Rob Neyer's column on new LA brain (and supporting star of Moneyball ) Paul DePodesta ... if the new owners let him do his job, the Dodgers should be good in 2-3 years.
In about 5 seasons, all you Cro-Magnon McCarvers are going to be downcast about all the winning franchises following sabermetric philosophies...
Full Version: Beane's lieutenant is new Dodger GM
Why did the Dodgers wait until every free agent of note has already signed before hiring a new GM? The timing of this seems pretty poor.
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George_vikingfan:
Why did the Dodgers wait until every free agent of note has already signed before hiring a new GM? The timing of this seems pretty poor.
Tell me about it. They STILL don't have the big bat they need to win the West. I'm afraid we're going to see Gange save 50-60 games again this year; only to have it all go to waste, yet again. The Dodgers need to take advantage of Gagne while they can, I'm sure George Steinbrenner is licking his chops just waiting for a chance to grab him.
Why did the Dodgers wait until every free agent of note has already signed before hiring a new GM? The timing of this seems pretty poor.
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Bill W:
In about 5 seasons, all you Cro-Magnon McCarvers are going to be downcast about all the winning franchises following sabermetric philosophies...
Or Beane and his disciples will all be out of work. In about 5 seasons, all you Cro-Magnon McCarvers are going to be downcast about all the winning franchises following sabermetric philosophies...
I'm sorry, remind me again, when was the last time the A's were in the Series or won it? Rhetorical, 1990 (lost to Cincy) and 1989 (won The Earthquake Series) are the answers. The freakin' Angels have won more AL and World Series titles than the A's under Beane.
[Brandishing pitchfork and torch] Death to the statheads!!!!
De Podesta has his work cut out for him. The farm system it utterly barren; it's going to take at least five years to get that producing quality players again. McCourt is not going to splash the cash like the Angels' Artie Moreno has; he likely bought the team for the acreage at Dodger Stadium so that he can turn it in to a nightmare retail/residential development. So, no farm system, no money for free-agency signings and no one except Gagne that anyone wants in trades. Oh, and as long as that total ass**** Lasorda is around--and the fans would howl if they got rid of him--there'll be a disruptive jerk who will undermine De Podesta at every turn lurking in the background. What's De Podesta supposed to do, light votive candles and pray towards the Billy Beane hagiography?
And to top it off, De Podesta has no clue about how vicious the sports media here can be. The Los Angeles Times was largely responsible for driving Kevin "The Sheriff" Malone out of town and if De Podesta pisses them off or doesn't produce at the very minimum, a playoff win--you know, winning a single playoff game, something the Dodgers haven't done since 1988--within 2 years, they'll do the same to him.
I hope the Dodgers suck for the rest of my life, disappearing in to a sinkhole of mediocrity and, if by sucking, they take the sabermetric fanatics down with 'em, all the better.
[ February 20, 2004, 12:04 AM: Message edited by: Jim Allen ]
[Brandishing pitchfork and torch] Death to the statheads!!!!
De Podesta has his work cut out for him. The farm system it utterly barren; it's going to take at least five years to get that producing quality players again. McCourt is not going to splash the cash like the Angels' Artie Moreno has; he likely bought the team for the acreage at Dodger Stadium so that he can turn it in to a nightmare retail/residential development. So, no farm system, no money for free-agency signings and no one except Gagne that anyone wants in trades. Oh, and as long as that total ass**** Lasorda is around--and the fans would howl if they got rid of him--there'll be a disruptive jerk who will undermine De Podesta at every turn lurking in the background. What's De Podesta supposed to do, light votive candles and pray towards the Billy Beane hagiography?
And to top it off, De Podesta has no clue about how vicious the sports media here can be. The Los Angeles Times was largely responsible for driving Kevin "The Sheriff" Malone out of town and if De Podesta pisses them off or doesn't produce at the very minimum, a playoff win--you know, winning a single playoff game, something the Dodgers haven't done since 1988--within 2 years, they'll do the same to him.
I hope the Dodgers suck for the rest of my life, disappearing in to a sinkhole of mediocrity and, if by sucking, they take the sabermetric fanatics down with 'em, all the better.
