Dave Roberts Believes He’s Unfairly Hated by Some Dodgers Fans
Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts can often be the recipient of some pretty heavy hate. Despite holding the highest winning percentage of any American or National League manager (.630) with at least 315 games to his credit, Roberts often draws the ire of fans due to the Dodgers not winning enough in the postseason.
While Roberts has led the Dodgers to one World Series title (in 2020), there are plenty who believe his teams have fallen short of winning several other titles they deserved — and that Roberts, not the players or the Dodgers’ front office, is the primary culprit.
Does he feel this heat is unfair? Roberts answered the question directly in an interview with Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times but acknowledged he doesn’t believe they are the majority.
“I think, a little bit. I still believe it’s not the majority, the majority of people look at what we’ve done and are very proud of this organization that we have put ourselves in a position to win every single year, but there’s always a group of people that are very cynical and angry for whatever reason, and sometimes they’re the loudest voice.”
— Dave Roberts, via Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times
Since Roberts took over in 2016, the Dodgers have advanced to the playoffs in every single season. They’ve also won the NL West in all but one of those years.
Though they have fallen short in the postseason except for the one World Series title, losing two other World Series and two NLCS, they have been incredibly successful and consistent. When the Dodgers were eliminated in their first playoff series each of the last two seasons, it only allowed the critics to grow louder.
With an absolutely stacked roster heading into 2024 after the Dodgers went all-out during free agency, the pressure will increase even more for Roberts to bring them another title. For now, Roberts is safe, but that could easily change if Los Angeles suffers another early exit with Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Tyler Glasnow leading a pricy roster.
Photo Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports
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I hate dave because hes a LIBTARD POS,who would condone what corruptocrats are doing to our country?
Obviously there is no IQ requirement for posting relevant comments here
JUST DONT THINKHE HAS WHAT IT TAKES TO WIN SHORT SERIES PLAYOFF SCHEDULE HIS PAST PROVES THAT
Please tell Eva Geitheim that she is doing a great job and especially at such a young age. Thank you, Eva!
All credit to Dave for regular season success. But if he wants to bask in that success, he has to accept the criticism for playoff underachieving. Sorry, I don’t care if they win 100 games…or 111 for that matter. Nothing matters than making it in somehow and then playing up to your abilities.
162 game season is a marathon. Best of 5 or 7 is a sprint. He fails miserably at the sprint. Said it recently, but Mattingly lost the 2013 NLCS, then the ’14 and ’15 NLDS and was summarily dismissed. Sound familiar? Roberts has won a WS and been to two others (but not trending that way recently) in 4 of first 5 seasons. And don’t get me started on 2019 collapse and awful decisions in the NLDS game 5 vs. Washington. Since, the 2020 win in a difficult season (but everyone played with same rules), he’s lost the NLCS in 2021, followed by two NLDS devastating losses to teams we finished 22 and 18 games in front of. And, has led them to 6 consecutive losses. I don’t know if this franchise has ever lost 6 playoff games in a row beside the current streak. His last win was against a Padres team in game 1 of ’22 NLDS with our #1 rested pitcher vs. their #4 starter.
Sorry, I don’t celebrate regular season success. I don’t have NL West Division winner merchandise. I don’t celebrate attendance awards either. Tired of having the Marty Schottenheimer of MLB manage this team into futility in the playoffs. No, he doesn’t hit, but he makes decisions, and many of those have led directly to humiliating failures in the playoffs.
If he doesn’t like the hate, simply do better when in matters…October.
Mike H! That was the single most cogent, informed and well written post I’ve seen regarding Roberts. The dude needs to go! Can we get Bruce Botchy?
Thanks Jeff. Yea, as soon as I saw Botchy had signed with Texas, I thought they were a legitimate contender last year. He took SF, a team that struggled to make the playoffs each time, to 3 WS wins in 5 years. The guy just knows how to get the most out of his players when it counts…October.
