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 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.