[ February 20, 2004, 12:04 AM: Message edited by: Jim Allen ]
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Jim Allen:
...when was the last time the A's were in the Series or won it? ...World Series titles ... [blahblahblah]
Jim Jim Jim, such visceral hatred... I know you've been around here long enough that we've covered this. Winning short series is the least guaranteeable element in baseball success. Are the 2001-03 Yankees bigger \"chokers\" than the 1996-2000 editions? No, the odds just evened out....when was the last time the A's were in the Series or won it? ...World Series titles ... [blahblahblah]
Or as Beane said in Moneyball, \"My shit only works in the regular season. Everything after is f**king luck.\"
(ie, the lack of one Jeremy Giambi slide, or Mark Mulder staying out of Boston bars.)
I'm sure DePodesta is enough of an adult to know what the media in a megalopolis is like.
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George_vikingfan:
Why did the Dodgers wait until every free agent of note has already signed before hiring a new GM?
Because the sale of the club was just finalized, correct?Why did the Dodgers wait until every free agent of note has already signed before hiring a new GM?
[ February 20, 2004, 07:48 AM: Message edited by: Bill W ]
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Jim Jim Jim, such visceral hatred
Ah yes, the "Jim Allen is ANGRY" meme. Nah, you know I'm just playin', mocking the fervor of the sabermetrics crowd. There's a middle ground between the Beane acolytes and the "But what about clubhouse leadership?!?!" crowd. I haven't found that ground yet, but still.The office I'm temping at today is on the 43rd floor downtown. I'm looking down on Dodger Stadium and I'm just reminded what a great venue Chavez Ravine is. I hope McCourt doesn't f**k it up.
Jim Allen, I'm in full agreement with you about the beauty of Chavez Ravine. It's a little jewel. Many a pleasant twilight has been spent watching the Dodgers there. As for McCourt, I give it two seasons before he announces that condos and a business park will replace the stadium there--just enough time to lull LA into thinking he's not just a moneybags carpetbagger.
~Adam
~Adam
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Adam:
Jim Allen, I'm in full agreement with you about the beauty of Chavez Ravine. It's a little jewel. Many a pleasant twilight has been spent watching the Dodgers there. As for McCourt, I give it two seasons before he announces that condos and a business park will replace the stadium there--just enough time to lull LA into thinking he's not just a moneybags carpetbagger.
~Adam
Some of my best memories growing up were going to games at Dodger Stadium with my dad. The 1981 All Star Game was the first major sporting event I ever attended. I sent in a post card and won a lottery for tickets to go. Jim Allen, I'm in full agreement with you about the beauty of Chavez Ravine. It's a little jewel. Many a pleasant twilight has been spent watching the Dodgers there. As for McCourt, I give it two seasons before he announces that condos and a business park will replace the stadium there--just enough time to lull LA into thinking he's not just a moneybags carpetbagger.
~Adam
That was the day they introduced "Diamond Vision" to the world. Unfortunately my dad and I were sitting in the outfield right under the screen! And with the pavilion on top of us I never saw it!
What Adam said. There is deep scepticism about McCourt here. I don't know if it's true, but the party line (ie what the Times is saying) is that he's never even BEEN to Dodger Stadium yet. McCourt + Anschutz = condos at Chave Ravine and a new ballpark downtown = disaster.
I mean, I hate the Dodgers, but to see them sink to the depths they have in the last few years is not a pretty sight. In the 70's/80's, they used to be held up as an exemplar of How To Run A Team. Now they are the exemplar of How Corporations f**k Up Teams; this used to be a Dodgers/USC-UCLA town, but now the Lakers dominate everything here. That's just sad.
I mean, I hate the Dodgers, but to see them sink to the depths they have in the last few years is not a pretty sight. In the 70's/80's, they used to be held up as an exemplar of How To Run A Team. Now they are the exemplar of How Corporations f**k Up Teams; this used to be a Dodgers/USC-UCLA town, but now the Lakers dominate everything here. That's just sad.
I'd link to it, but I think the Times is registration only for the sports page. T.J. Simers was en fuego this morning:
[ February 25, 2004, 06:19 PM: Message edited by: Jim Allen ]
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In addition to the morning newspaper, I almost always check out the Dodgers' website because I like to start the day with a good laugh.
