Dodgers: Dave Roberts Regretfully Comments on the Overturning of the Roster this Winter
The game 6 loss against the Atlanta Braves officially ended the Dodgers 2021 season. It’s unfortunate that the team couldn’t repeat as champions. Many fans are surely devasted by the crushing blow.
Yet, that sadly won’t be the only pain felt before the start of a new season. The eventual start of free agency means the end of an era and the “changing of the guard” as Dave Roberts put it.
“A lot’s going to be happening this winter. I think part of the great thing about players and service time is you get a chance to choose where you want to play and earn what you want to earn. We have some guys that are free agents and we all know who they are. Potentially to not see those guys back, it’s sort of a changing of the guard. If they’re not back, whoever is not back, I’m going to miss them personally and the team is going to miss them.”
The Dodgers will have 11 players hit free agency this winter after the conclusion of the World Series. Among that group is star players who have been a part of the organization for years such as Clayton Kershaw, Corey Seager, etc. Los Angeles could end up losing some of their key players from this run of dominance with other teams looking for their services. With that, it may have been the last time we’ve seen them in Dodger blue.
“The six years I’ve been here, it’s been a core group of guys that could potentially be turned over this winter. I’m not looking forward to it. They’re great players and great men. I wish we could’ve won another one with this group.”
Unfortunately, the organization will not be able to retain every single one of its free agents. On one hand, it’s a little heartbreaking to see players who have spent much of their careers here go off and join another franchise, but we tend to often forget the business aspect of the game. As Doc mentioned, it would’ve been great to see this team accomplish another World Series run with the core still in place, but now we will have to say our goodbyes and close the door on a couple of stories.
NEXT: Dave Roberts Reflects on Using Max Scherzer in Relief in NLDS Game 5
Without an abundance of talent, Roberts will be exposed.
Great point; however, Friedbrain loves his perfect puppet and “yes” man.
Amen !
Yes, I agree with you. Is time for Roberts to go. Otherwise without some of these guys gone, he will be worse as manager and there’s no reason to have another lost year next year. Find a smarter manager who can make smarter moves and manage the pitchers much better.
Hopefully he’s talking about himself…
We can only pray…
In other baseball news:
Cardinals hire 35 year old bench coach Oliver Mármol as manager. Wow, never would have seen that coming.
No previous managerial or MLB player experience. Pretty surprised for such a storied franchise.
Guess Shildt wasn’t a yes man.
You got it my man.
WTF! Roberts the Clown has no experience and he kills us every f’n game man!
He’s a f’n buffoon.
that’s a load of bs. He’s not a clown, has tons of experience, and wins most of the games he manages. c’mon man. WTF!
@Joe you’re right on point. He is not the strategy guy like the old guard of Lasorda, Alston or even Sparky Anderson but he seems to understand today’s players. I definitely don’t understand some of his very curious decisions but crap folks the team won 106 games. No matter what it’s hard to say any other manager could have done more. Then again it came down to a handful of games this season and he could have made too many choices which ended up imploding.
Seems like the players love the way the team is run and guys want to come play in LA to win…but UGH, it is a bummer to watch his moves in the PS.
Joe, ignore mqarep…he is the clown.
Robert I agree with you 1,000%. Thank you! He’s by no means perfect, makes his share of mistakes, but who would do a better job than him with all the pressure that comes from nothing is acceptable unless you win the WS!
Those are the puppet hires. The young guys who speak well with the media and follow the FO lead in managing the team while keeping the clubhouse on board. The cardinals are finally trying to enter the new age hoping for better results but I think they’re going to be disappointed
Analytics might work over 162, but they will forever come up short in October. Quants can’t measure the intangibles. The human element escapes all their number crunching.
He will be replaced mid-season my guess.
I don’t get it. if the Dodgers replace him, it should be now – it’s not like he’s changed over the last 5 years
Joe my comment about mid-season being replaced was for Cardinal new hire 35 year old Oliver Marmol. Pretty sure they will be disappointed.
Oh cards marmol – ok. you may be right. I don’t care. Boycott World Series! Punish cheating players!
so true, he has had the talent…He should be the Free Agent.
Hate to see Taylor go He plays with heart ! Will mis him !
I think most folks agree if any of the free agents come back it will be CT3. He’ll do anything for you, and we can’t lose another great utility-player like we did Kike.
