Dodgers sign Yasiel Puig

Incomplete is the grade for me because they still sit in 1st place. Done some good things like get an all star catcher in place, work Joc into CF, and add the righty bat that they needed in Kendrick. However, the bullpen remains a weakness and they still need to get rid of Crawford, Ethier and every other old head not named Gonzalez/Kendrick/Turner so to get younger and hungrier. Also need to can Mattingly and McGwire of course. They're not far off tho. Imagine if they had kept Kemp and re-signed Hanley.

 

If i had to give a grade it would be a C+ for the seasons results so far.That could change obviously with better play.But as far as this front office setting us up for the future.A++++..All we given up in any trade was $ and or marginal specs at best.Its hard to be happy with the future while the present may seem bleak.But deeply feel this team is better than shown and that falls on donnie with me.Although i dont second guess every move like "i wish i was the coach so im goona bash every donnie move" kevin kennedy. But Donnie in my opinion has cost us atleast 5 games in the standings with his mismanagement of the pen.So as a collective group until now i give the front office a B

 

The potential to be better is definitely there. The pen's quality and mismanagement is just like a dark cloud hovering over all their heads at this point. They know that no lead is safe and when you throw that kind of pressure on top of the fact that everybody sees them as this 300M ball club it's reasonable to think that both positive and negative expectations are taking hold here. They all know the history from last post season as well, so they're sitting around looking at one another wondering who's gonna step up and that's on top of knowing whose asses is outta here after the season.

It's a lot on their plate and vets are supposed to be able to handle it, but a lot of these vets fall into the category above. Kershaw's comments hit home for me. I bet a third of the vets don't really give a damn for various reasons and another third of the team just can't handle the pressure. LA is the perfect place to be mediocre and get away with it. No different than this episode with TWC. If the NY/Boston/Philly media were cracking the whip this team would be in better shape, Mattingly would've been fired, everybody would be able to watch the game without streaming, etc.

What they really need right now ( other than to get the ball to Kenley), and God forbid somebody get injured, but they need a benches clearing brawl of some sort that can challenge and unify them.

 

that ian kennedy zack grienke brawl ignited that 50 win in 60+ games two years ago.. Maybe it could happen again..But i disagree on the media point. The la times(plaschke, Simers) helped basically get rid of Paul De podesta over night with there "google boy" articles and saber bashing way of thinking.If an owner or gm lets the media run the team than that management needs to go.And we were all fans of the TWC acquisition it essentially takes care of any 300 mill payroll on its own for years to come.We all knew that meant endless supply of money to help the team in any fashion. It sucks what TWC has done with it essentially saying we rather lose money then give direct tv dish etc a discount....so i dont blame kasten or freidman or ownership for that either

 

Que the Giants series coming up at home... muahaha :rubhands:

 

The Dodgers have been taught by DDD to not take the rivalry seriously. It's going to be brutal.

 

umm yeah but it's "queue"

...no worries...

 

I'm in loose agreement about the overall B

The future looks good but I'm not one to laud it with so many ++++

As stated elsewhere earlier the key is that we HAVE to make hay while the sun shines.

Kershaw and Greinke are only going to last so long and we needed a Cueto or Price upgrade NOT a Latos upgrade.

And the bullpen remains utter fecal waste...

WHATEVER the fucking funk is in the batting order needs to get solved ASAP as well.






as does the idiocy of Donnie Dumb Dumb's bullpen abusive moves

but now I'm tilting at windmills again

 

Sorry guess the Mexican side of me got the best of me haha :mexirube:

 

I think the biggest issue with this current fan base.. Everyone seems to think the window is closing on winning soon because of the possible departure of grienke and the roster uncertainty with rookies being ready to contribute as soon as their called up ie seager urias de leon etc.. but i think its only begun to open. Gonna build a decade long contention franchise like the cardinals or how the cubs are climbing up with home grown cheap talent. you never really see them waste money or throw it away on free agents , they just pay to keep their own and yearly have someone ready to take over when an aging star is let go...

 

Game. Set. Match.

 

I agree with your overall thought, but the Cards do make their exceptions when it comes to FA. They just aren't free swingers and like you said they don't waste $. Matt Holliday is one example, but more recently they handed Jhonny Peralta a decent sized contract to handle short and he's been really good. They'll probably end up keeping Heyward as well because he's just a good all-around player with great team make up and he fits. Taveras' passing is probably another factor in Heyward's bid to stay. But they also made a shrewd decision on behalf of their own guy in Pujols.

But yeah, again, I agree with your overall sentiment. We have plenty of examples on our current squad and every 2 or 3 years Boston seems to remind us how bad free agency can be. What they have goin on with Hanley is a circus...and right after the Dodgers bailed them out in 2012, no less.

 

I tried to say much the same thing several posts back, but paled in the attempt compared to your eloquence. I too,see the window not closing, but opening wider as the farm system grows from the disgrace that it became under McSuck.

Note: Actually it wasn't in this thread but another...somewhere back there...

 

The fan is a unstable creature .lol. Its impatient , demanding and always right.I want to win as much as any fan...I use to scream trade any spec for a better chance to win now when i first joined these internet forums... but after reading moneyball and watching teams like cardinals bo sox(failed this year going FA route) and giants have sustained success over the last decade or so i started paying attention and reading up on how they scout draft and run their organizations.Very very different than we were use too with Mcourt as owner or with new ownership and colleti with a free check book to spend ...Glad they made the change to the "nerds" or so they are called here... Very bright minds....i love where this team is headed...Didnt mortgage the future for a quick fix or a better shot to win this year but improved our chances this year while maintaining our farm and spending flexibility in the future...Something that goes unnoticed

 

Hopefully neither Peraza nor Kike will prevent them from re-signing Kendrick tho. Kendrick is the kind of right handed, stable force in the middle of the order that St. Louis would make an exception for and make him a priority to re-sign as long as the price was right. As trusted an everyday player as we have. Finding trades for the remaining old head outfielders and opening up an OF spot to rotate Peraza and Kike at would go a long way in that regard.

 

Kendrick is a keeper

solid at the plate and in field

Angels loss