About ten years ago, when Andrew Friedman was hired by the Los Angeles Dodgers, I was ecstatic, but most Dodger fans were not! In fact, not only were most fans not happy, but they were flat-out opposed to Andrew Friedman and blasted and ridiculed him at every opportunity they had. Now, wait just a minute… I want to tell you why I was so excited:
In 2003, Friedman met Stuart Sternberg, the new owner of the Tampa Bay Rays. They realized they had similar ideas about the game and wanted to work together.
From 2004 to 2005, Friedman served as the director of baseball development for the Rays. He was promoted to the position of executive vice president of baseball operations and general manager after the 2005 season, at the age of 28, replacing the club’s first general manager, Chuck LaMar, who was fired following the club’s eighth losing season in its eight years of existence.
Friedman gradually rebuilt the team. It ultimately paid off in 2008 when the Rays made the postseason for the first time in franchise history, and advanced all the way to the World Series. For his efforts, he was named as Baseball Executive of the Year by The Sporting News. They also made the playoffs in 2010, 2011 and 2013 under his tenure.
If he could do that with a payroll under $79 Million, I thought he would be a shoo-in for the Dodgers. Unfortunately, Dodger fans revolted, and much of that was against me. If you know anything about me, it’s that I live by the Mantra of the Marines: “No better friend, no worse enemy.” Translation: I do not play well with others! Attack me… I will be right back at you! So, that is what happened. I turned over this website, and they migrated to another one that tolerates morons. That’s my weakness: I do not play well with morons.
Anyway, to put it bluntly: These morons are elsewhere. A few (very few) came back, but most were just too stupid! Shut up already! We have a new bunch of commenters, and most do not wear Depends and have Dementia!
Long story short, it turns out that I was right, and the morons were wrong. Ten years later, that’s why we have many new commenters, and the others are at another site. All I have to say is “Sorry if I offended you… but fuck you if I did!”
He’s been amazing, not enough fans appreciate his work or the work of the team.
“In Andrew Friedman We Trust” With a first name like that, how bad could he be?
Got that, morons?
Oh wait–all the morons are gone….even if I’m still here.
Anyway, I wasn’t visiting LADT back then, but I mostly recall a sense of gratitude among fans when Friedman came aboard.
Ned Coletti had been part of the horrible McCourt regime, and AF represented a fresh start. And before that we suffered other owners who pissed a lot of us off by trading Piazza.
The Guggenheim group and AF have had quite a track record of success, and the Dodgers may now be the most admired franchise in all of pro sports.
Well, logically you would think that… but NOOOOOOOOO! In some respects they hated Friedman more than McCourt. It was not logical!
SPRING BREAKOUT GAME TONIGHT 9PM ET DODGER PROSPECTS VS THE CUB PROSPECTS
PITCHERS
Jackson Ferris, LHP, No. 4 (MLB No. 70)
Hyun-Seok Jang, RHP, No. 17
Jose Rodriguez, RHP, No. 29
Chris Campos, RHP, NR
Carson Hobbs, RHP, NR
Ronan Kopp, LHP, NR
Kelvin Ramirez, RHP, NR
Lucas Wepf, RHP, NR
Reynaldo Yean, RHP, NR
CATCHERS
Carlos Rojas, C, NR
Yeiner Fernandez, C, NR
Nelson Quiroz, C, NR
INFIELDERS
Emil Morales, SS, No. 7
Kellon Lindsey, SS, No. 8
Joendry Vargas, SS, No. 12
Chase Harlan, 3B, No. 20
Logan Wagner, 1B/3B, No. 26
Kyle Nevin, 3B, NR
Nico Perez, SS, NR
Joe Vetrano, 1B, NR
OUTFIELDERS
Josue De Paula, OF, No. 3 (MLB No. 40)
Zyhir Hope, OF, No. 6 (MLB No. 74)
Eduardo Quintero, OF, No. 9
Kendall George, OF, No. 15
Ching-Hsien Ko, OF, No. 16
Mike Sirota, OF, No. 21
Jaron Elkins, OF, No. 24
MLB.TV, MLB.com, MLB App, Gameday
MLB NETWORK DELAYED 10 PM ET
That’s the game I want to see!
Can’t wait to watch tonight
How come Cubs play two games and we play one?
OF, which has been a bit barren recently, is about to pop. Fast forward one year and we’ll be good.
I get the feeling that the 13th position player will be an outfielder. If it’s Bote that will take away Tommy’s versatility. And leave us only Kike and CT3 as viable outfield help. I know spring numbers are worthless and so does Doc. He’ll pick either James or Andy. Outman is the better defender. But if they want to build up his trade value, stick him in OKC. So that leaves Andy Pages as the opening day CF. Ha ha now they’ll pick Bote.
