Baseball Musings
Baseball Musings
April 19, 2002
Does the Manager Matter?

Ross Newhan reports on the firing of Davey Lopes, a Dodger favorite:


There were no creative options for Lopes, once a catalytic leadoff man with the Dodgers, and no future for either batting coach Rod Carew, replaced by Gary Matthews, or pitching coach Bob Apodaca, replaced by Dave Stewart.

Former Dodger Eric Young was signed as a free agent in the hope he could ignite the top of the lineup, but he has documented that you can't steal first base while batting .140 with a .262 on-base percentage.

The rest of Matthews' hitters are doing what they do best, ranking third in the league in strikeouts and 14th in on-base percentage and batting average. There also have been no miracles under the respected Stewart. Only Colorado has a higher earned-run average than a comparatively no-name staff that was 12th in the league in pitching last year when no starter won more than 11 games.

Lopes could not overcome the burden. He was Dead Man Walking and knew it even before the Pittsburgh series when he reminded reporters that he had told them when hired before the 2000 season that there were no quick fixes, that it was a five- or seven-year program.

"I don't care who you put in this seat," he said. "You can put Joe Torre in this seat, you can put Dusty Baker. It doesn't matter. You're going to get the same results. I have no doubt about it."


I don't agree with Lopes. Baker and Torre would have worked on maximizing the strength of the team, and minimizing the weaknesses. Instead of trying to build a team in a certain image, they would have worked with what they had to put the best team and lineup on the field. If you have a lot of HR hitters, don't try to build a speed team. Instead, try to find people who can get on in front of the home run hitters. Baker has had great teams and mediocre teams, and always seems to do well. Torre has always dealt with his personnel and the media well, and when given a good team, he's been able to take them to the playoffs. Lopes has to learn to work with what he has before he'll become a good manager.


Posted by David Pinto at 08:30 AM | Baseball