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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This song has special significance to me. I’ll tell you someday…
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Discussion (217)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Sorry everyone I’m just pissed maybe in a selfish way but I have a weird point, maybe the dodgers weren’t really in on anyone big but instead they caused the market to force the big dogs to pay way out of the market to kinda screw the teams hahaha I think they set this up! Sounds corny but do u kinda get the picture? They made other teams over pay and bid, now the teams have less money to spend for future contracts . I’m weird lmao
I wish!
That’s just who we are under AF. Runner ups in the off season and the post season. I’m tired of the post season narrative that the post season is just a crap shoot. 0 for seven and counting says something different. Wonder who we’ll see celebrate at Dodger stadium next October?
Let me say one thing:
It’s far from over, but the Dodgers won 108 games last year. It doesn’t need to be blown up and I cannot see AF trading many prospects.
Patience Grasshoppers!
I think this is sad. The Dodgers supposedly made Cole top priority, but weren’t willing to truly go all of the way for him. Okay, I can live with that since the Dodgers said they were targeting the top 1%. Something else had to be coming then. Who’s more top 1% than Rendon. Rendon is a far better player than Harper and with Turner showing his age a bit, this was a good fit. The RH bat that Polock was supposed to be, but instead was a stiff. Lux could have played OF for a year. Hell, he could have went back to AAA for a month or until needed for all I care. On the surface, very disappointing. Sometimes moves like these can energize a dugout.
~
However, what I find strange is that the Dodgers dropped out of Rendon before the Rangers did which makes me think they pivoted to a trade. Roberts predicted more turnover on this roster than in past years. So far, it’s Yimi out and Treinen in. Will Lindor or Arenado be next. I can see Lindor. I know they hoped they would have a shot at Nolan until Colorado signed him, but why give up the prospects for Nolan when you could just sign Rendon for almost the same exact deal. I’m putting JT back at 3rd before I give Donaldson a multi-year deal.
Or just maybe, our top prospects are enough to get the job done. It is possible you know
So good, the dodgers didnt spend any money those cheap asses, so now we have to waste all our top prospects to get talent, um that makes sence
… and those of you try and compare the Lakers with the Dodgers are simply ignorant.
If you would like me to elaborate, I would be glad to. Baseball and Basketball free agency and trading could not be more different.
Go ahead and ask!
Breaking: Dodgers suck multiple sources
Treinen was the highest upside reliever left on the market. Hopefully he’s healthy and good next year. No way he trades Lux and May for Lindor. That doesn’t make any sense especially after missing out on both of the top arms. We’re gonna need May. It looks like we’re getting outbid on Rendon by the Angels. If that’s the case, then that really sucks for us. But, I can’t blame Friedman for not being stupid.
If everyone is going to throw money around like a marine in a strip club, I’m fine with AF showing restraint as long as he’s still improving the team, year over year. There’s a difference between being cheap and being stupid. Cole and Stras’ contracts are stupid. Hopefully he can still go bold with a trade for an impact bat.
Angels got Rendon. Multiple sources.
Dear Doom and Gloomers,
The Dodgers can still sign Ryu, and he’s just as good as Cole! At a fraction the price and years.
Also, consider that May, Gonsolin, Gray, and Urias have essentially the same MiLB stats as Cole.
Which Cole are the Yankees getting? The Houston one or the Pittsburgh one? If it’s the Houston one was he PED enhanced as another Bruin, Trevor Bauer, has implied? If so, will he be able to PED in NY? Will he get caught and suspended?
How many of these huge contracts work out? Not Pujols, A-Roid (both of them), Greinke, Cano, ManRam, Miggy Cabrera, Barry Zito, Pedroia, Ellsbury, Tulo, Mike Hampton, Denny Neagle, Kevin Brown, and Prince Fielder.
They’re almost immediately regretted!!
