Has Dave Roberts's “Shelf Live” Expired?

I just looked at the box score as the game ended and noted the following:

5 – 192

6 – 186

7 – 171

8 – 125

9 – 045

While I agree with Mark the sample size is still small this far into the season but WTF, while I am not necessarily a Dave Robert’s fan as a manager – who in hell can expect to usually win with those types of numbers.

I am hoping if nothing changes in another 10 or so games that they start giving the players in the minors a chance as they cannot do any worse!

Outside of the 6 hitter everyone is on the back side of their career.

Hopefully the season doesn’t look so already lost as some seemed to express above before tonight’s game. Dodgers will get hot before the weather does.

When the pain of staying the same becomes greater than the pain of change… you change!

The clock is ticking, Eric.

Luke I am not your Father.

Luke, May the Force be with you!

Well Eric, I don’t think Roberts finds you very sweet! And I’m pretty sure Mark has all of our emails.

Mark

My email ericsweetness@gmail.com talk to me. I’m opening myself up to email attacks but I can just delete them. I’m not a guy that takes punches and just stands there and I’m not a guy that takes punches and stands there and rides off into the sunset never to be seen again.

Growing a red beard would help! Too early for no hitter talk?

Things are suddenly a bit intriguing with Mookie’s daddy break and Taylor’s apparently minor injury.

When the Dodgers first picked up Luke Williams last season, I joked that the “Luke Williams Era” had begun, because there was little reason to think the new UT option would make a big impact.

Then again, Williams sort of fit the profile of the marginal big leaguer in their 20s that Justin Turner, Chris Taylor and Muncy all had been before they got into the Dodgers brought them in and helped them morph i nto stars.

Could Williams raise his game? So far, he’s been a beast at OKC, mostly playing SS. Rojas is starting today, but I hope Williams gets a chance to show what he can do before he’s shipped back to OKC. The roster needs another quality UT instead of an OF surplus. (Williams can play OF too.)

This early part of the season should be a talent assessment. The rookies are doing well, and the vets are mostly performing as expected, which includes Rojas’s weak offense. Within a few days, Mookie, Taylor and Smith should all be back.

Roberts should make sure that Williams gets to show his abilities. Both Rojas and Taylor are struggling. What if Williams turns out to be the better option?

I’m curious why Dave Roberts leaves pitchers in for a prolonged drubbing like 9 runs or 4 HR’s. It seems counterproductive. Also, why set Thompson up for failure by platooning him and having him hit lefties when he has reverse splits ?

I thought this team would have a team BA almost as good as last year and could be competitive even with a lower BA because there would not be the dead zone at the bottom of the order. So far it is not working out that way and there is a bigger dead zone.

As for Roberts this year he puts a horrible lineup out there because his roster is not performing. His bench is worse so there is no good move coming out of that dugout or bullpen. I expected 95 wins but maybe that’s too high. Hopefully, the players start to perform. If not let’s see what some of the prospects can do. I’d rather see them than retreads. Then there is always the trade deadline.

According to MLB.com, Mookie might play some at shortstop upon his return. If he’s as adept as he is as second base, it could be worth considering. According to the article, he’d rather play there than right field.

Questioning the manager? Lasorda would have told us all where to go in a 15 minute f laced tirade! Like he did to poor Doug Rau!

I figured once the season actually started people would have something to comment on other than whether the Dodgers would’ve won as many games with Roberts as the manager.

I think every angle of this has been discussed ad nauseam (emphasis on the nauseam part) for literally years now. The site blew up. People were banned. People left in a huff, never to return. … and we’re at it again? What more needs to be said?

– Roberts is not the best in-game tactician. (check)

– Roberts is probably pretty good at managing an organization, including both players and interacting with the front office and stats division (check)

– The Dodgers have had a historic run with him at the helm (check)

– There is absolutely no possible way to determine whether another warm body in the manager’s position would have done better or worse. That is an impossible question to answer. (check)

The only way to know if Sparky Anderson would have done better than Roberts is to take out the custom DeLorean and go back to 1975, kidnap Sparky Anderson, transplant 1975 Sparky into the managerial position at Dodgers Stadium in 2015 and see what happens from then until now.

