Dodgers Dugout: What is the deal with Andrew Friedman?

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. The Dodgers are on pace to win 98 games.

This was supposed to be the season the Dodgers’ NL West dominance came to an end. And it looked for a brief time like it would. At one point in June they lost 10 of 14 games, capped by a sweep by the Giants, dropping the Dodgers to third place. Nothing was working. Miguel Vargas couldn’t hit. James Outman had collapsed. Trayce Thompson had gone 0 for about 1,000. Most of the pitchers were struggling, especially in the bullpen.

This was compounded by the fact that the Dodgers front office, led by Andrew Friedman, had made no major offseason moves to upgrade the team.

Then the Dodgers started playing better. When the Aug. 1 trade deadline came, they were back in first. But it seemed a tenuous grip on first, and the Dodgers obviously needed to trade for a frontline starter and a stud reliever.

When that didn’t happen, well, the rest of the season was written in stone. No postseason this year. No World Series title. All the other postseason contenders made significant upgrades, while the Dodgers got a bunch of retreads, slumping players or pitchers with astronomical ERAs.

Let’s take a look at who the Dodgers acquired and how they are doing:

Kiké Hernández, .315/.356/.500, 7 doubles, 1 homer, 8 RBIs

Amed Rosario, .289/.304/.556, 3 doubles, 3 homers, 11 RBIs

Joe Kelly, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 3.2 IP, 1 hit, 3 walks, 7 Ks

Lance Lynn, 2-0, 2.00 ERA, 18 IP, 13 hits, 4 walks, 22 Ks

Ryan Yarbrough, 1-0, 1.23 ERA, 7.1 IP, 4 hits, 1 walk, 7 Ks

And look who they gave up for these guys. Nothing much. Noah Syndergaard. Trayce Thompson. Players who weren’t among their top prospects.

Once again, Friedman was underestimated. Despite years of putting the Dodgers in position to reach the postseason and giving them the tools they needed to win a World Series, he was attacked by a segment of Dodger fans. Called Andrew Fraudman. Heck, Friedman’s first year with the Dodgers was also the first year of the newsletter, and for the first two years, I wasn’t a fan. But I was wrong. All you can ask from a GM (or more specifically in Friedman’s case, president of baseball operations) is that he puts the team in position to win. Friedman does that every year.

Now, I can hear some saying “Well, with all that money, anyone could put the team in position to win.” Ask Padres fans, or Mets fans, or even Angels fans about that. It’s no guarantee. You have to be smart enough to know who to give the big money to, and which rookies to bet on. Which rookies to trade, which to keep. Friedman gets it right almost every time.

This season, the Dodgers were picked to finish second. And after the trade deadline passed, some had them dropping to third. Let’s take a look at NL records since the trade deadline:

Dodgers, 12-1
Washington, 8-4
Milwaukee, 8-4
Chicago, 8-4
Philadelphia, 8-5
Atlanta, 8-5
Pittsburgh, 6-7
San Francisco, 5-6
St. Louis, 5-6
Miami, 5-7
San Diego, 4-7
Colorado, 3-9
Cincinnati, 3-9
New York, 3-10
Arizona, 2-9

The Dodgers do a better job of putting players in the best position to succeed than almost any other organization. If a lefty-masher goes 4 for 4 with two homers in one game, they don’t play him the next game if a right-hander is starting just because he might be a “hot hitter” right now. He’s a hot hitter because he is playing against pitchers he can hit. Hernández learned this the hard way when he went to Boston to be an everyday player. He struggles against righties. He’s not an everyday player. But he looks like one with the Dodgers because they put him in position to succeed.

The Dodgers have a 9-game lead in the West. They are going to win the division. They aren’t going to win 12 out of every 13 games the rest of the year. There will be a rough spot or two. And it’s important to note that seven of the 12 wins this month have come against Oakland and Colorado. But they went 5-1 against San Diego and Arizona. And if we are going to start dismissing winning 12 of 13 games against any competition, well, then I don’t know what kind of world we live in.