I don’t understand why anyone would want the Dodgers to pay what Mookie would cost for only one year… I read where Boston was hoping JD Martinez would opt out to save them $60MM over the next 3 years. I think trying to trade for him would make more sense than trading for Mookie. And cheaper too. The strong right-handed hitter we need.
Lakers get lebron. Yankees get cole. Dodgers get blake treinen. I wonder who has more titles. Cheap ass owners. Deferred payments. They sure dont mind raising ticket prices. Dodgers wont get over the hump.
I had to add a couple short comments:
-So glad no Strasburg, no way he stays healthy. Same for Wheeler (good luck Phils!)
-Cole would have helped but hurt us for years to come. We only needed one ace in 1988.
-I am afraid no Rendon which is sad because we could have moved Lux to left and had a right handed bat.
-Please don’t trade Lux and May for Lindor. Seager will be fine and we need both Lux and May.
-Treinen is a pure gamble so no idea if that works.
-Someone of the site said not to add someone unless they are better than what you have and RYU and BUM are not.
-Just add Rendon, a couple relievers and let the young pitchers have a chance.
For whatever it’s worth “Austin Barnes Drawing Trade Interest from Houston Astros” According to Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times and confirmed by Ken Rosenthal.
Also:
Angels in active talks on Rendon, sources tell The Athletic.
Do we believe that the Dodgers actually offered $300 million for 8 years for Cole, when the bidding was actually still open? If indeed we do, then why would we not offer, say $30 million more for the next year, which is less than the $37.5 million a year we offered? We blinked at one more year?
Ken Rosenthal says that the Yankees “bullied” the Dodgers. I do not know what he means exactly; maybe that they just kept raising their bid after the Dodgers raised theirs, akin to someone at an art auction who just keeps bidding it up. But the Dodgers are owned by what probably is a trillion dollar corporation. If the Dodgers really wanted Cole, they should have gotten him. There is some limit, obviously. But being willing to go to $300 million for eight years, and not willing to go to $330 for nine years, makes little sense to me. Cole is only 28, the extra year is not idiotic.
As to the “Andy Pettite and Hal Streinbrenner” being instrumental in convincing Cole, don’t we have any famous former pitchers? Don’t we have any owners who can convince anyone of anything? Are we just bowing to the Yankees, admitting that if we go head to head with them for anyone they really want, we lose? This isn’t 1940. Are we afraid of the Yankees? Or are we just owned by people who don’t want it as much as they do? Some may think this is overdramatic, but at this point, I think that everyone in baseball realizes what the pecking order is, and what our ownership will not do. We got outbid for Verlander. We got outbid for Yelich, apparently. Outbid for Stanton. Outbid for Harper. Now outbid for Cole. Apparently about to be outbid for Rendon. There is always going to be at least one team which will go all out for a top player, and it is never the Dodgers, so we get none of them. There is no other way to see this. We will probably make a deal or two. Treinen might help. I would stay far away from head case Betances. But we are going to be shopping in the used and bargain racks, and that is apparently where we should stay, rather than pretend we are high-end shoppers.
I wonder if we tried to trade for Treinen before he was non-tendered. His estimated salary for 2020 (in arbitration) was around 8 mil. I imagine the A’s would have taken just about anything for him since they wound up getting absolutely nothing.
So instead of giving them a warm body from Ogden, we waited until he was released and then paid an extra 2 mil.
Which Blake Treinen will the Dodgers have? The 2019 version with a 4.91 ERA and 5 blown saves in 21 attempts and a 1.61 WHIP, or the 2018 version with 0.78 ERA, a .81 WHIP and 5 BS in 43 chances? Remember, he was supposed to be Washington’s closer in 2017, got lit up with a 5.71 ERA and found himself in Oakland.
This could be a great move or a disaster – probably a 50/50 chance.
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.
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.
Dodgers To Sign Blake Treinen. MLB trade rumors reporting.
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.
Mark I’ll bet you the Yankees win a WS before the Dodgers do! Like 2020!