Fire Don Mattingly

[Neddy]

Now I wonder if Friedman is kicking himself in the arse for not firing him last year to get Maddon. Any coaching candidates? I'd pick Dave Martinez who is a disciple of Maddon and who's been with him for the longest.

would have been a great choice, but I am sure the league would have probed a tampering charge against us since Maddon still had years left on his contract when he quit the Rays job as soon as Andrew bailed on them.

From everything I can gather….these are the potential names for us

Ron Roenicke
Tim Wallach
Bud Black
Dave Martinez
Bob Geren
Gabe Kapler

I like Bud Black…
Meh on Kapler…that'll just be like having the front office manage the team
Bob Geren seemed like he wasn't well liked by the players in Oakland…wow…what a departure that would be from Mattingly….fits the bill that people like of former catcher turned manager. I'm not as impressed by that and I don't think all catchers are great managers.

I personally don't mind Gabe. If you remember him from his playing days, he wasn't a gifted hitter like Donny Potato but a guy on the fringes who had to work hard to gain a platoon role and flourished. guys like that tends to master all the ins and outs of the game and I am sure he will be a much better tactician than Mattingly from day 1. he is an energetic guy too, but only issue I would have with him is to have the manager of my beloved dodgers be younger than myself. having grown up on Tommy, my ideal image of dodger manager has always been a father figure type, not a younger brother type lol.

I like Dave Martinez too. I also think Tim Wallach deserves a shot as well. I don't like Ron Roenicke. he was the one who did not do his job as a 3rd base coach when Daniel Murphy ran wild on us all the way to third from the first on a walk.

I dunno how I feel about Bud. I suppose him being an ex pitcher and a pitching coach, he would have a lot to offer to Kersh and the rest of the staff, but I was never impressed with him in SD even in his manager of the year season. do you guys remember their epic collapse at the end of the season to blow their division lead?

I don't want Bob Geren. aside from the similar discontent his players felt about Bob's illogical management of his pitching staff as Potato, his wife's name is beatlejuice.

for candidates that are yet discussed, Brad Ausmus, Brent Mayne, and possibly AJ Hinch intrigues me.

Don't forget Scioscia can still opt out of his deal when the World Series is over.

Somehow, I'm less than thrilled with how things ended between him and Jerry Dipoto and I, like many others, don't think he'd mesh well here.

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/2015-mlb-playoffs-bullpen-managers-mike-matheny-joe-girardi/
check where Bud and Scioscia rank on this article….and look at where overrated Matheny is.

Ausmus is going back to Detroit as far as I can tell.
and why on earth would AJ Hinch leave his current gig? He has an opt out clause? That's a top 5 job right now if you ask me.

yeah AJ would have been a pipe dream, and unlikely. Brad appears to be determined to make the losing situation work too. Brent Mayne doesn't have much experience as a manager but if Gabe Kapler is the leading man, it's a wash.

I love Mike Scioscia, but he is not the right guy for our team as of now. if he couldn't work with Dipoto, there is no way he can work with Andrew and Co.

as for Bud, as I mentioned, yeah pitching staff will benefit immensely from his presence, no doubt. but if you were to look into his actual Ws and Ls versus Pythagorean numbers, his gain in last 3 seasons or so with +2 or +1 gets demolished with his -9 season and other net negative seasons. he is calling the pen right, no doubt. I am not sure about his ability to maximize the batsmen. the fall out that happened with Grandal against his pitchers should not have happened, and this is one reason I am always advocating for an ex catcher as a manager.

If Bud is our manager, at least I can sleep well that he won't be blowing up the bullpen at the worst moment. but I have to wonder how much would he be willing to install the front office's statistical data to make extreme shifts in the infield at times? how would be react when his personal favorite utility infielder is sent down for a guy who can swing without a position? Bud to me is very old school in the mold of Mike Scioscia. there are GMs who can work with that and win, but our FO is the new school. we need a new school of thought faithful for the next manager for this thing to work, imo.

I wouldn't mind being found wrong if Bud is hired and win this damn thing all the way to the top. but as of now, I am welcoming the possibility of Gabe with open arms. I just wonder how some of the old dudes on the team like Gonzo would think of having a manager who is his peer.

[Quake Griffin]

would have been a great choice, but I am sure the league would have probed a tampering charge against us since Maddon still had years left on his contract when he quit the Rays job as soon as Andrew bailed on them.