No way Friedman fires this clown! And somebody should be looking at Friedman while they’re at it. Until he opened the checkbook for Mookie, which is all of a sudden open to speculation, the deals he was personally responsible for, with a few exceptions, were comprised of dumpster diving and looking for rehab projects and ex Rays. Look it up! And yes, Alvarez for Josh Fields was one of his better decisions. Zero bats in Oklahoma City as witnessed by call ups of Raley, Souza, McKinney, Reks etc
Crucial off season coming up with sketchy pilots at the controls
Yes, if Friedbrain would go, everything could fall nicely into place. He is the biggest dumpster diver ever and seems to only sign pitchers with broken arms.
No way, It is time to move on from Dave Roberts. Time to bring in someone that knows how to use a bullpen.
Hopefully this time the Dodgers will hire a Baseball manager instead of a cheer leader.
A lot of us wants Roberts removed but as long as we have owners who don’t care or don’t know baseball Friedman and Roberts will stay.New owners wasted 5 years with Mattingly nothing to show and they had most expensive team his last 2 years. Roberts 1 World Series title in six years while having the most talented team. And most expensive team too. Owners don’t realize that you don’t take a Ferrari to a regular garage mechanic you take it to a specialist.
Well said Luis….
you should have stopped at ” owners wasted 5 years with Mattingly nothing to show and they had most expensive team his last 2 years…” after that, you miss the mark by a lot. Doc has the best record of any MLB Mgr in the last 6 years. 5 NL West titles, 4 world series appearances and 1 WS Championship. The owners love what they are getting from Friedman and his Manager, coaches and players. The owners are pretty smart guys and realize full well they have a good thing going. Is it perfect? are the Dodgers winning the WS every single year – no. But no one in MLB from either league has repeated in over 2 decades – it’s that tough to do.
Joe, we agree on most. Where we differ is on Friedman. He is the clown not Roberts. Friedman signed the human dumpster fire Bauer not DR. Friedman traded Yordan Alvarez for Josh Fields. Friedman didn’t re-sign Kike. I could go on and on. If I’m ownership I dump Friedman and keep Roberts.
This ^^^
Uh Joe, the Dodgers went to 3 World Series not 4, should have been 4 . Hate to say it but I recall you calling all of us a bunch of Bad dodger fans because we were watching Drrrrrrr unfold and blowing the division, and calling his poor managing out. You were saying we were all negative and what not. Most of us knew that the team was being sabotaged by Drrrrr’s head scratching moves etc etc. we have been witnessing his character for the 6 years. i admit i liked reading your BLIND loyalty as i called it a few times, and never really harped on you because i know your a good dodgers fan. But now that all of what we predicted would happen did happen, and drrrrrrrrr dropped the ball and kept his poor managing tactics alive and well. It’s hard to take ANYONE serious when they try and convince us that he’s something special because he’s not.
Kirk, you and I actually agree on more than we disagree, at least from the baseball strategy side. Where we seem to differ is from the management side and I think it stems from the murky line drawn between the DR/FO conflict. Given Af’s dismal record of decisions (Bauer, non signing of Kike, other questionable roster moves, etc add infinitum) I’m willing to give DR a pass and hang AF. Would love to see DR be allowed to manage without FO interference and see what transpires. Unfortunately we will never be afforded that luxury. So we are left to make due as best we can.
Have enjoyed our discussions. Appreciate your input. Regards df4l
Everyone is entitled to their opinion D4, and yeah we do both get the game for sure. They did announce Straight up that Drrrrrrrr makes all of the line up decisions right? Can we agree on that? In the past, not saying the Dodgers do this, but managers go to mngt and request what they need, mngt either agrees etc. and players are brought in traded etc. Can we agree on this? Friedman “If it’s ONLY him” it could be Billy Gene King, or Magic also you know, it’s not just one or the other. I harp on Line ups and players that are most qualified for the part, and since the Org announce Drrrrrrr and ONLY drrrrrr makes the line ups I’ll hold Drrrrrrr accountable. And this season was the Worst line ups i’ve ever seen put on a field, especially with the talent in the org that WASN’t being used, and also was. that’s all I can go by, I personally believe the FO when they made that statement about Drrrrrrrr. Now, if you think the FO and org is full of Sheet, just say so and I’ll quit bashing your every apology to drrrrrrrrrrrrrr……And since your apart of the Moderation on this site, I would imagine you Can’t say such a thing D4, now can you?
