Same as it Ever Was

Posted By on October 17, 2022

Or, the more things change, the more they stay the same…

This year was supposed to be different. After all, we had the highest payroll in the universe, (The Mets certainly tried), the deepest team, a ton of pitching and a 40-man roster just oozing with talent. Overflowing actually, since stashing guys on the 60 became an art for this front office. And it all comes crashing down…

Please excuse my disjointed thoughts over the last couple of days while I mourned our collective demise over the weekend. It wasn’t all bad, I smoked a great 7 and half pound pork butt and it came out delicious. Next time I’ll post picks!

I just wanted to start with a recap from my last post on this site, right before the start of the series… 

All we need to do is stick with the script, don’t over-manage and let the game come to us.

Stick with the starting lineup

  • Betts RF R
  • T Turner SS R
  • Freeman 1B L
  • Smith C R
  • Muncy DH L
  • J Turner 3B R
  • Lux 2B L
  • Thompson LF R
  • Bellinger CF L

Don’t play the bench players, they did nothing to earn playing time. 

Barnes, Gallo, CT3 and Alberto should be on the bench for most of the postseason, if not for its entirety. 

Let the starting pitchers pitch.  No early hooks like Rich Hill almost every time he pitched in the postseason.  Don’t put May and Gonso on artificial limits.  Let them keep pitching until they look like they’re fading.  Don’t even count pitches as pitch counts will likely lead to a bad decision.  Now is the time to use your eyes and keep them on the field and off the stats sheet.

So what went wrong?

The Second Spring Training

It started with the last month of the season.  When have you ever seen a team hold a Spring Training style tryout to determine the postseason roster?  With the playoffs and home-field advantage clinched, the Dodgers decided it would be best to do just that.  Instead of getting your players in a rhythm, game after game was a different lineup with CT3 playing at second base, left field and center field.  He failed miserably with the bat during that stretch taking at bats away from Trayce Thompson in the process. Trayce wound up playing each game in the postseason anyways, and he would have benefitted from trust from management and playing time down the stretch.  They also took away Trayce’s playing time with Joey Gallo, who wasn’t even afforded an opportunity in 4 postseason games.

I questioned rest or rust several times in the last month.  Regularly resting your starters knowing full well there was going to be a week layoff wasn’t needed.  The offense took their foot off the gas and never got it back.  I can see resting your pitchers to some extent, but not the position players.  The pitchers were given a 6 man rotation for most of the month and were routinely pulled early for extra rest.  Isn’t this conditioning the pitchers to throw fewer pitches, less innings?  We’ve heard about building up starters after going on vacation all year, so the reverse must also be true.

Muncy, JT, Trea, Mookie all went cold with extra rest over the final month.  Mookie went bowling and Belli decided to show up during the last week of the season.  CT3 and Gallo didn’t do anything to deserve a playoff roster spot and Hanser, the one guy on the bench that’s adept at hitting lefties, was left off the roster.

Messing around with the lineup card

They picked the right lineup for opener.  A 5-3 win at home and it looked like the Dodgers would roll through the first round against their whipping boys to the South that they shamed all season long.  14-5 against little brother and the Dodgers needing to win just two more games.  For some reason Julio was pulled after just 80 pitches.  The Dodgers were too afraid to let the NL ERA leader face the middle of the Padres order.  Well, the bullpen was rested, no harm no foul, right?

Same lineup for game two and they delivered 11 hits and 4 walks with just 9 K’s.  That bested the Padres in all those marks and yet they still managed to lose the game.  Kershaw was vintage post-season Kershaw and turned in a perfectly mediocre Kershaw-esque performance.  Not horrible, but definitely not great.  Just 5 innings on 80 pitches and Kershaw is outta there even though he gave up one run in each of the first 3 innings, then settled in and even pitched a 1-2-3 5th inning.  So it’s another 4 innings from the pen.  Graterol allowed an unearned run in relief behind Trea Turner miscues and a rusty Treinen gave up a bomb making his first appearance since coming off the IL in a one-run playoff game. 

Alright, no big deal, the Padres had to win one of these, so let us go to San Diego and get the job done there.  Anderson’s scheduled to pitch, so we should be good to go.

Lineup screwdom and a 2-1 loss.  Couldn’t resist f-ing with the lineup, a lefty was on the hill after all.  Barnes in for Will after a day off, Will to DH, Muncy for Lux after Lux had 2 hits in the previous game, Taylor for Belli, and Thompson to center.  Gonzo turned his “Start” into a bullpen game and they had to come up with another 6 innings of relief.  Good thing they put Taylor in there as he went 0-4 with 2 K’s.  They had an opportunity to pinch hit for Taylor against a righty in the 6th, but they chose to keep Belli and Gallo on the bench.  Hell, they could have given Vargas an AB and subbed immediately subbed him out for Gallo or Belli on defense.  Hell, they could have started Gallo instead of Taylor since Gallo was pretty good against Snell in the past.  Hell, they could have pinch hit Gallo or Belli for CT3 against a righty and still had Vargas available for a lefty and then sub in another great fielding outfielder later in the game.  Maybe Hanser should have been on the roster to start against Snell instead of do nothing Taylor or Gallo. 

Well, now it’s game 4, backs up against the wall.  Tyler didn’t pitch yesterday, so he’s good to go today.  It turns out Tyler was good to go to the tune of 5 innings of shutout baseball on 2 hits and 2 walks on 86 pitches. Tyler was on a shitload of rest.  He hadn’t pitched since October 2nd.  He said after the game that he felt good and could have thrown 150 pitches.  He tossed 123 pitches in a 4-1 win against the Angels during the season while pitching into the 8th.  Over his last 5 starts, his high was just 90 pitches.  Way to prepare for the postseason!

Bullpen Over-Use

They went to the well one too many times like they’ve done oh so many times before.  It started to unravel with Kahnle, who pitched in back to back games just once all season.  He shit himself and didn’t record an out.  They had Graterol ready, probably a good choice with his propensity to throw ground balls with runners on.  He was ready, and only pitched in one game so far.  Maybe they wanted to keep the ball away from Trea? 

Nah, let’s go with Almonte instead.  Double, single, tie game.  He comes back and K’s Machado, popped Drury on one pitch.  Now, he’s looking like he’s warmed up. Oh shit, the postseason monster reared it’s ugly head – The dreaded unnecessary mid-inning pitching change! 

Yency had reverse splits this season, so it’s only natural for this team to take him out against a lefty to put in a cold lefty.  And that’s the game!  Vesia is one of the wildest pitchers on the team.  He is not the answer to bring in with runners on.  Par for the course, the lefty doesn’t get the lefty out and coughs up two more runs.  Over managing at its finest!  And a song I’ve heard oh so many times before.