I personally don't mind Gabe. If you remember him from his playing days, he wasn't a gifted hitter like Donny Potato but a guy on the fringes who had to work hard to gain a platoon role and flourished. guys like that tends to master all the ins and outs of the game and I am sure he will be a much better tactician than Mattingly from day 1. he is an energetic guy too, but only issue I would have with him is to have the manager of my beloved dodgers be younger than myself. having grown up on Tommy, my ideal image of dodger manager has always been a father figure type, not a younger brother type lol.

I like Dave Martinez too. I also think Tim Wallach deserves a shot as well. I don't like Ron Roenicke. he was the one who did not do his job as a 3rd base coach when Daniel Murphy ran wild on us all the way to third from the first on a walk.

I dunno how I feel about Bud. I suppose him being an ex pitcher and a pitching coach, he would have a lot to offer to Kersh and the rest of the staff, but I was never impressed with him in SD even in his manager of the year season. do you guys remember their epic collapse at the end of the season to blow their division lead?

I don't want Bob Geren. aside from the similar discontent his players felt about Bob's illogical management of his pitching staff as Potato, his wife's name is beatlejuice.

for candidates that are yet discussed, Brad Ausmus, Brent Mayne, and possibly AJ Hinch intrigues me.

Don't forget Scioscia can still opt out of his deal when the World Series is over.

Somehow, I'm less than thrilled with how things ended between him and Jerry Dipoto and I, like many others, don't think he'd mesh well here.

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/2015-mlb-playoffs-bullpen-managers-mike-matheny-joe-girardi/
check where Bud and Scioscia rank on this article….and look at where overrated Matheny is.

Ausmus is going back to Detroit as far as I can tell.
and why on earth would AJ Hinch leave his current gig? He has an opt out clause? That's a top 5 job right now if you ask me.

yeah AJ would have been a pipe dream, and unlikely. Brad appears to be determined to make the losing situation work too. Brent Mayne doesn't have much experience as a manager but if Gabe Kapler is the leading man, it's a wash.

I love Mike Scioscia, but he is not the right guy for our team as of now. if he couldn't work with Dipoto, there is no way he can work with Andrew and Co.

as for Bud, as I mentioned, yeah pitching staff will benefit immensely from his presence, no doubt. but if you were to look into his actual Ws and Ls versus Pythagorean numbers, his gain in last 3 seasons or so with +2 or +1 gets demolished with his -9 season and other net negative seasons. he is calling the pen right, no doubt. I am not sure about his ability to maximize the batsmen. the fall out that happened with Grandal against his pitchers should not have happened, and this is one reason I am always advocating for an ex catcher as a manager.

If Bud is our manager, at least I can sleep well that he won't be blowing up the bullpen at the worst moment. but I have to wonder how much would he be willing to install the front office's statistical data to make extreme shifts in the infield at times? how would be react when his personal favorite utility infielder is sent down for a guy who can swing without a position? Bud to me is very old school in the mold of Mike Scioscia. there are GMs who can work with that and win, but our FO is the new school. we need a new school of thought faithful for the next manager for this thing to work, imo.

I wouldn't mind being found wrong if Bud is hired and win this damn thing all the way to the top. but as of now, I am welcoming the possibility of Gabe with open arms. I just wonder how some of the old dudes on the team like Gonzo would think of having a manager who is his peer.

Yea. I wonder how much Bud would be open to information. To Donnie's credit, it was nice to see him implement information. I wonder how much he did implement information and I'd like to know who was behind the Brett Anderson Game 3 call. My betting money is the metrics said Wood and Donnie's feel said Brett Anderson….I have no evidence of that. Could be totally wrong. Just my guess

What I'm not liking about Gabe is the fact that he's Friedman's boy. I don't want Friedman's puppet managing this team. I want someone who is going to give them pushback and challenge them, not just accept everything they say. If not, Friedman can come down and manage the team. He also seems very fun loving. Ramona Shellburne said that the front office might have a problem with how loose the clubhouse was (riding around on level boards that could get you hurt or being too casual after losses). I have no idea how Gabe Kapler will be on a day to day basis but just watching him on Fox, he seems way too fun loving to ever put his foot in someone's ass when he needs to…..which is part of the reason I like your idea of wanting a father figure type.