Good grief! Don’t you people get tired of arguing the same stuff over and over again?

Dave Roberts said very early in spring training Heyward would be on the roster. I doubt Outman would have made it if not for the Lux injury.

Today, several people basically said, “what kind of idiot hits Chris Taylor 4th?”

Here’s the kind of idiot who does that:

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/10965635/tampa-bay-rays-manager-joe-maddon-reworks-struggling-lineup

Joe Maddon did it and lots of people thought he was one of the best managers in baseball.

Some of you do not speak English. I’m not sure what language it is, but it sounds like Bullshit!

Dodgers Press Release

DODGERS SELECT LUKE WILLIAMS

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers selected the contract of infielder Luke Williams and placed Mookie Betts on the paternity list. In order to make room for Williams on the 40-man roster, the Dodgers placed right-handed pitcher Daniel Hudson on the 60-day injured list.

Williams, 26, appeared in 14 games for Triple-A Oklahoma City, batting .375 (21-for-56) with eight doubles, two homers and 13 RBI. In 500 career minor league games, he has amassed 26 homers and 187 RBI while hitting .245. He made his Major League debut in 2021 with the Philadelphia Phillies and has appeared in 137 games between Philadelphia (2021), San Francisco (2022) and Miami (2022), hitting .240 (54-for-225) with two homers and 12 RBI. He signed with the Dodgers on February 3, 2023.

Betts, 30, has appeared in all 17 games for the Dodgers this season, hitting .266 (17-for-64) with two homers and six RBI. He is in his fourth season with the Dodgers and he has slashed .271/.356/.518 with 76 homers and 185 RBI in 336 games with the Boys in Blue. He is in his 10th Major League season, and he has amassed 215 homers and 655 RBI while hitting .292 (1323-for-4524) in 1,130 games. The 2018 American League MVP was originally drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the fourth round of the 2011 Draft out of Overton High School (Nashville, TN).

Dodgers News: Mookie Betts Placed on Paternity Leave, Luke Williams Added to Active Roster

The Dodgers made a roster move on Tuesday and it wasn’t the move we expected after Chris Taylor suffered an injury last night. Instead, Mookie Betts is heading out on paternity leave as he and his wife Brianna welcome their second child. Taking Mookie’s spot on the active roster is infielder Luke Williams, who spent time with the club during spring training.

The Dodgers haven’t announced a corresponding roster move to get Williams on the 40-man.

Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic was the first to report the news.

Tuesday schedule

11 a.m. PT: Rancho Cucamonga (Payton Martin) vs. Fresno [Rockies] (Caleb Franzen)

3:05 p.m.: Great Lakes (TBD) vs. South Bend [Cubs] (TBD)

4:05 p.m.: Tulsa (Nick Frasso) vs. Wichita [Twins] (Blayne Enlow)

5:35 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Matt Andriese) at Albuquerque [Rockies] (Karl Kauffmann)

10:10 PM ET

Mets (11-6)

Dodgers (8-9)

SP Tylor Megill R

3-0 2.25 ERA16K 13K

SP Clayton Kershaw L

2-1 3.50 ERA 18IP 17K

Confirmed Lineup

CF James Outman L

1B F. Freeman L

DH J. Martinez R

3B Max Muncy L

RF J. Heyward L

2B M. Vargas R

LF D. Peralta L

SS Miguel Rojas R

C A. Barnes R

Partly-cloudy-day

1% Precipitation

61° Wind 9 mph Out

Clayton goes for his 200th win tonight

Dodgers catcher Will Smith won’t play during the three-game series against the Mets at Dodger Stadium, but the team is eying Thursday’s series opener at Wrigley Field in Chicago for Smith’s return, the earliest day he’s eligible to be activated off the seven-day concussion injured list.