Kirk, we can agree on many. You should know from my constant complaints about what goes straight to moderation that I’m not part of that. Straight so far? I answer yes to most of your questions. I never thought about possible input from others (BJK or Magic.) never even occurred to me there, why I don’t know. If indeed the lineup decisions are DR’s alone (and I’m only talking postseason here) then I too have issues. During the season, injuries and the necessary evil spa days are responsible for not having the best out there everyday. My solution there is to cut the season down to 120 and expand the playoffs. It would be a win win and a better product all around. Did I cover everything? Not sure anyway. I respect your opinions. Regards df4l
Unbelievable the stuff that goes straight to moderation.
Certain subject are highly sensitive here.
don’t be surprised! lol
Look I don’t agree doc sabotages the team. Is he perfect? No. Does he get direction from the FO and overrule him perhaps – according to Dodgerfan4life the answer is yes. I’m just saying that doc is not nearly as bad as many here make him out to be. Call it BLIND hatred or whatever. Look we all want the same thing. Every year a World Series Championship. And we are bummed if we don’t get it – certainly the players, the FO and Dave fell short. IF we replace doc, who would be better? With all the pressure that comes with this job, unlike every other MLB job other than say Yankees I suppose. Your odds getting a Dodger series at some point was always better than a surefire win of the WS. No one could have predicted that their best hitter and lefty pitcher would come not play in the postseason. So lots of assumptions were made and now we’ll never know if we had them do they go all the way. Doc wasn’t up there flailing at balls in the dirt like the MLB NL Batting champ. doc wasn’t there grooving pitches down the middle to Osario when anyone with half a baseball brain knew to pitch around Rosario and get him to chase. Essentially 3 months of trashing Roberts by so many here left me wondering why are they fans? Sure be critical of him, but enough already. Who’s better out there that can replace him? Lets have a constructive dialogue about that – PLEASE
Joe, I’m with you there. Of course Doc makes mistakes. Everyone does. I he think he does better than most other managers in MLB. I too would love to see the qualified candidates to replace him. Very few have come forward though. Why? Because it’s not easy to find one!
So far I’ve heard Scioscia and Melvin and Counsell.
Scioscia won 6 AL West titles and 1 WS in 19 years. Bern out since 2018 and nobody has picked him up.
Melvin? Doesn’t bleed Dodger blue, not sure how that would go over. No postseason pedigree either
Counsell? Not bad no WS appearance either
Not an easy task. Nuff sed
Apologies….That’s all he ever get’s for his blunders….You guys have got to be liberals……
Kirk, political affiliations? Really? That the best you got? Truly disappointing from someone I really respect (yes Kirk I respect your opinions very much)
kdl – no one apologized for doc. no Mgr is perfect. You have one batter than doc? let’s discuss that, and grant your assertion that doc is horrible and has to go.
While it was a down year for the Doyers they still led the league in attendance both at home and on the road! Couple that with product sales, food and parking…nothing is going to change for this team win or lose! Fans need to speak with their wallets and so far they’re happy with what they get so why would the organization change anything!
So true Soviet. Hopefully people remember when the FO and owners were just sitting on profit ONLY instead of spending big. At least they have been spending and going for the wins. Let’s just hope they don’t go on another 32 year profit before championship mentality they were using in the past…
the owners have MORE than ever a championship mentality than they ever did!!! Do you even think about what you are saying? Who spent by far and away the most of any team on player salaries this year? that’s the owners dude. and despite being stuck with Bauer’s $40M salary wasted on legal crap, we went out and got not 1 but 2 All-stars: Scherzer and Trea Turner. No one can show me a year like that where the team with the highest payroll went out and added another ~$40M to it at the trade deadline. Good luck looking – you won’t find it. The owners are all-in, in case you haven’t noticed.
Ownership is definitely all-in as you say. Unfortunately they have a self-serving dummy for a President of baseball ops.
Did you even read what I wrote? Applause to the ownership for how they’ve been. Let’s hope they keep it up and avoid another 32 years….