Looked into the AJ Hinch thing. Apparently the Astros have to give him permission to interview with us. Guess it would be weird if he wants to interview here and they tell him no but it has happened before. He's worked with Byrnes before as his skipper in Arizona and in SD's front office. I think we'll approach him about the job…..but we both agree…i doubt anything materializes. I expect Houston to block this.

[Neddy]

What I'm not liking about Gabe is the fact that he's Friedman's boy. I don't want Friedman's puppet managing this team. I want someone who is going to give them pushback and challenge them, not just accept everything they say. If not, Friedman can come down and manage the team. He also seems very fun loving. Ramona Shellburne said that the front office might have a problem with how loose the clubhouse was (riding around on level boards that could get you hurt or being too casual after losses). I have no idea how Gabe Kapler will be on a day to day basis but just watching him on Fox, he seems way too fun loving to ever put his foot in someone's ass when he needs to…..which is part of the reason I like your idea of wanting a father figure type.

I don't think Andrew having "his boy" to manage his team is a bad thing at all. when the GM and field manager are not seeing things eye to eye, that team is bound to fail. Andrew is above the GM, as the team's president of baseball operations. if a field manager doesn't get along or have same general idea of how he wants things done on field, it will be a disaster for all parties involved.

here are the essential qualities in the next manager we need.

1) better tactician. ability to make the right pitching changes and use the bench right. able to give enough at bats without running players to the ground, a la Turner and previous years Kershaw. I think this is where Bud shines, at least for the pen managing.

2) lead this group of men from all different walks of lives without imploding. Donny got a lot of credit for this but after seeing how Puig was handled, how Ethier went after him in game 5, I believe this sentiment is limited to certain players only. we need a manager who can unit the team believing in one mission and that is to win it all. I don't know if anyone out there has that quality. maybe Dusty Baker but don't want him.

3) this is where Gabe is the clear winner. a field manager with the same vision as the FO to translate the type of players the team has been assembled to be more than just a sum of its parts. this is all Donny was capable of, he was not able to create any synergy at all. if the FO made a commitment to enforce better defense on the field, that team's manager must find ways to play those defensively superior players on the field. Joc was clearly the best CF on the team. he wasn't on the field when it counted the most. Joc still got on base better than Acides Escobar even when he couldn't hit a thing. and you don't put a guy struggling to get a good pitch to hit in the 8th hole where he will never see anything remotely in the zone with a fastball. Joc needed to be in the 7th hole or move the pitcher's spot up and put Joc in the 9th hole. to have another batsman behind him, it would force the pitchers to throw strikes and at certain counts a fastball right down the middle. with a pitcher's spot behind him, he will be pitched around and totally took him out of any real chance to get his groove back, especially Donny stopped playing him for a long stretch at times. I think this was because Donny and big Mack tried to change the rookie's approach at the plate, and Joc is a quintessential anti-Mattingly in the box. Mattingly rarely struck out but he rarely walked either. he was a gifted hitter in the mold of Tony Gywnn type and not really a power hitter. Mattingly was not a believer of working the counts. his big thing was putting the ball in play. I believe it is our coaching staff that probably screwed him up and blamed the kid for being unable to catch up. that is a down right terrible teaching job they have done. I wish to have guys like Dave Hansen or Olmedo Saenz as our hitting instructors. guys who were not a natural, gifted hitters but dudes who really had to learn from various angles to get it figured out, carved out their small niche and built a strong career out of it. guys who had to learn something different at every level.

anywho, whomever we get, could not be any worse than Mattingly. like i have been saying for a very long time, there is a reason why the Yanks overlooked him after a decade of publicly grooming him to be their field manager and went with Joe Giradi, which was the right choice.

[Ranma]

I'm obviously glad to see the Dodgers move on from Don Mattingly, but I want to point out that the Dodgers' failings was a shared responsibility by its players, particularly the hitters and fielders, as well as their manager. Having said that, it was time to move in a new direction. Donnie Baseball was good at managing a clubhouse but it was clear that he was not fit for the team's inclination towards sabermetrics nor was he adept as a tactician. I've advocated for patience on his behalf in the past, but it was clear that he is overmatched for the situation.

