Dodgers Dugout: Andrew Friedman gets his report card

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell, reminding you that there may be only 71 games left in Vin Scully’s final season.

Grading Andrew Friedman

We’re at the All-Star break, which means it’s time for our annual midseason report card.

On Tuesday, I graded the batters. See those grades here.

On Thursday, I graded the pitchers. See those grades here.

Today, it’s time to look at all the transactions Andrew Friedman and his front-office team have made since Friedman joined the Dodgers in October 2014. I did this once before, and based on new information, some of those deals will get new grades.

Nov. 20, 2014: Traded pitchers Jose Dominguez and Greg Harris to Tampa Bay for pitchers Joel Peralta and Adam Liberatore. Dominguez appeared in four games for the Rays and is now with San Diego, and Harris is no longer listed as one of their top-40 prospects. Peralta went 3-1 with a 4.34 ERA and three saves for the Dodgers in 2015 and has been released by Seattle and the Cubs this season, while Liberatore went 2-2 with a 4.25 ERA in 2015 but has been lights-out this year. Grade: B+.

Nov. 22, 2014: Purchased pitcher Mike Bolsinger from Arizona. Bolsinger was an unsung hero for the Dodgers in 2015, but has been horrible this season. Grade: C.

Nov. 24, 2014: Traded outfielder Noel Cuevas to Colorado for pitcher Juan Nicasio. Cuevas is hitting .234 in triple-A, while Nicasio was hit-and-miss with the Dodgers last season and was left off the playoff roster. He is now with Pittsburgh. Grade: C.

Dec. 2, 2014: Traded pitcher Matt Magill to Cincinnati for outfielder Chris Heisey. Magill is still in the minors with the Reds. Heisey was pretty bad with the Dodgers and is now with Washington. Grade: D.

Dec. 11, 2014: Traded second baseman Dee Gordon, pitcher Dan Haren and infielder Miguel Rojas to Miami for catcher Austin Barnes, pitchers Chris Hatcher and Andrew Heaney, and infielder Kiké Hernandez. Then traded Heaney to the Angels for second baseman Howie Kendrick. Gordon won a batting title and then was suspended for PED use. Haren split 2015 with Miami and the Cubs, and is now retired. It looked like trading Heaney was a mistake, but he is now on the DL trying to avoid Tommy John surgery. Hernandez was great last season, but not this season, and Kendrick has been solid except for a slump at the start of this season. And Hatcher, well, the less said about him the better. I originally gave this trade an F, but I am now going to raise it to C-, based mainly on Gordon’s suspension.

Dec. 16, 2014: Signed pitcher Brandon McCarthy to a four-year, $48-million deal. McCarthy made four starts and underwent Tommy John surgery. He has made two starts this season, one good, one not as good. Until McCarthy can make more than four starts in a row without his arm falling off, this signing is still… Grade: F.

Dec. 18, 2014: Traded catcher Tim Federowicz, outfielder Matt Kemp and cash to San Diego for pitcher Zach Elfin, catcher Yasmani Grandal and pitcher Joe Wieland. Let’s talk about Kemp for a moment. Yes, he drove in 100 runs last season, but by almost any metric, he was the worst defensive player in baseball. He is still brutal defensively and he has an on-base percentage of .275 this season. Of the 20 NL players who have played at least 20 games in right field, he is ranked 18^th in WAR at -0.3. Meanwhile, Grandal is in the top half of every offensive category for NL catchers except batting average. Plus, he is solid defensively. Grade: B.

Dec. 19, 2014: Traded pitchers Zach Elfin and Tom Windle to Philadelphia for shortstop Jimmy Rollins. Brought in to keep the position warm while waiting for Corey Seager, Rollins did just that, and was a positive influence on the bench and a tutor for Seager. Grade: B.

Dec. 31, 2014: Signed pitcher Brett Anderson to a one-year, $10-million deal. Anderson more than earned his money, even if he did tire down the stretch. Grade: A.