“The hope is to activate him [Thursday], but it’s all contingent on how he’s feeling,” manager Dave Roberts said.

I have a question for all of you. Every time I try to visit the Dodgers Digest website it gets blocked. I get a statement saying it is a Phishing website. Is there a problem with the site, or is my computer wacky?

Juan Toribio wrote this as to why Hunter Feduccia was not called uP:

“The Dodgers could’ve also opted to go with Hunter Feduccia, who is off to a strong start in Triple-A, but adding him to the 40-man roster could’ve been risky once the Dodgers start to get healthier on the pitching side and need to clear spots.”

Anyone else concerned that we will get swept this series?

Megill has been great and Mad Max will definitely want to show us what we are missing. I’m definitely closing my eyes these next two games. I hate to be so negative but I just don’t think our team is THAT good any longer.

Losing Buehler, Gonsolin, Bauer, Tre, and Lux is a lot to lose, especially seeing we haven’t replaced them with anywhere near their talent level. I know some would say Cody too, but I’m optimistic Eric’s guy- Outman-can adequately replace him.

Andy Pages, Ben Casparius, Kyle Nevin win minor league player of the week honors

dodgerrick & Jayne Cobb;

AMEN

It’s that time of the year again, apparently. Dodgers have a bad couple weeks (doesn’t matter if it’s the beginning of the season or middle) and fans come out of the woodwork to dust off the guillotine and demand we all storm the Bastille.

This is silliness. I’m not a huge fan of Roberts. Never have been. But I’d not know of anybody available who could do better.

Let’s fire the most successful manager of the last decade, whom the players love… that’s the ticket.

Send the clubhouse into turmoil, insert some rando into the manager jobs to learn everything about the players, understand how the organization works, grasp the philosophy and strategy that AF requires be implemented and do all that in a matter of days.

That’s the ticket. Dodgers have a chest cold. So let’s kick them in the nuts and smash em over the head with a frying pan. That will fix everything.

That’s all I have to say about that.

I am as skeptical as anyone but can’t believe the splenic comments over the past few days. Mark has come close to shutting this place down several times but has kept it up as a service to Dodger fans. He engages in name calling or put downs once in a while, but doesn’t deserve the vitriol that he has received over the past few days.

The Dodgers have gotten off to a slow start this year, so everyone wants to fire Andrew Friedman or Dave Roberts. We shouldn’t forget that the Dodgers have won more games in the last 3 full seasons than any team in major league history – so they didn’t win the Series. There are more rounds of playoffs making it a bit more random to win than it used to be. Dusty Baker’s Astros won it last year – and Dusty had never won the Series before. Was he a bad manager before? Is he a good one now?

I agree that Roberts is not the best game strategist, but that’s not what he’s called upon to do now. He does what the front office wants him to do and does it well from all accounts.

The Dodgers can’t sign every big star free agent, nor do they want to. They have to grow their own and give them a chance to see if they can do the job. This will sometimes lead to a down year once in a while. In the long run though it leads to long term success. The Dodgers have won and grown their own for several seasons now. How many other teams can say the same?

I have looked at this year as transitional. I don’t expect them to win the division. I do expect them to play better than they have played. I am not satisfied with the old vets that they have signed as gap fillers (Peralta, Heyward, Rojas) and the lineup that they run out is not always competitive. I was certain before the season that infield defense and outfield offense would be issues and I am not surprised that they are now.

I am surprised that the starting pitching is not better and the bullpen is a disaster right now. I have heard of bullpen volatility but am surprised that 5 of 9 relievers have ERAs over 4, and 3 of 9 have ERAs 6 or higher. Some of this will sort itself out as the season goes on – guys will improve over the season, and other will be replaced. I expect that the pitching will improve but that infield defense and the length of the lineup will continue to be issues.

Many of these things will likely be corrected before next season – I don’t know about this year.

