Dodgers Team News

Dodgers News: Friedman Speaks About Greinke Departure

The Dodgers are now adamantly in recovery mode.

Zack Greinke is now an Arizona Diamondback (which is better than San Francisco Giant, so at least there’s that). The bullpen help the Dodgers wanted above all others is looking elsewhere. Oh, and those Giants who were competing with the Dodgers for Greinke are still competing with the Dodgers for all remaining pitchers.




ICYMI: Rising Salaries Might Make Crawford, Ethier More Tradable


To say this offseason (outside of hiring Dave Roberts, whose job just got considerably tougher) has gone to plan would win any award for understatement-bordering-on-outright-lie of the year.

Andrew Friedman took time, though, to speak about the Zack Greinke signing. This, via the Dodgers’ official Twitter page:

We made a very strong offer to retain Zack but clearly he found a deal that fit better for him and his family. We are now hard at work on our alternatives. We wish Zack, Emily and Bode all the best going forward.

Fans probably won’t want to hear much from Friedman at this time, but it does say something about the class he works with that he’d take time from this current chaos to wish Zack and his family well.

Now that he’s issued that statement, though, the team’s focus turns to spreading the $200+ million that would’ve gone to Zack Greinke across a roster needing plenty of help.

This might be a solid approach given Greinke’s age and the direction baseball is going anyway, where bullpens rule and even the game’s greatest aces are (wisely) being held back by pitch counts. It’ll still take plenty of selling to the members of the old school fan base — who rarely lack for a voice.

NEXT: Zack Greinke Signs in Arizona

 

Staff Writer

Staff Writer features content written by our site editors along with our staff of contributing writers. Thank you for your readership.

22 Comments

  1. I will no longer support the Dodgers or go to a Dodger game as long as this idiot is the GM even if the tickets are free !!

  2. I’m a part of the “old school” fan base (attended my first Dodger game at the Coliseum in 1958) and do not believe Greinke’s departure under these circumstances is any reason to start the gnashing of teeth or the tearing up of your season tickets. Stan Kasten is smart. He hired smart people. The GM did not lose Greinke, ownership decided where the financial line was drawn. I don’t blame them for not spending a quarter billion dollars on ANY player who is more than halfway through his career. Quite honestly, Arizona having Zack is better than facing a Bumgarner/Greinke tandem on a trip to AT&T. There are a lot of ways to win baseball games and there are a lot of players out there that can help. We may even have some in our system. Let’s allow this front office a chance to do what they we’re hired to do and that was to put together the best team possible in a fluid, if not volitile, landscape. To adapt to a changing market and ensure not only immediate success but the future well-being of the team.

  3. Look the Dodgers are swimming in money on the back of the fan base. They have a television contract that is constructed so that 2/3 of Dodger Nation cannot watch. You cannot even get the games on regular cable in Vegas!! They recently jacked the ticket prices through the roof and the concession prices are to cry over. So hearing that it was about money or even one more year on a contract does not set well. 
    Yes people keep telling me that these guys are geniuses. But the proof is in results. Their first big contract was to McCarthy 4 years that worked out so well!! Anderson was just average. And this year they pay 15.8 million for a 500 pitcher what a deal…
    Latos was a great deal along with Johnson and frankly Wood looks like a left handed Bolsinger, OK guy but no out pitch and frankly mediocre.  As a very good friend calls him Fried Brains cannot use his saber metrics and pick pitchers. We have the results of that in the last year. So why are they supposedly so smart? 

    Grandal and Kemp who had the most RBI’s? Kemp … Who would have been better in the line up for the post season Grandal or Kemp. Answer Kemp. IN fact Grandal concealed how bad his injury was so he could play. He is not a team guy. AJ Ellis was hot and rumor says the FO made Donnie play Grandal over AJ. So hoe smart are they? 

    Gordon trade? Well this is all about winning the WS guys and gals. Who do you want in the playoffs? The guy that wins a BATTING TITLE leading off with +++ speed and can make things happen or Kendrick, Barnes and Kike Hernandez? You can only play 9 guys at a time it is all about quality over quantity. Gordon would have given us a better shot at winning. 

    This is all about rings. These guys have not figured this out. They want to make deals grabbing guys from the rag bin. They are garbage pickers, 

    The Dodgers have money and these guys want to show how smart they are . Instead of being smart and grabbing the best 9 guys. I am disgusted with this crew. 
    And PhilFountain my first Dodger game was in 1958 also….. Are you OK with their moves last year? Really???? We did so well? It is NOT ABOUT Division wins it is about WS victory…..

  4. PS Yes I get it they do not want to be the Phillies or the Yankees with old guys and huge contracts. (Crawford, Etheir anyone?) But I will predict that Greinke is Maddux like and will be able to be very effective until he gets 5-6 years out. I think Kasten is very bright and understands how important pitching is. But right now with the Dodgers I am not impressed. They should start to pray Ryu is able to play well next year. I have no faith in Wood being more than a 500 pitcher and the same with Anderson. If I were them I would not sign Cueto for what he turned down with the Dbacks. 
    So they are going to get 2nd tier guys. Or they have to make a trade.

  5. Well it is done and there is nothing the FO or us fans can do except accept the fact. Greinke is not the end all for this team. They can take the money they did not spend and get 2 decent pitchers instead of 1. Zack will not have the same success at Chase field as he did at Dodger Stadium. It is more of a homer haven, and balls fly out of there. His stats would be better at AT&T or Dodger Stadium. I do not think they sign Kazmir because 4 of the starters on this team are already LH. That is why they will not go after Chen either. The need to address the back of the BP, thin out the OF and make a choice on who is going to play 2B. There are some arms out there that can be had. And look at it this way. Greinke will face the Dodgers a maximum of 6 times..he will not win all his starts against them……win the games he does not pitch, and it all becomes moot……

  6. One other thing…..when Fried Brain says he wishes Zack and his family well,,,,,,,he really means only his family….his hope is that Zack’s back troubles get worse, and his arm goes dead….