You say anything critical it goes straight to moderation
sure did read what you wrote-you agreed with Soviet. “So true Soviet” he implied nothing is ever going to change for better with the team, because the owners are selling seats, merch, f&b, etc. My point is they have demonstrated much more than maximizing profit – they want World Series Championships or else
I hear all you guys talking against Doc Roberts. What other team has been this good for this long. I say thank you Doc for a really great year despite the injuries and the Giants having a great year. I hope you get a contract extension and bring back as many of the players as you can. That you got us as far as you did lets us know what a great manager you are. I have been a Dodger fan for 73 years and you have given us a contender every year you have been with the club. People who expect you to win the world series every year are not realistic. Thank you for getting us as far as you did. It was an exciting year and I can’t wait till next year. Please resign Cory Seager and as many of the free agents as you can. AGAIN, THANK YOU DOC AND THE DODGER TEAM FOR A GREAT YEAR. I BLEED DODGER BLUE!!!!
Answer to the question, who’s been this good for so long (albeit just one seasoned shortened WS win)
The envelope please! Answer, most recently the NY Yankees of the mid 90’s. What did they have in common? Two grossly overrated managers. Joe Torre, who sucked everywhere before and after leaving Steinbrenner’s house of horrors and our own Doc Roberts. It’s actually not easy to win only one ring with the “talent” on this tram, but with Friedman’s assistance he’s pulled it off.
Friedman should be fired if only for signing Jeffrey Dalmer’s first cousin. I liked the Mookie move and was quite frankly shocked in light of how he only spent $ on ICU patients in the past. However Mookie has now taken on the same lackadaisical attitude the rest of these Hollywood movie stars project. This team has no juice whatsoever!!
BobbyD, Yankees were a long time ago. We are talking more recently. Nobody has repeated in over 20 years. Why? It’s tough. Everyone trying to win except for maybe a few like the O’s and Buc’s Twinkies and Rangers. Look how competitive the AL East is. Yanks, Red Sox, Rays and Blue Jays. Pretty tough stuff there. Talent alone is no guarantee.
Well said Barry. Every manager makes a lot of bad decisions when viewed in hindsight, simply because players don’t always execute. People really need to ask themselves what the better options were along the way. I did not think Buehler should’ve started game 6. I guess I was right, but if he doesn’t walk d’Arnaud after being ahead 1-2 [a truly terrible failure by Buehler] the outcome may have been very different. So is that a bad decison by Doc or AF in starting Buehler, or do we simply blame Buehler for losing focus at the wrong time?
I am wondering a bit about Friedman, as I think the lack of depth at AAAA level really hurt the team. No bats ready to step up, and he failed to address that issue at trade deadline, unlike the Braves, who reloaded their whole damn outfield. I certainly give AF and ownership credit for addressing the starting pitching need at the trade deadline, but more was needed. A couple more Ws and this team cruises in to the playoffs with home field throughout, and avoids the play-in game with Scherzer playing closer.
Demiro, you are 100% right. Cards, Braves and Giants all did better jobs of addressing team weaknesses than Dodgers did. Dodgers had no bench. Never got addressed.
I hope you’re on your love for Roberts, Barry, but I hope they bring another manager who can do a smarter job managing pitchers and players because with the talent the Dodgers have, any manager can win with them. The reason SCIOSCIA didn’t win often is because besides Trout, he had no other great players like the Dodgers so good luck to your wishing that Roberts gets extended.
Thx Barry! A voice of reason! and clarity! and truth!
PLEASE GET RID OF ROBERTS. ALWAYS MAKING POOR DECISIONS. AND GOING TO DODGER TOWN ALL SEE IT ON CABLE WAY TO EXPENSIVE FOR ME AND MY FAMILY. ITS BAD ENOUGH EVERYTHING GOING WAY TO HIGH. PLEASE GET US A NEW COACH PLAYERS CAN ONLY DO SO MUCH. WHEN BAD COACHING INVOLVED.
It’s Friedman that must go not Roberts. Friedman the headline stealer does an amazing job of sweeping his mistakes under the carpet. Out done by his underlings Zahidi and Anthopolous. Another GM Mozeliak of the Cards also.
All three teams Cards, Giants, Braves were either below .500 in 2021 or 2020. All out maneuvered by superior FO’s.
