Dodgers News: Dave Roberts Addresses Managing Style, Not Trying to Force Results
Strap in, ladies and gentlemen, because the Los Angeles Dodgers are officially in a slump. After Sunday’s loss to the Giants, the Dodgers were swept by San Francisco for the first time since August 2012. With a 5-10 record in June, the Dodgers have fallen to third in the NL West and it’s safe to say that fans are not happy.
— PurpleHeart??? (@JBoogie2494) June 18, 2023
Before the Dodgers’ crushing 7-3 loss to the Giants, Dave Roberts spoke on his role as a manager during a down period.
“I think there’s a managing with urgency and there’s also a panic or forcing something to happen,” Roberts said. “You still have to let the game unfold and watch the game. I think it’s just about doing things the right way and playing good baseball as opposed to me trying to impose certain decision-making things to force something to happen. I don’t think that’s a good thought process.”
(Via Dave Roberts pregame on Sunday)
In response to being asked about his point of view on the series sweep by the Giants, Roberts acknowledged the criticism that has followed the recent cold streak in Los Angeles.
“When you’re not winning games, things get more magnified and understandably so. I think if you look back at this two-week stretch there’s a lot of things that we’re just not doing well. We’re not playing clean baseball, fundamental baseball,” Roberts said.
(Via @SportsNetLA)
With a struggling bullpen and an inconsistent starting rotation, fans are calling for the Dodgers to make some noise before the trade deadline. Roberts remains confident in the lineup he has, and said he had to make sure that he didn’t over-manage during the slump.
“When things aren’t going well, you figure you try to think what you can do to kind of spark something,” Roberts said. “But we have good players. So for me to try to do something totally out of the ordinary, I don’t necessarily think that’s the right way to go about things.”
(Via Dave Roberts pregame on Sunday)
Mercifully, the Dodgers have a day off on Monday before a quick two game set with the Angels down in Anaheim. Hopefully, things are able to get back on track after a little mental reset.
Way back in Spring Training I said that this year Dave would be tested and have to show how good of a manager he really is. He can’t just push buttons and win with a team anyone could win with. Now he has to manage, motivate, strategize, and not lose games because of mismanaging.
And now he’s saying the best thing to do is nothing, just let the game unfold! Every season his teams go into a nasty slump, check it, and during those slumps he does the same thing. I’m starting to wonder what makes a good manager, and what has Dave done to show if he is a good manager.
What’s a good manager? Two words for the answer: Bruce Bochy. And no, I am not a Giants fan. Just have appreciated watching how he manages
The worst thing to do is nothing that’s all I’ve seen as corrective action by Dave, nothing. We all know the bull pen sucks so why are we still hoping they’ll miraculously snap out of it. Ship them out and bring in some fresh young talent that deserves a chance.
You’re a loser who can not and will not change. Should have been let go a LONG LONG time ago!
Roberts is a LOSER.. alwys has been ALWAYS will be….. and he drags the Dodgers down!!!
I left a message here this morning in response to someone elses post. Now neither of them are here! What’s going on here?!
The amount of “fans” I see constantly blaming Dave Roberts for everything makes me realize that other fan bases calling us dumb has a lot of merit. If every single guy not named Phillips has been absolutely ass, how is that Dave’s fault? No matter who he brings in, they suck. That has nothing to do with who he brings in and when, it has everything to do with the players not performing. Blaming the manager is the easy way out, at some point you have to blame the players who are not performing day in and day out. I just can’t stand every time something goes wrong fans automatically blame Dave. Yet when things go right (and they have gone right A LOT during his tenure) he gets zero credit!
Anybody who says something along the lines of “the Dodgers would have at least 2 more rings if it weren’t for Roberts” you are an absolute idiot. The thing you fail to realize is that Dave Roberts is hands down the best clubhouse manager in baseball. And for a franchise that has had a ton of star power the last decade, that matters. Getting guys to buy in to the system the Dodgers run is not easy. And Dave does it to perfection. So saying they would have 2 more rings if not for Dave’s bad decision making, that’s just false. Because these teams very likely do not even make it there without Dave. He’s not a great in game manager, nobody will deny that. But managing comes down to so much more than in game decision making.