Curious Roster Construction

The worst part about this is, having another reliever in the bullpen could have been a big help.  Especially, after using the bullpen like the only can of aquanet back stage at a Motley Crue concert.

So why was May on the roster?  What role did he have? I thought is was weird at the time that they would have so many starting pitchers on the roster while leaving good relievers off the roster. At the very least, Ferguson would have been the second lefty knowing that Heaney would be more of a long man. If you don’t use May in a game where your starter only goes an inning, when the hell are you planning to use him.

Same thing for the bench. Why was Gallo or Vargas on the roster?  There was a clear opportunity to pinch hit for Taylor in game 3, but they chose not to.  What did Taylor do this season to earn that kind of confidence? He hit less than 200 since coming off the IL in early August. You could have easily made the case to leave CT3 off the roster, except he’s the versatile player on defense. That’s great insurance in case of injury, but he certainly didn’t do a damn thing to earn 2 starts in 4 games.

Why TF do you pull all of your starting pitchers with 80 something pitches?  If you’re going to do that, why didn’t you put another reliever on the roster? Instead, you waste a roster spot or two or three, one on a guy that didn’t pitch and the others on guys that you can’t find an at bat for in the closest of games, all three losses! Was roster construction a popularity contest?

The Dodgers Way

This was a great team.  They had the talent, so I can only blame who manages the talent to fail to win 3 close games in a row.  You say you want to blame the players for not producing? How can you do that when it’s every freaking year, with different players, who’s to blame?  What’s the solution to this problem and why hasn’t it been fixed already?

Could it be that the Dodgers way to play baseball is optimized to win in a long season where regression to the mean wins out, but the same way to play baseball is not optimal for winning a short series?  This is the most frustrating exit in the entire run of regular season dominance and postseason failure. Someone should pay the price for it.  You won the first game of a five game series against a team you beat the crap out of all year and then you go on to lose 3 freaking games by 2 runs or less. It’s just shameful. 

Some people say getting hot at the right time is the key to the postseason.  So, how is resting players down the stretch is going to get you hot?

Is having a starting pitcher throw to the lineup a 3rd time that detrimental?  Moreso, than using a tired reliever?  Tyler Anderson had a 1.46 ERA in the 7th inning this season and a 0.00 ERA in the 8th inning this season.  But, his worst ERA was in the 6th inning.  What does this mean?  Is it just a rule of thumb that he can’t pitch in the 6th, but can pitch in every other inning?  Does that mean he can never pitch in the 6th in  a postseason game even if your eyes tell you his pitching a great game?  Even then, with a 3 run and in the process of throwing a freaking 2 hit shutout you turn the game over to a bullpen that’s pitched more than the starters over the first three games. That’s just idiotic.

I can’t say I’m particularly fond of how this team plays baseball.  Lux, Betts, Taylor and Belli are some of the fastest guys in the game and only one of them had 20 steals this season, none with 30.  But, this team sure knows how to strike out swinging for the fences!  So how the hell are you supposed to score runs if you don’t do more on the bases and you don’t put the freaking ball in play?  Just take a walk, and hope that HR or Double shows up. This is the worst brand of baseball there is. Especially on a team that has fast guys like Lux, Trea and Mookie.

The Dodgers used to be about fundamental baseball.  Field your position, Steal and Hit and Run.  Move runners over.  I want to see more small ball dammit!  They lost 3 freaking close ballgames in this series, and 3 close ones last year against the Braves.  Do they learn from it?  Hell no.  Same approach in every at bat.

So, What do We do Now?

My first reaction was F-it!  Blow this up and let the kids play.  We certainly have enough of them at the highest levels in the minors and they’re obviously great since AF could spare them to get a guy that can LF every day.  We all think they’re great, so they must be and good to go for next season.  Andrew’s got a team of scouts, analytics people and any kind of talent evaluator you can imagine.  All of this gives him a better-educated guess than we have on evaluating who’s a keeper and who’s trade bait. 

The more rational side of me says don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater.

Honestly, there’s some glaring things that need to be addressed this offseason. Obviously, we’ll need to sign a couple of formerly good, injured pitchers that we can use in the second half of the season. But, beyond that, there are some big holes to address.

  • There’s a hole in the middle infield because Trea’s is a free agent. 
  • There’s too many players in the lineup that strike out too much.
  • There’s a need for a big, right-handed power hitter to stick in between Muncy and Freeman.
  • If Muncy is your best third baseman, it’s time to move on from JT.

The current hitting philosophy isn’t getting the job done in close postseason games.  This may be a function of the players, or the result of the hitting coaches.  It might just be the manager, or the committee that predetermines how each game is to be played.  Figure it out and fix it!

Let’s Face Some Facts…

  • Clayton Kershaw is never going to ever be a postseason warrior.
  • As good as Dave Robert’s record is in the regular season, it’s pretty bad in the postseason.
  • The goal of every sports team is to win the Trophy at the end of the season.  Obliterating your division foes en route to a playoff spot is a milestone, not the completed product. 
  • Choking in the postseason practically every year is a problem that needs to be fixed.  The teams have had different players year to year and the constants have been the Manger and AF.   
  • This system of consensus or committee behind closed doors doesn’t work because no one knows who’s making the decisions so no one is being held accountable. 

AF is a good GM.  The team wins a ton of games year after year and the minor league system is highly regarded and highly rated by the experts. But, he obviously has some warts if we keep getting eliminated more often than not.  With this postseason record, he’s hardly the genius that many believe he is. 

He sure looked smart this season when his team won 111 games setting a franchise record along the way and becoming the second team in over 100 years of National League history to win as many.  He had one of the highest-rated farm system to draw from at the deadline and did nothing to get a difference-maker at the deadline, much less a player to adequately handle left field.  The guys he held onto better produce next year otherwise it’s just a tragic misuse of assets.

Maybe he’s just too damn busy micro-managing Roberts to do his own job effectively.  Perhaps he should focus his first job, being a great GM, instead of trying to play multiple positions. If he’s even suggesting who to play, when to play them, or has people to do that, he needs to stop, walk away from this job, or be fired. You can’t effectively be the President of Baseball Operations, GM, Manager, Head Grounds crewman, and ball polisher all at the same time.  Real leaders don’t do all the jobs themselves, they hire capable people around them and empower them to be their best.  If Doc isn’t 100% making all the game decisions by himself, Andrew and his team of nerds need to butt out or get the hell out. 

