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I'm a Giants fan, and I honestly thought the Dodgers were going to make serious run. Very surprising that they went out and didn't make it at least to the NLCS. Fans must be scratching their heads because this team seemed loaded, just like the Nats.
Oh well, it was an exciting season, something to build on for next year. No reason to get down on this team IMO. At least you're not the Cubs.
Another thing that gets to me is how Dodger fans run there mouths and always putting down the Giants. Maybe it's because I'm on the East Coast and I don't feel that rivalry. But I saw so much trash talking when the Dodgers took over the division. No what? Giants have a good shot at going to the WS again, for the 3rd time in 5 years.
Giants have a better run organization right now than most teams including the Dodgers. There coach knows how to win with few super stars but guys who are thirsty to win.
on another Dodgers forum a lot people want to see Joe Maddon be the next manager. I have nothing against Joe Maddon and he may be a good manager, but he's in the American league where they don't really have to do a lot of managing.
I think Mattingly is a lousy manager. But, I'm not sure Maddon is the answer.
Another thing that gets to me is how Dodger fans run there mouths and always putting down the Giants. Maybe it's because I'm on the East Coast and I don't feel that rivalry. But I saw so much trash talking when the Dodgers took over the division. No what? Giants have a good shot at going to the WS again, for the 3rd time in 5 years.
Giants have a better run organization right now than most teams including the Dodgers. There coach knows how to win with few super stars but guys who are thirsty to win.
Whether they have a better run organization, I am not going to comment on because I really can't but I will say, if you think the Dodger fans run their mouths about the Giants, just visit the bay area and see what they have to say about the Dodgers. Now, add to that, remember the days of the Yankee/Dodgers rivalry or even the Dodger/Giants in NYC? Obviously you are not nearly old enough to remember but many of us all. This has always been the way of sport. It is part of the fun of sports to be tell the truth.
The Dodgers ownership still does not quite get it. They arrived with a bang, going on that extraordinary spending spree, attempting to buy their way to a quick championship.
That has gotten them into the post season, but has not produced a WS contestant much less a winner.
So, having learned that money without brains behind it was just throwing money around, now they have decided to throw money around to collect brains.
They hired metric oriented Farhan Zaidi to be the GM, and he will preside over a staff which includes Ned Colletti, Andrew Friedman, Josh Byrnes, and Gerry Hunsicker. What those four men have in common is that they have all been GMs at one time or another. Under Zaidi they are all supposed to be vice presidents of baseball operations, but none are there to supervise scouting or farm clubs, they hired Gabe Kapler and Billy Gasparino for those jobs.
Might not all this be a case of too many Katrinas and not enough Waves? Perhaps this is a simplistic view, but it all radiates the appearance of the Dodgers trying to overwhelm their problems rather than study and fix each one.
Strangely, Zaidi who is supposed to be Mr. Metric, PhD from MIT, understudy to Billy Beane, has recently announced that he plans to study the Giants front office to discover their secrets of success. Why? Because "I don't think you can win three World Series in five years just by being lucky. I think that's maybe stating the obvious."
Which is a very unmetric thing to say. One never states that something is outside the realm of random luck until you have applied the formulas which measure the true odds at work. In that it has been well established that luck is indeed a prime factor in post season success, it is indeed possible that what has separated the Giants from other post season teams of late has been uncommonly good fortune.
During the postseason I learned that when the Giants end a series preceding an off-day they always wait until the following morning to travel, whereas every other club leaves ASAP after the game. The Giants management believes that the team is more rested than when they take a late night flight and arrive somewhere in the wee hours of the morning. I agree with this practice and wonder why other clubs don't do the same. Over the course of a long season it should make any team a bit fresher at the end. I'm not saying this is why the Giants have been winning lately, but it certainly did not hurt their chances.
Concerning the Dodgers, they may be on the verge of putting all the pieces together. For the last 2 or 3 years we've looked at the Angels roster and scratched our heads wondering why they weren't doing any better. Now it looks like they may have finally turned things around. I don't think Mattingly is the problem. Some of the worst managers in history became the best when their players started performing. Two example proofs of this are Casey Stengel and Joe Torre. When reporting that Torre had been hired as the new Yankees manager the NY Daily News ran a huge headline on the front page that read, "CLUELESS JOE." Stengel had been greeted with similar disdain when he arrived in 1949.
Finally, I think the idea of forming a committee to study the Giants' management technique is ludicrous. I would spend that time and money on scouting and player development.
Finally, I think the idea of forming a committee to study the Giants' management technique is ludicrous. I would spend that time and money on scouting and player development.
It seems a self defeating idea, having metric oriented people making a study of the one club which has resisted going metric in their front office. These folks will be looking to unmask a pattern in an organization which operates ad hoc, without a particular pattern.
Opening Day yesterday. Great to hear Vin Scully again and see my Dodgers. Matt Kemp in a Padres uniform was strange, but it was a great game and the Dodgers won. Looking forward to a great season.
Seeing Kimbrel & Kemp in a Padres uniform is definitely gonna be odd.
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The Impatience Of The Wealthy
