The Los Angeles Dodgers are of the belief they can complete every season without rebuilding due to a deep Minor League system and not locking themselves into bad contracts.
The strategy has won them eight consecutive National League West Division titles and another playoff birth this season. Gabe Kapler and Farhan Zaidi played important roles in helping the Dodgers become the powerhouse that they are, and now the San Francisco Giants manager believes the two are on the right path to doing the same with their current team.
“I think we’re working hard to build processes that we can refine and repeat,” Kapler said. “I think that’s just going to take some time for us to really hone in on, but I think we’re on the right track.”
The two teams finally met in the postseason for the first time in history, and while one will be eliminated after Thursday’s Game 5 of the National League Division Series, both have a lot to be proud of this season.
However, San Francisco was projected to win around 70 games and won 37 more than that, so they will need to need to answer questions about whether their season was a fluke or not by continuing to improve and show they are legit next season.
“I actually think it’s an awesome question, but probably one that is going to be easier to answer when we get through the finish line of this season and have a chance to go back and kind of evaluate things like processes and see where we can improve,” Kapler said.
“Not to say I wouldn’t be happy to talk about it. The step right in front of us is where we are.”
Although Kapler is now busy working to build the Giants into sustainable winners, he believes they can always look back to their time in L.A. to appreciate the work they did to help the Dodgers reach their goal.
“I think you can always reflect on work that you’ve done in the past and I think it’s an important process,” Kapler said.
“I also think we can keep a soft focus on that or kind of a gaze on it and our real focus is on what we’re doing here in San Francisco and that is a work in progress and we have a long way to go and a lot of work to do and we’ve taken a lot of important steps this season and the next step the one right in front of us.”
Zaidi: ‘Total Nonsense’ to diminish Dodgers because of payroll
Although the Dodgers have won 61% of their games since Andrew Friedman took over in the front office, their accomplishments often get criticized because of a high payroll.
Nevertheless, Zaidi said the success in actuality has been mostly due to how well the Dodgers scout and develop players and their process for building the team, calling it “total nonsense” to only say they only win because of spending power.
The Dodgers’ payroll is an advantage, but nearly every season there is a team who ends up increasing their payroll a lot and do not find the same results.