The reason we lost wasn’t because of luck, or players.  Once again, it was mostly poor game management with a dash of poor roster construction and a style of play that that doesn’t allow you to manufacture a run when you need to in a close game

I know that AF and Doc won’t be fired.  Somehow there’s no accountability here and it’s frustrating to no end.  But, if I’m Kasten, I tell Andrew that his system is flawed and needs to be changed.  You can have a meeting with the manager before each game to give him information, but it’s the manager’s responsibility to run the ballclub on the field.  If the manager fails again, both of you lose your job, so you better be sure you have the right manager and coaching staff.

Actually, scratch that.  If I’m Kasten, I fire the whole lot of them except for Mark Prior and his crew.  Now, go get that right-handed power hitter for the middle of the order like you should have done for years and fire Geren and hire someone that can make all the field decisions for Doc.

**Sigh**, different year, same results.

This article has 73 Comments

  2. Welcome to the Andrew Friedman era!

    I’ve been saying this for years and been told I don’t understand the genius of Friedman while crushing and humiliating postseason defeats pile up year after year.

    It’s the same story almost every year. They boast in spring training about being the best team in baseball and the media writes about them having the best farm system in MLB despite producing 2 position players in 5 plus years and nobody can name a single position player other than Smith and Lux that have come through that vaunted farm system. I still challenge anyone to name one.

    They had months to prepare for the postseason given their 20 plus game lead in the division. Months to come up with replacements for injured players, especially with that best farm system and failed to do so.

    The pitching strategies were horrendous. Starting pitchers pulled after 5 innings when tossing shutouts, scripted matchups using mediocre relievers against some of the games best hitters. Openers and bullpen games in the playoffs.

    To be fair they did win it in 2020, thankfully but they’ve never learned from their mistakes.

    Starting pitching is the key to success not only in the regular season but especially in the playoffs. Starters must go deep into games and bullpenbused sparingly to win baseball games in October. Other teams doing it too is not an excuse. Playoffs are variable and thr extended postseason format is not an excuse.

    I’ve been saying this for years and it continues. They’ll win 100 plus games next year and do it all over again, and again and again and again. How many horrible crushing postseason losses will Friedman rack up before they are willing to give someone else a shot?

    1. I don’t think you’re being very fair to Andrew Friedman and his drafts. AF mostly drafts pitchers, and it’s worked out pretty well. Walker, Gonso, White, May were all his picks. As you mentioned Lux, and Smith are also his and both were screwed out of all-star appearances. K-Bear is the starting catcher for the Nats and Yordan Alvarez is a superstar that got away. I would say that isn’t all that bad considering when he picks (close to last every year). This is just off the top of my head.

      So, let’s put this into perspective. He was hired in October 2014, so he’s had 8 drafts. 2015-2022. Lets say it takes a minimum of three years in the Minors for a player to develop and get a chance at the big club. So, really his last three years can’t be held against him because those players aren’t ready yet. So, he’s had 5 drafts to produce…
      Walker Buehler – 2X All Star
      Dustin May
      Tony Gonsolin – 1X All Star
      Mitch White
      Gavin Lux
      Will Smith
      Yordon Alvarez – ROY, All Star
      Keibart Ruiz

      So, that’s 7 full-time players, 3 All-Stars, 3 more borderline All-Stars in 5 Drafts and counting. Now, it’s your turn. It’s time for you to show us who’s turned out more good players in their tenure. Keep in mind that the Dodgers are the only team that picked close to last in every single draft. Also keep in mind, that the Covid draft was just 4 rounds. Also keep in mind that Vargas, Outman, Pages, Miller, Stone, Pepiot, Jackson, Busch, Amaya, Grove are all right around the corner.

      I don’t think AF is the best GM ever like some of the past writers on this site have claimed, but I do think he does a pretty good job in the draft and with player development and that’s where his efforts should be focused. His weakness is how this team is run on the field, especially in the postseason.

      1. I’ll give Scott credit for putting in his heart and soul into his blog, but he’s been a one trick pony on Friedman since the beginning. His blog and the regular cast of characters who commented there fizzled out when it became pretty clear that AF built the best organization in baseball. You should’ve seen the wailing and gnashing of teeth when the Puig trade happened. “AF traded Puig for nothing.! Then when the Dodgers won the WS … *crickets!* They discredited themselves. Now after a pretty humiliating exit from the playoffs, the opportunity to rehash the same arguments has reared its head.

        Isn’t the 2016 draft considered one of the best drafts by any organization ever? Scott, are you really going to argue that the AF regime has not become very good at scouting, drafting and developing talent? Dude.

        https://www.justbaseball.com/mlb/the-2016-dodgers-draft-class-could-be-the-best-ever/

        1. Patch thank you for saying that about my hard work. I do appreciate.

          Fyi though, I never had an issue trading Puig after the 2018 season as I thought he was in decline and not worth hanging onto another year or two, but other people had differing opinions. Which is fine.

          BTW, that cast of characters you described included many people from over here, you included.

      3. Easy, Al Campanis. And AF is not the GM. He is the president of baseball operations, the GM is Brandon Gomes. AF did both jobs immediately after Zahdi left, but has not for quite a while. There are two former GMs working just below Gomes, Josh Burnes and Jeffery Kingston. So AF has a huge brain trust to draw on. I also disagree about Alvarez. Alvarez was in the Dodger system for exactly 5 weeks. He was signed in April and traded in June. No, the Dodgers and Freidman had very little to do with a player who spent all of his time in Cuba and never played a single game in the Dodger system. Right around the corner doesn’t mean anything until you do it in the majors. Yeah, there is talent. MLB ready talent??? Remains to be seen.

      4. Let me name all of the full time productive MLB players Ned Colletti and Logan White drafted and signed operating with not even half of the money and resources friedman has had. Here we go,

        Clayton Kershaw, kenley Jansesn, Matt Kemp, James Loney, Jonathan Broxton, Dec Gordon, Russell Martin, dioner Navarro, Alex Verdugo, Cody Bellinger, Corey Seager, AJ Ellis, Yasiel Paige, Julio Urias, Jay Guerra, Chad Billingsley, on and on and on,

        I just named what 15, 16, 17 players? Thats with half the resources Friedman has. That list has a Cy young, and a bunch of All-stars.

  3. Well said! I somewhat sarcastically suggested a blow it up” comment after the NLDS loss and one poster replied it was childish to offer such comment.

    “Blow it up” doesn’t imply the entire roster roster is turned over but some laser-focused and surgical changes need to be made. A different approach. a different mindset, different coaching with different messaging.

    “Blow it up” means take the end of contract status for JT as an opportunity for him to exit, allow TT to sign elsewhere, possibly non-tender Bellinger and thus let some youth enter the picture. Quit talking ad nauseam about the deep minor league depth and promote some of that talent to the big leagues.

