[Rams Dominate]

You guys make good points, gotta say after reading your responses I agree, just my old fashioned reaction to honoring a contract you signed or a handshake being your bond & the Dodgers did give Greinke the option of opting out, they created this problem after all...Getting Ryu & McCarthy back will certainly be sweet next year & Greinke staying would be sweet as well, another starting pitcher is still a must & shoring up the pen as well...

[Elvis]

Not a surprise, but Mattingly is out...

[moklerman]

Considering all the saber-metrics and such, is there really much need for a manager? I've heard that Mattingly was pretty limited in what decisions he could make because the club wants to go so heavy with the numbers.

[snackdaddy]

Considering all the saber-metrics and such, is there really much need for a manager? I've heard that Mattingly was pretty limited in what decisions he could make because the club wants to go so heavy with the numbers.

Yeah, I always said I was lukewarm on him. I think they shoulda done more the past 3 years with the payroll they have. But he was limited with the roster they had. The bullpen was an issue for the second straight year. The starters past Kershaw/Greinke were terrible. Some bad luck attributed to that with Ryu and McCarthy missing the whole season.

The offense was too reliant on the longball. Pederson shoulda went to the bench when it was clear he was going to struggle to hit past .200. I'm sure he'll be a fine player in this league for years. But he was a rookie who needed to learn things.

They shipped out Kemp and Gordon to build a different type of team. One they said would better compete in the post season. This team was not good at manufacturing runs. So it would be safe to say they failed.

[OldSchool]

Three names to keep an eye on in my personal order:

Gabe Kapler

Dave Martinez

Jason Kendal.

If I were betting on it one of those three would be my bet for the next manager.

[Hacksaw_64]

Roberts appears to be Dodgers' manager pick



LOS ANGELES -- Dave Roberts, initially considered a long shot until dazzling management in his interview, is expected to be hired as the next manager of the Dodgers on Monday, according to baseball sources. The club has not confirmed the decision, which could be announced as early as Monday, according to ESPN's Buster Olney.

Roberts, whose father is an African-American former Marine and mother is a Japanese-American, becomes the first minority manager of the franchise that had the first African-American player, Jackie Robinson. Roberts was born in Okinawa, Japan, where his father was stationed. He played at UCLA and lives in Vista, outside of San Diego.

It's been a busy weekend for the Dodgers, who also reached agreements with Cuban prospects Yusniel Diaz and Omar Estevez, according to MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez.

Roberts has never managed anywhere. He most recently was bench coach for Bud Black with the San Diego Padres, who bypassed Roberts and hired Andy Green as manager.

At 43, Roberts is the youngest Dodgers manager since 42-year-old Walt Alston was hired in 1954 (Glenn Hoffman, interim manager in 1998, was 39). He is the Dodgers' eighth manager in the last 17 years, following a 42-year run shared by Hall of Famers Alston and Tommy Lasorda.

Dodgers to hire Dave Roberts

Roberts' hiring comes as a bit of a surprise after it was believed that president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman preferred Dodgers director of player development Gabe Kapler, whom Friedman knows from their days together with the Tampa Bay Rays.

Roberts is a battler. He survived a 2010 diagnosis of Hodgkin's lymphoma. He overcame long odds to become the starting center fielder for the Dodgers in the early 2000s.

And he etched his name into Red Sox lore in 2004 with The Steal. Entering Game 4 of the American League Championship Series with his club on the verge of elimination, Roberts pinch-ran for Kevin Millar, stole second base off Mariano Rivera and scored the tying run on Bill Mueller's single. The Red Sox won the game in the 12th inning, beat the Yankees and went on to win their first World Series since 1918.

A graduate of UCLA and a disciple of Dodgers basestealing legend Maury Wills, Roberts was drafted in the 28th round by Detroit in 1994, was traded to Cleveland in 1998 and was acquired by the Dodgers in a December 2001 trade for Minor Leaguers Christian Bridenbaugh and Nial Hughes that went completely under the radar.

But Roberts impressed manager Jim Tracy with his offseason workout routine and he won the starting center-field job in Spring Training after spending most of the previous eight years in the Minor Leagues. He played three years for the Dodgers, then for the Red Sox, Padres and Giants before retiring in 2009. From his first full season in 2002 to his last full season in 2007, he ranked fourth among all Major League players with 226 stolen bases.

Following his playing career, Roberts served as an analyst for the New England Sports Network in 2009 before joining the Padres front office in 2010.

Ken Gurnick is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

http://m.dodgers.mlb.com/news/article/1 ... rs-manager

I like it! The ownership reel the Nerds in. This isn't Tampa.

[Rams Dominate]

Initially I was hoping for someone with a track record but once the deal was done I'm backing off my initial reaction because I remember when Walt Alston was hired, it was "Walt who?" And he went on to reap a whole lotta love out of L.A. & I was one of'em, The "Quiet Man" & if Roberts dazzled them with his interview he might just be the catalyst to put us over the hump, Puig will be his litmus test because I'm sensing a lot of negative stuff in the club house about him, maybe Roberts can light a fire under him & turn him into a Positive...I do know that Grienke didn't like him at all & was out front about his dislike of him...I did like Roberts as a player, seemed he was always involved in a rally in some way & he was well liked...

[snackdaddy]

Roberts is inheriting a decent team. With Kershaw as the catalyst they have what it takes to make the playoffs. If they want to go further there are a few things they need to fix in the offseason. They need to bring back Greinke. Thats a solid one-two punch that can keep you from a long stretches of losing when the team slumps. If not, they need to sign a top tier ace like Price.

Then they need to address the bullpen. It was too shaky between the starters and Jansen. They also need to look a some speed in the lineup. They need to manufacture runs instead of relying on the long ball. I believe Roberts understands that aspect. As a player he was the proverbial table setter for the big hitters. Hopefully he can instill something in the team that they've been lacking. Do the little things it takes to win.

[Rams Dominate]

Nice post sd, agree with your take...

[snackdaddy]

Well, Greinke is out. He signs with the D-backs. I was hoping they would resign him. Apparently it was all about the 6th year. Dodgers didn't want to go past 5 and D-Backs offered the 6th. Now the rotation is Kershaw and question marks. Price and Zimmerman are out of the equation. Not the way a the highest paid team wants to enter a season.

The best remaining option is Cueto. He's not in the class of Greinke but he'd immediately be the number two. Wasn't that good this past season but he had some good years in Cincy. If they want another ace close to Greinke's caliber it will have to be via trade. IMO, they should be thinking about shopping Puig. He's a great talent but I don't know if he'll ever mature. Mattingly once said when asked if Puig has hit his ceiling "its probably as good as it will ever get".

The NL West is gonna be interesting. Giants seem to rebound in even years. D-Backs are an automatic contender with Greinke. Padres were expected to contend last year. Could they contend this year? The confidence I had the last few years is not there for next season. But things change. Guys come out of nowhere to be stars and other guys hit a wall. Baseball's a funny game. You just gotta get to the playoffs and anyone has a chance.