Time for a New Manager?

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1. Instead of talking about Belli hitting two bucks and change, let’s talk about firing Roberts.

   1. Instead of talking about the best team in the NL West, let’s talk about Belli

      1. Ok. Kick the can down the road. I hope he breaks out. It’d be great for him and the team. But it’s looking less and less like it’s going to happen.

2. Exactly. Why don’t talk of the marvelous(meh!) job the pletora of hitting coaches are doing with the players? How about that hitting approach ?

3. And did anyone mention that Roberts should have pitched an opener for Urias yesterday? Maybe the Dodgers should have a team meeting and talk about politics and religion. That always fires us up at LADT! Now before you come down on me like a ton of bricks B&P I did NOT say here on the site just in the locker room! In fact you can probably pitch as well as Price. Maybe the Dodgers should sign you and put you in that locker room. That would raise the temperature!

4. Man, I knew you would come around some day, I didn’t ever really believe your words constantly backing Doc and his record. The guy has little value other than a positive attitude and a penchant for delivering meaningless catch phrases.

   I love Travis Barbary. He’s a true baseball rat. I love guys like that. He didn’t have the skills necessary to play the game, but stuck around the field anyways, doing whatever he can to stay around baseball. I also love Chase Utley and JT and think either of them would be a good manager. They play the game the right way. Even with JT’s diminishing skills, he still clutches up at the plate and makes good heads up plays.

   I don’t expect any changes to come during the season though. A three game losing streak doesn’t often lead to a firing. That’s about 10 games less than Joe Maddon went through to get canned and he was walking a tight rope to begin with.

   Honestly, I think things will turn around in short order and this funk is schedule induced from the 31 in 30 run. I’m sure players are feeling a bit of burn out. With three more days off coming over the next week or so, while playing the Angels, Indians and Reds, we should be able to right the ship over the next couple of weeks.

5. I don’t blame Roberts for the Dodgers uninspired play. I think the players are too comfortable and feel they already accomplished their pay. They sure ain’t putting on that gotta get it done approach. In simpler words, they ain’t hungry enough. They feel they’ve got nothing to prove and they owe nothing. If that’s not where it’s at, why then don’t they show it. Sure they’ve all played hard before and came up short, so why put so much into it? Most of the time it’s fighting a losing battle so why stress? Why as fans do we stress? Well, what else we gonna do? I think we should just follow their lead and see it as no big deal. I’m sure each has no problem owning up to it. It’d be hard to be disgruntled with themselves when they have nothing to prove.
   p.s. I hope you read this players!

   1. If I were a master thief, perhaps I’d rob them.

6. Wow Mark. That was a unexpected turnaround for you. We all know that many of the players are underachieving right now. I mentioned yesterday that the Dodgers seem to be sleep walking and/or lacking passion right now. And, that they needed a player (or manager) to get into players’ faces and shake things up. The current team is full of nice, professional, but boring personalities. Isn’t this one of Roberts strengths? Too cheerlead, back slap, and defend his players with nonsensical explanations when they fail to execute. He is apparently failing to motivate the players. Most of the players are very talented, highly paid athletes who shouldn’t need motivation. But, in fact, most players to do need someone to motivate regardless of their talent and pay.

   Most of us agree that Roberts is a fair to poor field manager. The front office didn’t care because they were going to make the lineup and potential pitching assignments before the game. They wanted Roberts to pacify the players on why they wouldn’t play after they had gotten 4 hits the night before in order to play a person that statistically had a 10% of doing something they had done back two seasons ago or something like that (sarcasm). Roberts was there after the game to explain or bullshit away moves that I believe were made by the front office. HIs postgame interviews were embarrassing at best.

   So, the complaints about Roberts are nothing new around here. Mark’s opinion is new though. Not that that makes any difference. Roberts will not be fired anytime soon. And the bottom line is the players need to start performing at a level they are capable of and in a more consistent manor. The hitting coaches should all be fired just for the failure, if nothing else, to get Cody to change his swing and/or make better contact. To watch a former MVP who is a tremendous athlete continue to fail offensively is a tragedy. The coaches may have good ideas, but apparently aren’t good teachers.

   It’s a long season. A lot can and will happen before it ends. Will the manager, coaching staff, and players remain in tact? We’ll see.
   Carry on.