I don’t see how Roberts’ decisions caused Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman to go 1 for 23 in the playoffs or whatever it was. Nor do I see how his decisions caused Clayton Kershaw to have his worst ever start in Game 1 of a series. Dave Roberts is more like the baseball version of Andy Reid in Philly, when he was pretty much hounded out of town for not winning a Super Bowl despite being one of the best coaches in the league. Now he’s got three rings. So will Roberts.
Kudos, Mike! Nor do I have West Conference gear, or even NL Champs gear. There’s only one thing that matters: MLB Champions. He did it in a shortened season, so there’s even as asterisk next to that. Another thing, Mike: How many other managers would have the same winning percentage in-season as Roberts with the talent this club has year-in and year-out? I would think quite a few. Now, how many WS titles would we have with one of those many managers? One more? Two more? Three more? If he doesn’t win it this year, he should be done!
Thanks Dodgers since ’68. I’ve been a fan since the early 70s, so close.
That’s the actual point of all of this. He wants accolades for regular season success, but struggles mightily to translate that into playoff success, all the while having one of, if not the highest, payrolls in MLB. That leads to expectations. For some reason, there are guys here who don’t get that. His list of questionable decisions in the playoffs that led to failures is astonishing. And agree about 2020 having an asterisk, right or wrong. Everyone played with the same rules, but that they have failed every other year makes it jump out. Just about any manager would have won at least one with this roster.
A few, not complete list, of decisions that had me scratching my head:
– 2017 WS game 7 – starting Darvish, allowing 5 runs in first 2 innings, THEN bringing Kershaw in. If Kersh could pitch 4 innings, he should have started.
– 2018 WS – game 4 – yanking Rich Hill in 7th after giving up second HIT. Game 3 and Muncy’s extra inning heroics brought us back into the series, only to give it away in game 4.
– 2019 – NLDS game 5 – Bringing Kersh in to face Rendon and Soto in 7th or 8th inning with 2 run lead. Two hits later, it’s tied after back to back HRs. Followed by whatever that meltdown was in the 10th inning and leaving Kelly in for 2 walks, a single and a grand slam enroute to a 7 – 3 loss. Just too painful for words.
– Mentioned previously in another post, but last year’s NLDS starters were horrible decisions. Led to each game being over by the 3rd inning as LA was demoralized.
Saw your post Mike, last night was a perfect example of Robert’s ineptitude. We all know that Joe Kelly can be wild and have off days, so after a walk, hit batter, catcher interference, fly out, single – game is tied – Roberts leaves him in for another balk and double for 5 runs total?? and then he brings in Vesia to end the inning. Roberts has never been able to demonstrate he has any instincts when it comes to pitchers.
Lets fire all 29 managers each year who don’t win the World Series.
Sorry, that’s just a silly comment. Most of the other 29 teams don’t have the payroll that LAD has, and haven’t won their division 10 of last 11 seasons. Regular season success breeds playoffs expectations. If you don’t get that. I can only explain it to you, but can’t understand it for you.
If only we all had the in depth understanding of the game that you do Mike. I get you can’t fire all the players who underperform in post season but placing all the blame on Roberts is shallow and just too easy. Roberts isn’t responsible for going into the ’23 postseason with a pitching staff in tatters. He was as much of a victim as the rest of us. A victim of injury circumstance. A team doesn’t win 100 plus games year in and year out by accident whether you choose to celebrate it or not. The regular season is a grind for all teams and the measure of success is wins. The Dodgers weren’t the only 100-plus team to bounce out of the ’23 playoffs early. or haven’t you noticed the Braves, the Orioles? They both lost in the same round as the Dodgers. Orioles’ Brandon Hyde won Manager of the Year. Should he be vilified or Bryan Snitker?
If Assstros hadn’t cheated their way to a title in 2017, this wouldn’t even be a discussion. How is it so easy for people to forget that?
Also, except for the cheating Assstros, how many teams have won multiple titles in the last 10 years? 20 years? Cardinals, Red Sox and Giants. There’s more parity in baseball because of the playoff format. Quit whining about a team that at least has a chance every year, or be a Rockies fan.
