Old friend Ned Colletti, the former Dodgers general manager and longtime baseball executive, was named general manager for Team Italy this week, a little more than 13 months before the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
“Ned is above all a friend of Italy,” Italian Baseball & Softball Federation president Marco Mazzieri said.
Colletti called it “truly one of the most meaningful honors of my blessings-filled career.”
It is truly one of the most meaningful honors of my blessings-filled career…very grateful for our leader Marco Mazzieri for suggesting this incredible opportunity.
Cos I grato; così emozionato; andiamo Italia!!! https://t.co/tvvyFMJfgx
— Ned Colletti (@realnedcolletti) January 28, 2025
Something old, something new
Steven Goldman at Baseball Prospectus this week looked back at how Brooklyn Dodgers manager Chuck Dressen bungled the communication of the benching of third baseman Billy Cox in 1953, and the tensions that were allowed to fester.
Bill Plunkett at the Orange County Register continued his Dodgers spring training preview, this time looking at the infield.
Fielding ideas
Sam Miller in his Pebble Hunting newsletter examined the decline in errors called, especially in the last few years:
For a play to be an error today, rather than a hit, it must look exactly like an error: Ball hit to the fielder, clean hop, clanks off the glove; or cleanly fielded ball gets thrown directly away from the first baseman. If there’s really anything slightly off about the play, it’s a hit.
Patrick Dubuque at Baseball Prospectus noted the recent decline in batting average on balls in play and took a different angle. He reviewed the history of fielding implements, and suggested that MLB should make gloves smaller:
Even in chaos, heroes emerge. Smaller gloves would allow the greats to differentiate themselves even more from their colleagues, demonstrating their softer hands and reflexes. The adjustment would be hard, but once it’s made, the stars will still have the ability to amaze us, just on a slightly different scale.
Saturday at the park
Today’s DodgerFest from Dodger Stadium will be televised by SportsNet LA from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. PT. John Hartung, Nomar Garciaparra, Orel Hershiser, Jerry Hairston Jr. and Kirsten Watson will be on air on the network, and during the broadcast there will be live interviews with Dodgers players and coaches.