anchor contracts any day. Now, it’s not a given that Friedman will bow out of the Cole Sweepstakes – I can see him giving out ONE (only 1) boat anchor deal. It could be to Cole for $280 Million or Rendon for about $240. I think he would be better not doing it, but ownership may cave into the rabid fan base who have no clue, and yes… if you are saying the Dodgers should spend stupid money, I am saying “YOU have no clue.”
Watch how fast Strasburg goes south. That is a dope-fiend deal. Wheeler, I can make some sense of – they are hoping he gets better (not likely), but it is an overpay, just not as dumb as $300+ million for Bryce Harper. While all the lemmings are running over the cliff, Andrew Friedman is planning his next move. Stay tuned. It’s time some of you learned something.
I would not be afraid to start the season with the roster the Dodgers have… even minus Ryu (whom I think will get a 4 Year/$70 Million deal now) and pick up pieces at the trade deadline. These dope-fiend moves right about now are just plain crazy!
Dodger News
- Josh Bard is back as Bullpen Coach, taking over for Mark Prior. I know that Kenley especially liked him.
- Josh Hader is not leaving Milwaukee unless they get two Top Prospects (think Lux and Ruiz). Could Lux be the ROY in the NL? Forget what he did in his callup. Remember how bad Buehler looked in his initial callup. If Lux can play at that level, do the Dodgers even need to add anyone?
- JT can play 3B for 125 games and Matt Beaty or Ed Rios can play against tough RHP to give JT a blow. Give Beaty or Rios all spring at 3B and they can play an average 3B.
- I wonder if the Dodgers could get some pitching from the Cards for Joc Pederson? Carlos Martinez?
- Believe me, AF has lots of contingencies – I think he knew the Winter Meetings were going to be a Crack House!
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Discussion (217)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Matt, you’re right. The best team doesn’t always win but I’d still rather have the best team especially when your team has the money to spend!
Winners of the Gerrit Cole Sweepstakes:
1. Gerrit Cole
2. Scott Boras
3. LA Dodgers
Losers of the Gerrit Cole Sweepstakes:
1. NY Yankees
2. Houston Astros
3. Mid-Level Free Agents
I have no idea if Mad Bum would want to come to LA, but I suspect he would. I would do a 5 year/$100 mil deal knowing full well he might be a #2 or #3.
I think his attitude would be very helpful in a clubhouse that could use some intensity.
I thought since the beginning of the offseason that our starting staff has a ton of potential with the emergence of Urias a May. The Yankees don’t have that. May and Urias may very well be a co-ace with Bueller. We just need an arm to chew up some innings so we don’t over use May and Ryu.
When I saw the Stras contract, I knew Cole wasn’t gonna be anything close to realistic. That was a dumb ass contract pure and simple. It makes Greinke’s “albatross” look reasonable.
I’m surprised about the MadBum rumors. I don’t see how he’s any better than Ryu. Ryu would be my choice. But, MadBum eclipsed 200 innings last year. No one on our staff did, which is a good reason why our bullpen under-performed.
Rendon, Donaldson, Ryu and (urgh) MadBum. We still have some trade targets as well. I’m still not losing faith yet. I hope we have something to open for Christmas. If we lose Rendon to the Angles, I’m gonna lose it!
Cole would have been nice.
Rosenthal’s thesis is still thought-provoking, when does it stop paying to be smart and rationale?
Rosenthals’ latest says it could be a Ryu/Rendon pursuit that the Dodgers undergo.
Bum what do you think the next Dodger move is??
Took a break from my busy job to take a look with winter meetings going on. As much as I hate the Yankees. They always strike and get what they want. The Dodgers strike out just like the batters in the post-season. It really is frustrating for the fanbase. Yankees play hardball, Dodgers are little leaguers. They never do what it takes. We have the all-star game at Dodgers stadium next year. Make a splash dammit. Do the Dodgers think they can beat Cole and the Yankees.
David, I’m with you all the way!!
But alas your comment will go over like fart in church with these bat**** commenters.
If only there was a team called the Dbags for Madbum to play for.
