“Fire Dave Roberts!”
“Forget saving money for Shohei, spend now!”
“We need a bigtime pitcher!”
At this point, these cries are Andrew Friedman’s tell-tale heartbeat. Instead of driving him crazy, the fans are the ones calling this team an 80-win franchise.
Friedman is playing it cool. The Dodgers are still the team to beat in the west.
The season opener is two months away. As the Dodgers stand, they’re biggest free agent of the off season was JD Martinez. The rest of the reinforcement will come from their dependable minor league system.
The kids will come out and play in the majors this year. Miguel Vargas is said to take over second base. Gavin Lux is taking over the shortstop position. James Outman is prime to get at-bats while playing outfield.
If you think this is Andrew dismembering the team and burying it in Chavez Ravine, you’re wrong. The Dodgers are still the kings of the west.
The Rockies have their owner flexing that his team can play .500 ball.
The Diamondbacks made moves like trading for Kyle Lewis and Lourdes Gurriel Jr that let the league know they are here to compete.
The Giants are still lamenting the loss of Carlos Correa.
The Padres are spending any penny they have to their name and rightfully so. They finally slayed the 10-freeway monster in the playoffs but their quest for their first NL West Divisional title since 2006 is still a distance away.
Meanwhile, Friedman is messing around and giving minor league contracts to Jason Heyward hoping he can back up the outfield options.
Contracts like these pay off. Just ask Justin Turner. Andrew Freidman knows it. The panic button is nowhere to be clicked. Stop worrying and let Andrew cook. The Dodgers are still the boogie man of the west.
Then there’s Murphy’s Law–anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. Injuries in baseball are as common as cheating. The young players can be shunned out by the bright Major League stage. Max Muncy and Chris Taylor can continue their regression. Dustin May can ruin the backend of the starting rotation and force the front office to trade their prospects for a rental.
Anything can go wrong. But if there’s a team that can overcome any kind of adversities, it’s the Los Angeles Dodgers. Get that panic button and ship it up the 5 freeway to Anaheim. They can probably find a use for it.
Call me a spoiled fan, a hopelessly devoted fan, a dreamer, the Dodgers are still the big bad wolves of the west, the stars of the National League West, the Showtime Dodgers. The Dodgers are still the team to beat.
But, if they suck, fire Dave Roberts and the rest of the front office. Sign Ohtani. Show no mercy. Tear the team apart and bury it in center field.
