Interesting article about the front office

[duke1861]

Letters: Dodgers need more than a 1-2 punch - LA Times

Interesting article and it brings up several points that I can't refute. Of course some of this is out of the Friedman's hands but looking back:

1. We should have not signed McCarthy given his injury history.
2. The reliever trades from Tampa haven't panned out at all (Peralta has been ok)
3. Should we really have traded Dee Gordon?
4. How much knowledge did they have about Buehler's injury and did they know that Funkhouser was leaning toward going back to school unless he got Top 10 money?

Of course good moves have been made as well such as the Kemp trade. Bottom line is that this trade deadline can hopefully correct some errors that they made. We need a set-up man and a #3 starter. If we can get both without gutting the farm, we should be ok. That being said, I was surprised at how many moves the FO made in the off-season that have not worked out as we all thought.

 

[Villain]

1. We should have not signed McCarthy given his injury history.

He still has 3 years left, so he could still prove valuable. Every FA signing has risk. He was the best choice in the market at the time, IMHO. In other threads I have expressed why I don't think his injury history should've made us think a UCL tear would be inevitable. I still don't think they are connected.

2. The reliever trades from Tampa haven't panned out at all (Peralta has been ok)

Aren't you the one who said that Liberatore should have a permanent call up and that was a "no-brainer"..? I think that was a great trade. Dominguez has pitched all of 5 innings for Tampa this year.

3. Should we really have traded Dee Gordon?

Yep. Dee Gordon has been only slightly better than Howie Kendrick offensively this year (and he's really taken a tumble lately). His OBP has been less that .300 since June 1. Kendrick is also better than Gordon on defense.

Don't forget about Austin Barnes and Kike Hernandez. Man, that was an awesome trade.

4. How much knowledge did they have about Buehler's injury and did they know that Funkhouser was leaning toward going back to school unless he got Top 10 money?

They probably didn't know about Buehler, they probably did know about Funkhouser. They were probably just hoping that they could talk him into signing anyways.

Of course good moves have been made as well such as the Kemp trade. Bottom line is that this trade deadline can hopefully correct some errors that they made. We need a set-up man and a #3 starter. If we can get both without gutting the farm, we should be ok. That being said, I was surprised at how many moves the FO made in the off-season that have not worked out as we all thought.

McCarthy and the draft are the only real flops, at this moment. The decision to sign McCarthy was absolutely defensible at the time and it's only 20/20 hindsight that he know how it ended up with that town UCL.

Also, don't forget to show some love to the Front Office for Brett Anderson.

 

[duke1861]

Good points Villain-

1. It seems like McCarthy had only 1 good year (2014) and he has had injury problems. You are correct in that next year he could be outstanding. Its too early to tell of course. Hopefully he works out.

2. Yes, I said that Liberatore should have been a call up and I said he could be an anchor to the pen. At this point, I am 100% wrong. I am willing to admit that. Bottom line, we put a tremendous amount of faith in the Rays pitchers (Peralta and Liberatore) and Marlins trade (Hatcher) and it has been a major disappointment. Bottom line is that we need stable relief pitchers. Tsao got got lit up tonight.

3. I agree that Kendrick is a better player. However, Gordon addressed 2 issues we don't have: a leadoff hitter and speed. We have neither now. Also Gordon would be under team control for the next 2 years I believe. If Kendrick walks after this year, the trade would be a major strike against the team. I do like Barnes and Hernandez but I don't think either one is more than a back-up. Barnes could be a good trade chip this year. Grandal is excellent and I don't see Barnes taking his spot. Perhaps he could be a stellar back-up.

4. Still not sure why we drafted Funkhouser. I agree that Buehler's injury was probably concealed.

I agree that Anderson was a great signing. However, we need back-end help ASAP and we need relief help. I feel bad for Zach Lee. I was hoping he would come out slinging tonite, but oh well. It happens and its not like he can be labeled a bust after 1 start. I was wanting him to take over that 5th starter spot. We need to figure out the rotation sooner than later and we need a set-up man. Thats all I am saying.

 

[GeekSportsFan]

Kike Hernandez is a diamond in the rough. A great find for the boys in blue.