7. I have said the same for a few years now. Dave is a great guy, but not the best manager. It is time for an upgrade!

8. He won’t be fired unless the team seriously, seriously underachieves – like the Padres implosion last year.

   Part of the difficulty is that he’s an extension of the front office. He’s a Company Man. He’s an effective PR spokesman, which is part of his job. They collaborate and are on the same page with respect to the overall season-long strategy. No, I don’t think the front office dictates lineups, but I’m sure there is constant feedback about stats and match-ups from the analytics dept. Everything is sort of intertwined – front office, analytics, manager, so firing the manager isn’t like it was with Steinbrenner and Billy Martin.

   Scioscia would be the absolute worst manager imaginable in this organization. He ran himself out of Anaheim in part because he told the GM and his sabremetric garbage to go eff himself and went directly to Moreno to let him manage is old school way. He can’t manage today’s game.

   I almost thing underachieving early in the season is part of the design. Let the mistakes happen now, work through things so the team peaks at the end of the season – so I think he takes his foot off the gas a little.

   The problem with this approach is that a team can forget how to be hungry. You can learn how to be complacent.

   1. @dodgerspatch, very good post and I concur almost completely in your assessment. I think Roberts is better than average. Just look elsewhere and everyday is full of some pathetic performances by both layers and coaches./managers.

      Did you know Mike zTeout has a higher KO ratio than his Taylor?

      If I am DRoberts I will start with a new batting order

      1.GLux
      2.MBetts
      3.T Turner
      4.FFreeman
      5.WSmith
      6.CTaylor
      7.MMuncy
      8.JTurner
      9.C.Bellinger

      1. As much as I like Lux he should Not leadoff in this lineup
         Keep Him at 7-9 or Hit Him 2nd
         IMHO TT should Be the leadoff Guy
         He is a Natural leadoff hitter with his Assets
         Betts I would bat third and Freddie cleanup,

         Go Dodgers!

         1. They would pitch lux completely differently as a lead off with the big boys coming up behind him than they do as the number nine. Your points are 100% valid.

      2. Find some 7 to 9 hitters some pitching without questionable arms might be useful.

   2. That’s a false narrative about Scioscia. He basically said, that he gets the data and reviews it and then decides what needs to be disseminated to the players. His stance of telling the front office to mind their own business and let him do the managing is what put him in limbo. Which is exactly the correct stance if you believe that managers should manage the players and the game as it unfolds. Just because front offices are taking more control from the managers doesn’t mean it’s the correct strategy. It just means it’s the current trend.

      He just managed, in today’s game, to a Silver finish in the Olympics with a bunch of scrubs, losing to a Japanese team filled with pros in a close battle for the Gold game. Look no further than Dusty Baker for an even older school manager that can’t manage the first place Astros.

      1. They are called organizations for a reason. There has to be cooperation and cohesion. If the Angels were a corporation and the head of one division was blatantly insubordinate to his boss, that wouldn’t go over very well.

         The issue was that NONE or very little of that data was disseminated to the players. Teams spend a great deal of money on analytics so they have a competitive advantage. A manager who dismisses all of this investment by the team for the sake of his ego and openly clashes with the GM should be fired. Period. It’s just a dysfunctional organization that allows that to go on, and Moreno is a stupid owner who allowed it to go on.

         This doesn’t mean the field manager is there to simply follow orders from the GM or the analytics department. Even disagreement should be welcomed, but there should be an open discussion. Both sides should listen to each other and reach an agreement and formulate a strategy, as well as a good collaborative working relationship.

         That didn’t happen. Scioscia just told the front office to “mind their own business.” If I was the owner, I would’ve fired him immediately. But Scioscia used his tenure and his status as a lever, and went directly to the owner to undermine the GM, so, Dipoto resigned. That kind of political intrigue and back biting has no place in a healthy organization.

         Loved Scioscia as a Dodger player. I lost a lot of respect for him as a manager, even though he won the WS.

9. Wow its June 13th and we are in first place.

   Its a Marathon folks…..this too shall pass….

   Mookie will get hot again, Freddie will get hot and the team will get going. Dont panic….