I liken Mattingly to Vinny Del Negro. He's a nice stopgap measure who works best with young ballclubs with lowered expectations but out of his depth when the stakes are raised. As such, he was a temporary solution to keep the seat warm until a better solution presented itself. The funny thing is that such a solution was available quickly upon Andrew Friedman's arrival to the Dodgers in the form of Joe Maddon. While most would admonish him for not immediately replacing Mattingly with Maddon, I give Friedman credit for giving Mattingly the opportunity to prove himself rather than go with the more comfortable route with the familiar face. Plus, it now allows Friedman to prove himself without tying it to the success of Maddon.

Going back to Mattingly, his questionable decision-making and laid back approach to letting things sort themselves out proved to be too much to overcome in another early postseason exit. Observers will point to his successful win-loss record during the regular season, but ignore his lackluster postseason record where it counts most. The ironic thing is that he is inclined to play small ball but he was unable to prepare his Dodgers team to commit to such an approach and that fault lies as much with the front office as it does with the players. Still, as he points out in his final Dodgers press conference, the lineup card was his despite all the input he's received from the front office.

There's been plenty of maneuvers that backfired, which have illustrated his shortcomings including going with Baez to relieve Kershaw in Game 1 instead of Hatcher. Baez might have had overall better numbers but it was clear to anyone following Dodgers baseball that Hatcher was the reliable reliever given the recent performances. This just showed a lack of feel for the situation on Mattingly's part.

The easy steal of 3B by Daniel Murphy in Game 5 may be pointed to either Greinke or Seager, but it was the manager's responsibility to prepare his players for such a scenario as the resulting walk given the defensive shift alignment. Despite Zaidi's praise of Mattingly's pregame preparedness, it apparently showed that such courtesy wasn't extended to his players.

The public tirade by Andre Ethier directed at Mattingly showed his lack of command and respect of the clubhouse when it mattered most. It was a key turning point that changed the mood of the team, which the Dodgers never recovered from. While I blame Ethier more than anyone else, it didn't help Mattingly's cause either.

In the end, Mattingly just was not able to fully adjust to the team or situation handed to him, thus the ill fit. He was given a team built on pitching and defense yet played questionable defenders in key roles. Despite the struggles of scoring runs with RISP, he continued to sit back and continue on with the feast-or-famine approach of overly relying on the homerun. His questionable use of the bullpen and substitions of hitter and fielders defied logic at times. He was also bad at not only implementing a running game but even standard baserunning with balls in play before Ron Roenicke's arrival.

Don Mattingly just had too many shortcomings and displayed a lack of progress in improving on those faults. While he is open to new ideas and information, it was clear he was not comfortable in applying such knowledge into his approach towards the game.

In addition to all that, lest we forget that he's been insecure about managing on a short-term deal. He voiced his displeasure in a press conference towards managing on a 1-year deal as having a "lame duck" status. The organization eventually extended him, but with just 1 year left on his current deal, Mattingly supposedly was offered a short-term extension to alleviate his anxiety before deciding to move on. As it stands, the Dodgers will be paying his 2016 salary for him not to manage the team. Enough said.

I guess that will do. I've had my fill of talking about Don Mattingly and look forward to turning the page. With that in mind, I'll go over my thoughts on the current replacement candidates in the next post.

[Ranma]

This is actually a great opportunity for the new front office to shine. Friedman obviously hired Joe Maddon as manager during his time in Tampa Bay before his success led him to Chicago, but Josh Byrne also hired A.J. Hinch as the Diamondbacks' manager before Hinch's current successful run with the Astros. Given those recent examples, it seems like the Dodgers are in good hands to find the next rising star among the managerial ranks.

The Dodgers job is arguably the most sought-after position in MLB circles, so there should be no shortage of viable candidates to interview and, while there could be some other names to pop up on the radar as well as a plethora of current candidates not cited, the current top 5 candidates are as follows in order of my preference:

1. Tim Wallach
2. Dave Martinez
3. Gabe Kapler
4. Bud Black
5. Ron Roenicke

Tim Wallach reminds me of Mike Scioscia in that he's spent years within the Dodgers organization being groomed to be a manager. While I'm not as high on him as I was with Scioscia, he's respected in the clubhouse due to his passion for the game as well as his solid grasp of tactical strategy and is also considered a quality communicator. I like that he's also old-school as I just don't want a yes-man from the front office. Plus, he's paid his dues for several years managing AAA as well as serving on a Major League staff. Not only that, he's also proven to have an eye for talent and fit for the organization as the Dodgers signed Justin Turner based on his recommendation. However, fair or not, Wallach may be viewed as more of maintaining the status quo rather than going in an entirely new direction, which I personally don't think is actually necessary.

