Dodgers’ GM gets a full taste of 51s baseball

Nick Christensen

Monday, July 26, 2004 | 9:12 a.m.

What a weekend for the boss to show up.

With Dodgers general manager Paul DePodesta in town, the Las Vegas 51s lost 23-4 on Friday, gave up an 8-2 lead but came back for an 11-10 win Saturday, and seemed to go through the motions in a hot 6-3 Sunday afternoon loss to Sacramento in front of a crowd of fewer than 300 at Cashman Field.

DePodesta, in his first season as the Dodgers' GM, made his first trip to Las Vegas, wrapping up his tour of the Dodgers' farm system. Last year, he was the assistant general manager in Oakland, and his visit coincided with the A's Triple-A club's second series in Las Vegas.

The biggest difference between Oakland and Los Angeles is market size, and DePodesta said he considers his experience with the small-market Athletics an asset.

"There's a certain amount of discipline that comes from being in a small market ... and a desire for efficiency," he said. "I'm pretty excited because we can do so much more. In Oakland, we got by with a lot less. What we have in L.A., we can do even better."

Don Logan, the 51s' GM, who has seen his share of front office types from his days with the Las Vegas Stars' affiliation with the Padres, said he has been pleased with his dealings with the new front office staff -- the fourth he has dealt with since the Dodgers signed on with Las Vegas in 2000.

"He's young. He's bright. I think he's motivated to do well," Logan said.

DePodesta got a crash-course in the Dodgers in spring training at Vero Beach, Fla., and said his focus was to build from within the Dodgers' system, not to reconstruct it.

On the same front, he said he's generally pleased with the status of the farm system, particularly drafts in recent years. But he also isn't shy about wanting to make some changes.

"One thing we've talked about that's worked well in other places is changing the organization philosophically," he said. Coaching techniques should "stem from the big leagues all the way down to the Dominican. It's taught the same way."

DePodesta also inherited a vacancy in the farm director's position, which has been tag-teamed this season by Kim Ng and Terry Collins. He said he plans to address the farm director's position after the close of the minor league season.

"At some point, we'll have to hire a farm director," he said. "I told Kim I'd relieve her of that burden. Terry's been terrific for us, and hopefully he'll continue to be a part of the system."

As for the minor leaguers themselves, one of the hallmarks of this year's 51s has been hot hitters getting called up and sitting on the bench for two weeks while Dodgers players are injured, then coming back having lost their stroke.

DePodesta said that it's important for him to call up players during the regular season, rather than wait until September when the major league roster expands.

"That's the nature of guys getting called up when someone goes down (to injury)," he said. "Knowing that atmosphere helps."