  7. Michael yes I agree  about facing Zack but the Dodgers had an unreal winning percentage with him on the mound and he was unbeaten against the Giants. I do not believe Cueto is worth more than the Dbacks offered him. 
    So do they go cheap and young and go Peraza, Kike at 2nd? Or do they sign Zobrist and play him at 3rd and move Turner over? I believe Zobrist can play anywhere in the IF. And he would be Roberts type of guy Grit. Oh wait a minute that was your idea…

    I like the idea of the Japanese pitcher he is only 28 and has a lot of experience. Is Ryu going to be slotted as the #2? IS his shoulder sound? 
    Remember for all of Kasten’s smarts how many WS did the Braves win? 
    They need to move some of the guys in the OF I completely agree. Perhaps trading Puig for a #2 type starter would be not too risky. Plus Puig has been according to reports a real distraction in the Clubhouse.
    I would like them to make room to try Schebler at least on the bench and part time in the OF. He has great power and has worked very hard on his defense. 
    Yes we do not need another lefty. Maybe trade Wood? Lots of teams really need a lefty starter and he is under contract for a couple of more years. And he can eat up innings for a team. 

    No real top shelf guys left so maybe  Fister?

  8. Tmaxster  T, there are a lot of ways they can go. I think they will try really hard to trade Ethier…reason? He becomes a 10-5 guy in April, and then he could veto any trade. Puig is a real wild card here. Is he going to finally realize his potential? Is he going to listen to the new voice in the dugout? No one knows. That is why I think no real effort to trade him at the meetings unless, someone blows them away with a great offer. Might package him with CC if they could. Ryu has always been a 3….you do not want to start 2 lefty’s in a row if at all possible. I would sign Fister before Queto because of the cost, and the fact that Queto has had elbow trouble. There are no guarantee’s on any pitcher. Zack in Az could become very average. No one will know until the season unfolds. But Guthrie is out there, Fister, Gallardo, Lincecum, who might benefit from a new pitching coach, trades are possible. It will all unfold here shortly with this week being very important. I am not sad they missed Samardja, especially not at that price. They got Wood because he is young and controllable. He is a 4-5 at best, and with a little tweaking could be pretty good. Remember, he threw 7 shutout innings at the Dodgers a year ago, and did the same this fall. I think they trade Guererro, who has no spot to play, and his salary is definitely dumpable. Possibly they will package a LH reliever and an OF for a starter. There are a ton of options……although I like you, do not exactly trust Zorro and Fried Brains, I do trust Kasten, because even though the Braves lacked WS success, they won 12 straight division titles with the best pitching in the league, and that my friend at least gives you a shot at winning, which, without it, you have no shot….

  9. Friedman has done nothing, zip, zilch, zero to improve the team. He needed to re-sign Greinke AND sign another quality starter. His infield is a mess, his outfield is a mess and his bullpen is still a mess, even though he tried to fix it last year. He spent money on Latos, even though everyone and his mother knew it was a bad idea. He’s still paying him, though, and that money could have instead gone into a better offer for Greinke. I can’t believe he was beat by the D-Backs. This clown couldn’t sign his grandmother! Bottom line is that Friedman is in way over his head, he doesn’t know how to make a deal for a big-time player, and he’s ruining the team with his ridiculously bad decisions. Kasten needs to wake up and either school this guy or fire him. For all the BS we will hear from Friedman, one fact remains. This team is not better than the one that got clobbered in the playoffs the last few years. Ownership promised a championship. They did not deliver, and won’t in 2016 either.

  10. RMRuby Love the passion.That is the question isn’t it? Will the team be a more competitive team in 2016 than it was in 2015 or 2014? Can they get to the WS?
    Saber metrics from my studying it does help get you through 162 games and into the playoffs as it works with cumulative totals and averages.  But in the playoffs it is an entire different situation you need players that can lead and dominate and that is not really the type of guy they choose. Reggie is MR October not Mr June. No one cares as much in the end how you play during the year if you tank in the playoffs.

  11. Tmaxster  It is way too early in the offseason to judge what kind of a team they will field in April. I love everybody’s passion for the Dodgers. And I totally understand the disdain most of us feel for this front office duo. To me, Friedman always seems like he is talking out of the side of his mouth, never a straight forward answer. The options to upgrade the starting staff are shrinking. Free agent pool is dwindling as we speak. So which way do they turn? Trades? Free Agents? I am thinking they need a combination of both. But I would not trade for Miller. Too many control problems for my liking, and what would he cost? Braves want prospects or Joc Pederson…..I would not make that trade. Puig is the real wild card here. Does he get his head out of his ass and play ball, or is he still going to be a distraction in the clubhouse. I for one, tread his worthless butt at the first mess up……..

  12. Also, I think Friedman might wish Zack’s family well, but I am pretty sure he hopes Zack’s season is a total bust…

  13. Michael I agree with you. And yes Grandal was the rally killer. And yes it is too early to tell what will happen but all we are saving is these guys better pull more than a rabbit out of their behinds cause Dodger Nation is NOT HAPPY. The team is a mess. The OF is a mess the BP is still a mess. With Kershaw and Greinke the Dodgers won about 65% of their games with the rest of the rotation they were under 500 that does not bode well.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button