Dave Martinez has been Joe Maddon's top lieutenant for several years and, while he's collaborated with and learned from Maddon, he's also been responsible for handling the various responsibilities and minutiae in details that allows Maddon to manage from a big-picture perspective. Martinez's fluency in Spanish is seen as an asset with Latin players but he's also an infectious personality that relates well to all players in keeping a clubhouse loose. Will he be able to maintain such a jovial approach or separate from it as the boss? In any case, the Cubs players have been impressed with how prepared Maddon and Martinez have been and, having worked with Friedman previously in Tampa Bay and the Cubs, Martinez is comfortable with working with advanced analytics and implementing them into the game plan.

Gabe Kapler is seen as the current favorite since he was among Friedman's early hires upon his arrival as the Dodgers' President of Baseball Operations. While Kapler is currently Director of Player Development, he did manage a Class-A club in the Red Sox organization in 2007. Kapler is seen as an up-and-comer who is an advocate for advance analytics as well as being an expert communicator. While he also has experience as an ex-ballplayer, his progressive approach may be too advanced for the veterans' comfort level. Plus, he would likely be seen as more a part of the front office than the clubhouse. Personally, I think it's too early to have Kapler step into the role of manager as he could use further seasoning, but it remains to be seen if the front office recognizes this.

Bud Black, like A.J. Hinch, was hired by Josh Byrne but for the San Diego Padres. He was the National League Manager of the Year in 2010 and, at approximately 9 years, has the most experience on this list as a Major League manager. He's considered one of the best handlers of the bullpens in baseball. The question is will Black be open to front office input and capable of implementing some of the statistically-based suggestions supplied to him.

Ron Roenicke has been a godsend as the Dodgers' 3B coach in 2015 and also has over 4 years of experience as a Major League manager. Despite being drafted by the Dodgers and playing as well as coaching for them, does he really have enough experience to be familiar with the current administration? That's neither here nor there, but in the end, Roenicke is likely wanted more to return to the bench coaching staff rather than get more than obligatory consideration for the open job as manager.

Right now, I only consider there to be 3 serious candidates for the Dodgers' manager position with Wallach and Martinez the standouts with the best qualifications. A darkhorse candidate I'd like to see get consideration is Larry Bowa but he may be too old-school for the current front office.

[Neddy]

Donny Potato is now Miami' problem. good luck, and they will need it.

[Quake Griffin]

Yep.

Bud Black to the Nats as well.
No more discussing him as a potential candidate.

[Ranma]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/Ken_Rosenthal/status/660183079949090816[/tweet]
[tweet]https://twitter.com/jcrasnick/status/657605125481992193[/tweet]

[Quake Griffin]

Well.

Looks like Erstad has the experience and scores high marks from Mike Scioscia.

He grew up in the AL and coaches CBB. Hope the feel of the NL game isn't too different for him if he gets the job. Not a bad interviewee if you ask me…particularly looking at his track record.

[Neddy]

Im sure its just them doing their due diligence and nothing more. Darin is the first to interview and there will be plenty more. Dave Roberts will get his too, then Dave Martinez and Gabe Kapler will be the last two to go with a few more feelers in between. I would be extremely shocked if we go this route and hire Erstad.

[Ranma]

I don't know enough about Erstad--or Roberts, for that matter--to have a feeling about their respective candidacies, but like Neddy says, it's the Dodgers doing their due diligence. Still, it says something that they are even given consideration. While Kapler and Martinez are likely atop the leaderboard, you just never know where the next great manager will come from. Plus, we may come across some finds for other managerial positions at other levels of the organization (e.g. Class A, AA, etc.) or even a bench coach or two.

In spite of the tone of the article below, I'm not bemoaning the missed opportunity in losing out on Chris Young. Like I've said before, pitching wasn't really the problem with our postseason failure.

Also, I'm curious if we have anyone lined up to be our pitching coach in a year or two after Honeycutt.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/jonmorosi/status/660523000895111168[/tweet]
[tweet]https://twitter.com/jonmorosi/status/660523416508764162[/tweet]

Jon Paul Morosi, FoxSports.com (10/31/15)

In early March, Chris Young was on the verge of signing a minor-league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Then the Kansas City Royals called, offering a one-year, major-league deal with a $675,000 base salary.