I will add the FO’s insistence of being directly involved in in-game managerial decisions.
there is no proof the FO is directly involved in in-game managerial decisions. c’mon man!
Joe, read the Athletic article on how decisions are made in the Dodger organization. FO needs to “stay in yo lane!”
what Athletic article?
Andy McCullough wrote a piece about how the Dodger organization makes decisions.
4fl – you can’t be serious!!! (my best John McEnroe impression!) SMH
Joe, lol…Shirley you must be joking.
Not sure why he fared poorly at the plate in the playoffs. Maybe moving back to SS next year will improve his mood!
Joe, check his postseason stats…unfortunately just more of the same. Tragic
Had Acuna Jr. For the Braves who tore his ACL on July 10th had done it on Aug 10th instead (arbitrarily chosen post trade deadline date), Braves wouldn’t even have been in the playoffs!
Make sure loser Roberts is one of the ones overturned!!!
THANK YOU FOR THIS COMMENT! These guys commenting think they know more than the professionals. The same people comment every day saying the same things over and over.
I, too, thank Dave Roberts and the entire team for a great year. I have been a fan since 1958 when my family moved to Los Angeles from Connecticut when I was 4 years old. I bleed Dodger Blue too! I watched almost every game this year on TV.
not sure which comment you are thanking, but will assume it’s for me since I appear to be the only one supporting Friedman, the FO, ownership and doc. You are so right – . The same people comment every day saying the same things over and over. 1954 was a good year to be born!
Joe, you know that’s not true. I have supported Doc. But I will not support Friedman.
Still waiting for the news that Roberts will be fired.
Me too. Dodgers need a more experienced manager with new ideas and more guts. Play small ball just like Lasorda used to. SCIOSCIA comes to mind.
He’s a good option. We need a manager who does not make dumb decisions.
Scioscia while a nice guy, only a so so manager. In 19 years with the Halos he won 6 Division titles and 1 WS. Last DIV title 2014. If he was so great, why was he let go? Also why has he not been picked up by any of the other 29 MLB teams? Been out since 2018. Just sayin
Anybody else besides stupid Roberts will be an improvement.
Dodgerfan,
SCIOSCIA didn’t win more divisions and WS was because besides Trout, he had nobody worth playing and the owners never wanted to spend money on pitching and still are. Now, with the Dodgers he could win a few more titles and WS because he’s not into analytics like Roberts and besides SCIOSCIA can be more firm in his game moves because he learned from Lasorda and God knows the Dodgers need to learn small ball and hit against those stupid shifts!!!! IMHO!!!
Dac, whether or not Scioscia would win more than Roberts is only speculation. No way to prove it.
I can’t stand Roberts’ “yesmanism” ….he is obviously following managerial directions from above way too much, or he is much more incompetent than I think he is, throw in those damn analytics in October…..no team no matter how talented can overcome that combination of factors specially the first..not even the damn yankees suffered this much when Steinbrenner tried to do it and Billy M would not give in…… anyways, just venting a little 🙂 …… Roberts sucks… we should have a chant: “Fire DR” ala “Beat LA”
Benjamin, I agree……..Drrrrrrrrrrrr needs to be a 1st base coach for the Red sox. Where he had 1 game of fame……
ROBERTS is the 1st one on a long short list of those who HAVE TO GO. Take SCHERZER too and his wittle arm that was too tired to pitch….right…he wanted the glory of winning game 7. And get rid of mop top Trealess Turner who was so wrapped up with his trophy that he COMPLETELY forgot how to hit. Swinging at every pitch, 3′ outside and bouncing before the plate. I finally figured out why these bums were traded….post season chokers! Sorry guys but CK is finished and so is JT.. Not sure about Kenley because he’s a fighter. His 3 KO’s in the 9th were gold even though the game was near over. Sign Seager, Sign Taylor…sign Pollack….plenty of $ left if the Dodgers get rid of Scherzer and T. Turner. Get rid of the waste….McDufus, Souza, Mckinstry, Kelly, Price, Gonsolin, but Roberts? The Pads want him back bad….take Geffen, the useless pitching and batting coaches and 1st base coach. Hands off Dino…Albert is priceless. The Dodgers need a manager like Snitker. No slapasses, high 5’s…cheerleading pompom stuff…just business …no touchy! just business. The Dodgers still have such tremendous talent, they need a team leader who can make smart decisions pronto! Next April I’d like to hear….sorry man, Dave’s not here!
