Plansmanship at Chavez Ravine

The Dodgers have earned the benefit of the doubt from me this season. By Frederick Dennstedt from los angeles, usa, via Wikimedia Commons

Trust and faith aren’t something fans are as readily able to place in teams and organizations like they once did. There is too much information out there. Too many smart people are paying attention. Fans have had the wool pulled over their eyes far too many times.

But this season, with this ownership group, and this management team, I’m going to do something I haven’t done since Mike Piazza was traded.

I’m going to have faith, and that faith will be a little blind.

You see, ever since Frank McCourt took over the team, the Dodgers have been slaves to whatever market was out there. Over time, some decisions were really great (like drafting Clayton Kershaw) and others not so great. There are probably a higher number of not-so-great, which brings us to present-day.

Andrew Friedman and his team have come to Los Angeles and in just a few months have brought me back to a point that I’ve decided not to be skeptical of every little move anymore.

Let me put it this way. In 2011, Eric Milton was signed as a legitimate potential starting rotation option. Milton pitched five games (and looking at the stats, he pitched much better than I remember). That’s to say, he wasn’t as horrific as I remember.

Today, the Dodgers signed another journeyman lefty, Erik Bedard, to a minor league contract. If Bedard makes five starts for the Dodgers this season, he will probably be a fourth or fifth option for the final rotation spot.

This team has depth. Instead of taking the signing of Bedard as the sign of a team grasping desperately to fill a need (that’s how I took the signings of Milton and so many others over the past decade), I have a kind of new perception.

That perception is one of a plan. One of organizational depth.

Yep, hiring Andrew Friedman and company was a very good move. Not because of the Bedard signing — he’s just a minor league flier — but based on the totality of the moves they’ve made so far this off-season. Yep, at least for now, this organization has earned the benefit of my doubt.