Results tagged “kevinmalone”

After the 2000 season, then Dodgers general manager Kevin Malone offered pitcher Darren Dreifort a five-year $55 million contract. Dreifort had come off of a 12-9 season with a 4.16 ERA. Contract in hand Dreifort made 26 starts, 60 relief appearances and 15 trips to the operating table. He did not pitch for the last two years of his contract. This past offseason GM Ned Colletti signed free agent pitcher Jason Schmidt to a...

Tracy is a good fit for the DePodesta Moneyball philosophy, not because he necessarily believes in it, but because Tracy has always been a "yes man" of sorts. Kevin Malone hired him because, unlike Davey Johnson, he wouldn't diss Dodger Boy's moves in public. Tracy heralded Dan Evans every opportunity he could. And he has continued to tow the company line with Paul DePodesta.

Hindsight is 20/20, but it's pretty obvious today that the Mike Piazza trade was the worst move in Dodgers history. The Dodgers refused to sign the greatest hitting catcher ever in the prime of his career to what was effectively a market-level contract in a great economy. In return, the Dodgers got a worthless season from Bobby Bonilla, a worthless season and everlasting hatred from Charles Johnson, absolutely nothing out of Jim Eisenreich, Manuel Bairros' undistinguished minor league career, and of course, three years of headaches from Gary Sheffield.

Let's be honest. Jim Tracy is a "yes man." He's a company man. Kevin Malone hired him because he knew Tracy would go along with whatever he wanted, unlike Davey Johnson. Dan Evans kept him, because, well, Tracy always stayed in line. And now Paul DePodesta is likely keeping Tracy because the GM can suddenly trust his manager to respect the principles of sabermetrics. In a sport where the influence of a manager may only be marginal, it sure helps to be the manager who everyone can work with.

At LAist, we acknowledged that the riskiest part of Paul DePodesta's deadline deals was giving up Mota. But let's hope Jim Tracy and the Dodgers realize one thing: Darren Dreifort is a slightly above-average middle reliever, and has no business being the team's setup man.