The Dodgers won the Series in ’55, returned (to lose) in ’56, and were bad in ’57 and ’58 – would you have fired Walter Alston then? He got them to the Series 4 more times in 8 years and won it three times. A bad start to ’23 and we are already calling for Roberts’ head after winning 111 games last year?

Everyone calm down. Stop the name calling. We are all Dodger fans here. We should be on the same side. We can disagree without being A**holes.

Good candidates to be the Dodgers Manager one they know the game pretty well and could motivate a clubhouse and the guys play hard for there manager. 1). Chase Utley long time player knows the game the players would play for him. 2) Justin Turner I know he’s not done playing but as soon as he retires I wouldn’t mind seeing him run the clubhouse. 3) Will Clark hitting coach of the Giants he tells his players to run to first base and if they don’t guess what they sit on the bench. Who he is and in charge. He would a manager the guys play for and respect the guys play tough for him and know he knows his stuff. There’s some names. But we all know Roberts is fine. He won’t be let go because he just does what the computer tells him to do from up above and relayed down to the dugout. That’s why these older managers like Melvin Showalter Baker Bochy are still around. There teams win because of baseball IQ and not listening to the people upstairs.

Heyward was the one auditioning for a spot on the team in spring training not Outman. I’ve seen it many times in spring training. When there is a non roster player that the Dodgers are considering for a spot on the roster, that guy gets a lot of at bats leading off in spring training, so the powers that be can take a good look at that guy. Take a look at who hit leadoff the most in spring training, it was none other than Heyward by far.

And don’t come back at me with the Freddie Freeman pulled strings for Heyward crap and so Heyward was always going to get a spot on the team. When Lux went down to injury the door opened for Heyward not Outman to make the team. Peralta was signed to be the LF against RHP and Thompson or Taylor the LF against LHP with the other one as plan B. Outman was always going to get his shot on the team.

Before Lux went down to injury Thompson was on the bubble and Heyward was breathing down his back.

Well Mark, great click bait Post today. My hat’s off to you.

How have you been feeling lately? Managing a business, dealing with back issues, and maybe having some subconscious worry about A-Fib is exhausting.

May your day be bright,

Your mood be light,

And your heart be filled with delight.

Someone brought up the bullpen. The thing with the bullpen is that Doc doesn’t know how to use it early in the season, but as time goes on, he starts to learn things that were obvious all along and then the bullpen finishes strong. This isn’t to say he doesn’t make mistakes late in the season and the playoffs because he sure does.

This isn’t a Doc hater post by the way. I gave him credit for learning as time goes on and the bullpen finishing strong.

Kershaw day.

Lets get a W.

Oh, and 2020, I think Doc did a masterful job that season, which culminated in a wire to wire World Series Championship…..

We’ve seen the story of us dominating the division and league from beginning to end and we’ve seen that gets us nowhere come October.

So may as well make it more interesting now in 2023.

But, in the meantime, Go Lakers and Go Kings Go!

THIS team will go on a winning run streak before the ASG, Haven’t you seen it many times before? At this moment the Dodgers are not playing up to their potentials. Last night Mookie was on base for Freeman’s HR which is a sign of change for the better and it will click. There’s been spells when Dodgers suck every season and sure that makes for discomfort but what you see will be different from what you get. These guys are better will soon feed off one another. What kind of a streak will it take feel not all is lost? because that’s coming.

I don’t blame Roberts for theDodgers failing, but perhaps it’s time to discuss AF and his shortcomings in the current development of the 2023 Dodgers roster. Without a lot of research and just based on memory lets talk about some of the questionable acquisitions by AF that put the Dodgers in an apparent salary crunch . After all, we are the freaking Dodgers and we’re supposed to be “pigs” when it comes to spending money and acquiring talent. I think he said that, or something damn near.

In no particular order…..

