Dodger fans have been critical of their manager. Yes there was that championship in 2020 but it was the pandemic season. To some it wasn’t considered a whole world series title.
The Dodgers have finished first every one of Dave Roberts nine seasons at the helm but one and they won 106 games to finish second in 2021. Until this year all that gave them was that tainted 2020 championship.
Many fans hold him personally responsible for several playoff exits. That includes getting to and failing to win back to back world series in 2017 and 2018, Roberts second and third seasons with the team.
After the 2020 triumph the team dominated three more regular seasons but came up empty. A 106 win, 2021 ended in the NLCS. Then the embarassment of winning 111 and 100 and getting tossed in four in the NLDS by rival San Diego and a sweep last year by the Diamondbacks.
So many took their shots at Roberts
Long memories these Dodger fans. Let me count the ways. Actually Jason Reed of Dodgers Way does count the ways. Here from October 2022 are what he calls: Five unforgivable Dave Roberts moves that should get him fired.
But he wasn’t fired and that was before the sweep by Arizona last season. Zachary Rotman of Fansided blamed his mistake for the triple play the Padres turned against them that put San Diego in this post season.
In July of this year the Sporting News’ Kyle Madson had his story headlined this way: Dodgers manager Dave Roberts can’t keep making same mistake in bullpen.
The list goes on, In October of 2019, Off The Bench’s David Rosenthal wrote about: The mystifying failures of Dave Roberts.
The season before that Luis Torres at Beyond The Boxscore summed it up thus as the Red Sox moved to within a game of a world series they would win: Dave Roberts has had a poor postseason tactically, and it continued last night.
Go ahead and search. you’ll find more but it didn’t happen this year. A season in which he certainly had to maneuver his pitching more than any other season. Injury after injury befell this Dodger edition.
Roberts managed around many pitching injuries
By the time they reached the post season the team was already without Tyler Glasnow, Clayton Kershaw, Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin, Gavin Stone, River Ryan and Emmet Sheehan. And those were just the starters.
None of those that questioned his previous moves could do so this time. Between being forced to go with bullpen games and in game decisions he found his master stroke.
None better illusrated than his game five pitching moves. After removing ineffective starter Jack Flaherty after he recorded just four outs, Roberts cycled through a clinching game record eight pitchers.
He’ll be best remembered for going out to talk with Blake Treinen who was now on fumes, in the eighth. Tapping his heart, leaving him out there and getting what he hoped for. Then going with starter Walker Buehler to finish it off.
Say what you will but bottom line, Roberts is now a two time winning world series manager and the Dodgers don’t look like they’ll be missing the post season any time soon.
