DODGERS TAKING NOTES FROM RECENT WORLD SERIES WINNERS: Part Moneyball Part Win The Dam Game
“I think we have a methodology that is extremely detailed and thorough in evaluating both what we have and what we need, and creative in how we go about filling whatever needs we have” - Stan Kasten
The Dodgers are coming
off a season where they won 94 games winning the NL West for the fourth time in
the last seven seasons sounds pretty good right? The only thing is they have
made zero World Series appearances. The roster flaws that have been costing them
in October become all too clear this season. The Dodgers were a dominant
regular season team but they simply weren’t built for deep playoff runs. It became clear to ownership that Ned Collette
had taken the Dodgers as far as he could. A change was needed so exit Colletti
and enter one the premiere baseball minds in the game in Andrew Friedman as he
was given the title President of Baseball Operations. Obvious alert: This was a
huge upgrade and absolutely vital to make to take the next step forward as an
organization in search of a championship. Notice all the teams that have been winning
the majority of World Series lately have had excellent GM and Manager duos? Boston, Cardinals & Giants. Friedman then
added Farhan Zaidi to be his General Manager and Josh Byrnes a former GM
himself to be his Vice President of Ops . All 3 of them highly regarded as top
level baseball brains and together they form the decision making trinity, The
Dream Team if you will. This signified a new era in Dodgers baseball. In the socialist revenue sharing and luxury
tax era it is no longer viable to just throw money at your problems the Dodgers
needed to get smarter to work around the CBA and they apparently did.
I have identified 5 ways the new front office improved a 94 Win teams chances at short as well as long term success.
1. Upgraded Defense
Let’s Start by penciling in Joc Pederson in CF the organizations best option, by doing so it allows you to move Yasiel Puig back to RF which now upgrades that spot defensively. Matt Kemp's defensive metrics show he simply a good OF anymore. So on paper they improved in CF as well as RF.
Let’s move to the infield, The Dodgers replaced one of the worst defensive SS in all of baseball with Jimmy Rollins who ranked number 1 last year in SS fielding percentage. http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/fielding/_/position/ss/order/true We all remember the bleeder up the middle that Hanley couldn't get in the playoffs that cost Clayton Kershaw.
Yasmani Grandal coming over from the Padres a former 1st round pick is entering his prime years and it’s widely known around baseball for being the best pitch framer in game, on the contrary metrics show AJ Ellis as not being strong in a stat category at all. A stat Andrew Friedman values significantly, remember Friedman rolled with Jose Molina in Tampa who rates the best framing catcher since the stat was introduced. So in Grandal you get upgrade defensively as well as gain about 15 more HR offensively out of the catcher position as well. Dee Gordon was far from a Gold Glove caliber 2B, Howie Kendrick is a slight upgrade defensively. The real kicker is the Dodgers get a middle of the order type bat to help offset some of the production lost. Remember Kendrick hit cleanup for the Angels at times.
The Dodgers upgraded at 5 positions defensively This pitching staff doesn’t need a lot of runs scored for them. Name a team to win a World Series with defense as bad as Hanley & Gordon manning the middle? You can’t.
2. Roster flexiblity.
How many outfielders is too many? Did you really want 1/3 of the the 25 man roster to be made up of OF? It's clear they did not want to trade their now perennial All- Star Yasiel Puig & Stan Kasten has made it clear they want one of their home grown talents to crack the starting lineup so they want to see what Joc Pederson can do. With those 2 off the table Matt Kemp was the asset with the most trade value, given Andre Ethier is simply unproductive and Carl Crawford's health is always a question mark and of course both those contracts are out of control. On top of that they have a very undervalued Scott Van Slyke who would probably hit 25 HR if given the ABs. Not being able to move Andre Ethier basically forced the Kemp trade in my book.
How many outfielders is too many? Did you really want 1/3 of the the 25 man roster to be made up of OF? It's clear they did not want to trade their now perennial All- Star Yasiel Puig & Stan Kasten has made it clear they want one of their home grown talents to crack the starting lineup so they want to see what Joc Pederson can do. With those 2 off the table Matt Kemp was the asset with the most trade value, given Andre Ethier is simply unproductive and Carl Crawford's health is always a question mark and of course both those contracts are out of control. On top of that they have a very undervalued Scott Van Slyke who would probably hit 25 HR if given the ABs. Not being able to move Andre Ethier basically forced the Kemp trade in my book.
3. Kept top
prospects.
Andrew Friedman has managed to completely overhaul his roster without giving up the Big 3 prized possessions. They managed to keep Corey Seager some scouts describe as the next Troy Tulowitski, Julio Urias a 18 year left hander who had a sub 2.5 era this season and of course they kept Joc Pederson. The Dodgers seem to be part moneyball with a splash of win the damn game. They won’t be afraid to spend on key pieces but they understand keeping one eye on the present and one on the future is the correct approach. While it's universally believed the Dodgers aren't done making moves what's clear is The Dodgers have all of their trade bullets still available. The Dodgers picked up Jimmy Rollins to hold down the fort while Seager gets ready, Howie Kendrick has 1 yr left and that could possibly open up a spot for Alex Guerrero or someone else. Dodgers decided to dump Kemp with that big contract and beat up body to clear space for the younger controllable mega prospect.