1. Offering Brett Anderson a QO that saddled the team with a nearly $16 million one year salary. Questionable move.

2. Signing Tommy Kahnle for nearly $5 million for 12 innings of work. WTH?

3. Traded Yordan Alveraz for Josh Fields. What was he thinking?

4. Actually traded for Logan Forsyth who couldn’t hit water if he fell out of a boat.

5. Traded Oneal Cruz for 2 1/2 months of Tony Watson.

6. Acquired Curtis Granderson for a playoff push and gave him a starting OF gig for the post season.

7. Acquired Brain Dozier who did nothing for the Dodgers.

8. Let Dodger signed and developed Corey Seager walk in FA, but signed CT3 to a 4-year $ 60 million contract

9. Acquired Danny Duffy and extended him for 2022 for $3 million with zero innings pitched.

10. Paid Jimmy Nelson $2.7 million for 29 innings pitched in 2020-2021 and a mind-boggling $700,000 guaranteed even when he couldn’t pitch in 2022. Signed him to a one year 2023 contract for $1.1 Million and is not on the active roster.

11. Signed Blake Treinen for 2023 at $8 million after needing major shoulder surgery and his future as a RP is highly suspect.

12. Signed David Peralta for one year at $6.5 coming off back surgery and seemingly being the same player as Jason Heyward.

13. Acquired Joey Gallo who was a mirror image of Bellinger.

14. One player that is highly touted by some as an OF savior for us is Andy Pages. Don’t forget AF offered him up in a trade with Joc Pederson to the Angels for Luis Rengifo. The deal fell through because of an impatient Arte Moreno but the guy who is touted as a can’t miss minor leaguer was nearly an Angel for Rengifo. WTH?

I’m not saying he hasn’t done some good things with minor league development etc. and some decent trades at the deadline (Machado, Darvish, and TT and Scherzer) but some of the poorly managed salary allocation, coupled with the CBT tax implications, has forced the Dodgers into what appears to be small market mode. Yes, we have a large salary team driven mostly by the big contracts for Mookie, FF, Kershaw and Bauer. Perhaps the margins could have been better spent without the large contracts to those listed above who have played little and perhaps some I have forgotten about.

With all the “hand-wringing” over Doc, perhaps the next post should be a discussion about AF with a critical discussion about whether or not he’s all that great as many at LADT think he is. Just saying.

Bill Nelson: I will only give you 1 example of how ridiculous your “anyone could have won with this team” comment is. The Big Red machine was managed by Sparky Anderson, a Hall of Fame manager. That team had 4 Hall of Fame players (and 5 if you include Pete Rose). Pretty damn strong roster. And yet, his winning percentage was .597, considerably less than Doc’s.

In a previous post, I also included the the same data for other Managers who had great rosters again all with lower winning percentages than Doc. The facts speak loud and clear, but people like you don’t want to be influenced by facts.

I get so sick and tired of the emotional outbreaks by people on this site against both Doc and AF, who have done nothing but given us an incredible winning record. Unfortunately I know nothing will change with anyone who has an attitude like yours.

Oh well????????

Cody Bellinger went 5 for 5 against the A’s last night. Now hitting .310 .395 in last 11 games

What’s your opinion? Cody needed a change of scenery? Cody’s shoulder is completely healed? Our hitting coaches SUCK and the Cubs’ hitting coaches figured out what was wrong with his swing and corrected it?

Not this year. Our luck with picking up older declining players- hoping they can find the fountain of youth in LA -has been all used up.

All these everyday players we picked up won’t help us much…maybe a little. You know who I’m talking about too- Perralta, Hayward, Rojas, JD Martinez, and i might as well throw in a pitcher too-Thor…..we would have been better off using their money to pay for one solid “younger” stud. Fill in the roster with youth and watch them grow before our eyes instead of playing the above named Fear-Not Foursome + One. They couldn’t do any worse.

Have I given up on this year? Hardly….they haven’t even played 20 games. Baseball is a marathon not a sprint. Lots could happen. A healthy Gonsolin sure would help too.

