the credit was always there, but he had to go. You just can't hide his performance as a GM in the last years here. As I said, he left a mess, reason why they let him go. On the other hand if I had to choose a GM for this team I would chosee Friedman over anyone in the game in a heartbeat.
Anyways, and back to topic, I see the NYM, LAD and the Cubs as the front runners in the NL.