Book em
I was among those who were very skeptical about AF. I even went as far as calling him FRAUDMAN. I just thought he made so many signings of fringe players. Then he traded Kemp for Grandal, and I was livid. At the time I thought that trade ranked right up there with Martinez to the Expos, and Piazza being dealt to Miami for spare parts. I was not as harsh as some on Colletti because to me, Ned was operating with his hands tied behind his back. He also made a couple of huge mistakes signing Jason Schmidt and Andruw Jones. But AF’s first free agent signings were nothing to write home about. The Kemp trade came after he traded the fastest player on the team to the Marlins.
I really could not understand the Gordon to Miami deal. But as a fan, I am not supposed to understand why a trade is made. And then he traded one of the players he received for Howie Kendrick. I at that point just did not see how he was making the team better. All this of course happened after they had won the division but then been knocked out of the playoffs in the first round.
I was very skeptical all during that first season he was at the helm. The team won the division again but again were beaten in the first round. To me, that was not progress. To be very honest, it took several years for me to finally see what he was doing. The team kept winning, and he kept making moves. It seems like he never stands pat. Now with the success of an unprecedented nature over his tenure as President of Baseball Operations, I see that it is wiser to watch the master, than to consistently second-guess him. AF knows what he is doing. Ownership has allowed him to build a baseball juggernaut. One that is constantly morphing.
Amen, Brother!
When I first read Moneyball, my main takeaway was that this was a great strategy for “all” teams, not just small market teams. I have never thought it a good idea to waste money, no matter how much you have.
So I initially lamented the Cubs getting Theo and not the Dodgers. But when they got Friedman I was ecstatic. And I’m still waiting for a move he makes that I don’t see the wisdom in or don’t agree with.
The Dodgers are in great hands with Andrew running the show, and Shohei saw that in his contract demands as well making sure Friedman never leaves the Dodgers while he is playing.
Every facet of the team is running at the top right now, and Andrew is a huge reason for that. He is no doubt, at least in my book, at the top of the game and he deserves all the acclaim he has received.
AF has made some mistakes, but everyone does. The thing is, he makes every few of them and then figures out how to mitigate the ones he does make.
As an example, I was adamant that Gavin Lux could not play SS… and it played out that he couldn’t.
AF finally moved him for a CF who has a chance to be pretty good. Mike Sirota is still just 21. The Dodgers website says this about him:
Scouting grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 45 | Run: 60 | Arm: 55 | Field: 55 | Overall: 45
The Dodgers failed to sign Sirota after selecting the Connecticut high schooler in the 16th round of the 2021 Draft, then watched him develop into Northeastern’s best prospect since 1998 No. 10 overall pick Carlos Peña. Sirota projected to go in the same range before slumping last spring and dropping to the Reds in the third round. The grand-nephew of Hall of Fame pitcher Whitey Ford, he went to Los Angeles along with a supplemental first-round choice in a trade for Gavin Lux in January.
Sirota has an extremely disciplined approach — his 59 walks in 51 games last year broke Peña’s school record — and excellent bat-to-ball skills. His timing got out of whack for much of his junior season, and while he still made consistent contact, he didn’t drive the ball with as much authority as he had previously. He has the bat speed and projectable strength to provide 15-20 homers per year, but he’ll need to add some loft to his right-handed stroke.
Sirota doesn’t have to make a huge offensive impact to help a team win games. He has plus speed and shows the aptitude to steal bases. He makes good reads and takes good routes in center field, where he’s a solid defender with arm strength to match.
BA says this about him:
Track Record: Entering the season, Sirota was one of the most coveted prospects in the country and some believed he had a chance to be a top 10 overall pick. Instead, his swing backed up, his stock suffered and he fell to the third round, where the Reds called his name. Cincinnati traded him to the Dodgers over the winter in the deal that sent Gavin Lux to the Reds.
Scouting Report: At his best, Sirota showed a knack for contact and the speed to fit nicely toward top of an order. In his junior season with Northeastern, pitchers exploited a hole that gave him trouble covering pitches thrown middle-in. The lack of moving parts in his swing and sound swing decisions lend credence to the idea that he can bounce back as a pro. Sirota is a plus runner who has shown above-average defense in center field and a strong throwing arm.
The Future: Sirota did not make his professional debut in 2024 and will do so at one of the Class A levels in 2025. If he rebounds from his down season at Northeastern, the Dodgers might have landed a steal.
Scouting Grades: Hit: 45 | Power: 40 | Run: 60 | Field: 55 | Arm: 55.
This is how Friedman makes lemonade from Lemons.
As Mark likes to say, AF has been playing chess while the rest of us are playing checkers!
I wonder how Friedman will weave Zaiti back into the team.
The GM i didn’t like from the getgo was Paul DePodesta
He is just an advisor and is also advising Mark Walter on other endeavors.
Farhan has a good eye for talent – the biggest problem is that no one wanted to play in the shithole that is San Fran.
The new mayor is trying to clean it up… we shall see if Buster is successful.