Dodgers spending is fking great for the game. Manny Machado, Bryce Harper not complaining

PHOENIX –– Turns out, not everybody in baseball reviles the Los Angeles Dodgers’ record-breaking spending.On Sunday morning, two of the game’s biggest veterans, Bryce Harper of the Phillies and ex-Dodger Manny Machado now of the San Diego Padres, were asked about trying to compete with the defending two-time World Series champions.And rather than voicing the typical complaints –– about how the Dodgers are ruining baseball, and disrupting competitive balance with their $400 million-plus payroll –– the two sluggers struck a decidedly different, almost defiant tone.“I f–king love it,” Machado told reporters at Padres camp.“I love it.

I mean, honestly, I think every team should be doing it.They’ve figured out a way to do it, and it’s f–king great for the game.”“I love what the Dodgers do, honestly,” Harper echoed at Phillies camp.

“They pay the money.They spend the money.

They’re a great team.They run their team like a business.

And they run it the right way.”In much the same way the Dodgers have downplayed external critiques over their roster construction in recent years, they didn’t indulge in Sunday’s contrasting comments from Harper and Machado, either.“I don’t really pay any attention to that at all,” Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes said later Sunday morning at Camelback Ranch.“We’re not looking externally.

The validation is winning championships and putting out as good a team as you can each and every year.”Still, the points Harper and Machado raised illustrate another perspective about the Dodgers that many in the sport quietly maintain.Get the perfect blend of news, sports and entertainment delivered to your inbox every day.

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Never miss a story Both argued that other teams (and, reading between the lines, ownership groups) have the capabilities to c...