THE The speech “Dodgers ruins baseball” Dominating last winter included pleadings for a salary ceiling for owners of Baltimore Orioles, Colorado Rockies and Pittsburgh Pirates.
Congratulations, gentlemen, your teams are in the last place. For you, Dodgers are a practical scapegoat.
Advertisement
But the speech also included this taking of the owner of the New York Yankees: “It is difficult for most of us that the owners can do the kind of thing they do”, Hal Steinbrenner said to the network yes. “We will see if it is paying.”
So far, he has not paid.
The Dodgers will make the playoffs, but the collection of players they bought to fortify their defense of the title of World Series are far from expectations.
What is happening in October could determine if the expenses are raised that the rival owners so annoyed could instead remember as Andrew Friedman Terrible, horrible, not good, very bad winter.
Advertisement
Find out more: Yoshinobu Yamamoto shines, but the Dodgers offensive disappears in the defeat of the Giants
Tanner Scott was standing in front of his locker on Friday evening, at the last point in a miserable season. He had just given up a large slam winning a recipient of good field which worked to the stick plate .217.
Scott, the $ 72 million in Dodgers, has an average managed 5.01. He half launched as many sleeves as Clayton Kershaw And abandoned four other circuits.
“It’s terrible,” said Scott. “I have the worst year of my life. I must be better. “
It’s not just him. Overall, the Dodgers signature class from 2024-25 must be better.
Advertisement
After Spend one billion Dollars in the winter of 2023-24, the dodgers fell A reminder of a half-milliard On the rest of the league last winter.
Out of 11 key players who have signed new contracts to stay with dodgers or free agent contracts to join them, none has a war of 2, according to Baseball-reference.com. The angels last winter signed two free agents with a higher war than any of these signatories Dodgers: the launcher leaving Yusei Kikuchi and Kenley Jansen closer.
The Dodgers are getting closer to Tanner Scott, in the foreground, looks at a big slam at the idea of a match struck by the Giants of the Giants Bailey (background). (Godofredo A. Vásquez / Associated Press)
Friedman, the president of the Dodgers baseball operations, respectfully refused to review his offseason.
“We will wait after the season,” he said. “All that we are focusing on is these next games and October.”
Advertisement
The most precious winter signatories by war, according to Baseball-reference.com: Hyeseong Kim, that the Dodgers bounced at ease between the inner field and the outside field, between the initial formation and the bench, between the major leagues and the minor leagues.
Then comes Kershaw, who should exceed 100 rounds on Saturday. The only Dodgers launcher to launch more sleeves: Yoshinobu Yamamato.
When Friedman said he believed in his players, it was not only a compulsory quote. He really did it. He believed so much in them that the dodgers’ Only additions to the trade deadline were an emergency aerobatman and a man of configuration.
Beyond Kershaw, the signs of pitching of Dodgers included Scott, Blake Snell, Roki Sasaki, Blake Treinen and Kirby Yates. It is difficult to imagine the dodgers, including all on a list of playoffs, and not only because Sasaki always returns after an injury.
Advertisement
“From the point of view of pitching, we have a very realistic chance to have the most talented 13 -year -old pitch staff that we have ever had,” said Friedman. “We felt this in July, coupled with that that we were most likely – well, let’s hope it – be able to have difficult conversations with guys who have a legitimate chance of doing it, but would not do it.”
Find out more: Can Dodgers repair their sick offense? It starts with better health – and the At -Bats team
He doesn’t like what 13 launchers he had in mind, and in all honesty who could change with the next injury.
“You could take any collection from it,” said Friedman. “I just say that when we submit our list of qualifiers, I think these 13 arms will be the most talented – things, an execution, a talent, different looks, on the right. I just think it will be the deepest and the best staff we have had. ”
Advertisement
Beyond Kim, the signatories of the Dodgers ‘positions included the interior field player Tommy Edman and Kike’ Hernandez and the players from Michael Comforto and Teoscar Hernandez.
Edman and Kike ‘Hernandez spent much of the season on the injured list. Teoscar Hernandez fell from a 4 -war player last year – when his one -year contract seemed brilliant – to a war player this year.
Comforto dominated Friday for the Dodgers race. However, out of the 191 players with at least 400 appearances of plates entering the game on Friday, he had the lowest war.
“On the side of the position player, our Muncy numbers with and without (maximum) are crazy,” said Friedman. “This is a large part of our range. But, even with that, the level of our offensive performance for two months is something that I would have said would have been an impossibility, even with an injury here or an injury there. What I thought was not possible was very possible and happened.
The third goal of the Dodgers, Max Muncy, reacts after being touched by land during the eighth round on Friday. (Godofredo A. Vásquez / Associated Press)
“With hindsight, it has contributed to the situation in which we are at the moment, and to difficulties. I always look to the future and I see the names in programming, and depth, and I feel really good on this subject. We will therefore know if it’s right or not.”
Advertisement
During Muncy’s first passage on the list of injured this season, the Dodgers ranked last in the rounds in runs. During its second passage, they ranked at the end of the National League.
This did not feel well for the dodgers when Muncy was forced from the Friday match after a throw hit him on the forearm. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the radiographs were negative, and the team will see how it is on Saturday.
Friedman gathered a championship list last year, his second in five years, so maybe last winter will count as a dear Blip.
Or, maybe, not even that.
Dodgers have October as part of their schedule. They have not missed the playoffs for 13 years. Under Friedman, they advanced to the World Series with a team of 92 victories and failed to get out of the first round with a team of 111 victories.
Advertisement
October is what matters, no matter how much a player could have occurred in the regular season.
Among the dodgers who launched at least 60 rounds last season, the one with the highest average won made the last launch of the year. Of all the things that Los Angeles remembers Walker Buehler last year, his ERA of 5.38 is not one of them.
Register for more new dodgers with Dodgers Runnout. Delivered at the start of each series.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