 

[Smed55]

The McCarthy signing was a good signing, the guy has talent, you can't predict injuries, speaking of which, the front office didn't know RYU was going to get hurt. The McCarthy and Anderson signings were two good options for your 4th and 5th starters. On top of that, without the injuries Bolsinger would be toiling away where? He's been pretty good as a number 4 right now, remains to be seen whether he can continue for the remainder of the season, but if he does that totally offsets the injury to McCarthy. Normally you expect to get average numbers out of your 4 and 5 guys, and Bolsinger is exceeding that right now.

 

[Villain]

Holy shit, Smed... are you being... reasonable?

 

[Villain]

Joc Pederson is a better leadoff hitter than Dee Gordon. Yeah, he doesn't steal bases like Dee, but he's got wheels that are good enough for me.

As far as getting on base, they almost have the exact same OBP for the season. Gordon's statistical fall-off has been way worse. He doesn't get walks. It's safe to assume that it won't rebound by much for the rest of the year. Also, Joc has power that Gordon will NEVER have. The overrall point is that Joc brings way more to the table as a leadoff threat than Gordon ever did or will. Of course, they're not even apples-to-apples. Joc is an plus defensive CF. Dee Gordon is exciting at 2B, but he's not above average. Half of the excitement is the fact that he's likely to screw up.

All in all, that Dee Gordon trade was excellent. It didn't create a hole in the team that couldn't be filled. The Dodgers don't need to lead the NL in stolen bases if they're leading in home runs.

Also from the Dee Gordon trade was Chris Hatcher. I know I'm the only one on this forum that has any faith in him, but he's in the minors now. Maybe he can fix whatever it was that didn't work out and we just might end up with the reliever he was advertised to be. I'm not ready to give up on him yet.

 

[Smed55]

Joc Pederson is a better leadoff hitter than Dee Gordon. Yeah, he doesn't steal bases like Dee, but he's got wheels that are good enough for me.

As far as getting on base, they almost have the exact same OBP for the season. Gordon's statistical fall-off has been way worse. He doesn't get walks. It's safe to assume that it won't rebound by much for the rest of the year. Also, Joc has power that Gordon will NEVER have. The overrall point is that Joc brings way more to the table as a leadoff threat than Gordon ever did or will. Of


course, they're not even apples-to-apples. Joc is an plus defensive CF. Dee Gordon is exciting at 2B, but he's not above average. Half of the excitement is the fact that he's likely to screw up.

All in all, that Dee Gordon trade was excellent. It didn't create a hole in the team that couldn't be filled. The Dodgers don't need to lead the NL in stolen bases if they're leading in home runs.

Also from the Dee Gordon trade was Chris Hatcher. I know I'm the only one on this forum that has any faith in him, but he's in the minors now. Maybe he can fix whatever it was that didn't work out and we just might end up with the reliever he was advertised to be. I'm not ready to give up on him yet.

I can also live with Pederson as our leadoff hitter. But at the same time I'm not going to try and bash Dee Gordon, of course he's not going to ever have that power, but speed is a big thing to have, it's alot easier to get out of slumps with your speed even if you aren't hitting the ball that well. The Dodgers were considered a speed team last year, which really wasn't true, we had Gordan and Crawford, without them we are what we are this year, a power team?
Gordon may never win a gold glove, but 2nd base is still new to him and he does get to a lot of balls other guys wouldn't get to, he has improved from last year! He is your prototypical leadoff guy, he may not continue to hit .300 but even if he hits .280 he would be a great leadoff man for a lot of teams.

I also think Hatcher will be fine, he has good stuff, he's still young and he should get better!

 

[Smed55]

Holy shit, Smed... are you being... reasonable?

Funny stuff Villian, but no, I'm just seeing things as they are, like I always do!

 

[LASports96]

X3 on Hatcher being good.

 

[duke1861]

I can also live with Pederson as our leadoff hitter. But at the same time I'm not going to try and bash Dee Gordon, of course he's not going to ever have that power, but speed is a big thing to have, it's alot easier to get out of slumps with your speed even if you aren't hitting the ball that well. The Dodgers were considered a speed team last year, which really wasn't true, we had Gordan and Crawford, without them we are what we are this year, a power team?
Gordon may never win a gold glove, but 2nd base is still new to him and he does get to a lot of balls other guys wouldn't get to, he has improved from last year! He is your prototypical leadoff guy, he may not continue to hit .300 but even if he hits .280 he would be a great leadoff man for a lot of teams.

