Nope. If it were a crapshoot then since 2004 we would have been to at least one series. Losers with a loser attitude don't win shit.
Didn't you know the new grading system ? B means they BLOW. SuckAndBlowRegularly. SABR. After the ASG, the LAD will rise Phoenix-like from the ashes. Keep the faith. I think I saw, on the faces of not only Clayton last night, " enough is enough" deeply etched on the faces of this beleagured team. Resolve, if you will. A new focus. Or not.
With a combined 4 wins in our 3 trips to the NLCS and a grand total of 0 road wins. From aspiring to win the division to hoping to just barely get in because it's a "crapshoot" before July is even here. Amazing. 27-34 record when our one irreplaceable player isn't on the mound. To sum it up: We are a mediocre team barely staying afloat due to the best pitcher in baseball. Sounds like a B+ to me!
And remember, the guy that's carrying the team right now has had his fair share to do with LAD's playoff failures over the last 3 years as well. In other words, are CK's flame out playoff performances considered " crapping out "? If it's World Series thirst at the forefront, anybody regret CK's contract? I know one thing, there was a large call for GG to give up Corey Seager for David Price a couple years ago, the same young man that's now the Dodgers' best everyday player. All to say, there's been some bad decisions and some good ones, I remain unhappy about them not hard-charging for Buck Showalter. Anyway, the grade I gave the FO in the off-season was initially a C, waited until what I thought was the end of their moves to grade them. Then they re-signed Howie at sort of the last second for what looked to be a bargain and I bumped it to a B based on that. I thought they were getting the reliable " Howie " back, most felt the same, but since he's not been " Howie " I've taken the grade back to a C and that's probably not fair, but right now I only have about 3 fucks to give. And that's about how the team has played thus far as well, a C performance grade on the field, lots of injuries, etc. Speaking of, a lot is made of them signing some injury prone guys, but what about Ethier's injury? It's the offense that's garbage and Ethier's an offensive/LAD hero to some, so was his injury predictable too? Anyway, overall the offense has been weak (which not many complained about during the off-season..I did and in this very thread) Defense has been passable. Bullpen solid for the most part, combined with the starting pitching they've been able to keep LAD in games, just waiting for the offense to cooperate on a consistent basis. This team takes steps forward and then they take steps back, wash, rinse, repeat. Either way, it seems this vet group of players and it's 3 division titles in a row has jumped the shark and ultimately it looks as if it'll go down as a group that was thrown together to be competitive while bridging them to the Corey Seager era. Still await the end of July to look back and see if Adrian is stirring, in combination with a move for a power bat like Bruce's, and maybe Corey and Turner will still be plugging away and giving them something build on at least in the top half of the lineup. All in all, I'm disappointed, but from my end, considering that I've seen a lot of rebuilds and most of them don't involve winning 3 straight division titles, this bridging to the Seager era could've been a lot worse. A lot worse than currently being in the WC race and still in position to be buyers at the deadline as well. If all of the above wasn't negative enough for some, here are a few curse words to balance...shit, fuck, fuck, shit
Pay attention, bkitches, I'm about to stir the shit the fuck up. When did the grade become about THIS year? Yeah, I gave the nerds an A and they deserve it. Take a look around. When you are rebuilding and can boast a winning record and a shot at the wild card (fuck, I haven't given up on the West title) then something is going RIGHT. The Braves are rebuilding, and boy do they SUCK! I'm pretty sure the Cubs sucked while they were rebuilding. And the Bosox went from worst to first to worst again. Maybe I'm wrong, but what I see is a gradual transition, and a smooth one (or as smooth as can be expected) from an aging, declining roster to a youthful, robust one. I see youth coming to fruition and replacing veterans on one year deals. Yeah, there are holes to fill-and some holes don't have an apparent plug ready in the minors, and some of the plugs won't be ready for a few more years. But the plan is in the works, and diligence is being paid, and there are options a plenty where before there were no options. I understand the 'win now' crowd. I'm an old fucker, but I think I can hang around and wait for the crop to mature. I think in the not too distant future we will battle the Cubs on an annual basis, and then the Braves might join in. I've been a fan as long as I can remember and that goes back to at least 1960. To give this front office a failing grade because they didn't 'win instantly' is both short-sighted and foolish. Do they push the right button every single time? NO. Do they push the right button a lot of the time? YES. Did you base the quality of your college education on the time you failed freshman English, or the time you graduated some four years later? While I'm at it, here's one that is particularly amusing to me. The same people who cry about "we could have used that money to get X, Y, or Z' are the VERY SAME PEOPLE who say 'we have more money than God, let's go buy A, B, and C!!!' If we have so much money, why are you BITCHING about some portion of it that doesn't net a good return? When you go to Vegas, do you win every bet you place? If you do, call me next time you go...I'm in. Ok, bkitches, I'm done. Commence the shit slinging.
Yeah I do think it's incredibly silly to run back to this thread after every single loss. If at the end of the year they're not in the playoffs, give an F for all I care, because really, that's all that matters. I do think at some point though the players need to be held accountable. Can't just be all FO.
Just have fun, IBB. It took me a while. I was a FO apologist for their first year. But now I don't take it seriously. I still defend them to some degree when I'm chatting with fans at the ballpark, but here? nah. No point. It's all in good fun.
Okay.....we can only grade the nerds on their current body of work....not on the hypothetical of some future success.....that's why we are talking THIS year. Are you positive that any of these prospects or retreads are gonna do us a bit of good 2-3 years from now? How long do you think Kershaw has left in the tank while these prospects...well do what it is they are doing? The answer is no because as far as I can tell, no one can predict the future. But if you told me Price was for the taking, Cueto was for the taking, that Greinke could have remained with us without losing these prescious prospects, then I would have thought this genius FO would have tried to grab at least one of them. No one is saying the farm system hasnt improved.....NO ONE is saying that. But this FO doesnt seem interested in bridging the gap. And BTW, the teams you mentioned.....the BoSox have won 3 WS, the Braves 1, since we last won one in '88. That's money in the bank and a source of goodwill. I've lost that patience....the goodwill from two decades back is gone. And yes, the Cubs are in better position to win it all than we are...and yes they did add quality players in the off season. Okay...end of rant to the rant.
I'm positive Seager is going to be very good 2-3 years from now. I feel comfortable that Pederson will level out and be above league average. I don't buy the "we're wasting the Kershaw years" dialogue because we have the young pitching coming through the system to support the team through the Kershaw decline (if there is such a thing). IMO, if we can establish a good young consistent offense then the pitching will be there to support it, even without Kershaw.
I'm glad you are positive. But I'm traumatized by all the would be talent that never transpired. Hollandsworth, Mondesi, Karros, Dreifort, Billingsley, and yes, we did trade away the ones that could have helped us (Pedro, Konerko). I don't know. I'm just not that confident is people's ability to gauge current ability with long term success in the majors. That's why you pay for proven talent. We have to get out of this rut...I'm just not clear if the FO plan is the right one.
Ken Rosenthal✓ @Ken_Rosenthal 54 minutes ago About to post lengthy notes column. Among items of interest: #Dodgers targeting #Rays’ Erasmo Ramirez as stopgap for rotation. lol nerds less than 2 weeks ago friedman said they would target "elite-level players" at the deadline [link] and now their answer for the rotation is a guy who's started exactly once in 31 appearances this year? awesome and no offense to ramirez, but he's hardly an elite player but, to be fair, we're still >1 month away from the deadline so i guess we'll see (between now and then) whether friedman et al are true to their word(s) and i have my suspicions...
