October 20th, 2014 at 6:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka It is as inevitable as death and taxes – when a team fails to achieve their goal of making it to the World Series, somebody has to take the fall for it. If it’s not the manager himself (or general manager), it is usually one (or more) of his coaches. Should a team’s shortcomings be hitting related, it is often times the hitting coach who gets the ax; if it’s pitching related, it’s often the pitching coach who goes; if it’s an all around failure and the manager survives, it might be the bench coach who gets a pink slip – but make no mistake about it, someone will be fired.
During his introductory press conference last Friday, new Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman emphatically said that Dodgers manager Don Mattingly will return next season, this in spite of harsh criticism by the national media and even more so by many Dodger fans.
“Definitely,” Friedman said when asked if Mattingly would be the Dodgers manager in 2015. “We’re aligned on a lot of things philosophically.”
While Mattingly’s job appears to be safe (at least for the time being), the same probably cannot be said about the Dodgers coaching staff. When asked this specific question during Friday’s press conference, Friedman was far less forthcoming. In fact, he skirted the question entirely.
“That’s part of the conversation that I had with Donny yesterday,” Friedman said. “We’re going to continue those conversations but it’s premature to comment on right now.”
Although new Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman said that Don Mattingly would be his manager in 2015, he was non-committal regarding the rest of the Dodgers coaching staff.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)
Without question the Dodgers most glaring weakness in 2014 was their bullpen. And while the ultimate responsibility of the entire Dodgers pitching staff falls under Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycutt’s umbrella, the guy with the largest target on his back right now is 53-year-old Dodgers bullpen coach Chuck Crim – not because he did anything wrong or because he isn’t a good coach, but simply because somebody has to go and it is rarely the top guy.
Crim, a Southern California native who spent eight seasons in the big leagues with the (American League) Milwaukee Brewers, California Angels and Chicago Cubs, is extremely popular not only with the Dodgers relievers but with the entire team, media and fans. He replaced longtime Dodgers bullpen coach (and former Dodgers reliever) Ken Howell on a full-time basis in 2013 when Howell had health issues. Howell is now the Dodgers assistant pitching coach under Honeycutt – a position that was more or less created for the 53-year-old former World Champion. Although Howell can still be seen around Dodger Stadium when the Dodgers are home, he doesn’t travel with the team as much as he used to.
Bullpen coach Chuck Crim may end up being the Dodgers fall guy this off-season.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)
Being a major league coach is a rather precarious job. While coaches may be given credit when players under their tutelage do well (e.g. hitting coach Mark McGwire and assistant hitting coach John Valintin with Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp), they are absolutely the first ones to be blamed when players struggle – such as Crim and the Dodgers bullpen. This is, of course, unfair because it’s not the coach who is swinging the bat, pitching the ball or making the plays. But here again, somebody has to be blamed for a team’s inadequacies and it is usually one (or more) of the coaches.
It is inevitable – just like death and taxes.
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I was thinking that replacing Colletti as GM, was the big move by the Dodgers for not going further in the postseason. Although Ned wasn’t fired, it does seem like he was given a position, less responsible for the teams’ everyday operations.
But since Friedman did not praise the coaching staff, I agree it looks like there’ll be a change or changes made. As you say, there usually is.
It certainly isn’t unusual for the new man on the block to make personnel changes in management and coaching. As pointed out by OBF because he didn’t say yes to the coaching staff question, it can be expected that Friedman will make some changes. Chuck Crim may well be a casualty as may Lorenzo Bundy. Perhaps Friedman has his own preference for bench coach.
It looks like it won’t be a house cleaning.
Mark Saxon | ESPNLosAngeles.com
LOS ANGELES — One of Andrew Friedman’s main thrusts when he was introduced as the Dodgers new president of baseball operations Friday was continuity. Friedman said he wasn’t planning to clean house and bring on all new people, but instead to collaborate with the baseball-ops people in place and supplement with his own selective hires.
We’re still waiting on those hires — including the general manager — but it looks like he’s making good on one promise already.
The Dodgers are offering 2015 contracts to their entire pro-scouting and player-development staffs, according to a source. It also looks like Rick Ragazzo, who was a top assistant of Ned Colletti’s and the director of pro scouting under his regime, will be back though it’s unclear in exactly what capacity.
Most scouts operate on one-year contracts that traditionally expire Oct. 31.
With that said BD, I must say that I’m happy to read that because, I’m against making to many big changes to a team that has just won two consecutive division titles.