Who would u all rather have Rendon or Arenado?
Dodgers offered eight (8) years, 300mm.
Like Grienke, it looks like the final extra year was a bridge too far
The Rockies are listening to trade inquiries for third baseman Nolan Arenado
Rosenthal reporting the Dodgers are now pessimistic they can get Rendon. Maybe just GM speak, but if they indeed lose out on Rendon I must say the AF naysayers (me included sometimes) will grab their pitchforks. Maybe there is an Anderson, McCarthy, Kazmir, or Kelly clone we can acquire off the garbage heap.
Let’s say that the baseball press’ view of how the Yanks did with the Cole deal is different than our host’s:
Ken Rosenthal says: “Well, the big winner of the Gerrit Cole sweepstakes is obvious.It’s Gerrit Cole!
Winner: The Yankees
Loser: The Dodgers
Winner: Madison Bumgarner
Winner: Scott Boras”
Marc Carig says: “The addition of Cole changes the landscape. It directly weakens the Astros, Cole’s former team and the defending American League champions. It delivers a gut punch to the Dodgers and Angels, who viewed Cole as the perfect compliment to the best player in the world, Mike Trout. It stuns the Red Sox…”
“Smart teams still pay the price for elite talent. The Yankees dared to make it rain when the time was right. The death star is fully operational, and now the rest of baseball is left to face the consequences.”
Jason Stark’s point is that there is no high-end pitcher who will be available through free agency in the next 3 years and that Cole was the last chance to do something this impactful: “Aces like Gerrit Cole don’t sit on the shelves of the pitching supermarket any time you pull up your shopping cart, you know. So, with good reason, the Yankees viewed Cole as a unique, once-in-a-generation commodity in almost every way: Age, track record, ability to handle the demands of their laid-back little town, intelligence, injury history (or lack thereof), a hunger to be great. This was a man who had it all.
But the other half of this equation was this: If they didn’t sign him, if they didn’t add that ninth year to their offer, if they’d found themselves sitting around next week, watching him smile for the cameras at his introductory press conference in L.A. or Anaheim, well… then what? Take a look at the list of starting pitchers in the next few years who will hit free agency in their 20s. See any Gerrit Cole clones on this list?
2020-21
Marcus Stroman (29)*
Robbie Ray (29)
2021-22
Noah Syndergaard (29)
Eduardo Rodriguez (29)
2022-23
José Berríos (28)
(*-turns 30 in May 2021)
Oh, if you bump the age limit up to 30, you could loop in Trevor Bauer next winter or someone like Mike Foltynewicz in two years. But let’s ask this again: Who on that list reminds you of the guy the Yankees signed Tuesday, in terms of stuff, performance and health history?”
So Dave Roberts says this off-season will see lots of turnover and the addition of high-impact players. Pedro Moura reported: “Late Tuesday, Cole picked the Yankees and their record $324 million offer over the Dodgers and other willing suitors. His decision will ripple across the industry in the days and weeks to come. Hours earlier, Roberts confidently proclaimed the Dodgers would be more aggressive this offseason than in any other during his tenure. “I think,” the Dodgers’ manager said at the Winter Meetings, “this is probably the most turnover we’ll have from one season to the next.”
Now, there is perhaps only one free agent remaining, Anthony Rendon, who clearly qualifies as such an aggressive addition. There are other talents, including Madison Bumgarner, who has become the team’s new focus, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. But Bumgarner would not represent a significant improvement over fellow free agent Hyun-Jin Ryu. No other free-agent starter, and hardly any relievers, would. If the Dodgers are to truly make a splash, it will be with Rendon, maybe his third-base peer Josh Donaldson, a trade, or bust.”
But now, MLB Trade Rumors reports that the Dodgers won’t be signing Rendon either.
Open on www.mlbtraderumors.comhttps://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2019/12/dodgers-pessimistic-of-chances-to-sign-anthony-rendon.htmlThe best the Dodgers can do this off-season is to resign Ryu? That doesn’t sound like much in the way of change to me.
