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Ryan Howard’s time in Philadelphia is done and maybe his career is as well. Why he became a cautionary tale of signing sluggers to long term deals, he also did enough to be given a salute for his accomplishments.
It is a brotherly love episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Joe Torre is stepping down from the Dodgers gig, never reaching the goal of leading L.A. to the World Series and having the last laugh over the Yankees.
Why is he stepping down?
Is it because he is too old? Please. Yeah he’s 70 and is the same age that Casey Stengel was when HE was fired by the Yankees. But he’s in great shape and clearly still wants to win.
He’s leaving because he has surveyed the landscape and realized that the McCourt divorce is going to get uglier and the Dodgers are going to be the little child crying on the stand during the hearing.
Next season is going to be a dumpster fire in Los Angeles. The payroll will be slashed again and the players can read the writing on the wall.
Matt Kemp wants out and trust me, no free agents will want in.
One of the proud franchises in baseball playing in one of the true major media markets could be doing their 1998 Marlins fire sale impersonation.
What are they selling now? Not Torre bringing glory back to Dodgertown. Mannywood is, for the time being, in the South Side of Chicago.
Dodger memories? They’ve been tough to remember since Kirk Gibson, which was 22 years ago.
The 2011 Dodgers have disaster written all over them.
Which is why I am telling Don Mattingly to NOT take the job as manager.
It won’t be your FAULT but the team will collapse under your watch. Truth be told they are already collapsing.
After 2 straight Division Titles and NLCS appearances, the Dodgers are sleep walking to a losing season. Their offense was nonexistent in San Francisco and the last few innings of the game last night, the team looked like an 8th grade algebra class waiting for the bell to ring. They were physically there, but bored out of their minds.
Is that Torre’s fault? Perhaps a little but the team has been assembled by orders of a guy is going through a Henry VIII level marital spat (except he doesn’t have the beheading option.)
If the McCourt’s could have been civil these past few years, the Dodgers could have acquired an ace pitcher. Roy Halladay was traded in the time Joe Torre was manager. So was Danny Haren. CC Sabathia changed uniforms twice. Cliff Lee moved three times.
With an ace pitcher, I am convinced the Dodgers would have made either the 2008 or 2009 World Series and be a contender in 2010.
Instead they are a near miss team… like the George Bell/Dave Steib Blue Jays… a team with talent but can’t put it together.
You want THAT gig, Mattingly?
You want all the bad of the McCourt Dodgers without the Manny crowds or playoff appearances?
A gig like this should go to one of two candidates:
1. A lifelong minor leaguer who would be just itching to get their first shot in the bigs of any kind.
2. A career big leaguer who every once in a while lands a gig, does little or nothing there, and winds up on someone’s coaching staff. (That was Jim Riggleman’s job for years… keeping managerial seats warm.)
But Mattingly supposedly is a big managerial candidate.
Is he though? Could he be a little overhyped as a managerial candidate just like his career was overhyped a little in New York?
His lone chance to show us his managing chops, he screwed up the whole “trip to the mound” concept.
I mentioned Mattingly as a Dodger manager candidate to my dad.
He shook his head.
“He doesn’t strike me as very smart.” He said.
Prove my dad wrong, Donnie… and turn this job down.
It’s shoddy and designed to fail. Have it fail on someone else’s watch.
Hell, Grady Little isn’t doing anything!
Tell the Dodgers to hire him.
On July 21, 2009… less than a year ago, Cliff Lee was a pitcher for the Indians.
He threw a complete game 2-1 victory for the lowly Indians and as the defending Cy Young winner was on the trade block.
And the Dodgers, who made it to the 2008 NLCS, desperately needed an ace pitcher. They had some decent pitching but were also leaning on the Clayton Kershaws and Chad Billingsleys too much. They needed a stud to put them over the top.
He was traded to the Phillies 10 days later… and threw 8 shutout innings in the NLCS against the Dodgers.
He’s been traded three times in the past year.
The Dodgers still desperately need a #1 starter.
Cliff Lee would have been PERFECT ace for the Dodgers. They may have won the 2009 NL Pennant and probably would be in first place as I type this instead of being in 4th place, 6 games back of the Padres in the loss column.
And yet with the need for Lee, the minor leaguers to trade, the pitchers park for him to thrive and the big market to resign him.
And how many proposed trades did we hear involving the Dodgers?
That would be ZERO!!!
Hey Frank McCourt… remind us how your divorce isn’t affecting how the team is put together again?
Sully Baseball 
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