Monday, for example, they had already removed the hilarious headline proclaiming their big salary arbitration romp over Eric Gagne and the success they'd had in making sure Gagne got paid less than Todd Hundley this season. I guess the Dodgers will take a victory any way they can get it. Hundley might not play this year, but he's guaranteed $6.5 million. Gagne will draw $5 million. Last I saw Hundley, he was smoking a cigarette outside the Dodgers' clubhouse, so I presume the Dodgers took into account the extra cost of cigarettes to keep him happy.
As for Gagne, he doesn't get beat very often, so you can imagine how thrilled the Dodgers were to whip him. The story on the \"official site of the Los Angeles Dodgers\" last week put it like this: \"Financially, the biggest Dodger save of the season will belong to assistant general manager Kim Ng, who quarterbacked the Dodger case [against Gagne].\" Right now I have to believe Ng is more valuable than Gagne to the Boston parking lot attendant who owns the Dodgers, so don't be surprised if you see Ng's likeness on the Dodger Stadium outfield walls come opening day, along with all the other greats in team history.
NG'S JOB was to make Gagne look worse than his stats before three arbitrators so the Dodgers wouldn't have to pay him what he wanted. Working alongside Dan Evans the last few years, she obviously developed a skill for knocking people, because she turned the Cy Young winner into just another closer. Now, I always thought a team's website, like the Dodgers', was designed to make fans feel good about the team, maybe even persuade the faithful to buy some tickets or Dodger paraphernalia. But over the weekend, the Dodger website featured a picture of Ng, who did the number on Gagne — maybe the Dodgers' most popular player. Let that be a warning, I guess, to any other player who asks for more money than the Dodgers have in their bank account — they'll Ng you until you look a lot worse than you ever dreamed.
Ng is pictured standing beside the kid they hired to be the Dodgers' new GM, and there you have it — the Dodgers' brain trust. Below the inspiring photo is this — and it has to be some kind of joke: \"New Dodgers GM Paul DePodesta indicated the much-anticipated trade to solve the club's offensive woes is not imminent.\" Or a serious effort to send fans off to buy Angel tickets.
MAYBE IT'S Ng's influence, but the Dodgers continue to downgrade their own players on their own website. At the bottom of the first page is a poll asking fans to vote: \"Who will not be in the Dodgers' starting rotation?\" and naming Wilson Alvarez, Darren Dreifort, Kaz Ishii, Odalis Perez and Jeff Weaver. Who will not be? Most teams can be accused of being positive to the point of misrepresenting the truth, but not the Dodgers. They want you to pick who is the biggest stiff of them all among Alvarez, Dreifort, Ishii, Perez and Weaver. The local fans haven't even seen Weaver, the Yankee reject, but more than 9,000 — or 40% of those voting — named Dreifort the bum of the lot. That should do wonders for Dreifort's confidence — not to mention the fact that of all the guys listed, Dreifort has been the most outspoken about not wanting to pitch in relief. I guess the fans just want some controversy.
I WENT deeper into the website, and read that the new GM is in no hurry to find a hitter to bat behind Shawn Green. He said, \"There's more of a chance it would happen later in the spring than now. That would afford us the opportunity to see our guys.\" What's to see? Robin Ventura striking out? Bubba Trammell? Adrian Beltre living up to his promise? Is there some kind of regulation that says whoever is hired as Dodger GM must say stupid things?
I guess so. DePodesta already had said in the morning paper he wanted to meet with Green because of his critical comments this winter about the offense, as if there's a danger now of Green becoming the Dennis Rodman of the Dodger clubhouse. Where do they get these Dodger GMs? The time schmoozing with Green might be better served getting the White Sox on the phone and getting Magglio Ordonez in here. The Boston parking lot attendant promised swift and decisive action when he took control, and now the new GM is stressing patience. So far, it appears the only thing accomplished to date is irritating Gagne, and delivering double talk.