Andrew Friedman has managed to completely overhaul his roster without giving up the Big 3 prized possessions. They managed to keep Corey Seager some scouts describe as the next Troy Tulowitski, Julio Urias a 18 year left hander who had a sub 2.5 era this season and of course they kept Joc Pederson. The Dodgers seem to be part moneyball with a splash of win the damn game. They won’t be afraid to spend on key pieces but they understand keeping one eye on the present and one on the future is the correct approach. While it's universally believed the Dodgers aren't done making moves what's clear is The Dodgers have all of their trade bullets still available. The Dodgers picked up Jimmy Rollins to hold down the fort while Seager gets ready, Howie Kendrick has 1 yr left and that could possibly open up a spot for Alex Guerrero or someone else. Dodgers decided to dump Kemp with that big contract and beat up body to clear space for the younger controllable mega prospect.
4. Streamline
payroll.
The Dodgers have a out of control payroll because they wanted to become competitive right away and picking up all those Red Sox was simply used as a quick fix to make the team more exciting but it was never their intention to keep adding on to the payroll. Baseball has made it tough on clubs with the luxury tax getting up to the point of matching dollar for dollar if over the cap. While they won't be afraid to spend to win they needed to reallocate funds and spend a little more wisely. Dumping Kemp's contract opens up the option to go after a high priced player that could fit into a position they actually need via picking up a contract via trade or free agency.
5. Improved team chemistry.
Do you think it was easy for Don Mattingly to juggle the OF situation last year? It was dysfunctional. How about adding Pederson into the mix this year? Andre Ethier already was crying he wanted to start or be traded and that happened in December over a 100 days before the season starts. How about letting 2 injury plagued starters on the wrong side of age thirty and replacing them with guys about to enter their primes.
Matt Kemp has shown he doesn't perform when you play him in LF his production falls off the table dramatically its almost like he pouts when stuck out there. Don Mattingly has said Kemp will never play CF again as long he is the manager. Why would he say that? Well Kemp has lost his quickness, he is no longer that explosive player anymore and forget about being a good CF he barely holds his own in RF. Face it Dodger fans Yasiel Puig is the future, he is controllable on decent contract, he is several seasons from even entering his prime and he is already a 2 time All Star and 1 of 3 players currently playing to have received MVP votes in every season he has played (Miguel Cabrera & Jose Abreu are the other 2 players). With Puig with his best days ahead - Matt Kemp appears to be on the decline, I believe Friedman and the trinity thinks what Kemp did in the 2nd half last season was Matt's absolute peak. While it hurts to trade him off for what appears to be a unsexy return you need to look at the big picture.
The Dodgers have a out of control payroll because they wanted to become competitive right away and picking up all those Red Sox was simply used as a quick fix to make the team more exciting but it was never their intention to keep adding on to the payroll. Baseball has made it tough on clubs with the luxury tax getting up to the point of matching dollar for dollar if over the cap. While they won't be afraid to spend to win they needed to reallocate funds and spend a little more wisely. Dumping Kemp's contract opens up the option to go after a high priced player that could fit into a position they actually need via picking up a contract via trade or free agency.
5. Improved team chemistry.
Do you think it was easy for Don Mattingly to juggle the OF situation last year? It was dysfunctional. How about adding Pederson into the mix this year? Andre Ethier already was crying he wanted to start or be traded and that happened in December over a 100 days before the season starts. How about letting 2 injury plagued starters on the wrong side of age thirty and replacing them with guys about to enter their primes.
Matt Kemp has shown he doesn't perform when you play him in LF his production falls off the table dramatically its almost like he pouts when stuck out there. Don Mattingly has said Kemp will never play CF again as long he is the manager. Why would he say that? Well Kemp has lost his quickness, he is no longer that explosive player anymore and forget about being a good CF he barely holds his own in RF. Face it Dodger fans Yasiel Puig is the future, he is controllable on decent contract, he is several seasons from even entering his prime and he is already a 2 time All Star and 1 of 3 players currently playing to have received MVP votes in every season he has played (Miguel Cabrera & Jose Abreu are the other 2 players). With Puig with his best days ahead - Matt Kemp appears to be on the decline, I believe Friedman and the trinity thinks what Kemp did in the 2nd half last season was Matt's absolute peak. While it hurts to trade him off for what appears to be a unsexy return you need to look at the big picture.
@Ken_Rosenthal: #Dodgers know they will be sharply criticized
for Kemp return. Had surplus in OF, hole at SS, need for Overall roster upgrade was goal.