    It’s not my money but if I’m Guggenheim I’m asking AF to lower payroll. If nearly $300 million got us to win the NL West
    by 22 games and a flame out in the NLDS perhaps a $200 million roster allows the Dodgers to win the division by 3 or 4 games and a chance to get hot in the playoffs. Nothing. ventured= nothing gained.

    The off season is going to be interesting. I honestly think we will see an avoidance to any big expensive contracts and an emphasis on trading assets to acquire talent (like that RH bat mentioned) and would not be at all surprised to see some of CT3, Pepiot, Miller, Ferguson, Lux traded for ball players with a track record of good contact and fewer Ks .

    If there is any moves on the coaching staff I think we’ll know about that this week or after the WS blackout period for MLB transactions.

    AF has to do something to “gin up” some excitement for next year because many Dodger fans are tired of the same ol wash, rinse and repeat of the last post seasons sans 2020.

    Buckle up, Go Dodgers!

    1. My blow-it-up thoughts were a knee jerk reaction. But, the more I think about it, the more I think changes need to be made. But, when I look at it rationally, I know this team is very good. The talent won 111 games. They need to figure out what to do with the left side of the infield and two spots in the outfield. That’s a tall order, so change is coming.

      They are set with Will Smith, Gavin Lux, Mookie, Freddie and Max. That’s a really good core to build around. I just wish they could fix Cody. Maybe they’ll have to “Fix Him” the mob boss way, never to be seen again. Take that money and spend it on someone else.

      Hell, the Dodgers can contact me. I know one of Nolan’s cousins if they need me to get a message (and a bag of money) to him!

      Tell me if this lineup would be necessarily worse than this year.

      Lux 2B L – He’s got the tools to be a leadoff hitter. His on base percentage was actually better than Betts this year. He’s fast and he can take some pitches.
      Mookie RF R – Let him bat second where he’ll get better pitches and get more RBI opportunities
      Freeman 1B L – Classic number 3 hitter. Lot’s of contact with enough power to hit there.
      Nolan or Judge 3B or LF R – Big right-handed cleanup bat run producer adequately protected sandwiched between two lefties.
      Max DH L – Classic number 5 hitter. Big power and on base skills
      Smith C R – Plenty of contact, power and clutch for a 6 hitter. Perfect spot for catcher with a good bat.
      Vargas 3B or LF R – A catch all 7th hitter. Lots of contact and can lead off an inning with a professional AB
      Outman CF L – Dude has series skills in the outfield. He can run them down and make diving catches. Go check out his highlight reels. He has some swing and miss and can go yard, Kinda like the last guy without the stoned eyes. He’ll be holding the spot warm until
      Amaya SS R – Great glove up the middle to pair with another great glove up the middle. He can get on base and hit gappers. He’ll slump, but will walk enough to provide Lux and Betts some RBI opportunities. If not, you pivot to Busch and move Lux to SS.

      Unfortunately, it doesn’t matter what you do because Doc will keep doing Doc things in the postseason.

      1. Judge would be nice but have you seen his stats for this years playoffs? Something like 7 or 8 strikeouts. Could fit right in with the current Dodger crew.

      2. This thinking makes sense if it gets up under the luxury tax threshold. I think it should. Time to use some I expensive talent, plus maybe Nolan A. Use the luxury tax reset year to explore the kids and their ability to play at this level. I’d like to see 4-5 new prospects get a real chance at the show. Evolve from there.

      3. This thinking makes sense if it gets up under the luxury tax threshold for 2023. I think it should. Time to use some inexpensive talent, plus maybe Nolan A at third. Use the luxury tax reset year to explore the kids and their ability to play at this level. I’d like to see 4-5 new prospects get a real chance at the show. Evolve from there.

  4. BP –

    I think you nailed it! Some tough questions need to be asked if the Dodgers truly want to have a better playoff narrative. Their organizational model needs some changes if they want to win multiple world championships. You have offered some good options to be considered.

    If they don’t make the right changes, the Dodger “brand” ultimately weakens along with the revenue flow that goes with it. This has happened to “brand name” teams in other sports. There are also examples of sports organizations who have made the right changes to reestablish their brand (i.e., Alabama in college football). It will be an interesting off season see what – if anything – happens in the Dodger organization.

  5. One final point….with all our regular season success, we may have developed “the smartest guy in the room” mentality. We all know how it ended for Enron….

    1. Usually, Tom, the smartest guy in the room ends up quite well.

      Don’t take outliers (like Enron) and make them the norm.

  6. Maybe it’s just speculative BS, but MLB.com just had this to say about the likelihood of Trea coming back to the Dodgers:
    “If Turner is open to remaining on the West Coast, the Dodgers would certainly make sense, after he played the past year and a half in Los Angeles. That said, there has been a lot of talk that the Dodgers are prepared to let Turner walk in order to make a big play for Judge, a scenario that could take the NL West champions out of play for the shortstop.”

    Well, that’s a fun thought!
    Would Mookie be moved to CF, or would Judge handle it?
    FWIW, the article ranks Philadelphia as Trea’s most likely destination, followed by LA and SF.

  7. The problem is and will likely continue to be is…. If the Dodger management had a crystal ball and new the outcome of the last four games and they also had B&P’s analysis from this morning, they would probably still play those four games exactly like they did.
    And that’s what we can expect next season.
    Even humiliation won’t help.

    Great assessment B&P

  8. Pretty much agree, BP.

    I do think the Dodgers have done well in the draft. Good group coming up through the system.

    Just a thought. What is harder to do, win 111 games or win a World Series? Win 111, of course. Every year somebody wins a WS.

    But, I’m over it. Time to move on. The future awaits. But all the analysis is interesting, different perspectives and all.

    1. 111 wins is harder to do. But, it is really cheapened when you don’t bring home the goods.

      I can never remember when the Mariners won 116. I always have to look it up.

      1. 2001 and they are not the only 116-win team that failed to win a championship. 1906 Cubs, who had the best in season record ever lost the World Series to the cross-town White Sox. Talk about being embarrassed.

  9. Ok a few points. First, Freidman has a GM and has had one since February, Brandon Gomes. Let us also be clear that Gomes in all probability does not operate autonomously. I am pretty certain there is a lot of over-sight from AF. Second. Kershaw pitched one game, he was not vintage Kersh, but he kept his team in the game. In 2020 he pretty much turned his post season narrative around with a solid 4-1 performance in the entire World Series run including 2 wins in the series itself. Yes, they have not won the big games as often as the fans would like, and this particular loss is very irritating. I agree the construction of the roster and not using some resources at hand was very puzzling. I have always questioned Roberts in game strategies. And as long as he continues to manage, most will. He has in many cases, overmanaged and made some real head scratching moves. I read a story on fan nation as to why he replaced Almonte mid at bat. Even the explanation was confusing. But he said he liked the matchup with Vesia V Cronenworth. Bad choice. Change is coming, we all know that.

