Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself
Don Mattingly had a .551 Winning Percentage as the Dodger Manager, while Dave Roberts has a .632 Winning Percentage. Trying to make any comparison between the two is dumb. I did not like Mattingly, and it was for one reason – he could not run the clubhouse. The Mattingly Dodger…
Don Mattingly had a .551 Winning Percentage as the Dodger Manager, while Dave Roberts has a .632 Winning Percentage. Trying to make any comparison between the two is dumb. I did not like Mattingly, and it was for one reason – he could not run the clubhouse. The Mattingly Dodger teams were a free-for-all. It was Dodge City, not Dodgertown. That’s why I wanted to get rid of him. I wanted the Dodgers to hire Gabe Kapler, but they hired Dave Roberts. I do not have any reason to like or not like Dave Roberts, but I embraced him from the moment he was hired. Why? I trusted Andrew Friedman! It turns out I do not like Dave Robert’s Politics, but that is all I don’t like.
Only a moron would now question the hiring. He is the All-Time Leader in winning percentage among managers with over 1,000 games. The only four managers with more wins in the playoffs are all Hall-of-Famers with 20 to 45 seasons managing. There is still a residue of hatred against Black Americans and Asian Americans, in case you never watch the news (and before you start protesting too much, I am not accusing anyone of racism), but Dave Roberts is both, and I am a champion of people who are part of a class diminished. I do not believe reparations or special programs as a way of saying “sorry.” I believe in treating them as our equals and letting them shine. They don’t need anything special. They are just as capable as anyone of any race. They just need an opportunity.
Dave Roberts got the opportunity to play Major League Baseball , and he seized it. Boy, did he seize it! He was not highly talented… but he was fast, and he utilized that speed… and he always hustled. He was never an All-Star, but he played ten years in MLB with .266 BA and a .342 OB%. Some here would say (and have said), “Get rid of a bum like that!” They like to run their mouths when they have no idea what it takes to play Major League Baseball.
So, right about now, you are thinking I am calling some of you a racist? No, I am not, I don’t know, but openly belittling and second-guessing a manager with the best all-time record in baseball who happens to be Black and Asian certainly raises eyebrows. Maybe he stole your lunch money or your girlfriend, and I think it’s up to you to determine why you have such an irrational hatred of a man who has such an amazing record. Some say, “Well, his in-game decisions are not good… especially in the playoffs.” Neither were Tommy Lasordas! Remember Tom Niedenfurer? Fans did not call for Tommy’s head after Tom coughed up the lead!
I hope it is not racism. I am just bringing up the possibility that it could be. Most likely, some of you have an irrational hatred of Dave Roberts because it is human nature to sometimes hate successful people. People hate successful people because it highlights to them who they could be if they worked for the success that the successful person has. People fall into hateful envy when they feel inadequate and see successful people. They feel uncomfortable about their relative lack of success but do not want to blame themselves or accept their situation. So they attribute the success of the other person to luck (as opposed to hard work). They feel bad about their own lack of luck and feel that somehow the successful person has ‘stolen’ their luck. They simply transpose their feelings of inadequacy into a blindly ignorant hatred of others.
Society is one giant crab bucket. The majority of people are shitfeeders. Tell them a bunch of bad news about someone else, and they are all interested. They love to see people fail, and they revel in even small failures by that person. Dave Roberts is not perfect. Tommy wasn’t, Walter wasn’t, but very little criticism was leveled upon them, but the most successful Dodger manager of all time – BY A HUGE MARGIN is constantly belittled. People who continually criticize others are very insecure. They need to prove to themselves that all “rich people are bad people and that anybody with a better car is a thief.” [That is not meant to be literal.]
The same is true of players. I have always had great respect for people who could play Major League Baseball, because even though I was a very good, even elite, baseball player who could hit a ball 500 feet and throw a ball 100 MPH, I did not have the requisite skill to play even in the minor leagues. I was a big fish in a little pond. I innately knew that and accepted it and was amazed at every player who made it. Some of you like to call a player who does poorly a “bum.” “Get rid of that bum.” You have no idea of the amount of blood, sweat, and tears that person had to go through to get to MLB.