You have to abandon analytics when it comes down to the playoffs or WS. It works over a large sample when you are playing good and bad teams. However, in the end, they are all good and you have to stay with who is hot. For example, don’t change a pitcher who is dealing just because the analytics tell you his third time through the lineup is less successful. Wait until you see a digression. Just one example.
I love “Doc” as a person, like him as a team leader, but I have some issues with the way he manages the team. Dave goes by the book — analytics — no matter what. he should trust his eyes and gut more. analytics should only be used in 50-50 situations. I hate it when he benches hot players because analytics says they need a rest. I say play the hot players, bench the slumping ones. when the eyes say a pitcher is “done” (put a fork in him), Dave plays the book and leaves him in far too long. Dave will pinch hit a weak hitter just for the L-R matchup, instead of going with a hot hitter regardless. (which is why Barnes gets to pinch hit at all.)
as for the playoffs, in any sport, the worst place a team could be is coming off a strong season, and then feeling they just need to “show up” to win. that is a losing formula. they need to come out strong, like a tiger, not weak mentally. and that is the manager’s job: to prepare the team mentally, emotionally to win.
The total ignorance in all the blaming the Roberts haters are shouting is beyond belief. The last two years part of the blame for the early exit goes to our idiot commissioner. The week off shows up prominently in the results of the others who were forced into this fiasco. Manfred does not understand the game. Next is the players, although they are somewhat covered by the previous statement and our foolish commissioner. The players have to show up and play. The manager can only do so much. They are paid to play! What is he supposed to do, yell and berate them? Come on folks get real!
It’s not “total ignorance” to lay some of the blame on the manager. You want to pat him on the back for winning 100 games and first place in NL West? Go right ahead. I won’t apologize for preferring that they translate the expectations set in the regular seasons into playoff success. Marty Schottenheimer was a great regular season manager in the NFL, but abysmal in the playoffs. Based on Roberts’ record, that’s a legitimate comparison whether you like it or not.
And your argument about the time off doesn’t hold water for 2 very easy answers:
1. teams don’t just stink it up after the all-star break and forget how to play.
2. First season with this format, 2022, the AL #1 seed won it all going 11 – 2 in their 3 playoff series. 2023, Texas won it all and was #5 seed, but had same record as #2 seed but lost a tie-breaker to move to 5th.
Denying or implying that Roberts has little to no impact on the outcome of games, or that he can’t translate regular season success into playoff success points to looking in the mirror for someone to get real.
I’ve liked Roberts since his played center field for us, that and I’m pretty sure that wasn’t him who failed to show up for that debacle with the puds last year in the playoffs. I put that one squarely on those two playing the right side of the infield.
Or, said another way, one could legitimately question starting an injured Kershaw in game 1, resulting in a 162.0 ERA, then starting a rookie making his first playoff start in a must win game 2, resulting in a 16.2 ERA, and maybe also question leaving batting practice Lance Lynn in for not 1 or 2 HRs, but 3, then 4 in ONE inning. An MLB record. All 3 games were over by the 3rd inning. He could have at least tried something to motivate the team.
Maybe you didn’t notice but Roberts didn’t have much to work with in the pitching dept. at that time. Kershaw had been pitching injured for some time and was still pretty effective. I think we were all horrified at what happen to him on that outing. I think Roberts had every reason to expect Kershaw would get it together. Yeah he probably should have taken him out sooner. Who would you have started in place of Miller? Yeah Lynn should have come out sooner but the pitching staff was pretty tapped out last year. Also I never said Roberts was perfect. No manager is……But the DBs finished the year pretty damn strong. They were hot, the Dodgers were not……I strongly suspect that if that happens again this year there will be a different manager in the dug out next year.
