Dodgers Columnist Points a Finger Toward Andrew Friedman for Postseason Failure in 2023
The Dodgers season came to a close much earlier than anyone expected it to, and now they enter into the offseason searching for answers. There isn’t one single blame for the problems that presented themselves in the postseason, but rather multiple factors.
Everyone will have different reasons why the Dodgers lost, with their offense going cold being a primary one. Additionally, the lack of moves made by the Dodgers at the trade deadline did come back to haunt them. The front office believed that they had enough to make it through, or at least they showed that thought on a surface level.
With the young pitchers in place, along with a few veterans, the front office didn’t go fully in on this season. Maybe they knew something that nobody else did, but it ended up being another wasted opportunity.
“Lance Lynn, the major leagues’ regular season leader in home runs allowed, was pitching Wednesday night because he was the guy management settled for at the trade deadline in what should have been a desperate quest for starting pitching. The two guys they wound up with when the smoke cleared on Aug. 1 were Lynn and Ryan Yarbrough, a starter-bulk guy who was effective in both roles during the season but for some reason wasn’t included on the postseason roster.”
Yarbrough not being on the postseason roster was certainly an interesting choice, but one that didn’t end up hurting them. Their bullpen was incredible in the postseason and helped keep them alive in games.
Lynn ended up being the last line of defense for this team and ultimately crumbled under everything like the rest of the team. His being the only starter that the team acquired, hurt this squad in the end. Lynn would have been a fine fourth starter for this club, but the team having to rely on his home-run-happy approach became an issue.
To the credit of the front office, they did acquire starter Eduardo Rodríguez from the Detroit Tigers, only for him to veto the deal. But it seems that the homework on him wasn’t done, otherwise, maybe they could have seen that coming.
Their lack of effective starting pitching cost them in the postseason, along with the failure of the bats. So, while some may want to blame manager Dave Roberts, the lack of success falls squarely on the shoulders of the front office.
“So yes, point some fingers directly at President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman and General Manager Brandon Gomes. And let it be noted that when so many other pursuits for pitching fell through at the deadline, I noted at the time: “The first report card will come sometime in October.” It was a resounding F.”
This offseason will tell us a lot about how this team views winning. If they are serious, they will go all in and make it clear that they don’t accept the results from the previous few years. But if they don’t, and they continue to skirt by, things won’t change come playoff time for this franchise.
