The Dodgers paid nearly a half-billion dollars in salaries over the past two seasons, but for all that investment, they got "one tantalizing trip to the NLCS" and one October victory this year, so the "time is ripe for change," according to Bill Plunkett of the ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER. After this latest fall failure, which includes a "record payroll this year that will top" $250M, "tenuous would be an upgrade" to describe the job security of GM Ned Colletti. But "whoever walks hand in hand with this high-maintenance hot mess into the offseason is wed to much of it for some time to come." Guggenheim Partners' payroll investments "bought credibility and contention but they sacrificed flexibility for whoever the GM is" (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 10/9). In L.A., Mark Whicker notes losing to the Cardinals in the NLDS was a "gut punch" to a franchise that is not spending $240M "just to stimulate the local economy." Whicker: "Business is good, but it would be even better with a World Series." Instead, Guggenheim Partners has "gotten no closer to the castle than did" former Owner Frank McCourt. The brass, specifically President & CEO Stan Kasten, will "have to judge if the Dodgers had packed everything they needed into the postseason" (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 10/9).
IT STARTS AT THE TOP: In L.A., Bill Plaschke noted this was a 94-win team that was "favored by many to traipse through October on its way to the World Series, yet their journey lasted all of five days." This was the "ugliest postseason elimination for this franchise in 29 years." Something "needs to be said, and those words need to initially be about" Dodgers Chair Mark Walter and the ownership group, for this "massive failure begins with them." Guggenheim Partners "shamelessly hid the Dodgers from their fans this summer with a money grab from Time Warner Cable that prevented the team from being" on TV in 70% of L.A. households. Yet, for "all the riches" of that $8.35B SportsNet LA contract, they "refused to allow the trading of prospects for one simple arm that could have saved the Dodgers in October." Everybody's job "could be safe," or "nobody could be safe." It depends on "how much return Guggenheim believes it is receiving for its massive investment." Plaschke: "Here's hoping Dodgers owners won't forget to blame themselves, beginning with ending the television debacle before next spring" (L.A. TIMES, 10/8). In L.A., Bill Shaikin writes the "focus shifts from the field to the executive offices, where team officials will huddle to determine the first steps in an off-season that started much too soon for their liking." Under Colletti, the Dodgers have won the NL West five times in nine years, and Kasten is "not quick to fire employees." The club could "consider appointing a president of baseball operations, who in theory could oversee Colletti" (L.A. TIMES, 10/8).