So Roberts was supposed to motivate his way past a pitching staff in tatters in the 23 playoffs. Be serious. Personally I’d have loved to see Pepiot given a shot in one of those three playoff games the Dodgers lost but I get why Roberts went with Kersh, Miller and Lynn. And as for the expectations created by 100 win seasons, let’s remember the Braves and Orioles bounced out in the same round at the Dodgers. For his “mammoth failure” Bryan Hyde won Manager of the Year. Brian Snitker, like Dave Roberts, is one of the most respected managers in the game, both of them with long term records to prove it, despite the fact that you choose to downplay their regular season success. Surely a manager who loses the big ones deserves some of the responsibility, but he can’t pitch and hit for the roster.
So, a couple of things Shaw. I understand what you’re saying. I now live near Baltimore, so follow the Os probably more closely than most here. They had a great season and exceeded all expectations, but lost the premier closer midway through the season and had a very average (being generous) pitching staff. That they won the division last year with several rookies or second season players was astonishing, and was also possible by Tampa playing mediocre for the last few months of the season. Hyde deserved it. But I was also at game 1 of ALDS vs. Texas and he made a HUGE blunder that directly cost them the game and possibly the series. Unknow of course, but my point is that managers make decisions that affect games and series. Roberts has a long list of failures I don’t have the patience or time to recite.
And I take little to no solace with ATL’s failures. I’m not an ATL fan, but an LAD fan. Your prior statement was that all 29 managers should be fired that don’t win the WS, yet you counter with more irrelevant data that doesn’t support Roberts, just makes weak excuses. And I responded above about his poor decisions on the starting pitchers in the NLDS last year. Horrible decisions, all three of them.
The suggestion to fire 29 mangers who don’t win it all was in jest. That should have been obvious. Blaming Roberts for a beaten up under performing pitching staff in the playoffs is unfair. But I get where you are coming from. Including the insults. I’m out.
Apologies as they weren’t intended to be insults, just saying your comments didn’t help support Roberts in a way that shows he didn’t make bad decisions. And I certainly realized your comment was in jest, but hyperbole won’t get we the fans where we should want the team to be…serious WS contenders and champions. And honestly, it’s not just overcoming a beaten up and under performing pitching staff (uh, the same pitching staff that got them to 100 regular season wins and a NL West title…again), but regarding last years playoffs, please consider these decisions BY Roberts:
One could legitimately question starting an injured Kershaw in game 1, resulting in a 162.0 ERA, then starting a rookie making his first playoff start in a MUST WIN game 2, resulting in a 16.2 ERA – because of the game 1 debacle and decision by Roberts), and maybe also question leaving Lance Lynn in for not 1 or 2 HRs, but 3, then 4 in ONE inning. An MLB record. All 3 games were over by the 3rd inning. He could have at least tried something to motivate the team, yet did nothing. The man looks clueless on how to handle playoff adversity.
Again, apologies for the insults, implied or otherwise, not my intention.
Lots and lots of comments about Roberts, some positive but mostly negative. I’m sorry to say I’m in the “negative” category and last night’s results only fuel my dislike of Roberts as a “manager”. We’ve seen last nights scenario play out too many times: pitchers left in too long, pitchers pulled too early. yes hindsight is always better but Kelly clearly didn’t have it last night which showed after the first few of pitches going high wild, and way outside. Then hitting Arenado, and after that fluky catcher’s interference call on Smith, Burleson hammers a pitch to right. Bam! Right there Kelly should have been removed. Moving on the the extra innings and down by a run with CT3 on second with NO OUTS, where the hell is a call for the bunt to get him to third and at least tie the game with an infield hit or sac fly? OK, sure, you’re saying they loaded the bases two of their best hitters who never bunt with Ohtani coming up, but with two outs they shouldn’t have been in that spot and should have already tied the game. Some of the comments say you can’t blame Roberts because “the players get paid to play.” Well, sorry, Roberts gets “paid to MANAGE”. So MANAGE and not sit there doing the same dumb things over and over. If the Dodgers don’t win it all this year and Roberts is still kept as manager, the people above him will be just as guilty of mis-management.