THE DODGERS ANDREW FRIEDMAN HAS SOME EXPLAINING TO DO

Suspicious, Suspicious, Suspicious!

OK, let’s get this out of the way first: I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I actually agree with Buster Olney. Yeah, that Buster Olney. Wow. But hey, even a broken clock is right twice a day, and when it comes to the Dodgers’ acquisition of Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki, Olney’s skepticism is absolutely spot on.

Here’s the tea: Sasaki entered the MLB posting system in January, and all the usual suspects lined up like kids at a candy store. Yankees, Mets, Blue Jays, Padres, Rangers, Giants, Cubs—and, of course, the Dodgers. It was the ultimate bidding war… or was it? Because by January 17, Sasaki magically landed in Los Angeles with a $6.5 million posting bonus.

Suspicious? You bet.

While MLB swears up and down that their investigation found “no evidence of impropriety,” pretty much everyone else in the league is screaming foul. Even Olney didn’t mince words:

“They don’t believe it was ever on the up and up. There’s so many people who believe this was a done deal ahead of time.”

But wait, it gets better (or worse, depending on your team). During the evaluation process, Sasaki’s camp made a bizarre request: teams were asked to analyze his fastball velocity—down to 96.9 mph, gasp!—and present detailed plans for restoring and enhancing it. Naturally, organizations poured massive amounts of time, money, and expertise into crafting high-level pitching strategies.

And where did all that proprietary data end up? Oh, just in the hands of the Dodgers.

“All that information… was taped in this presentation the teams were doing,” Olney continued. “And then he chose the Dodgers, which means all these teams basically handed over proprietary information to Sasaki and the Dodgers.”

Let’s be real here: if you’re not mad about this, you’re probably Andrew Friedman or Sasaki’s agent Joel Wolfe. Rival executives are fuming, and for good reason. All those hours, all that effort—wasted. MLB can investigate all it wants, but the whispers aren’t going away. Manfred blew another one.

And the best part? Even the final decision “came down” to three teams—Dodgers, Padres, and Blue Jays—people still think the whole thing was a foregone conclusion.

So yeah, while MLB and the Dodgers might want us to believe everything’s squeaky clean, the rest of the league isn’t buying it. And honestly? Neither am I.

This smells fishier than a sushi platter at Dodger Stadium. No, that's just Friedman's crotch.  

Stay tuned on this one... this is a big deal.

BEST OF MLB THIS WEEK! YOU GOT TO LOVE THIS GAME!

Source: NY Post Paul J. Bereswill

It’s been sometime since I started writing for Bleeding Yankee Blue and I must say, I really enjoy it. If you read my pieces, you know that I tend to write about New York baseball as a whole and include news from the Yankees and the Mets.

Although I am loyal to my Yanks and Mets, I am definitely a baseball fan in general. I really enjoy hearing about accomplishments from other teams… well besides the Red Sox obviously. Suzie Pinstripe and I can put on any game any really enjoy it. This week, I want to switch it up and talk about some noteworthy news from around the league. Hope you enjoy!

Source: NY Post

The one bright spot in all of the Yankees’ plague of injuries, is allowing the opportunity for our minor leaguers to get the chance to show us what they’ve got. Nestor Cortes, Jr. is a 24-year-old left-hander from Cuba and our 36th-round pick in 2013. He has had an impressive performance at Triple-A with a 4.56 ERA, and during his latest start he tossed 7 ⅓ no hit innings, and struck out nine. Now that Cortes got called up, he is living his dream. 

“(It’s) 100-percent sweeter [with the Yankees],” Cortes told The Post. “It’s the team I got drafted by. It’s the team everybody wishes to be in New York with, so yeah, it’s definitely a lot sweeter and a lot better.”

Source: The New York Times

Things were definitely not looking up for Noah Syndergaard until his start on May 2nd. His historic performance not only included a 10 strike, complete-game shutout, but a 407 foot solo home run to win 1-0 over the Reds. It was only the seventh time in the history of the league that a pitcher hit a homer and threw a shutout, and the first time done by a Met. A little New York baseball crossover, Robinson Cano also joined the 2,500 hits club this week.

Source: USA Today

Oakland Athletics starter Mike Fiers threw the 300th no-hitter in MLB history and the second of his career. Fiers received an incredible out pour of support, including from his dad. 

“He was pretty excited,’’ Fiers said to USA today, “but so was I. I had a lot of energy, I couldn’t really sleep. I was trying to get back to everybody. I wanted to congratulate them for congratulating me. It’s been ongoing. I’m still trying to get back to people. I mean, I’ve even gotten stuff over in Japan. It’s pretty cool to see that worldwide.’’

Source: NBC Sports

On Wednesday, Joey Gallo of the Texas Rangers became the first player in baseball history to hit 100 home runs before hitting 100 singles. Recently it seems like the MLB is coming up with all kinds of ridiculous statistics, but this seems so impossible that it’s actually impressive. 

Source: LA Times

April showers bring...Justin Turner homers? Turner hit three dingers for the first time in his career against the Braves on Tuesday night. Apparently, April just is not a good month for Turner.

“I don’t know what the deal is,” Turner said. “Andrew [Friedman], I think, told me a couple weeks ago that I only have two or three career homers in April so not sure what that’s about but definitely glad that month’s over.”

That’s all for now. Let me know what you think! Like hearing about other teams? Or just want New York news? Until next time.

--Missy O'Rourke
BYB Contributor
Twitter: @missy_orourke

WHAT THE FRIEDMAN DID THE DODGERS DO?

That’s the headline from local Los Angeles sportswriter Vincent Bonsignore after learning Dodgers ace Zach Greinke announced Friday that he would be joining the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Greinke will earn $206 million over six years in Arizona—at $34.42 million a year he becomes one of the highest paid players in baseball. For comparison, Dodgers’ phenom Clayton Kershaw will get $30.7 million a year through 2020.

The loss of Greinke in the rotation is a shock and a huge blow to the Dodgers organization. He led the majors with a 1.44 ERA last season and along with Kershaw was part of the toughest pitching duo in all of baseball.

And Greinke donning a Diamondback uniform will be particularly hard for Dodger faithful. The Diamondbacks are in the same division which means Dodger hitters will see a lot of the dominating right hander over the next six years. There’s also a weird rivalry between the two teams. You may remember a couple years back Diamondbacks brass pissed off most of Los Angeles after they made Dodgers fans sitting in club seats change their attire to Dbacks gear—a practice they’ve continued this last year. The Dodgers also contributed to the tension by celebrating their 2013 NL West championship in the Diamondbacks outfield pool.

The loss of Greinke combined with previous trades of gold glover Dee Gordon and outfielder Matt Kemp has L.A. fans and sports media questioning Andrew Friedman’s decisions in the front office. While the loss of Greinke hurts, the Dodgers were right to get rid of Kemp who was a constant source of dysfunction in the clubhouse. But Friedman has his challenges ahead of him. He needs to add more arms to the starting rotation and the bullpen, and fill holes at second base and the outfield. With all the deep pockets the Dodgers have, they’re starting the off season on a very down note.


   
--Alexis Garcia, BYB's "Eye on MLB" Columnist &
Los Angeles Dodger fan
Twitter:  @heylexyg



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