Dodgers: Dave Roberts Stops Short of Calling Out Lack of Offense this Postseason
For the Dodgers, today is put up or shut up time in away. The club has been outfitted with the bats and the talent — more than enough even — to win a second consecutive World Series title. Andrew Freidman made sure of it when he went out and plucked superstar outfielder Mookie Betts from the Red Sox ahead of the 2020 season and inked him to a megadeal to keep him in LA. Friedman made sure of it when he re-signed Justin Turner this past offseason, and he doubled down when he surprised baseball by picking up all-star Trea Turner from the Nationals.
With a great compliment of veterans and young stars, the talent is more than there for the Dodgers. But the offense has struggled to put it all together consistently all season long.
There’s an adage in baseball that goes you’re only as good as your next day’s pitcher. Well, this October, pitching has not been the problem. Dave Roberts made that known on Monday where, when asked how he felt about LA’s chances in this series if the team can get things back to Atlanta with Max Scherzer and Walker Buehler lined up to start the potential sixth and seventh game, he took a backhanded shot at the offense.
“…for us, it really hasn’t been about preventing runs to be quite honest.”
It’s a fact that the Dodger struggles haven’t been the fault of the pitching staff. The team has surrendered 3 runs or less in 6 of 8 games this postseason. They’ve gone just 4-2 in those games. The offense has scored 23 runs in those games, but 9 runs came in an NLDS game 2 win and 7 came in NLDS game 4.
You know it. I know it. And the Dodgers certainly know it. The offense has been abysmal this postseason. Over 8 games this October, the LA offense has posted a .665 OPS. That’s the worst amongst teams still playing postseason season baseball. Still, it just takes one game to start a winning streak, and Doc is ever the optimist.
“I think that Walker and the guys behind him [in game 3] are going to prevent runs, and we’re going to score more than they will, and I think we’re going to do that in Game 4,” Roberts said pointedly. “I believe we’re going to win this series. I believe we’re going to win tomorrow.”
The Dodgers have been in this spot before. Now you just go out and take it one day at a time and one win at a time, as they’ve preached all season long.
NEXT: Diving into the Disappearance of LA’s Offense
The Braves have a secret weapon. It’s Roberts!
Yet we refuse to do anything about it. Roberts the Clown needs to be sent packing to the circus. This team needs and deserves a competent manager.
Agreed 1 trillion percent. Roberts will be fired and a new manager will not make the same dumb decisions as stupid Roberts.
What can you do? Look at the last 20 games or so. 80% win rate and still had to play the wildcard game then 5 in a row against SF then a trip across country. Easily could’ve won both but they came up big when it mattered. Granted mistakes were made but fatigue was an issue. Back home now with some home cooking, I expect to win all three simply because we are better and rested.
Hey Dodger Boy. I concur and certainly hope Dodgerfan4life reads this article by Clint thoroughly. It’s my biggest concern so far in this PS. I don’t have to post the offensive numbers here either.
Paul, I did read Clint’s article. I have never denied the offense has been lacking. I have only chosen to focus on other facets of the game also responsible for the lost weekend in Atlanta. Hope this clarifies things.
If you choose to think focusing on only half of the game as being the deciding factor which determines wins and loses, that is your choice.
Let’s see if that MONSTER DEFENSIVE PLAY, will spark the O!
Roberts’ stupid decision making is also my biggest concern.
The Dodgers have not scored since Seager’s homerun in the FIRST inning. Tonight’s game is definitely about our offense being shut down and Joc Peterson’s strikeout single that got Buehler completely off of game. Right now, we have two innings left of Game #3 and still have not been able to produce a run.
I guess Belli just told me with that HR!!!!!!!
Lol. Barb, you wrote them off a bit too soon 😉
Love ya
I guess offense in the 8th inning helped win this game. I know pitching and defense are important. Lux showed a little of his inexperience in CF but relief pitching especially by Phillips and KJ , along with 4 runs in 8th inning kind of made Lux breathe easier. However it might be best to keep Bellinger or CT3 in CF going forward. Beaty can play 1st.
That win was more of a miracle for this team. Bellinger hit the worst pitch he could have been thrown. Incredible win…..Wouldn’t it be nice if just 1 starter went 6 or 7 innings and allowed less than 3? That’s what it will take to win this series.
Paul, in my projected game 4 lineup I have Beaty at 1B and Gibson, I mean Bellinger in CF lol.
