First off, big ups to all of the men and women serving our country that help preserve the freedom which we enjoy. Given that today is Veteran’s Day, a day to honor the sacrifices of our soldiers, I found it incredibly ironic that J.D. Drew opted out of his contract with the Dodgers, with 3 years and $33 million left on the table, leaving the team hanging in order to pursue a better deal... more ›

The Dodgers weren't exactly limping going into Angel Stadium; after
all, getting swept on the road isn't the most noteworthy stumble, and besides,
they'd swept the lowly Pirates and salvaged the last game of the
Seattle series just before that. Despite losing the division lead to
San Diego, it wasn't like they were hopelessly out of first; even the
division-trailing Diamondbacks were only four and a half games out,
and nobody had really made a move to dominate the division.

So when Brad Penny ascended the mound to dominate the Angels over
seven strong innings, it came as a
welcome reminder that the team could actually win games. His
resulting win — a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/boxscore?gameId=260630103">6-1
Dodger victory — brought Penny a 9-2 record, the best season opening
of his career, a prelude to his href="http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060702&content_id=1534879&vkey=news_la&fext=.jsp&c_id=la">All-Star
bid.
more ›

Ned Colletti and the Los Angeles Dodgers have been busy trying to clean the mess left by former GM Paul DePodesta. In spite of the injuries that decimated the roster, there was no doubt that the pennant was winnable down the stretch.. Instead of banding together to try and salvage the season, infighting and poor play killed any chance the team had. Eventually killing not only their post-season hopes but costing the DePodesta his job and forcing manager Jim Tracy to find happiness elsewhere. more ›

The Dodgers finished their disappointing season with a loss to eventual division champs San Diego Padres and closed the books on what was their worst season in over 10 years. We don’t know what was more frustrating, the fact that the Dodgers, just before the post season was to start last year, watched their first place team melt away under the misguided general management of the since fired Paul DePodesta. Or that the team that was brought in to replace it this season was mainly on the bench injured while unproven youngsters took the bulk of the innings as well as the bulk of the losses. LAist never thought that DePodesta’s “Moneyball” system was going to work in LA bringing in new players with stats but not taking into regard the chemistry of the clubhouse (see future Hall of Famer and clubhouse cancer Jeff Kent). Then to add insult to the injuries (sorry that was too easy) manager Jim Tracy, a master at making the most of what he was given, was let go. more ›

Theo Epstein spoiled baseball. more ›

Ultimately, it came down to philosophy. Jim Tracy is a good manager, but it's not like he's Casey Stengel. It is essential for a GM and a manager to be on the same page. If they aren't, then a change needs to be made. Paul DePodesta probably wanted to jettison Tracy last year, but couldn't do so in good faith after the team made the playoffs. He might have been fine letting Tracy finish out his contract, but Tracy's demand for an extension coupled with his uncharacteristic criticisms of team management served as the catalyst for his ouster. more ›

Congratulations to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, on clinching the AL West. While we at LAist admit to a strong Dodger bias, and changing the team name didn't make us think the Angels were an LA team, we acknowledge them as a SoCal team. And we can't help but admire the work that Arte Moreno has done. more ›

Cruz does add some pop, which the Dodgers could use. He's a gold glover defensively. And this isn't meant to be an earth-shattering signing. This is simply meant to be a slight tweaking to a roster that could use some help, ala Billy Beane's regular tweaks in Oakland. It's also hard to be critical of a trade where the Dodgers only give up a player-to-be-named later, and spend just $1.1 million of money that's not ours. more ›

With five days before the trade deadline, giving up with just a five-game deficit would probably wreck the psyche of a franchise already walking a public relations tightrope. The public and the media might understand trading away Jeff Weaver and Jeff Kent with an eight-game deficit, but not five. The Padres have looked so horrible lately, that it's possible the Dodgers are just one or two decent additions away from backing into the playoffs. And when you get into the playoffs, anything can happen. more ›

As the trade deadline rapidly approaches, the Dodgers find themselves 8.5 games behind the Padres in the NL West with a pathetic 41-52 record. Paul DePodesta now has to decide if the Dodgers will become buyers or sellers over the course of the next 10 days. LAist recommends the latter. more ›

