Baseball Pundits Examine GM Colletti’s Move To Dodgers

Ned Colletti Named New Dodgers GM

New Dodgers GM Ned Colletti has agreed to a four-year contract and will retain Dodgers Assistant GM Kim Ng, who was also in the running for the GM position, according to Steve Henson (L.A. TIMES, 11/17). In L.A., Bill Plaschke writes of Colletti, “I have long thought he's the right man for this job. On Wednesday, he certainly sounded as if he's the right man for this job” (L.A. TIMES, 11/17). In Chicago, Mike Downey writes, “This one, they got right. Colletti is eminently suited for a Dodgers GM job.” Former Dodgers GM Fred Claire said, “It’s interesting Ned gets tagged as a former sportswriter and PR man, even though he has nearly 20 years’ experience in baseball operations. To that degree, our paths were similar” (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 11/17).

CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR: ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick wrote Colletti had a “profound impact” as Giants Assistant GM, as he “dealt with agents, negotiated contracts, served as the team’s resident expert on waivers and rule compliance and monitored the payroll.” Colletti’s “colleagues are happy that he finally has his big opportunity, but you won’t find many who envy the task in front of him. ... [Several high-profile names were not interested in the Dodgers and Red Sox GM jobs, and Crasnick wrote MLB’s “crown jewel franchises sure don’t have the cachet they used to have”” (ESPN.com, 11/16). In S.F., Ray Ratto writes Colletti left the Giants for the “bubbly cauldron of half-baked political infighting that is the McCourt Empire. There is the owner, Frank, his wife, Jamie, plus the eminence grise, Tom Lasorda, plus all the other people who get McCourt’s ear from one day to the next. The firings of manager Jim Tracy and [GM] Paul DePodesta in October scream out a team that has an owner who does whatever the last guy in the room tells him is a good idea” (S.F. CHRONICLE, 11/17).