A Little Step in the Right Direction

The Dodgers have finally hired a new manager. Grady Little definitely seems like old-school, back-to- the-basics kind of guy which I think will be good for the Dodgers. He's suppose to be a players coach, really likable and a coach that got along with young players. He's won a few Minor League Coach of the Year awards as well as a couple of Minor League Championships. Before he was in Chicago as their roving catching instructor, Little was the Manager for the Boston Red Sox for two winning seasons (93-69, 95-67 respectively). Little also played as a catcher for the Minor Leagues for six years. People's major complaint about him was that he didn't take Pedro Martinez out of a critical ALCS game against the Yankees that costed the game, championship and ultimately his job.

I think the fact that he was in Boston, under the pressures and microscope will be valuable to him as he enters Los Angeles. The pressure here will be great and is also magnified with the growing disrespect and disregard for the McCourts. One thing's for sure, both McCourt and Colletti's foot into the door of respectable owner and GM world, will depend on Little's success with the Dodgers this year. And hopefully Little will utilize more stats with his traditional insticts to not make the same mistakes twice.

He's know to have a great relationship with Theo Epstien (in case McCourt ever feels like firing Ned Colletti) and there has also been rumors that Bill Mueller thinks highly of him and therefore will be coming to LA.

My only gripe about him so far is a minor detail: that he talks too slow. People who talk too slow make me want to believe that they also think too slow. But I know that's not a fair assessment, so for now, I will give Little the benefit of the doubt. Overall, I think it was a decent pick, not a great one, but given the circumstances and the pool, the Dodgers could have done much worse.