May 27, 2015: Traded third baseman Juan Uribe and reliever Chris Withrow to Atlanta for infielder Alberto Callaspo and pitchers Juan Jaime, Eric Stults and Ian Thomas. This deal didn’t make sense at the time, and it still doesn’t. Uribe is a better player than Callaspo, who they released before the end of the season, and they could have used him when Justin Turner went down with an injury. Grade: F

July 30, 2015: In a three-team deal involving Miami and Atlanta, acquired pitchers Bronson Arroyo, Luis Avilan, Jim Johnson, Mat Latos and Alex Wood, second baseman Jose Peraza and first baseman Mike Morse for pitchers Zach Bird, Paco Rodriguez, Victor Araujo, Jeff Brigham and Kevin Guzman and third baseman Hector Olivera.

When the trade was made, one of the goals was to boost the rotation with Latos and the bullpen with Johnson. They both performed so poorly, they didn’t even finish the season with the team. Wood has potential but is hurt right now. Avilan is an easily replaceable bullpen part, but Peraza was packaged in a deal that brought Trayce Thompson, Frankie Montas and Micah Johnson. Olivera, of course, was suspended at the start of the season for domestic abuse (he is eligible to return Aug. 1). However, the Dodgers still owe him $20 million, so it’s not like they got a total lucky break by trading him. Of course, Olivera is still awaiting trial, so it’s possible his suspension (without pay) could be extended. Either way, the Dodgers are lucky to get rid of him. No longer one of the worst trades in Dodgers history, this is one of those trades that didn’t work out great for either side. There’s still time, however, for Thompson, Montas and Johnson to make this a steal for the Dodgers. Grade: C.

Aug. 19, 2015: Traded pitcher John Richy and outfielder Darnell Sweeney to Philadelphia for second baseman Chase Utley. He brought some swagger to the team, and was arguably the team’s MVP in the first half this season. Grade: B.

Aug. 31, 2015: Traded a player to be named or cash to Seattle for outfielder Justin Ruggiano. Ruggiano hit .291 and slugged .618 in his short stay with the team. Grade: A.

Nov. 13, 2015: Brett Anderson agreed to the Dodgers’ $15.8-million qualifying offer. I’m pretty sure Anderson surprised the Dodgers as much as everyone else when he took the deal. Since then, he has pitched in zero games because of an injury. It’s not really the Dodgers’ fault, but this deal has to get an F.

Dec. 9, 2015: Signed Chase Utley to a one-year, $7-million deal. I thought this was a bad signing. I was wrong. He brings the swagger this team has been missing for years. Grade: A

Dec. 16, 2015: As part of a three-team trade, traded Brandon Dixon, Jose Peraza and Scott Schebler to the Cincinnati Reds. Received Micah Johnson, Frankie Montas and Trayce Thompson from the Chicago White Sox. In addition, the Cincinnati Reds sent Todd Frazier to the Chicago White Sox. I can’t grade trades on what might happen, only on what has happened. If Montas and Johnson play up to their potential when they reach the majors, then this trade is excellent. Thompson got off to a hot start but has cooled. The Dodgers didn’t give up a lot, but we still don’t know how good this trade is yet. Grade: C

Dec. 30, 2015: Signed Scott Kazmir to a three-year, $48-million deal with a player opt-out clause after the first season. A weird deal in that if Kazmir pitches well, you know he will opt out, but if he pitches poorly, he will probably stay. Kazmir has been OK so far. Grade: C.

Jan. 7, 2016: Signed Kenta Maeda to an eight-year, $25-million deal with a ton of incentives. Maeda has been really good, and the Dodgers wisely structured to contract to minimize their risk. Grade: A

Jan. 19, 2016: Signed Joe Blanton to a one-year, $4-million deal. After a couple of shaky outings in the first half of May, Blanton has been surprisingly solid. Grade: B+

Feb. 4, 2016: Signed Howie Kendrick to a two-year, $20-million deal. In the first half of the season, Kendrick couldn’t hit water if he fell out of a boat. He rallied the last couple of weeks, but shuttles among three positions in a quest to find playing time. This grade will probably go up at the end of the season, but for now: D.

Feb. 19, 2016: Signed Louis Coleman to a one-year, $725,000. Coleman has been OK and was a cheap hire. Grade: C.

