Hoffman Move Means Malone Has ‘I’ on Team

From now on there won’t be a “Group” or “Corp.” to point at when discussing the Dodgers.

Please direct all comments and complaints to General Manager Kevin Malone.

It’s his show now. Any remaining doubt vanished as quickly as he yanked the managerial reins from Glenn Hoffman.

“I made this decision because I felt like this organization needed to make a change,” Malone said. “I felt like we needed to go in a new direction.”

Note the use of the first person, singular: I made and I felt. None of the euphemistic, royal “we” that usually accompanies these transactions. Malone isn’t afraid to state that this was his call, and no Fox Group officials jumped up to argue the point. Even Tom Lasorda didn’t throw himself into this. There’s no doubt about whose decision this was.

It’s all about Kevin Malone now, and you’ve got to think the Fox folks love it. They gave him a lot of power, but they also gave the public a target, one that’s much more personal and accessible than the faceless News Corp. umbrella group that owns the team.

Fox cut off all the ties to the past. The new image of the Dodgers will be shaped by Malone.

It stopped being about tradition some time ago. Now it’s about protecting your back. That’s why the only chance Hoffman had to keep his job was to win the World Series. Since Hoffman did nothing to force the Dodgers to keep him, Malone was almost forced to fire him. Too risky.

“Because of the economics of the game, I needed someone to manage that is a proven winner, that is experienced,” Malone said. “More important, I need a manager that I can trust, that will be loyal to me.”

If he’s going to take whatever hits may come, then he’s going to do it with his own people. That’s why he replaced the vice president of minor league operations, Charlie Blaney, a 32-year Dodger employee, with Bill Geivett. And it’s why he added Ed Creech as his director of scouting.

Both Geivett and Creech go back to Malone’s days with the Montreal Expos.

At least Hoffman was assured a spot on the Dodger bench as a coach next season. That was his reward for taking the perilous position of interim manager this season.

Apparently, that type of short-term career risk counts more than long-term service with the Dodgers. The best guarantee the other coaches received was that they would be offered another job in the organization if they’re replaced by the next manager--if moving to Albuquerque sounds like a viable option to you.

Prepare to say bye-bye to Joe Amalfitano, the lively third base coach since 1983.

And Mike Scioscia might as well send out resumes now. Everyone keeps saying he’ll make a fine manager one day, but it’s obvious the former Dodger catcher will never be the Dodger manager. This makes two times the job has opened this year. He didn’t get it the first time and he isn’t considered a candidate now.

It’s widely assumed that the new Dodger manager will be Felipe Alou. Only Malone can’t say it now because Alou is still under contract to the Montreal Expos.

Malone spent a good chunk of his conference call with reporters Wednesday trying to dance around the Alou issue.

(While on the topic of hiring: since he already has a vice president of communications, Tommy Hawkins, Malone needs to hire a vice president of telecommunications. Every conference call with the Dodgers is an adventure. When they tried to hold a call in June with then-general manager Fred Claire to go over the Hideo Nomo trade, it was so trouble-filled that no one could hear anything. Wednesday’s conference call was delayed by a loud radio announcer, in French.)

There’s a French description for what Malone inherited when he took over the job: Un probleme.

The Dodgers need help in the starting rotation, in the outfield, from the left side of the plate. They’re committed to big salaries next year and have several players eligible for arbitration.

Malone wants to restore the farm system, which will take years. But he also must satisfy an ownership and fan base that wants on-field results immediately.

“We will try to win on one hand, while balancing building up the player development and scouting on the other hand,” Malone said. “When those come together, hopefully we’ll be in the position to win world championships.”

That could take a while. And before he does anything to the roster, he must address the Jeff Shaw situation. His closer has a trade clause in his contract and isn’t happy in Los Angeles, far away from his family and hometown in Ohio.

Arguably the team’s most valuable player in the second half of the season wants out, and that’s trouble no matter what kind of spin Malone tried to apply.

“If that’s a mess, I hope I’m in a lot of messes,” Malone said.

Be careful what you ask for. Because it’s all on you now.