The Dodgers did not lose in 2016 because of Dave Roberts. The Dodgers did not lose the World Series in 2017 & 2018 because of Dave Roberts. They didn’t lose in 2021 because of Dave Roberts. They did not choke in 2022 because of Dave Roberts.
They lost in 2016 because they played the best team in baseball which was clearly a team of destiny. I don’t know why so many people need to hear this but losing to a team that’s favored to beat you is not choking. Why is that so hard to understand?
They lost in ‘17 & ‘18 because they hit a combined .200 in those series. They lost in ‘17 because the Astros were cheating in games 3-5. They lost because Andrew Friedman cheaped out on the pen and Fields and McCarthy had to pitch in Game 2. They lost because they flat out got beat in Game 7 in 2017.
They lost in ‘18 because the Red Sox were one of the best teams since 2000. They lost because the 2018 team was almost as bad as this years team and had ZERO business being the NL representative in that World Series.
2019 was brutal and Dave Roberts was a key factor in why they lost, can’t deny that.
They lost in 2021 because they basically played 4 months of playoff baseball chasing the Giants and were absolutely exhausted. They lost in 2021 because Kershaw, Muncy and JT got hurt. They lost because MLB’s playoff format is broken and they had to start the NLCS on the road vs a team they beat by 17 games.
They lost in 2022 because they had a stretch where they went 0-30 with RISP. They lost because Trea Turner booted a routine ground ball. They lost because they had ZERO energy.
There’s a plethora of reasons why the Dodgers lost all those years. Dave Roberts decision making is one in a very long list. The Dodgers only have 1 World Series title since Dave Roberts took over because it’s been a FULL organizational failure.
One other thing to think about. Us fans look at every single game as if it’s game 7. But for the coaches and front office they have to manage a 162 game season. They know that a decision made today bleeds into tomorrow and next week and next month and so on. So us as fans want them to manage every single game like it’s the last game the Dodgers will ever play but that’s not how it works. And also, we have no idea what guys are dealing with day to day. The other day people were clamoring for Phillips to pitch but Dave knew he had some mental challenges going on and he didn’t throw him. Phillips then praised Dave for that and said he wouldn’t have been effective if Dave had thrown him out there. Other managers wouldn’t even know Phillips was going through something like that. That’s why Dave Roberts is so good.
These players are not robots. They get injured just like we do. They have emotions just like we do. They have families and family issues just like we do. Just because they make a ton of money doesn’t make that stuff go away. Just remember that the next time you lambast a player or Dave for making a mistake.
And last thing. There were a ton of fans that constantly booed Kenley and Belli and talked shit to them on social media. You ran them right out of town and to say that we could use both of them right now is a massive understatement. I said the day that Kenley signed with the Braves that all you clowns screaming for his head were about to have a rude awakening once you realize just how hard it is to find a closer. A year and a half later and we still don’t have a closer. What’s my point? Be careful what you wish for. You don’t know what you have until it’s gone.
I’m just glad that fans have zero say in how the team is ran. This would be the worst franchise in sports if our fans ran the team.
TL;DR STOP BLAMING DAVE ROBERTS FOR EVERYTHING THAT GOES WRONG!
I haven’t recently jumped on the “Get rid of Roberts” bandwagon. I was stating it THREE YEARS AGO and I haven’t changed my mind. His belief in jerking starters out of games to “save their arms” is a joke ! PROOF : LOOK AT THE INJURED LIST !! At a recent count there were ELEVEN pitchers on the I.L. !! Pitchers are there NOT because of over-work , but because they have never been allowed to get stronger as the season progresses. The use of 4 or 5 relief pitchers in a 9-inning game is ridiculous , especially when a reliever has a 1-2-3 inning or when a relief pitcher is wasted when allowed to pitch to only ONE batter to end an inning. I grew up watching pitchers such as Spahn , Marichal , Ryan , Tiant , Haddix , Maddux , Carlton ….. you get the picture …… I don’t recall any of those pitchers going on the disabled list (as it was then called) . And don’t give me that “look at how many games they’ve won” routine .
ANYBODY could have managed to win that many games with the Dodger’s talent ….. unless they wrecked their bullpen!