Roger Arrieta
“Feeling Blue”
By Emilio Lacques-Zapien (Twitter: @EmilioLZ323)
It was a sad sight at Dodgers Stadium on October 15, as it turned out to be Jacob deGrom and Daniel Murphy that would #RockTheRavine in game #5 of the NLDS, as the Dodgers lost to the Mets by a final score of 3-2. Once again, the Dodgers fell short of getting past the Division Series, and once again, Kershaw and Greinke’s historic seasons ended painfully, in mid-October. And once again, the Dodgers watched an opposing club celebrate on their field. A half hour after the game ended, about a hundred “Let’s go Mets!” chants echoed through the stadium from the field level right behind the N.Y. dugout, as security pushed Dodgers fans to leave their seats and head towards the parking lots in all other sections. We sat in traffic for close to an hour and 15 minutes to leave the stadium. But hey, “We (still) Love L.A.,” right?
It feels like something is missing with this club, doesn’t it? For starters, the Dodgers overall hit for just a .238 average in the series, and we’re 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position in game #5. With the home runs against Greinke and Kershaw, the “given base” at third, and the stellar defense at second base-Daniel Murphy was the second-coming of Matt Carpenter in 2015 . For the past few years, it felt like the Cardinals were the Dodgers nemesis. But after losing our last combined six playoff appearances since 1996 to the Mets, Cardinals, and JRoll and Utley with the Phillies, it’s becoming clear that there are deeper issues running throughout the organization.
The first response in Dodger land has naturally been to point the finger at leadership. Exactly one week after their season ended, the Dodgers parted ways with Manager Don Mattingly “on mutual” and “amicable terms,” according to both parties. So, was this more of a firing or a resignation?
Speculation has run rampant over which factors truly led to this decision. On Sportsnet LA, former Dodgers infielder-turned-analyst Nomar Garciaparra asked his co-workers, “Raise your hand if you are surprised.” No one raised their hand. While everyone saw this coming, Dodgers front office leaders Friedman and Zaidi still had a somewhat tense back and forth with the L.A. media, as they were hammered for not revealing enough details about the “mutual” decision.
Boatloads of Dodger faithful and pundits had been jumping on the “Fire Mattingly” bandwagon recently, and their reasons are justified. The new front office sabermetrics guys have only been at it for less than a year, so the jury is still out on whether their philosophies will work with this club. But Donnie was at the helm for five seasons.
For starters, several red flags surrounding Mattingly had been burning bright in 2015. The obvious ones were: mismanagement of pitching staffs, inconsistent lineups and player roles, lack of situational hitting, and Mattingly getting yelled at publicly by Kershaw and Ethier in the same month. After embarrassing losses, Donnie has said things like, “I like what I saw today,” or “I think we’re fine.” And before game #1 of the NLDS, he said that it “isn’t the biggest game of the year.” Mattingly apologists claim that three NL West Division titles in a row is an accomplishment large enough to give Donnie the benefit of the doubt. But expectations have shifted in L.A., and for good reason. The Dodgers now have the highest payroll in baseball, and one of the most talented group of baseball players in the world. Dodger faithful should expect to win, or at least expect to have a legitimate shot at reaching the World Series every season.
The Dodgers released a “Thank You Fans” video shortly after the season ended. It was well put together, unlike the Dodgers rallies in game #5. It feels bittersweet to continue to celebrate the rich legacy and history of the Dodgers franchise, when we have only division titles to be proud of in the past 27 years. I was nine months old when the Dodgers won their last championship. But hey, there’s always next season? Something about pastures being green somewhere? All I know is that I got a paper cut the the morning after the loss, and blue blood came out.
The media blitz over who will replace Don Mattingly has been well documented. There are currently five top candidates for the job:
- Dave Martinez-Chicago Cubs bench Coach.
- Gabe Kapler-Dodgers Director of Player Development.
- Tim Wallach-Bench Coach for the Dodgers and right-hand man of Mattingly.
- Ron Roenicke-Dodgers Third Base Coach, and former head coach of the Milwaukee Brewers.
- Bud Black-former Head Coach of the San Diego Padres.
My first choice is Dave Martinez. He has worked closely with Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman, as a bench coach with the Rays during Friedman’s entire tenure in Tampa Bay under head coach Joe Maddon. He has a great reputation for having leadership skills and respect from players and his peers, but has yet to get a shot at leading a clubhouse himself. I believe he’ll be a head coach somewhere in 2016. Martinez is also bilingual, which gives him a distinct edge and the ability to relate and communicate naturally with latino immigrant players, staff, prospects, and even Dodgers fans. His focus under Joe Maddon was specifically centered around in-game decisions such as stealing bases, bunting, and calling for hit-and-runs. These are strategies that Mattingly was often criticized for lacking throughout his tenure at the helm. The Dodgers offense has been lacked an overall identity. A major flaw has been their inability to get runners over and in to score after they reach base. A common flaw that has arguably cost the Dodgers several playoff series in recent years.
My second choice, Ron Roenicke, is also well versed with in-game, situational offensive strategies. Roenicke came on as the Dodgers third-base coach on August 17, replacing Lorenzo Bundy. He immediately had an impact on the offensive attack, as the Dodgers started stealing bases, bunting runners over, and even a few hit-and-runs. It was a breath of fresh air, after what felt like a stagnant approach for much of the season. Having coached the Brewers since 2011 with one division title, Ron has the necessary experience to lead a major league club. He also has local roots-he was born in Covina, CA and played at UCLA in college. Roenicke was drafted by the Dodgers in 1977 and eventually playing in 212 games for L.A. as an outfielder.
Gabe Kapler is considered the young and “sexy” pick for Dodgers manager. Having only served as Director of Player Development for the organization for one year, and only having managing experience with minor league clubs, Kapler wouldn’t normally be an obvious choice. But Friedman has a lot of respect and enthusiasm for the 40 year old out of Taft High School and Cal State Fullerton. Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports believes that Kapler is actually the front-runner for the job. There are rumors that the front office wants a new manager that they can easily influence, and is more open minded to their statistical analysis approach in making daily baseball decisions. I think Kapler would be best suited for a bench coach role to gain more major league managerial experience and become a protege for either Martinez or Roenicke before making the big leap. But Friedman and Zaidi have surprised us before (Kemp, Gordon, Kendrick, Roenicke, etc.), so everything is fair game.
Bud Black and Tim Wallach are solid baseball guys, but not the right fit for this group or this front office. The franchises that have had the most success recently-the Giants (ouch), Cardinals, Red Sox, and of course the Yankees (all-time) all have commonalities: strong organizational leadership, continuity, and clear identities. From the FOX ownership to the McCourt era, to Colletti and Mattingly, it just has never felt like a fully-functioning, well-run unit yet. Is the Guggenheim group (with a touch of Magic) and Friedman with their new manager the recipe for finally achieving that elusive World Series Championship? Will they re-sign Zack Greinke and Howie Kendrick? Only time will tell. Only one thing is for certain-this next decision will be their biggest one yet by far.