    1. The key to the entire series was Doc being an idiot. All in the same inning…
      He pulled Anderson for no reason.
      He put in a Kahnle who was used in back to back games once all year. Why do it now?
      He ignored the fact that Almonte was better against lefties this year than against righties, but pulled him against a lefty right after he just got two better hitters out.
      The reason he pulled Almonte mid AB is because Vesia wasn’t ready. Why wasn’t he ready? Who’s fault is that?
      He used Phillips to get out of jams all year, why not use Phillips?
      He used Visia in 2 of three games already in the postseason, 1.2 innings in the first game. They left Ferguson off the roster for May who didn’t pitch.

      I don’t care that the Dodgers weren’t hitting. It’s not like the Padres were hitting so great this whole series. He just had to survive one more game and get home. He did what he always does. Doc is a choker, he needs to go and Friedman needs to stop micro managing his staff.

  11. Early and mid period talking heads (the end came quick) was just amazing. I kinda missed it (came along too late) but even Stop Making Sense is still a fun watch.

    Right up until that song with Jonny Marr (did I spell that right?)

  12. I didn’t finish up some thoughts from yesterday on proposed changes in the wind:
    Dave Roberts isn’t going anywhere. AF isn’t going anywhere.
    Doc has his detractors for sure. I’ve been one of them at various times mostly over in-game decisions and pitching moves. The DH has improved his over-managing, as he doesn’t get to double switch. We all have some bitch about something he does, to varying degrees. But if you think he’s going to be canned, you’re dreaming.
    * Fans now days are amazing, calling for coaching changes. I think it’s a need for immediate gratification. Win now or you’re gone. College football, especially in the SEC, is a great example. Listening to Alabama fans calling for changes after one loss last Saturday is extraordinary. Nick Saban should be fired. All the assistants should be fired. The stream of logic goes – the players played poorly; mistakes and penalties. So the coordinators were at fault because the players were bad. And who hired the coordinators? Nick Saban. It’s his fault, not the players. He’s 184 and 26 at Alabama and wins a Natty or is in the hunt every year. He just lost his 3rd game in 3 seasons. Get rid of his ass.
    Brian Harsin at Auburn is another example of the insanity. He’s a Dead Man Walking. He may get fired any day. He’s a good coach and would be fine at Arizona State or Colorado Because of the environment at Auburn he was considered a bad fit from the get go. The money big boosters never wanted him, tried to make up a story of misbehavior last year so they could fire him for cause and save his buyout, which is around $15 million. The Fat Cats won’t blink about paying that amount to get rid of the guy and then agreeing to funding a bloated contract to his replacement and staff.
    * What’s that have to do with Dave Roberts?
    For one. if he gets canned, who’s in the wings, ready to take over? Just like some college jobs, some quality candidates don’t want a position where they can’t control personal moves, organizational philosophies, roster make up, line ups and in game desisions. They don’t want to be a talking head and a puppet with the higher ups pulling the strings. How much room Doc has as a Manager of the Dodgers is speculated about but we don’t really know.
    * And if a high profile manager of a high profile job gets canned, there better be a candidate locked up ready to take over. A coaching search, interviewing potential candidates and all those trappings won’t cut it for the Dodgers. Chase Utley? JT?
    Right or wrong. Like Doc or not. Disagree with removing Anderson an inning early, wanted Belli in center. Wanting more small ball. All of Doc questionable moves? Those are all organizational decisions made by AF and an analytics staff based on team philosophy and stats. Maybe that’s what needs to be reevaluated the winter?
    But in 7 years, Doc is 653 and 380. His teams have won 100+ games in 4 seasons and won the Division 6 times with 1, 2nd place. Detractors will say the Dodgers have done this in spite of Dave Roberts. But that’s his resume.
    Come Nov 15, it’s likely he will be NL Manager of the Year. Doc beats out Buck Showalter and Rob Thompson.
    Like it or not,…………….He isn’t going anywhere.

      1. That’s funny STB. Of all the successful coaches in sports, Nick Saban may be the biggest control freak of them all. He has his hand and influence in everything Alabama does. His huge footprint is everywhere. He would be the last guy to be in a position where he was the front man while taking orders from his bosses. He is the Boss.
        I’m thinking we might just do away with a Skipper all together. All the in-game decision making is done by 2 or 3 pencil-necks sitting behind computer terminals on the top rail of the dugout. Sort of “mission control”. They wouldn’t need uniforms, so there’s a savings. Just street clothes with pocket protectors. One controls offense, one defense and one general consultant, in uniform, who makes pitching changes, puts his name on the lineup card, is the press secretary. Kinda like Dave Roberts.

  14. I’ve never met you B&P, but from what I’ve seen here you have a pretty large personality and probably take over most rooms that you walk into.

    You tend to do that here also. You have one of those “know it all” attitudes.

    I don’t agree with much of anything you say politically and that’s why I’m glad Mark has finally managed to keep most politics away from this blog….because I think you’re the single most interesting commenter here when it comes to baseball discussions. I look forward to all of your Dodger-related commentary because it never fails to stimulate good discussion.

    As far as what you posted above, this is what I disagree with…………………………………………..
    Not a damn thing.

    And yes, please post pics the next time you do a pork butt.

    1. I wish no one posted political opinions on this site. I try hard not to chime in on those subjects. Yes, I can take over a room at times, but I really don’t do that too often. Ask Bear, Watford and Patch. We all sat down and had some beers and watched a game together.

      I’m extremely passionate about baseball and the Dodgers, so that’s the side I project on this site.

      1. Nope you are a very passionate Dodger fan and in person, I never got the sense that you even thought you knew it all. People make assumptions way too often especially when they have never met someone in person. The internet and the way our society is today have contributed greatly to that ignorance. Most people do not even know how to interact one on one. I made assumptions about Mark…until we met in Denver. Guy has a huge personality, but he does not overwhelm you. He is the president of a company, and therefore has to exude strength. Which he does, but he is also just a pussy cat!

  15. Here’s JayB. I’m certainly as disappointed and heart broken as the rest of you. However, it is truly amazing how easy it is to make decisions after the fact. B&P, the reason you haven’t heard from me is because you are impossible to argue with. You throw out stuff that makes you look so smart when in fact that is not the case.