May 7, 2016: Selected Casey Fien off waivers from Minnesota. Fien seems to have potential but needs to cut down on the longball. Grade: B

June 8, 2016: Released Alex Guerrero. Dodgers fans breathed a sigh of relief when the team bit the bullet and let Guerrero go despite still owing him around $18 million. Grade: A

June 13, 2016: Released Carl Crawford. They breathed an even bigger sign of relief when the Crawford was let go despite being owed twice as much as Guerrero. Grade: A

June 30, 2016: Traded Caleb Dirks and Phil Pfeifer to the Atlanta Braves for Dian Toscano, Bud Norris and Alec Grosser. It’s a little early to grade this one, but let’s be optimistic and give it a B.

So to sum up, looking at the grade given to the deals we get:

A’s: 6

B’s: 7

C’s: 7

D’s: 2

F’s: 3

Grade-point average: 2.44, which is basically a C+.

Ask Ross Porter

Former Dodgers announcer Ross Porter will be answering select reader questions for the rest of the season. Email me a question for Ross, and I will pass it on. His latest response:

Jack Mills: Have there been any moves lately, Ross, to speed up baseball games?

Ross: Ten years ago, the average major league baseball game took 2 hours and 48 minutes. In 2014, the average was 3 hours and 2 minutes.

Before last season, Jack, owners and players agreed to initiate some new rules and enforce others to quicken the pace of play. There was an enforcement of the rule requiring hitters to keep at least one foot in the batter’s box. If the plate umpire thinks the hitter is intentionally stepping out and delaying play, he can call a strike without the delivery of a pitch or issue a warning.

Added were the posting of stadium countdown clocks for timing pitching changes and between inning breaks. Also put into place was a modification of the instant-replay process.

To save time on commercial television breaks, two clocks now start a countdown as soon as the third out is recorded. One will be on the facade behind home plate near the press box, and the other on or near the outfield scoreboard. The clocks will count down from 2 minutes 5 seconds for games on local TV, and from 2 minutes 25 seconds for games on national television — a reduction of 20 seconds for each.

Pitchers must stop warm-up tosses with 30 seconds to go. If a pitcher does not throw a pitch to the batter before the clock reaches zero, the plate umpire can issue a warning and a fine.

Managers are still allowed to run onto the field to challenge a potential inning-ending out, but now they must stay in the dugout and signal to the umpire from the top step — verbally or with a hand signal — that he is considering an instant-replay challenge. Another new rule limits conferences on the pitching mound between managers, coaches and pitchers to 30 seconds.

After these changes were made, the average length of a big league game in 2015 was 2 hours and 56 minutes, six minutes faster than the season before. At the All-Star break this year, the average time of a contest in 2016 has been three hours.

These may not be the last time-saver ideas in baseball. Triple A and Double A minor leagues are now using 20-second pitch clocks and penalize violators with balls and strikes. Last season, the International League average game dropped 16 minutes to 2:40 and the Pacific Coast League dipped 13 minutes to 2:45.

What Vin Scully means to me

I asked you to tell me your best Vin Scully memory, and I got a lot of responses. I will publish selected ones in each newsletter. And keep emailing them to me.

Michael Ritto: I was in the back seat at the drive-in. “Dad — Koufax is pitching a perfect game!”

Sisters: “Be quiet and watch the movie.”

I continued to listen to my transistor radio, single earphone, of course. In between movies, I went to the snack bar and saw some friends. “Koufax is pitching a perfect game!”

Them: “We’re getting pizza.”

Heard the entire game, and did my best to keep quiet even when I heard “Swung on and missed, a perfect game.” If I had missed that game, I would never have gotten over it. Thanks for keeping me plugged in, Vinny.

The TV situation

If you would like to complain about the Dodgers’ TV situation, you have three options: The Dodgers, Time Warner Cable and whatever local cable or satellite provider you have that doesn’t carry the Dodgers. Here’s who to contact:

For the Dodgers, click here or call (866) DODGERS, or (866) 363-4377. (I hope you like form letters).

For Time Warner, click here.

For DirecTV, call (800) 531-5000 or click here.

For your local cable or satellite provider, consult your bill for the customer service number and for the website.

And finally…

Howie Kendrick discusses the difficulties of preparing to play three different positions. Read all about it here.