By the way, I realize I’ve jumped into the comment section out of nowhere, so thanks for letting me in.

VESIA

MOJO

IS

GONE

VESIA

MOJO

IS

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VESIA

MOJO

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VESIA

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I will try, but will fail, to ask this question at every 10% interval of the season leading to trade deadline. Or this will become irrelevant if the team’s play changes significantly.

Hypothetical:

IF the Dodgers suffer more injuries and inconsistencies.

AND IF the Dodgers are at or around .500

Do they Dodgers SELL instead of buy to get under the Threshold?

So far, I have not heard anyone articulate what makes Roberst bad… except that he’s a clown. So far, I see no substance. Give me a logical argument, not an emotional and hysterical opinion. By dictionary: (n.) a view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge; and as the famous quote goes: “Opinions are like assholes. Everyone has one and most of them stink!”

I am no fan of Roberts but he has been handed a pretty weak roster at many positions. My criticism of him is, he has too much blind loyalty to most of his players. I think in many cases he sticks with someone in game situations and in continual lineup spots too long. I think he does not manage a pitching staff very well, especially a bullpen. Ultimately it is the players that are underperforming but he does make quite a few mistakes in their lineup/ usage positions.

Players win games and championships and managers lose them. Same ole same ole. Always need someone to blame. Dodger record isn’t good because most of the players aren’t playing well.

Yes Lux’s injury has hurt the Dodgers. Ironically, that injury opened up a spot for Outman. So it was not a complete loss for the Dodgers.

“Roberts either keeps his pitchers in too long or pulls them too soon”. That’s classic 20-20 hind sight. Bullpen screws up, well Roberts should have kept the other pitcher in; starting pitcher screws up, well Roberts should have taken him out. Classic 20-20.

Is Roberts the best overall manager of all time. Probably not. But his record speaks for itself.

Alston and Lasorda were not GIFTED the most talented team in the league for all of his 8 years (except this one) Lasorda in his 90’s would have gotten more championships than Roberts. Now that he has to do more than watch they are below 500! Time to go!!!

No, it shouldn’t be just the players. A good strong, experienced, strategic manager should be sought. And you think we have that with Roberts the Clown?!?!?!?!?!? Who in their right mind would hire a guy to manage with no experience? (And boy, does it show). Oh, of course, Friedbrain! Who would not spend any money during the off season and acted like the owners were paupers? Friedbrain!

What David said.

It’s the players. Win or lose, it’s the players.

Replacing a manager that has the best winning record in the history of the franchise is knee jerk and not how the Dodgers organization operates. Arm chair Monday morning quarterbacks always have better ideas but obviously nobody’s listening to them so complain all you want, but you might want to consider how silly you often sound. I include myself in that group. Looking back I’ve said some stupid sh*t over the years. But I think I’m right about this.

This Dodgers squad, as it is currently constructed, is not as good as last year’s team. It just isn’t. But the teams of the recent past have started slowly before and finished well.

So what, if anything, should the Dodgers do? The bullpen, last year with a collective ERA under 3, currently has an ERA close to 5. I think all we can do is keep throwing them out there and hope they get it together. The starting rotation, minus who we lost to FA and who is injured, is just not what it usta was. I don’t know what the fix is, but I’m sure it’s being worked on. The offense, now minus who we lost and now another starter in CT3, has been sketchy so far, but look like they can score enough if pitching gets their sh*t together.

I suggest we have patience and stop asking to fire Roberts, that just ain’t gonna happen.

I wonder what Feduccia is thinking? We need a catcher, he did well in Spring Training and is currently OPSn over 1.000 at AAA and we drag the bottom for a guy named Wynns.

10% is always a good measure in statistics. At this point in time nothing shows this team can compete. I will watch some games as usual, but it is obviously a 500 team. See you all in 2024, God willing, with a better team.