    An example is your statement about it being better to use Almonte vs Cronenworth. You failed to mention that Cronenworth was 1 for 7 against Vesia with 4 strikeouts which kind of supports the in game decision. There are many more examples like this. Anything to disparage the Manager, who you hate.

    It is totally irrational to expect a World Series win every year. Yet some of you do. It is also irrational to expect post season success every year, but some of you do. It is also irrational to expect to get to the post season just because you have a talented team like it is some God given right. Many talented teams miss the post season.

    I have presented the argument that several great Managers (Cox, Sparky Anderson, Larussa, etc) have had very talented teams and yet did not have Doc’s regular or post season record during the times they had great talent. No one has ever argued against that point.

    Let’s talk post season Managers’ wins. #1 is Joe Torre who has 84 post season wins over 30 managerial years (2.8 wins/year) #2 is Tony Larussa with 70 wins over 37 years (1.9/year). #3 is Bobby Cox with 67 wins over 30 years (2.2/year). #4 is a tie between Jim Leyland 44 wins over 22 years (2.0/year) and Doc with 44 wins over 7 years (6.3/year). Hard to argue 3 times the wins but some of you will.

    Doc’s teams have been to the WS 3 times in 7 years and an argument can be made (2017) won 2 of them. His teams have been to the LCS 5 out of 7 times. B&P has argued that the post season is not a crapshoot. I don’t know how anyone can say that when 3 100+ wins teams have been eliminated this year and a 99 win team has been taken to game 5. The NLCS will be played between and 87 and 89 win team. The 2021 WS champs won 88 games. Over the years many wild card teams have won it all.

    There has been an argument that AF is not that good. I guess we should have won the WS 7 times to satisfy Scott. As I have said before, I sometimes read what some of you have to say and I just shake my head.

    1. There he is! JayB, you have Doc Derangement Syndrome. You’re Dr. Jekyll most of the time, but when someone says something about Doc, Mr. Hyde comes out.

      If Vesia is the guy that was the perfect choice to face Cronenworth, then he should have had him ready. So, it’s still his fault.

      With all those runners on base, he should have gone to Phillips, the guy that he went to all season in that situation, but he didn’t. Still his fault.

      The fact that Doc pulled his starters early and abused his bullpen, again is a pattern, not an anomaly.

      Doc is as much of a failed experiment as the front office trying to script the outcome of a game. They fail the way pretty much every year.

      Don’t compare Doc to Tommy the Great!

      Tommy never had a Dodger team that was the favorite to win the big one. He went to the postseason 8 times and won 2 championships. 2 of 8 = 1 of 4. No excuse for having to win more series as Tommy had to win the CS, DS, WS same as Doc had to win except for the one1 wild card game last year. Tommy didn’t benefit from having the highest payroll practically every year like Doc had either. To to it off, Tommy won a Gold Metal with an underdog team to boot. Doc can’t hold Tommy’s Jock! So, don’t bring the great Tommy Lasorda into this.

      Nice hearing from you. I thought of you when I was writing the post.

      1. In 80, they lost the playoff to the Astros since they finished tied, but, they had to win three straight over the Stros that weekend just to get there. Then they were stuck with starting Dave Goltz, who was about the most worthless free agent they ever signed and lost game 163 7-1.

  16. jayB, first of all: You can not simply compare wins among the managers you mentioned. Way more games nowadays than ever before. If anything winning percentage is the fair parameter here.

    Second: Cox , as Roberts, was a great regular season manager. But in the postseason he made many, many questionable calls and decisions. Just ask some Braves fans who say the same thing about Cox than we do about Doc: Should have won more titles with all that talent. LaRussa and ANderson have won more titles than Doc and I dont frankly see how Roberts will make the deficit up.

    Third: Dodgers provided Doc always with a top 3 payroll team and an incredible deep farm. Dont know where the other named teams rank in that categories.

    fourth: Do we really want to bring up Cox just to make an excuse for Roberts mistakes ? Do we reallly want to keep him only because Cox was equally unsuccessful in the postseason ? Why not compare Doc to a guy like Tommy who won two titles with a lot less talent and payroll ?

    My faith that Roberts will bring us another title is done. He was aided by the Corona shortened season in 2020 when Walker , Kersh , Julio and especially an unconscious Saeger put this team on their backs. And even back then we were just a whisker from losing the NLCS. And if Jansen had not imploded forcing Roberts to go to Julio we do not win in 2020 either.

    Give another man a shot to lead the Dodgers. Roberts aint the man .

    Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    1. LaRussa 3 WS wins in 33 years or 1 every 11. Sparky Anderson 3 WS wins in 26 years or 1 every 6.9. Tommy Lasorda 2 WS wins in 21 years or 1 every 10 (and by the way he managed some very talented teams). Dave Roberts 1 out of 7, equal to Anderson and much better than LaSorda.

      If we assume without the Astros cheating, the Dodgers win in 2017, Doc’s WS record improves greatly and puts him at the top of the chart in WS winning %. My whole argument is that it is irrational to measure him by WS wins because it is damn hard to win the WS, as proven by no team repeating in the past many years.

      I also agree that he makes in game mistakes only proven by after the fact analysis. Very few people on this blog ever give him credit for things that work out despite many of us questioning the decision while it is happening.

      Sorry doderram your irrational dislike of Doc only leads you in the wrong direction.

      1. If you think that Roberts will make up the deficit in WS titles to those other managers you mentioned I applaud your optimism. I just dont share it. Not after all those collapses we witnessed in the past years.
        This San Diego series really was IT for me. In addition to the numerous ingame managerial mistakes he made the lack of emotion and enthusiasm on the team was disappointing to see. No fight, no nothing. Just going threw the motions. You think something lifeless like that would have ever happened under Tommy ?
        Do you think that Roberts would have able to guide the Dodgers to the 88 title ?

        Call my opinion irrational if you will, but the eyes dont lie. And this was a dead team rolling over without a fight.
        As I said my faith in Roberts is done. If you have more confidence in him, fine. You will be sorrowly disappointed again and again. IMHO.

        Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    2. Yes Tommy was successful. He also took 5 seasons to win his first series and another 7 to win his second. He also made some dumb moves in the playoffs. Did Roberts screw up in game 4 yes but everything I’m reading on this site is being echoed by Brave, Met and Yankee sites (and the Yankees are still playing).

      1. Neidenfuer pitching to Jack Clark with a base open, and the .17o hitting Andy Van Slyke on deck. All that with the lead..Yep, that was very boneheaded. Tommy also wore his pitchers out. Both Hershiser and Valenzuela suffered serious arm injury’s under his leadership. But Tommy was a true Dodger, he inspired his players with fire, and his press conferences must listen events. Kurt Bevacqua couldn’t hit water if he fell out of a boat. What do I think about Kingman’s performance? The guy hit three effen home runs, that’s what I think about his performance.!!!!