Almost 20 years ago, I made the mistake of calling for Jason Repko to be cut, and I was disrespectful in my tone. His father read my blog and called me out, THE SAME AS I AM CALLING EVERYONE OF YOU OUT! He wrote: “You have no idea what this kid has had to overcome to play baseball. The pain, the training, multiple surgeries, the rehab, hours in the gym, and year-round training.” He was right – I was wrong! I apologized and have never disrespected another player. They made it to a place where I could never go. I am happy for them. I do not get jealousy!
The fact of the matter is that you can ALWAYS find something to criticize. An old baseball player, who never made even the minor leagues once told me that if a manager makes 58% of the decisions he made correctly that he will be in the Hall of Fame. You will always find mistakes and even invent them. ONe of the biggest mistakes people like to point to was the fact that Roberts let Kershaw pitch in relief in the 2019 playoffs against the Nats. I hear that all the time. I hate to spoil your fun, but the Dodger Brass, Roberts, and Kershaw had already talked about that, and all were in agreement about it. I know it for a fact. Was the problem that Roberts made the more or that Clayton did not execute? I think that all except the most biased, know what happened.
When you say something like, “It was stupid to bring in so-and-so” because he did not execute, you might as well get “Stupid” tattooed on your forehead! When I read that “shit” (yes, it is shit), that is exactly what you remind me of.
You are entitled to your own opinion. Have a take! But when you suck, I will respond in kind to your stupidity and jealousy. For some reason (deep down in your dark soul), Dave Roberts just makes you seethe irrationally, and you can’t control your compulsion to attack and demean him. Check yourself before you wreck yourself! It’s very ugly! It’s like saying, “It’s raining and snowing” when it is 85 degrees, and the sun is shining brightly.
Dave Roberts has made plenty of mistakes, and he will make more. So has every other manager that has been in MLB, but it turns out he may have made less than anyone because his record is better than everyone! He is also a cancer survivor and I admire that as well.
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Discussion (75)
Disagree, not disagreeable
And by the way, there is no such thing as a good “in-game Manager” because the best of them probably make the wrong decision 30% of the time. By some of your standards that makes someone a bad “in-game Manager”. I truly believe some of you feel right decisions should be make 100% of the time. That is the true definition of IRRATIONAL.
That is why results should be the number 1 metric used to measure anyone managing anything. Other things count but results combine all other things. That is why winning percentage whether it is in the regular season or post season kind of tells the story.
Because 2022 had almost the same feeling with our exiting the playoffs as 2021 I’m gonna say Dave Roberts gets a slice of the blame pie. I like Roberts but he behaved to his script just like the year before in our exit. But I also was unable to see passion in any of our players. I don’t blame Roberts for that any more than Mookie as I counted on him to spark some life and get somekind of rally in gear as why he gets the bucks he does. San Diego didn’t beat us, we didn’t show. Just knowing we’re a better team isn’t inspiring enough to get the W. Every move needs to be looked at as a statement and Dodgers kept quiet. If Dodgers are able to face the same kind of situation forward they better act different or they’ll take it to their graves how they didn’t answer when opportunity knocked. And that also includes Roberts. He can’t count on his record and the team can’t count on 111 wins when it all boils down to the finish. Just hopefully lesson learned.
I believe the only reason Mark said racist was because there is little else to explain the total irrationality of the hatred of Doc some of you have. Yesterday, I was called out by Dodger Patch for using the 120-130 win argument when in reality it’s a pretty good argument.
Many of you keep harping on Doc’s poor in-game management. Well, if he was better at that, how many more regular season games would his teams have won? The fact that his teams have the 4th best winning percentage in post season also asks how much better could that have been if he was better at “in-game” management.
In yesterday’s post the question was asked who would you rather have manage. All kinds of names have been thrown out on this site: Scioscia, Melvin, etc ………. I have to tell you I laugh when some of these names come up.