That is how the Royals acquired the man who will start Game 4 of the World Series for them on Saturday night.
...

Indeed, there is great irony in the Dodgers -- with their record-setting $300 million payroll -- refusing to guarantee Young a one-year, $675,000 contract. The Dodgers' reticence likely had to do with the multiple shoulder surgeries Young underwent earlier in his career. But the fact is that Young has been very healthy since the true source of his injury -- thoracic outlet syndrome -- was properly identified and repaired surgically in 2013.

The industry's general lack of interest was more stunning, considering Young was named AL Comeback Player of the Year with Seattle last year after going 12-9 with a 3.65 ERA. But Young doesn't throw especially hard, and baseball teams are enamored with velocity -- now, it seems, more than ever.

Royals' Bargain Buy Chris Young Can Swing World Series in Game 4

[Neddy]

Chris Young would have been sent down to AAA for most of season and gotten called up, pitch terribly in the first couple of starts then would have gotten released.

if anyone wants to look at a pitcher who could have made a great impact for us this season, how about Edinson Volquez? we had him for a half a season, then we let him go when we could have had him cheap because of his career low numbers then. look at him now, about to start the probable series winning game 5 for the Royals. we almost had Chris Young but we already had Edinson Volquez.

anywho, what's in the past is already gone and done with.

my hope for our pursuit of free agent pitching is leaning heavily on a righty, regardless who it is. we have Kershaw, Ryu is making it back, and if we manage and watch his innings right, Urias will get a call up in September and be ready for a pot in the playoff rotation. we are about to be very left hand strong, especially assuming Brett Anderson will take his tender.

[Quake Griffin]

Analytics can take you a long way but they can't do it all.
Terry Collins came up small for those Metropolitans when it mattered most.


Please don't bring in another dumb tactician….there's not enough information in the world that can stop an idiot from being an idiot.

[Ranma]

I'm totally with you about Edinson Volquez as I was thinking the same thing when the Dodgers chose to not bring him back. I gave our staff the benefit of the doubt, but I thought another year in our system would have cured what ailed him. Instead we ended up going after Latos?!

Geez, I remember when Volquez and Johnny Cueto we practically co-aces for the Reds back in the day. Now they are World Series champions together for Kansas City. Seriously, I want our Dodgers to play like this season's Royals. That throw may have been off from 1B but it was initiated by the calculated risk and aggressive base running. Not to mention their resiliency and timely hitting to go along with the lockdown bullpen. True winners as baseball's new royalty and definitely something for us to aspire to.

[Ranma]

Analytics can take you a long way but they can't do it all.
Terry Collins came up small for those Metropolitans when it mattered most.


Please don't bring in another dumb tactician….there's not enough information in the world that can stop an idiot from being an idiot.

I like Collins. He may not have been a smart tactician but you can't fault him for going with Matt Harvey in the 9th when he wanted to go out there after breezing through the two innings prior, especially after Familia's previous performance. Now I guess you could argue he should have pulled him after the walk, but I still would have stuck with Harvey to pull himself out of that jam for one more batter. Obviously, that didn't turn out well, but Familia wasn't exactly clutch despite his stat line.

[Quake Griffin]

Chris Young would have been sent down to AAA for most of season and gotten called up, pitch terribly in the first couple of starts then would have gotten released.

if anyone wants to look at a pitcher who could have made a great impact for us this season, how about Edinson Volquez? we had him for a half a season, then we let him go when we could have had him cheap because of his career low numbers then. look at him now, about to start the probable series winning game 5 for the Royals. we almost had Chris Young but we already had Edinson Volquez.

anywho, what's in the past is already gone and done with.

my hope for our pursuit of free agent pitching is leaning heavily on a righty, regardless who it is. we have Kershaw, Ryu is making it back, and if we manage and watch his innings right, Urias will get a call up in September and be ready for a pot in the playoff rotation. we are about to be very left hand strong, especially assuming Brett Anderson will take his tender.

you think so on Chris Young? We stuck with Latos, JJ and Peralta through poor stretches.