  17. Let’s face it front office, Doc is not the man to lead us to the promise land. Agree that Geren and some of the shot caller need to be cut loose, I think Pryor did a phenomenal job with the pitching staff. Last get rid of the hitting coaches we have to go small ball in certain situations, The long ball will show when needed.

  18. Questions

    How many years in a row have the Dodgers been in the playoffs?

    How many World Series have they won in that timespan?

    How many have other teams won?

    Can you win the World Series without being in the playoffs?

    Answer

    Make the playoffs every year and win the crapshoot.

    3. And then you’ll become the Braves, the not sure if it’s a dynasty from the 90’s. If that’s what your satisfied with, then by all means, hang on to mediocrity.

      1. It’s the best team and the organization over that decade or so in all of MLB.

        If that’s mediocrity, how do you define success?

  19. I’d be fascinated to know exactly what the dynamic between Doc and Geren actually is.

    Does Doc put himself in charge of motivating the guys (he failed miserably on that one) and almost always listen to Geren when it comes to strategy?
    Do they collaborate with Doc having the final say?
    Does Doc totally ignore most of what Geren’s input might be?

    Geren is considered a pretty good baseball mind by people in the game. I wonder how much Doc takes advantage of that? Or is Geren’s reputation not really deserved.

  20. I am at home battling my 4th round of COVID. This variant is similar to the first variant I brought back from Hawaii about three years ago. My fever broke in 24 hours, and I am on the upswing. It’s worse than the Omicron Variant, which caused me to have a fever for a couple of hours, and of course, not as bad as the full-blown COVID-19 I had in October 2020.

    I was reading the comments, and contrary to what many of you think, what you parrot are opinions, not facts. What is a fact, not an opinion, is that back in the day, when a team went to the WS from each league, the best team (best record) won 52% of the time. Since the expanded playoffs, the best team has won 23% of the time, and now, with the additional expansion of the Wild Card Round, I am guessing that it will go down to the teens. Statistics and Probability (a course that I hated) demonstrates that there are constant anomalies.

    In retrospect, Doc should have done some things differently. Andrew Friedman should have done some things differently, but I can look at every team and say that. How do you explain how a team (Phillies) that had no bullpen most of the season, had a horrible defense, and poor pitching most of the season (3.97) ERA suddenly looked like Superman in the playoffs and had a 2.55 Team ERA?

    Oh, yeah, I know – “they were built for the playoffs!” Their GM put together a pitching staff that was only capable of a 3.97 Regular Season ERA but was capable of 2.55 in the playoffs and he built it that way.

    If you believe that… if they gave you an enema, they could bury you in a shoebox!

    Maybe they choked. Maybe Dave Roberts made some bad decisions. Maybe Andrew Friedman made some bad decisions. Maybe Statistics and probability caught up with them. Maybe it was all of the above.

    2. Hope you feel better very soon, Mark!
      Trying to answer regarding the Phils ERA:
      Using only your top 3 starters (so far) who happen to go longer than ours enables you to only use your top bullpen arms or at least allows you to hide your weaker bullpen pitchers , eg using them less.
      Padres vs the Dodgers did much of the same. Hill, suarez, Hader, Martinez were the guys who did the heavy lifting out of their pen.
      Over an entire season a weakness at your Nr. 4 and 5 starters will show in your team ERA, same with the fringe bullpen guys.

      Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!

  21. I think Dave Roberts is a poor in game manager. In this series, he made several mistakes, mostly around pitching and bullpen management. But Roberts seems to do well managing the clubhouse, maintaining a positive culture and producing in regular season.
    Also, my view is that Friedman and co dictate many of the in game moves and strategies. Roberts just signed an extension and will be the manager next year like it or not.
    Friedman made some great roster additions this year including Freeman, Anderson, Heaney, Thompson and Martin.
    The biggest blows to Dodgers were losing Buehler, Hudson, Gonsolin, and Treinen. But Friedman also whiffed on Gallo, Alberto and extending Taylor. And while his lineup was good in the regular season it was still flawed, top heavy, and filled with way too many swing and miss hitters.
    Both Roberts and Friedman deserve credit for the regular season and some blame for the playoff failure. Going 1-3 in playoffs is a disaster.
    But the vast majority of the blame is squarely on the starting players who underperformed at the plate, in the field and on the bases.
    Still in the regular season, the Dodgers were the best team in baseball this year.
    I would keep most of the core roster.
    I would resign Trea Turner, Kershaw and Anderson.
    Offer reduced salaries with incentives for JT and Bellinger. They would both need to compete in spring for starting jobs.
    (JT has been terrible in the last two postseasons hitting about 150 with ZERO extra base hits in the last 15 playoff games)
    CT is overpaid but he should return to role player status.
    Kimbrel, Gallo, Price, Heaney, Alberto will be gone.
    Need to sign a free agent OF/DH and bullpen arm, and bring up youngsters to compete.
    And spring training should be used to develop playoff ready approaches to put ball in play and manufacture runs.

      1. At least get a walk and a stolen base. Geez, you would think his team would run more.

        1. Where is Brett Butler when ya need him?????? I do suggest a couple of new hitting guru’s though Van Shylock has worn out his welcome.

          1. Funny, Doc and Butler would have never made these teams. They didn’t swing for the fences enough.

          2. That’s right B&P. I find it fascinating how much the game has changed.

            Honestly, I’m not sure Ozzie Smith makes it out of AAA in this era.

  22. I hope you are back in the swing soon Mark. Thanks for being kind enough not to roast me for echoing your opinion with my questions. I love this blog. I love everyone’s take on the issues. This is really the only place where the real issues are discussed. God bless you all and Go Big Blue Wrecking Crew!

    1. Thank you Illini. We try hard to listen to all of the folks who post here. And we welcome opposing positions. We might not agree with them and we will make arguments against them, but we openly support anyone’s right to a different opinion. That being said, we are seldom wrong! That is sarcasm by the way. Also if there is a player or a story you wish to see, do not hesitate to ask.

  23. Hey Bluto, The Smiths guitarist was Johnny Marr, you had it right. Like all great bands, they couldn’t resolve their artistic differences and were worse apart than they were together.

    I have all of the Smiths studio records and none of Morrisey’s. I have two of the Talking Heads records.

    I’ve been listening to the Flying Lizards Radio playlist lately and it’s awesome. If you have Spotify, check it out.

    1. Thanks!

      Will do.