People complain about Doc’s post season record and yet call for Mike Scioscia to manage the team. Mike Scioscia has a .438 winning percentage in the post season. Bob Melvin is mentioned frequently. He has a .410 post season winning percentage. Even Tommy had only a .508 winning percentage in the post season. I could go on and on.
Mark very aptly pointed out that no one can say what would have happened with a different move. Calling for a different move after it has happened makes everyone great at decision making. As I’ve said in the past, I had a professor in graduate school that said the best decision makers in the world on had a .700 record for decisions that turned out good.
The problem with all this is no one’s mind will be changed and that is unfortunate. Dave Roberts is very good at his job and the results (regular and post season) only support that.
“There is still a residue of hatred against Black Americans and Asian Americans, in case you never watch the news (and before you start protesting too much, I am not accusing anyone of racism).”
Yes, you are.
I’m critical of Roberts in some facets of his coaching (complimentary in others). The notion that somehow my criticism is rooted in some sort of animosity because of his ethnicity … it just never occured to me.
Now, maybe it does … because people keep bringing it up.
This is just an example of how our obsession with race and finding hidden clues of racism hiding deep within our subconscious is so corrosive and damaging to our culture. Not only is it absurd and ridiculous, it’s just damaging. How people react to each other and the influence of personal experience – and even bias – is nearly incomprehensively complex. To reduce it down to “you just don’t like So and So because he’s (insert victim group)” … the whole phenomenon 1. dumbs down human experience 2. conditions certain groups to see themselves as perpetually aggrieved victims 3. reduces our understanding of people and the way we interact to a cult-like obsession with arbitrary delineations.
So, if we happen to criticize Andrew Friedman and his parsimony? …. Friedman is a Jewish name. Is anyone who criticizes AF an anti-Semite, now?
This garbage just needs to stop. The biggest problem that’s made this whole phenomenon metastasize is that people become cowed into submission when they get accused of bigotry. No one wants to be a bigot. Our society frowns on it, and thankfully so. Charlatans use that passivity to their advantage. They use it to: a. avoid having to deal with the real argument; and b. to bully. If someone accuses you, falsely, of bigotry to serve their own agenda, you need to push back forcefully.
“I am a champion of people who are part of a class diminished.”
You’re not anyone’s champion.
I think this White Savior/paternalistic type of racism that is so prevalent is more destructive than actual racism by actual bigots (who are now a rare breed, thankfully). It is based on the assumption that these poor people can’t do it on their own and are just victims of (insert -ism). They need White Savior to advocate on their behalf, thus making the white person feel better about themselves.
I lit into Badger a while ago on the other site when he proclaimed that Roberts is part of “the ruling class.” People have a knack for projecting their own insecurities and resentments unto other people and their interpretations of the world. He’s a victim. He’s the ruling class. Poor Roberts. He’s screwed no matter what.
You don’t like it when people criticize Roberts. You think it’s irrational and unfair. Oooooooh! That Race Card ….it was right there, calling out to you! It was just toooooo tempting to pass up.
And what are you doing? You got frustrated last night because people were arguing about Roberts, so …. you bring up Roberts again? and this time add race? Talk about opening up another can of worms!
Dave Roberts is:
1. probably not the best in-game tactician
2. in game tactics are often game planned beforehand
3. he’s a good clubhouse manager
4. he works well with the Dodgers system
5. is absolutely not going anywhere
Is there anything more to rehash? If not, let’s move on.
Mark, I do believe that you stated in previous write ups that Roberts should be fired. Was that racist?
You might be racist if you question Dave Robert’s moves? Way to jump the shark, Mark. Unbelievable!
Julio Urias is my favorite Dodgers pitcher right now. I love Mookie. I was happy for Dusty Baker to get his World Series win this year and complimented the Astros for hiring an “Old School” manager to compliment their analytics driven front office. Hideo Nomo was one of my all time favorite Dodger’s pitchers. I have made all of these statements previously on this site.
Basically, this comes down to “If you don’t agree with me, you must be racist”. What a horrible way to start the day.
In better news, Bobby Miller and Gavin Stone are listed as two of the top 10 right handed pitching prospects right now. Can’t wait to see them on the hill this year.