Bayside,
Love your comments!!!! Man, you covered everything and everybody!! Trea Turner has one more year and he will be back but Seager has to move to third base if signed. Use JT as DH but not on the field.
Those guys on the bench were just HORRIBLE and most definitely Roberts should be traded to the Padres for prospects.
Bayside, that was perfect……Dave’s Not here!!!!!!!! Perfect……… every post game or Drrrrr interview starts with ” Ummmmmmmmm” Uhhhhhhhhhhhh. Ummmmmmmmm…….
Lol
Actually the Scherzer thing wanting the glory of winning game 7 kinda makes sense…only one problem, he never got the chance. He took the ball in the 9th in game 5 of the DS because he had the spotlight. I thought there was something more serious going on because not be able to go on 6 days rest is unusual for a starter (yes I would know).
doesn’t bode well for him and free agency then!
Though some of DR’s moves backfired, I’m not on the fire Dave bandwagon. Yeah, some of that stuff left me scratching my head, but I think he should stay. If they work, he’s a genius, if not he gets roasted on places like this. So… in the immortal words of Catfish Hunter, “The sun don’t shine on the same dog’s a** everyday.
Steve, lol. Catfish was a real character! What a gamer.
I say this, I thought Trea was such a steal when the Dodgers got him. After the postseason, I say see what you can get for him. Never been more disappointed with anyone bearing those credentials.
Well,
Trea was great during the season but those hitting coaches should have helped him to be as good in the postseason. Will see what happens next year.
Dacwriter, check his postseason stats…unfortunately just more of the same. Tragic
S.TURNER SHOWED ME NOTHING,NEVER HEARD OF HIM UNTIL DODGERS SAID HOW GREAT HE IS, TRADE HIM & A BUNCH OF THE DEAD BEATS A.F SIGNED., LEAVES PLENTY OF MONEY TO KEEP SEAGER,CT, BELLI MAD MAX,POLLOCK, HARD TO SAY ABOUT J.T.
GONSOLIN, SOUZA,PRICE, PHILLIPS, MCKINSTRY, KELLY, JENSON, TAKE A HARD LOOK AT THE COACHS, LEAVE DINO ALONE.
The way Roberts manage is like watching Angel Hernandez umpire.
That’s the best analogy/comparison I’ve ever heard about drrrrrrrrr. Maybe they’re brothers…
Kirk, please tell me another MLB manager that has more than 3 WS appearances in 4 years….ok I’ll wait lol
Stop defending this idiot. He is delusional and deserves to never manage another baseball game ever again.
Dodger Boy, I get it. You don’t like Doc. Doesn’t make him a bad manager though. Show me another MLB manager with more than 3 WS appearances in 4 years…ok I’ll wait lol
The Padres are interviewing Mike Scioscia.
I love Seager but I would take Trea Turner over him anyday. I would love to see Seager at 3B, Trea @ SS and Lux @ 2b. 2022 is JTs last year, why I say that. That or go in on Chris Taylor (Fareed Zaidi made it known he wants CT3) CT3 is a super sub utility guy that has to be a must. Or sign Kris Bryant if Giants don’t get him.
Who wouldn’t want CT3? What a stupid comment.
The Giants will be serous competition for CT3’s services. Dodgers don’t pull another boner like Kike!
I am pretty sure they won’t let CT3 go as he was the Kike replacement so to speak, and McKinstry backfilled CT. Until McKinstry got injured, Andrew’s plan was working to a T. Everyone predicting before the tidal wave of injuries that we were going to see the greatest team in baseball history win 80% of their games. certainly the lack of bench means he must come back, or at least they go out and get 2 or 3 bench players. They were exposed this year how shallow the bench was.
Almost every Dodger fan wants Roberts to be fired, including me.
ahhhh Dodger Boy that is a falsehood. Me and countless others do not want doc fired. Besides who would be a better replacement for him? You have made no case who would do a better job than doc.
I posted Doc’s postseason record. Many critics use it erroneously to support their failed attempts to discredit him. Forgive them for they know not what they do.
Everyone that I have talked to wants him to be fired.
Wrong.