Atlanta is still the favorite to win the NL pennant. But I seem to remember the Dodgers being the favorite to win the World Series almost every season, and winning only one. This year, they are the underdog and have had to scratch and claw to get where they are. Perhaps this will help them in the postseason. It’s going to be fun to find out.

And to answer the question posed by the headline of this newsletter, What is the deal with Andrew Friedman? Nothing. Unless you are a GM dealing with him. Then you are going to get fleeced.

Michael Busch

One of the team’s top prospects, Michael Busch, had a brief tenure in the majors this season, hitting .200 in 45 at-bats. He was sent to the minors in the last week of June.

Since then, he has hit 16 homers for triple-A Oklahoma City. This season, he is hitting .318/.428/.610 with 22 doubles and 23 homers. With Max Muncy playing third and Rosario, Hernández, Miguel Rojas and Chris Taylor available to play the infield, there is no room for Busch to play every day in the majors right now. But, the Dodgers will have an interesting decision to make in the offseason. Re-sign Muncy or give the job to Busch?

Why is Max Muncy playing?

Max Muncy is hitting only .194 this season. Readers often ask why he continues to play. The answer: Walks and power.

Muncy has walked 66 times this season, second on the team, has 28 homers, second on the team, and 76 RBIs, third on the team. His OPS+ is 115, meaning he is 15% better than the league average hitter. He has a higher slugging percentage than Will Smith. He gets on base more often than J.D. Martinez. It’s why you should never focus on just one stat, but look at every stat of the player and make a decision. The days of judging a player solely on batting average are long gone.

It is time to platoon Muncy, though. He is hitting .222/.358/.522 against right-handers this year but only .130/.279/.370 against left-handers. A platoon with him and Hernández would work well.

Joe Kelly to the IL

Joe Kelly was put on the 15-day IL because of right elbow inflammation. Kelly says he can pitch, but the Dodgers decided to give him 15 days off to get him ready for the last month of the season and the postseason.

Fernando’s number retired

Some key quotes from Fernando Valenzuela’s number retirement ceremony:

On his nerves before the ceremony: “Honestly? I would rather have the bases loaded with no outs. I think it’s something really important for me and my family. It’s something I never imagined would happen. But here we are.”

On the support he has received from the Latino community: “They’ve always been supporting. You don’t notice that until after you stop playing. It’s hard when you’re an active player. But I want to thank those fans because there was always a lot of support from them.”

From Mike Scioscia: “It seems like yesterday when this little pudgy kid who was 20 years old started opening day for us and lights the whole world on fire. What you couldn’t see was the ice water in his veins. He proved how spectacular and magical everything was.”

Greatest Dodgers of all time

Received more than 15,000 ballots for the “10 greatest Dodgers of all time” voting. Almost done counting the ballots, and the countdown of the top 20 will begin next week. Thanks for your patience.

Up next

Tuesday: Milwaukee (Adrian Houser, 4-3, 4.38 ERA) at Dodgers (Bobby Miller, 6-2, 3.89 ERA), 7:10 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Wednesday: Milwaukee (*Wade Miley, 6-2, 2.90 ERA) at Dodgers (*Clayton Kershaw, 10-4, 2.51 ERA), 7:10 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Thursday: Milwaukee (Corbin Burnes, 9-6, 3.60 ERA) at Dodgers (Lance Lynn, 9-9, 5.88 ERA), 7:10 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

*-left-handed

In case you missed it

Improved pitching, soft schedule help Dodgers take charge in NL West

Hernández: Do the Dodgers have enough arms for the playoffs? The time to find out is now

Dodgers reliever Ryan Brasier’s lasting motto: ‘I just kind of kept going’

Latino fans recall the importance of Fernando’s Dodgers career

Photos: Dodgers finally retire Fernando Valenzuela’s No. 34

And finally

Fernando’s number retirement ceremony. Watch and listen here.