Dodgersfan4life, I had not “wrote them off” (at least not completely, LOL?) but was merely commenting, in real time as the game was unfolding, that our Dodgers’ offense had not shown up to produce a run after the 1st inning. Belli’s HR was a welcome change in the trajectory of last night’s game, and I was admittedly surprised. I frequently write that ” it aint over until its over” and my belief in our team’s ability to defy the odds is unwavering until a positive outcome is literally impossible. Now….
Let’s GO DODGERS!!!
Right you are! The boys in blue just wanna make sure all us old-timers still have fresh batteries in our pace-makers lol.
Not having any bench all season has hurt this team, pitching has carried them all season and the Big 3 have done nothing in this series. As long as we continue to carry Souza (he is brutal) and Pujols (homer or nothing because he can’t run) and let them nearf the batters box, we are in trouble. The Turners have been a complete waste, Justin doing nothing at all (looking totally lost at the plate) and Trea with only his infield hits (never gets a big hit with men on base). Can you imaging we are playing Lux in the everyday lineup playing centerfield because we need his bat! He barely made do in the minors. We are going to have to play Pollock and we know where that leads us. Last year the bench could actually carry the Dodgers, this year it has been the worst part of the team, FO did nothing to correct it all season.
No sh!t! Worst bench ever! Thanks AF (mr I’m the smartest guy in room)
Thinks of the bench we could have had:
Yolando alvarez
Kike
Carlos Ruiz (if we could have found a way to not have to trade him)
Verdugo
Instead trading away talent for nothing or just letting talent go, and signing Harper to a long term contract instead trading away talent for betts.
While the Dodgers’ FO has made some truly spectacular moves, they also have made some real head scratchers as well.
Yordan Alvarez for Josh Fields is a doozy.
Kike not re-signed will forever be in my books the worst ever!
Keibert Ruiz a great catcher was the price paid for Scherzer and Trea….I’d make that one everyday and twice on Sunday.
Verdugo for Mookie? See Keibert Ruiz.
It wasn’t just Verdugo for Mookie.
IF you remember they went after Harper first but refused to offer him the long term contract they offered Mookie.
SO later they made the trade for mookie, then signed him to a long term contract.
So in reality they traded Harper verdugo, downs, wong and money for Mookie and garbage.
And worse, mookie will never live up to the contract. I only see him holding up for a few more good years at most. But the team will never get their money’s worth.
11286, you can’t trade player you don’t have under contract. So saying you traded Harper is just plain wrong.
I am not saying a literal trade for goodness sake.
Do you not get what I am trying to say? In sum you could have had a or b. Dodgers got b. Harper has been better than mookie. They did not have to give what they gave up to get what mookie brings.
This front office is way over rated. signing one bad pitcher or one bad hitter one after another hoping something will stick, and then getting swelled heads when they find one like bickford or sign mookie to a horribly bad long contract.
And if they kept all those players they didn’t have to trade, and signed some one like kike instead of mckinney or souza, what a bench they would have had, and maybe they could have traded some else instead ruiz.
The sum difference in trades and signings could have been greatly different, and retained some depth in their farm system (what if they had cody thomas to bring up and use instead of getting mckinney).
Fair enough. I’m in agreement with you that the FO is way overrated. Much gets made of their headline moves, while their god awful mistakes somehow get swept under the carpet. Not to mention some really atrocious “analytics driven” in game decisions! What worked for over 100 years is now all of a sudden garbage? Really?
An addendum to the Harper/Mookie situation. Harper, while a wonderful player, has not led his team to a WS even once. Mookie has spearheaded two different ones to WS victories! Sure one can debate the talent of his respective supporting casts until the cows come home, but you get my point. I think Dodgers made the right choice.
JT is really struggling. Maybe he should be dropped in the order to #8. He looks tired,his bat has slowed noticeably,and he is aDP waiting to happen. The other Turner is horrible. He really looks out of sink at the plate. He’s not patient and is swinging at ridiculous pitches in the dirt and way outside of the zone. How did he ever win the batting title?
Amen 55, we’re not going to win this series unless SOMEONE else than Seager and CT3 show up. Bellinger better take his walks tonight because they will fear him again. I just hope he doesn’t start trying to hit homers again and fall down on one knee. JT and his Pop ups are really bad. His “LAUNCH” angle BS has been his downfall. His balance used to be perfect at the plate, Now he’s falling towards 1st base and his head is cocked looking upward. he hasn’t been keeping balanced and his eye level changes ….Pretty simple to see….