It’s disappointing that the Los Angeles Dodgers ended their postseason journey after just three games; this is just another season where their performance fell short of expectations.

Since joining the team, Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman has assembled incredibly successful squads, but his recent mistakes have left a bad taste come October.

Although Friedman referred to the Dodgers’ National League Division Series defeat as a “organizational failure” last year, they found themselves in a similar predicament the following year when they were swept in three games by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The top two division winners in each league have five off days built into the current playoff structure. However, many clubs haven’t benefited much from that alleged bonus, particularly this season when the Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, and Baltimore Orioles all lost in the Division Series.

Friedman responded, “For us, I certainly would not use that as an excuse.” “We want to win the division and have those five days off again next year. After two years of using this approach, we no longer obsess over what is best or perfect. It’s not that important. What is is, what is. For us, it’s about making the most of our operations within it.

We made an effort to replicate a lot of at-bats on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday because it is undeniable that batters’ timing is impacted by taking five days off. There is no uncertainty. Now, it’s evident that we didn’t perform well enough if getting enough at-bats before that maintains the timing.

Thus, we want to win the division the next year. And after we accomplish that and, hopefully, position ourselves to take those five days off, we must carefully consider how to best arrange those five days and make every effort to prepare our players for Game 1.

The Dodgers finished 21-12 last season after dominating September and October. However, they lost four games in the NLDS against the San Diego Padres. They were swept by a squad they thrashed throughout the regular season in 2023, going 17–12 in that time frame.

Friedman is right when he says that a team’s chances are much increased by taking time off since it allows them to schedule their best pitching matchups without having to make many changes. Finding some time to rest is another benefit; on the negative side, timing errors and a loss of pure game pace occur.

The Dodgers, who are among the two best teams in the National League, appear to be penalized by the new postseason structure, which they have been unable to figure out. However, MLB has yet to acknowledge that a team’s optimal strategy for playing postseason baseball is being hampered by the time off, which means that teams should reevaluate how well they are prepared for the postseason.

I blame Andrew Friedman for the Dodgers’ postseason collapse.
Since he has the final say in all baseball-related matters, such as staffing and rosters, Friedman faced questions on Tuesday about the team’s future as well as how much of the blame for their setbacks falls on him.

“Very much,” Friedman replied. “I believe that when there is an organizational breakdown, it is entirely my fault. I didn’t perform well enough. With our club, I’m going to do everything in my power this offseason to position us to be the team that plays in and prevails in the season finale the following year.