I also think Hatcher will be fine, he has good stuff, he's still young and he should get better!

Hatcher is 30 years old. Not sure that is really considered young at this point in his career. He is older than the league age average of 26. He might be going through a rough patch, but saying he is young is not true.

 

[duke1861]

X3 on Hatcher being good.

I hope you are right but there is nothing in his 4 year career that has indicated he is or will be good. I think we want him to be good and he has only been pitching exclusively for 4 years. He might need a few more years in the minors to figure it out.

 

[Villain]

I hope you are right but there is nothing in his 4 year career that has indicated he is or will be good. I think we want him to be good and he has only been pitching exclusively for 4 years. He might need a few more years in the minors to figure it out.

Umm... last year?

 

[Smed55]

Hatcher is 30 years old. Not sure that is really considered young at this point in his career. He is older than the league age average of 26. He might be going through a rough patch, but saying he is young is not true.

Sorry but to say he is not young, is not true! The league average means nothing, lots of players don't reach their prime years until they are 28-32. The guy has only been pitching for 4 years, so for a power pitcher he should still have a lot left in him. "but saying he is NOT young" is not true!

 

[duke1861]

Umm... last year?

You will probably disagree but according to his numbers last year, he was ok. This year he has clearly regressed for some reason. He is a Dodgers so I support him, but I do not have the same optimism that you all do.

We will have to disagree what young means as well.

Chris Hatcher Statistics and History | Baseball-Reference.com

 

[Villain]

You will probably disagree but according to his numbers last year, he was ok. This year he has clearly regressed for some reason. He is a Dodgers so I support him, but I do not have the same optimism that you all do.

We will have to disagree what young means as well.

Chris Hatcher Statistics and History | Baseball-Reference.com

Well 30 is an acceptable age for a middle relief pitcher. And yeah, as I said, he's in the minors figuring it out. All I said was that I'm not ready to give up on him yet.

What's your point in all this?

 

[duke1861]

I agree that 30 is acceptable but I think the poster was under the impression that Hatcher was 23 or 24 and a young pitcher. I was letting him know that he isn't that young.

My point is that the FO has the chance to get a front line starter and good reliever this week and I hope they take advantage of it. The majority of the pitchers we brought in for free agency or traded for have not given us the results we hoped for. As such, the FO has the chance now to address some it. Thats all I am saying.

 

[Villain]

I agree that 30 is acceptable but I think the poster was under the impression that Hatcher was 23 or 24 and a young pitcher. I was letting him know that he isn't that young.

My point is that the FO has the chance to get a front line starter and good reliever this week and I hope they take advantage of it. The majority of the pitchers we brought in for free agency or traded for have not given us the results we hoped for. As such, the FO has the chance now to address some it. Thats all I am saying.

Yeah, I think we can all agree with that.

 

[Smed55]

I agree that 30 is acceptable but I think the poster was under the impression that Hatcher was 23 or 24 and a young pitcher. I was letting him know that he isn't that young.

My point is that the FO has the chance to get a front line starter and good reliever this week and I hope they take advantage of it. The majority of the pitchers we brought in for free agency or traded for have not given us the results we hoped for. As such, the FO has the chance now to address some it. Thats all I am saying.

Well there you go, you don't know what I'm assuming, when actually I'm assuming nothing, I know exactly how "young" Hatcher is, he's only been pitching for 4 years, so 30 is relatively young for a power pitcher who hasn't been pitching that long, he's just now harnessing his pitching potential. Whether he lives up to his potential or not, obviously remains to be seen. The guy has a lot of upside regardless if "you" think he's "old" or not!

 

[Smed55]

I agree that 30 is acceptable but I think the poster was under the impression that Hatcher was 23 or 24 and a young pitcher. I was letting him know that he isn't that young.

My point is that the FO has the chance to get a front line starter and good reliever this week and I hope they take advantage of it. The majority of the pitchers we brought in for free agency or traded for have not given us the results we hoped for. As such, the FO has the chance now to address some it. Thats all I am saying.

Overall I think our bullpen has exceeded what "our" expectations were? For a bunch of unknowns they have done quite well. If you were to look at "every" team, almost all have struggled here and there, that's just how today's game is, there're only a few teams that have lights out bullpens, and even they go through their rough stretches!