      I’m deep into the Felice Brothers and re-delving into Tom Waits and some modern Jazz (mostly Kamasi Washington.)

  24. You guys mention arenado, judge, Reynolds. those would be good moves. Like your A. Options but what about the fallback plans the maybe more realistic plans. The B,C even D choices that will still help the team be successful in the regular season and in the playoffs?

  25. Philjones, I realize that Doc and AF probably (keeping my fingers crossed) aren’t going anywhere. But, that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t. But, I certainly don’t buy the argument that it’s too much trouble to find someone else. I fully agree that the “Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen” philosophy is killing this club. Maybe Stan Kasten is just fine being the Braves all over again.

    At some point, fans will become tired of watching them choke in the postseason. If you want to look at this like a businessman, this was a missed opportunity to build the brand and that costs the organization money.

  26. A couple of points:
    –AF has been the Maximum Leader of Baseball Operations regardless of title. Brandon Gomes is now his No. 2, much as Farhan once was. The appointment of Gomes clarified the chain of command, but I think we all know that AF doesn’t delegate significant personnel decisions to his underlings. He calls the big shots. Hard to say how much he micromanages Roberts in terms of strategy. (Sort of funny to watch AF hold forth in the postseason press conference, with Gomes sitting there like the proverbial potted plant.)
    –As others have noted, the Dodgers led the MLB in both pitching and batting stats, and of course run differential. All of this produced the 111 wins. A full season is not a small sample, and in fact the Dodgers have been a big winner for several years. These facts undermine arguments that the batting coaches or pitching coaches are at fault–or that AF and Roberts are at fault.
    –And yet… and yet…. the post-season roster construction was a mess. Gallo and Vargas really did nothing to prove they belonged on the roster–and they never swung a bat. Belli and Taylor weren’t much better. Over on the pitching side, I was glad May was chosen over Kimbrel, but I don’t think he ever got a chance to warm up. It was funny how the Dodgers had a surplus of worthy pitchers and a shortage of worthy position players. When you look at how the Pads, Yankees, Phillies and other teams improved their rosters at the trade deadline, and how the Dodgers did it, who but AF, the guy who calls the big shots, should be held responsible for this?
    –Finally, I agree with many here who fault Roberts (or maybe AF?) for some of the pitching decisions. I think Anderson, who was fully healthy, should have pitched game three and should have stayed in the game as long as he was pitching well. Perhaps Kersh should have pitched another inning after retiring nine batters in a row. We can also nitpick the RP decisions endlessly. But let’s consider another big one: AF traded Pollock for Kimbrel–and Kimbrel got one of those long runways to prove he was worthy. Meanwhile, the Pads’ Preller–after adding Soto, Bell and Drury–added Josh Effing Hader. (It looked like a bad move at first… but now it looks pretty smart.)
    Looking back, the Pollock-for-Kimbrel deal has to be judged as a mistake. I was OK with it at the time, but Pollock’s truly mediocre 2022 stats would represent an upgrade over what Belli, Gallo, Taylor and Vargas produced..
    In years past, AF made bold midseason moves that paid off, getting guys like Machado and Darvish and Sherzer/Trea.
    This time he picked up Chris Martin and Gallo.

    1. AF has missed the boat on several occasions by not getting players who can actually help. He did trade for Scherzer and Turner, and he went and got Machado when Seager was down and Taylor was not the everyday answer at SS. Turner and Scherzer were great until they weren’t But none, I repeat none, of the so-called bench players he has obtained at the deadline, or until you could get them before the rule change, has done squat. The closest thing to a success story was David Freese. They guy could just flat out hit, and he was one of the few who actually performed well in the playoffs. July 2015, traded Zack Bird, Hector Olivera and Paco Rodriguez to the Braves and three minor leaguers to the Marlins for Bronson Arroyo, Jim Johnson, Jose Peraza and Alex Wood, received Mat Latos and Mike Morse from Miami. Arroyo never threw a pitch for LA. Johnson was ineffective, and Wood was ok and much better the next season. Latos sucked and Morse was flipped to Pittsburgh the next day for Jose Tabatha, who never made it to the majors. Peraza looked like a good get, but was sent to the Reds later. They did trade for Utley in August, and his main contribution was getting a rule change basically named after him. Weirdest move, they released Chris Heisey on August 7th, and then trading for him on the 31st of August. WHAT??? In June of 2016, he did trade for Chris Taylor in a deal that eventually was a steal for LA, but also that month he sent a couple of minor leaguers to the Braves for Bud Norris. No relation. His deadline deals were for Josh Fields, Jesse Chavez and the trade that brought Rich Hill and Josh Reddick. No impact bat there. In 2017 he traded for pitching, Cingrani, Darvish and Tony Watson. Trade worked out pretty well until the World Series. For those of you who forgot, Darvish did not pitch a lot as a Dodger and then folded like a wet taco in the Series. Gets a little pass because the Asstroholes cheated. But he still was lousy. He added Curtis Granderson in August. Total waste of a roster spot. In 18 he traded for Floro and Neal in early July, then the Machado deal went down on the 18th. Axford and Brian Dozier were his deadline adds. Dozier was less than stellar. Then he picked up Freese and Ryan Madson at the end of August. World Series year and Freese was very good. One of his best pickups. In 2019 his July trades brought, Casey Sadler, Tyler White, Adam Kolarek, and Jedd Gyorko. Sadler and Kolarek made some solid appearances, White and Gyorko sucked big time. Only pick up at the deadline in 20 was Kendal Williams, who I believe is still in the minors. Granted, AF has done most of his wheeling and dealing in the winter. But why is it when he does add an offensive player who is supposed to be a bench piece, they continually underperform or do not perform at all. Almost every player the Braves picked up in 21 helped. And they collectively killed the Dodgers in the NLCS. This season, the Padres pickups did the same. AF needs to rethink how he constructs his bench. His bullpens have been pretty decent the last few years, but the bench is little to no help.

  27. LA Times reporter, Dylan Hernandez was not buying what he called AF’s lip service press conference. He believes Freidman needs to realize that some changes need to be made. Freidman on the other hand does not believe the front office did anything wrong, he pointed to the late season injuries to Lux, Taylor and JT. But excuse me Mr. AF. Roster construction for the playoffs was all you. I would have rather seen Kevin Pillar on the bench than Gallo or Alvarez. Neither of whom was used anyway. The pitching staff construction was highly questionable with all of the recovering arms that were on the roster and had been rarely used the last few weeks of the season. I also question the manager who put his team on cruise control instead of stepping on the gas and trying to get some sort of momentum built up. Winning was too easy for this team. Now they know how it feels to lose.

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