"Or a serious effort to send fans off to buy Angel tickets". f**k off, Dodger fans, no room on the bandwagon, nothing to see here, people, move along. We longtime Angels fans aren't going to forget 40 years of you twats rubbing your success in our noses. They're your team, you're stuck with 'em.Monday, for example, they had already removed the hilarious headline proclaiming their big salary arbitration romp over Eric Gagne and the success they'd had in making sure Gagne got paid less than Todd Hundley this season. I guess the Dodgers will take a victory any way they can get it. Hundley might not play this year, but he's guaranteed $6.5 million. Gagne will draw $5 million. Last I saw Hundley, he was smoking a cigarette outside the Dodgers' clubhouse, so I presume the Dodgers took into account the extra cost of cigarettes to keep him happy.
As for Gagne, he doesn't get beat very often, so you can imagine how thrilled the Dodgers were to whip him. The story on the \"official site of the Los Angeles Dodgers\" last week put it like this: \"Financially, the biggest Dodger save of the season will belong to assistant general manager Kim Ng, who quarterbacked the Dodger case [against Gagne].\" Right now I have to believe Ng is more valuable than Gagne to the Boston parking lot attendant who owns the Dodgers, so don't be surprised if you see Ng's likeness on the Dodger Stadium outfield walls come opening day, along with all the other greats in team history.
NG'S JOB was to make Gagne look worse than his stats before three arbitrators so the Dodgers wouldn't have to pay him what he wanted. Working alongside Dan Evans the last few years, she obviously developed a skill for knocking people, because she turned the Cy Young winner into just another closer. Now, I always thought a team's website, like the Dodgers', was designed to make fans feel good about the team, maybe even persuade the faithful to buy some tickets or Dodger paraphernalia. But over the weekend, the Dodger website featured a picture of Ng, who did the number on Gagne — maybe the Dodgers' most popular player. Let that be a warning, I guess, to any other player who asks for more money than the Dodgers have in their bank account — they'll Ng you until you look a lot worse than you ever dreamed.
Ng is pictured standing beside the kid they hired to be the Dodgers' new GM, and there you have it — the Dodgers' brain trust. Below the inspiring photo is this — and it has to be some kind of joke: \"New Dodgers GM Paul DePodesta indicated the much-anticipated trade to solve the club's offensive woes is not imminent.\" Or a serious effort to send fans off to buy Angel tickets.
MAYBE IT'S Ng's influence, but the Dodgers continue to downgrade their own players on their own website. At the bottom of the first page is a poll asking fans to vote: \"Who will not be in the Dodgers' starting rotation?\" and naming Wilson Alvarez, Darren Dreifort, Kaz Ishii, Odalis Perez and Jeff Weaver. Who will not be? Most teams can be accused of being positive to the point of misrepresenting the truth, but not the Dodgers. They want you to pick who is the biggest stiff of them all among Alvarez, Dreifort, Ishii, Perez and Weaver. The local fans haven't even seen Weaver, the Yankee reject, but more than 9,000 — or 40% of those voting — named Dreifort the bum of the lot. That should do wonders for Dreifort's confidence — not to mention the fact that of all the guys listed, Dreifort has been the most outspoken about not wanting to pitch in relief. I guess the fans just want some controversy.
I WENT deeper into the website, and read that the new GM is in no hurry to find a hitter to bat behind Shawn Green. He said, \"There's more of a chance it would happen later in the spring than now. That would afford us the opportunity to see our guys.\" What's to see? Robin Ventura striking out? Bubba Trammell? Adrian Beltre living up to his promise? Is there some kind of regulation that says whoever is hired as Dodger GM must say stupid things?
I guess so. DePodesta already had said in the morning paper he wanted to meet with Green because of his critical comments this winter about the offense, as if there's a danger now of Green becoming the Dennis Rodman of the Dodger clubhouse. Where do they get these Dodger GMs? The time schmoozing with Green might be better served getting the White Sox on the phone and getting Magglio Ordonez in here. The Boston parking lot attendant promised swift and decisive action when he took control, and now the new GM is stressing patience. So far, it appears the only thing accomplished to date is irritating Gagne, and delivering double talk.
[ February 25, 2004, 06:19 PM: Message edited by: Jim Allen ]
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