I still think it's a good sign….our information has to be top notch. We were in on Chris Young and Trevor Cahill, actually had Cahill in our system.…both turned out to be solid pieces for playoff bullpens. We hit on Magic Mike. Ian Thomas gave us one electric start that I thought helped us through a stretch during the regular season.

I take it as a positive…though I know some of our fans are annoyed want more from a $300 million team than finding cheap arms that may or may not work.

[Neddy]

I am not a religious man nor do I care for supernaturalism.. but if there ever was anything close to fate, this was it. I believe it would not have mattered one bit, Yeah Terry Collins just made Matt Harvey do his best impression to Pedro's "yankees are my daddy" act, but the way the Royals has been in this playoff run, from coming back after being down 1-2 to the Astros and to beat them back to back in elimination games, then dispatch the Jays who probably had the best offense among the championship series teams in both leagues, and to befuddle the best starting pitching rotation in all baseball of Harvey-deGrom-Syndergaard-Matz, they also just had dismantled Familia just a game before. IF Terry had made the call to bring in Familia, Jeury would have gotten destroyed and we would be asking why he didn't keep the dark knight in for one more inning.

but my hats off to Terry Collins and his Mets. they weren't supposed to be here, but the Royals were. Harvey has I believe 4 more seasons to go before he is a free agent, and deGrom and Syndergaard has 5 more years to go with Matz a full 6 year limits. they are stacked and they come cheap. great job done by Sandy Alderson and Paul dePodesta. I am so sorry we could not have held on to Paul. just for the record, I used to run a site called dodger math .com and thought dePodesta was the best thing happened to the dodgers since Jackie Robinson.

[Quake Griffin]

i know Ranma didn't like Paul.
lol, he wanted to bring Terry Collins to LAD.
PASS.

but hey…we might have a pennant at least if he was here this whole time.

[Ranma]

i know Ranma didn't like Paul.
lol, he wanted to bring Terry Collins to LAD.
PASS.

but hey…we might have a pennant at least if he was here this whole time.

I just want to make sure to clarify that I like Terry Collins since he's been classy as an opponent and he's really not a half-bad manager, but that doesn't mean I'd want him to manage the Dodgers. Likewise, I could easily be convinced to have DePodesta back in the fold in the front office under Friedman and Zaidi, but there's no way I would want him at the helm and in control of things with regards to our personnel management and development again.

[Ranma]

Both Rosenthal and Plaschke are reporting that Dave Roberts has impressed the front office in his interview for the Dodgers' managerial position. While Rosenthal maintains that Gabe Kapler is still the favorite, Plaschke thinks that Roberts is now the front-runner. Plaschke stated that Friedman and his team were initially set to name Kapler as their preferred selection to be the Dodgers' next skipper, but ownership supposedly encouraged them to look at other candidates for a more balanced and diverse pool of candidates. The final decision is still thought to be in Friedman's hands.

Both Rosenthal and Plaschke are playing up the historic nature of naming Roberts, an African-American of Japanese descent, as the organization's first minority manager, particularly in the context of the current environment where recently-named Dusty Baker is the only minority representative in the managerial ranks of Major League Baseball. However, both were careful to say that Roberts shouldn't be hired because of such societal significance but for his actual qualifications for doing the job. Rosenthal notes Roberts' energy, personality, and the beloved respect he has around the league in citing that he came in a "very close" second to Scott Servais for the Mariners' manager job. Plaschke lauds Roberts' grittiness as an overachiever whose ego won't be too big to embrace new ideas as an ideal choice for a team of possibly complacent underachievers.

While Roberts' emergence makes him an intriguing darkhorse candidate, I take away something a little different from this recent turn of events. Right now, the Dodgers are half-way through their initial interviews for approximately 10 candidates they've identified. Kapler may be the favorite from the outside given his relationship to Friedman and his current position within the organization, but the Roberts interview signals to me that Friedman, Zaidi & Co. may be more open to reconsidering their initial choice assuming that they weren't before the process began.

Also, I've yet to hear that Dave Martinez has come in for an interview. If he hasn't already, then based on the response to Roberts, Martinez still has an opportunity to wow the front office with similar energy and personality but with more experience and likely more familiar perspective.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/Ken_Rosenthal/status/661684725833142272[/tweet]
[tweet]https://twitter.com/Ken_Rosenthal/status/661781095155937280[/tweet]
[tweet]https://twitter.com/BillShaikin/status/661771915032264704[/tweet]