New York sports personality disrespects Dodgers' Andrew Friedman in executive ranking

No one in baseball is doing it like the Dodgers, and that's just a fact. They won the World Series last year and have followed it up with the second highest-spending offseason in baseball (would be first, if not for the Mets' Juan Soto deal) en route to a repeat. They got one of the top three veteran starters on the market and the most exciting international prospect of the year. They re-signed fan favorites and added more even when they didn't.

The Dodgers are a powerhouse, and President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman is the guy who holds all of the keys. While GM Brandon Gomes is also fairly forward-facing, Friedman is clearly the biggest decision maker, and LA only really became a perennial postseason contender when he joined the front office at the end of 2014.

Shohei Ohtani has so much faith in Friedman's capabilities and vision for the team that his contract includes a "key man" clause that would allow him to opt out should Friedman (or owner Mark Walter) ever leave the team.

Despite all of this, Chris "Mad Dog" Russo, whose voice you've definitely heard if you've ever turned on MLB Network (even if you haven't wanted to), ranked Friedman the seventh "best decision maker" in MLB. Brian Kenny had the right idea — he ranked Friedman at the top.

Chris "Mad Dog" Russo ranks Dodgers PoBO Andrew Friedman way too low on list of MLB's top "decision makers"

There's just no denying what Friedman's been able to achieve since he took over at the helm. Even before Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman ushered in a new, untouchable era of Dodgers superstardom, Friedman has been able to steer the Dodgers into October every single year. The only season they haven't ruled the NL West was 2021, when the Giants had their inexplicable 107-win season (and the Dodgers still only ended up one game behind).

Russo is a New Yorker, which sort of of explains the fact that he ranked the Yankees' Brian Cashman at No. 4, three places above Friedman, but that doesn't make that placement any less laughable. The guy who whiffed on Soto ranked above the guy who got Betts, Freeman, Ohtani, Yamamoto, Sasaki, Snell, and so on and so forth.

When Friedman was hired, he became the highest-paid executive in baseball history. The guy's made some mistakes — letting go of Corey Seager and losing Trea Turner is just one example — but he's made it pretty clear that he's worth the price of his contract.