Rick I get where you’re coming from, but I find it hard to condone the Dodger’s paying these enormous sums for players, especially Pitchers.
I think it’s time to trust our excellent system and let Urias, May and Gonsolin show us what they can do.
The Cupboard May be bare for stellar FA Pitching for the next few years, but we have our own young studs coming through.
We have enough to win the West, and importantly we have good chemistry from lots of players coming through the ranks together.
We are a good team. If we sign Ryu we won’t be far off last year’s 106 wins.
There is no need to panic.
Keep the powder dry for the TD and for Mookie in 21.
Dodgers are apparently pessimistic about Rendon. Gerrit Cole was the difference maker, but no way they should spend that kind of money on a pitcher. Fine with Justin Turner at third, Gavin Lux at second and Max Muncy at first. This is still a team that won 106 games and should have beat the Nationals in game five.
Apparently the Dodgers were close on Cole, made a substantial offer, and were in it until the end.
Reportedly the Dodgers are in serious negotiations with the Indians for Lindor, but the price is being reported as Dustin May and Lux. Can’t see the Dodgers making that deal, but who knows?
MadBum and Ryu are still in the discussion and several other trades are on the table. But the Dodgers are still focused on elite level talent, according to reports. Wouldn’t be surprised if the Dodgers try to sign both Ryu and Bumgarner, plus focus on potential relievers.
It would seem that this will be the day the Dodgers make a deal or two, but we’ll see. Dave Roberts keeps talking turnover and said the Dodgers are actively engaged on several fronts.
Now that Cole and Strasburg are gone and Dodgers are pessimistic about Rendon, I’ve said this all along and I will say it again, shorten the games by fixing the bullpen with proven relievers.
Ken Gurnick said the other day that Ruiz will probably be ready sometime this season, if true then we will probably have 2 good hitting catchers at some point in the season instead of Austin “almost an automatic out” Barnes.
Plus my bold prediction that DJ Peters makes the team this season and therefore either directly or indirectly makes the bench better and the overall team better.
And again I see upside in the outfield if Verdugo stays healthy. I see upside at SS if Seager starts hitting left handed pitching. I see upside at 2B with Lux for the same reason as Seager. I see upside in LF if Roberts does the right thing by platooning Pederson and Pollock.
I’m for giving our young starting pitchers a chance, but the Dodgers need to purchase an insurance policy in the form of proven relievers to shorten the game.
Talk about the risk with Cole’s contract, nothing is a bigger gamble than a relief pitcher! Who do you want and what are you willing to give up? All Zi have to say is Diaz18 and Diaz19! Don’t think you’re going to see that with Cole
I do have to say that I have been hearing some real stupid $hit!
“The Yankees always get their man.” “The Yankees aren’t afraid to spend big. ” “The Yankees are smart.”
Then I hear that “Friedman won’t spend and the Dodgers will never win the World Series with AF. After all, he hasn’t won one in his 5 years with the Dodgers.”
Hey MORONS! If that’s true how come Cashman and the Yankees haven’t won the series in 10 YEARS?
Come back to reality. This is just stupid!
Mark I’ll bet you the Yankees win a WS before the Dodgers do! Like 2020!
I could see Freidman parting with Lux and May, who I love, to get Lindor, as long as they can lock him up for the next 5 years. Dude is a difference maker, loves the big stage, and doesn’t disappear in the play-offs. At this point, especially after Bellinger and Seager disappearing in the play offs I would do it. Lindor can be THAT GUY, someone who will step up when the game is in the balance. I am a total fan of non dope fiend moves, but this one isnt’ too far out there.
Dodgers To Sign Blake Treinen. MLB trade rumors reporting.
All this talk or should I say complaining about getting this player getting that player, look at it this way 106 wins . Sure we didn’t make it to the World Series but AF is for sure working on some play maker.
I’m ok with not getting Cole and am indifferent to Rendon, I wanted Strasburg . I like having a young team and seeing the rookies step up. The team does need some fire though, someone to give em a kick in the butt when needed. If AF thinks Donaldson or Mad Bum can supply this along with some WAR I would be on board with that.