MLB POSTSEASON THREAD

Tom Neidenfuer says hold my beer.
.

 

Terry Forster, Lance Lynn and Reyes Moronta like this.
.

 

Columnist suggests Andrew Friedman has lost his way
by Caleb Nguyen | Dodgers Nation — October 28, 2023

Analytical baseball as the new normal in MLB can be attributed in part to Andrew Friedman’s tactics in LA’s front office.

The Dodgers executive joined the front office in 2015 and the cutting-edge technology he’s implemented from his time in Tampa Bay catapulted the organization as the most consistent winner in the sport.

However, those results came mainly in the regular season and another early postseason exit in 2023 have several around the sport questioning if Friedman’s lost his touch from his previously renowned strategies. Here’s what LA Times columnist Dylan Hernandez had to say (you can read the full column by clicking here).

The once cutting-edge baseball operations department has become a caricature of itself, now paralyzed by its insistence on winning every deal. Friedman once said that taking a rational approach with every free agent will cause a team finishing third in the bidding each time, but he has nonetheless remained conservative in his pursuit of high-end players. The Dodgers won’t do anything significant unless a bargain is involved. Instead of using their financial resources to dictate the free-agent and trade markets, the Dodgers have allowed the markets to dictate what they can and can’t do. That’s why they didn’t acquire any impact players last winter.
​

For as much talent that’s been on LA’s roster throughout this past decade of contention, they haven’t won a full season World Series since 1988.

The 2020 season marked a title in the pandemic-shortened year but the circumstances around that year are still debated around LA and the league as a whole.

The 2016 season marked a return to the NLCS for the franchise in Dave Roberts’ first season as manager but the team fell in six after Clayton Kershaw failed to string two good starts together.

Painful exits in 2017 and 2018 came on the biggest stage as Roberts became the first manager to lose back to back World Series since Ron Washington of the Rangers in 2010 and 2011.

The 2019 season might have been the Dodgers’ best chance at revenge against the Houston Astros but a late game collapse in the NLDS sent LA home early once again.

The Nationals instead lifted the trophy that season but the Dodgers benefitted from the D.C team in their next run.

The 2021 season saw Friedman go all in for Max Scherzer and Trea Turner but the team fell in the NLCS thanks to several injuries against the eventual World Series winner Atlanta.

None of those losses compare to the failure of recent seasons as the team won 100 regular season games in both seasons for a first round bye.

That time off didn’t matter in both seasons as LA fell to divisional opponents in back-to-back years, last year to San Diego and this year to the eventual NL pennant winning Diamondbacks.

Patience has run thin with Friedman’s regime and this offseason will be vital for the direction of the Boys in Blue as a whole.