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September 24, 2007
The Time Has Come: FIRE GRADY
At the beginning of the season I picked the Dodgers to handily win the division. The Dodgers had a starting rotation that most teams would kill for, and offensively they could overwhelm every other team in the division.
Sure injuries took their toll especially on the pitching staff, but it’s pathetic that in the final week of the season I’m not caring at all what the Dodgers are doing.
Last Thursday AM570’s reporter David Vassegh reported on the dissolution within the Dodger clubhouse. Not only is there a huge divide between the young and old, but all of the players have lost confidence in Grady Little.
Wouldn’t you lose confidence in a manager who led a team out of the All Star break into a slump that took the team from first place to fourth in two weeks?
Wouldn’t you lose confidence in a manager who while trying to come out of said slump during the homestretch of the season showed no sense of urgency repeating, “There’s a lot of games to be played”?
Wouldn’t you lose confidence in a manager who kept sending Brett Tomko and Mark Hendrickson to the mound despite what a horror they were on the mound?
Wouldn’t you lose confidence in a manager who used a ouija board to create a lineup?
While with the New York Jets, head coach Herman Edwards in a postgame press conference meltdown famously uttered the words, “You play to win the game.” It’s become quite evident throughout the course of the season that Grady Little played to try and make everyone happy.
To me it’s very clear what needs to be done: FIRE GRADY LITTLE. Doing this will not absolve general manager Ned Colletti for the sins he committed: Signing Jason Schmidt, Juan Pierre, Nomar Garciaparra and Esteban Loaiza. However by firing Grady he will be taking an initiative in regaining control in the clubhouse.
There are four people who come to mind to replace Grady in order of preference.
Bobby Valentine. He’s a little crazy and doesn’t take shit from anyone. He knows how to keep his players focused. Remember he took the Mets to the World Series in 2000.
Kirk Gibson. I’m not being sentimental at all when I say his name. Dodger fans remember him for working hard and not messing around. The eye black incident during spring training in 1988 is good evidence of this. Currently he’s the bench coach for the division leading D-Backs, and I think it’s time to give him a managing job.
Kevin Kennedy. We all know him on FOX and the Dodgers Live on FSN Prime Ticket. He’s also the last manager to lead the Red Sox to the AL East pennant.
Dusty Baker. He was eight outs from winning the World Series with the Giants in 2002. From what I hear he had a good working relationship with Ned Colletti. True he was a dunce with the Cubs, but if the only two starting pitchers you have were injured throughout your tenure you would lose too.
If nothing is done next month then any expectation for the Dodgers to win a World Series will be gone for a long time.
By the way the Dodgers put off the inevitable by beating the D-Backs on Sunday.
Official Grady Little mugshot famously manipulated by Moi
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No. Not Dusty. That's crazy, desperate talk there. He's a terrible manager.
"but if the only two starting pitchers you have were injured throughout your tenure you would lose too."
Uh, he's the reason those pitchers were injured.... Valentine is a great choice. Kennedy is an OK choice. Gibson is a poor choice. Baker is not a choice at all.
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Yes, yes and yes.
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Didn't the Dodgers lead the division the whole first half? Grady could have been replaced by a mounted moose head and the Dodgers could have had a better year. Out of that list- I like Kevin Kennedy. Or if you want to get crazy and bring back the spirit of 88; Tommy, Kirk, or Orel. It will probably be another clearing house off-season. Then they will just bring in another batch from the scratch and dent floor.
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Bobby Valentine....not only can he manage, he gives good copy -- his brand of crazy is very entertaining.
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sure....fire grady, fire coletti, and get a new owner. i'm down for all of it. This team has been brutal to watch. Is it petty of me that the only comfort/enjoyment of the last 2 weeks was watching milton bradley step on a teamates hand then injure his knee arguing with an ump? All i need now is Tomko to put the final nail in the coffin by pulling a "tomko" and give up 6 runs an inning to officially knock the padres out.
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I love everything about the Dodgers except:
Ned Colletti
Grady Little
Frank McCourt
Jeff Kent
Esteban Loiaza's Beard
Otherwise, they're doing great.
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and Wouldn't you lose confidence in a manager who replaces the pitcher after the 6th inning EVERY game, despite the pitcher's success?
That said, Dodgers got screwed by injuries and by their schedule. I say, fire the old dudes, get a new third baseman, and build a young pitching staff. Maybe in 10 years we'll win one.
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Comment #6: that's very good except for me Jeff Kent is at the top of that list. I understand that some surliness can go a long way a la Kirk Gibson, but at least Gibson showed some leadership qualities. All Kent can do is hover around, be moody and masturbate while thinking about his motorbikes. At least he didn't sustain a season-ending injury on one of those while lying to the team about the injury.
Solracg: For some strange reason, I actually really like Milton Bradley. I'm glad he's not with the Dodgers, but part of me just really likes the guy. And not in the homo gay way some commenters around here think I would mean that. And can we stick that proverbial nail in Tomko's face? That would give me a lot of solace.
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I liked Bradley too, but I don't miss him and the guy is his own worst enemy....it's mainly just sour grapes. but yeah a nail in the face for tomko sounds about right.