Roberts is not the problem with the 2023 Dodgers. Injuries to Lux ,Gonsolin and Pepiot caused the lack of depth to the present roster. If everyone was healthy, Taylor and Rojas would be utility players against lefthanders . Peralta would not have been signed for 6.5 million which is a redundant player to Heyward. AF has to perform some magic to acquire a player from within or outside the organization to replace Taylor. My guess is Williams at Oklahoma City which will require a 40 man roster move. As it stands today ,this team will not win more than 90 to 93 wins and finish second in the division. I believe this is a transition year for the Dodgers.

This is my subject. Dave is the problem. 1. He will not adjust. HR or go home. CT3 in the 4 hole last night. 2. He cannot manage a pitching staff. He takes pitchers out too early or too late. 3. Given equal talent he will lose. Given better talent he will win regular season games in spite of him. 4. He does not know how to manage play off games. He makes dumb decisions. Dumb decisions during regular season, he gets away with it. Dumb decisions in play off games he gets beat. Cannot get a team ready. Last year against San Diego. He is a good guy, but that is as far as it goes.

I said it before the season and I say it today: This season we will find out a lot about DR managing skills.

This years team is far from the loaded rosters of past years. The division is stronger too with the up and coming D-Backs and a loaded Padres club.

This Dodgers roster is no juggernaut. Not on offense and so far even the pitching which I thought would be our ticket to the postseason looks vulnerable. Lets see how Roberts does when he doesn´t have an All star at just about every position and a pitching staff not as dominant as usual .

Having said this I find it an interesting question if I would judge DR differently had the Astros not stolen that 2017 title. Will have to think about it .

Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For all those guys who wanted the Dodgers to go all in on Soto last year, the guy is hitting under .200 so far. Pads can’t wait to get Tatis back. Gabe Kapler has lost some of his mojo. He was terrible when he managed the Phillies and last year’s Giants and this year’s bunch look pretty bad.

I have never felt that Roberts was a great in game strategist. But he excels at being a player’s manager. His strength is in his communication skills. And that he does better than most any manager in the majors. He has made mistakes, which manager hasn’t? His players love the guy, fans, not so much. There is no denying his teams success on the field in the regular season. He has taken the team to three World Series.

Some will argue, and logically so, that he has had extremely talented teams all of those years. But as we have seen time and time again, the best team does not win all the time. The Giants won two World Series as the Wild Card. In 21 they were the best team in the majors and did not make it out of the NLDS. The Dodgers were far and away the best team in 22. Same outcome. It is as Mark said, not that easy.

It is very easy to look back and nitpick times when Roberts made a decision that seemingly cost the team the game, and ultimately, the Series. Pulling Hill when he was totally dominating the Red Sox was one. But there were conflicting reports that Hill had indicated he had nothing left in the tank. Makes no difference, the bullpen did not do the job and they lost the game. I never blame Roberts for the players lack of performance. I might blame him for using that particular guy. But he has information I am not privy to.

Last night, in my humble opinion, he left Vesia in one batter too many and put Bickford into a bad situation which immediately paid dividends to the Mets when Bickford balked home the tying run. Vesia also in my opinion, should have never been sent back out to pitch after he got the last out the inning before. Especially with a RH bat coming up.

But I have seen that from all managers. Alston to me, cost the Dodgers a World Series appearance. In the 62 playoffs he sent Ed Roebuck, who was obviously out of gas, back out for a third inning of relief work with a 2 run lead in the 9th. The Giants scored four and won. Lasorda pitched to Jack Clark, and got burned. He also got pretty much torched by the fans for it. Fans are going to always blame the manager. Especially when a team starts like this or loses close games the fans think they should have won. But in the final analysis,, it is always on the players to get the job done.

I saw the game two days ago with all those horrible called strikes. But I blame Roberts for that loss because he should have told Freddy et al not to strike out with RISP. I am sure another manager would have made hitters come through

Pretty sure the Padres are happy with Bob Melvin. I’d say the Giants would be the more realistic team to swoop in and nab Doc.