"It's not like I broke up a dynasty," DePodesta said. more ›

LAist never ever wants a player to get hurt. But is it possible this is a blessing in disguise for the Dodgers? This was the Paul DePodesta offseason move that we actually questioned the most. Valentin is a low-average, high-power player, and historically those players have been awful at Dodger Stadium. Additionally, his third base defense is lousy. Hitting .194, Valentin had been a liability for the Dodgers. more ›

Now, LAist knows not to make too much of a great early season start. But consider that the Dodgers have managed to play fantastic baseball without Eric Gagne, Brad Penny, or Wilson Alvarez yet. To all of those Dodger doubters, who think using new innovations and technologies to build a baseball team is foolish, you can admit that Paul DePodesta probably knew what he was doing. Even ESPN Analyst and Moneyball doubter Harold Reynolds publicly apologized on Baseball Tonight. more ›

So now is there any question that the Dodgers got the better of the Kevin Brown deal? Weaver has been one of the most reliable starters for the Dodgers, and Yhencey Brazoban (also aquired in the Yankees trade) has become a top reliever. On the other coast, Brown has been on and off the DL, he collapsed in the playoffs last year, and let's not forget that he took himself out for a month by punching a wall. more ›

In an otherwise hectic offseason, it's reassuring to know that Gagne and his ugly goatee will grace the Chavez Ravine mound for at least two more seasons. Paul DePodesta hates salary arbitration, and even though the Dodgers have an arbitration-dynamo in Kim Ng, some things are better left avoided. The last thing LA needed was a hearing where Ng would bring every negative instnace in Gagne's history to light, in an effort to save a few bucks. more ›

LAist confesses that its always been a Derek Lowe fan. The guy has great stuff, and rose to the occasion in the postseason this year for the Red Sox. But $36 million for Lowe seems excessive for a guy who has basically had one good year as a starter. So why are the Dodgers guaranteeing him four years? more ›

First off, it is curious that the Dodgers have been so eager to get rid of Green's contract. Yes, he's getting paid $16 million. But it's only for this one last season. Normally, rich teams just write off that loss. The Dodgers though seeem desperate to unload Green NOW. Never mind that Darren Dreifort's and Jeff Weaver's outrageous salaries also expire after this season. With most every major free agent except Carlos Beltran signed, LAist is very curious to see how the Dodgers use this freed up money. They could pursue a trade for a starting pitcher, but what team will give one up now that there are few free agent replacements to sign? Does this trade mean the eratic Derek Lowe will be a Dodger? more ›

We've stated before that it's a little odd that the Dodgers couldn't pony up $2 million more a year to get Adrian Beltre instead of Drew. In reality, after losing Beltre, the Dodgers became desperate for some form of offense and probably felt compelled to overpay for the Boras-represented Drew. more ›

What for a second looked like the worst trade in Dodger history became absolutely nothing, as the Dodgers backed out of widely reported trade that would have brought Randy Johnson to the New York Yankees. more ›

According to ESPN's Peter Gammons and The Sporting News' Ken Rosenthal, Adrian Beltre has signed a five-year contract with the Seattle for somewhere between $60 and $65 million. more ›

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. more ›

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. more ›

How did the Red Sox break an 86-year "curse?" By thinking outside the box. The Red Sox are the first "Moneyball" team to win a World Series. When John Henry, Tom Werner, and Larry Lucchino took over the Red Sox, they were determined to embrace new ideas which were revolutionizing baseball. So in came Theo Epstein, who hired Bill James and Voros McCracken as advisors. Today, they have World Series rings. more ›

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. more ›

It is absolutely inconceivable that Eric Gagne could lose two straight games, and three games in the span of a week. And the Dodgers division lead has dwindled down to 4.5 games as a result. more ›

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. more ›

ESPN's Peter Gammons is reporting that Brad Penny will miss just one start, after an MRI revealed a stretched nerve in his right bicep. That's great news for Dodgers fans because--there's no other way to spin this--if Penny's injury had been any worse then it would have been a total disaster for the team. more ›

Those questioning Paul DePodesta's extreme makeover of the Dodgers should realize they failed to account for the "good pitcher" element in their chemistry sets. more ›

Ironically, the same idiots who all season claimed the Dodgers needed to make some big moves in order to be successful are the same people claiming the team shouldn't have made these big moves to mess with their success. The truth of the matter is that the Dodgers have always had a good team, but a heavily flawed one, and LAist is impressed with the creative boldness of DePodesta in remaking the team. We believe the Dodgers are better. more ›

... more ›