   1. Matt, I don’t feel it’s about panic right now. We’re spoiled as fans. We know that there ebbs and flows throughout the season. My concern is that the current play is uninspiring and boring for me as a fan to watch. I’ve been a Dodger fan since day one in 1958. I’ve watched thousands of games. During many of those years the team had weak hitting offenses and were carried by their pitching. They weren’t that much fun to watch, but watch I did. They didn’t have much offensive talent. In recent years they have had some excellent offensive players and do so today. And yet, I watch games and I’m bored out of my mind. And frustrated. I bet myself $20 the other night when they had the bases loaded, no outs, and Freddie and Trea coming up that they wouldn’t score. The inning was over before I could complete the bet…. to myself! Geesh.

      1. I certainly hear ya.

         This team will get hot again.

         Id rather get hot in September and October than on a weekend series in June.

         Its frustrating I get it.

         1. With the exception of the 2020 Season when did Roberts had this Team hot in october?
            How Many more crushing postseason failures will it take before Roberts is shown the door?
            I See No,Progress in his managing Skills

            Go Dodgers!

10. The Dodgers were suppose to have one of the best hitting line-ups in baseball. Power and speed. All of the new age hitting instruction. Yet here we are. Not terribly Impressive.

    Dave Roberts obviously has concerns. Said as much in the newspapers this morning. The approach has been bad in general, the focus on individual efforts and not on team production.

    At times the team is hard to watch. Not to pick on Chris Taylor, but his all of nothing approach is somewhat annoying. Striking out on a ball well outside the srike zone with runners in scoring position is just something he does too often. An inability to put balls in play in key situations is a symptom of approach. Players need to focus on contact, putting the ball in play, especially in run scoring opportunities. Thirteen hits the other day and just two runs. What?

    The refusal of Dodger hitters to advantage of the shift with a bunt or two is something I just don’t get. I’ve seen Cody Bellinger pass time and again, then strike out. What is happening here is pretty clear. The failure to adapt and adjust and take advantage of the situation apparently is not in the playbook.

    Maybe players being paid boatloads of money make them soft, set in their ways. Maybe the Dodgers believed their own press clippings. How many times have you heard them say how good their line-up is, but expectations seem to be falling well short of what is taking place on the field. They are not the 1927 Yankees, the Big Red Machine or even the Dodgers of yesteryear. More like the little blue engine that can’t.

    Dodger hitters aren’t the only bats around the league who are struggling. Corey Seager is hitting in the low .220 range, so is the next greatest player on the planet, Juan Soto. Yes, Mike Trout is still Trout, Bryce Harper is having a very good start and so is Aaron Judge. Mookie Betts was hot, now he’s not and maybe that has thrown a wrench into the vaunted LA offense.

    Maybe Tuesday everything kicks in and the offense takes off. But as of now, the Dodgers have a problem. It was a pathetic performance against a team with no real star power. Then again the Dodgers were just as pathetic against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

    Just maybe star power is over rated. Maybe the big salaries, the luxury environment surrounding the players is making some players soft.

    Hey, the roll the ball onto the field mentality just isn’t working.

    Maybe Doc needs to bring the fire and brimstone.

    1. Excellent post sbuffalo!!

11. Some very good points were raised in Mark’s article and the comments of others. Personally, I think Dave Roberts is a baseball manager with both strengths and weaknesses all of which have all been identified on LADT. But, like all positions in leadership regardless of the industry, there comes a time when the dynamics of your environment change and you are no longer the right fit. In looking back at my career in leadership positions, I can see how this happened more than once in my career .

    It was hard for me to see at the time but – as a retiree now – it is clear that the changing management environment required a new face with different skills. There is something missing in the Dodgers performance this year and where the responsibility lies is not clearly obvious. But, when you factor in the a $300M+ annual investment, I don’t think the status quo is going to be tolerated for a long time.

12. Now is not the time for a change of Managers nor is it the time to talk about changing Managers. UNLESS that talk is not in earnest and only meant to send a message to the players.

    1. IT is Time to make a change
       Otherwise it will end the Same way it did every Full Season under Roberts
       A Play-off appearance with a disappointing ending
       I dont care about his regular Season Record when Looking at the Teams Loaded with some of the best Talent Money can Buy at his disposal
       There Are Managers that get more Out of their Players than their Talents suggest, Roberts Not One of them
       And yes, the hitting Coaches should Be fired with him

       If Not scioscia or Maddon than why Not bring Bochy Out of retirement !?

       Go Dodgers!

13. I wrote a long post last evening on the thread below, I will not repeat it here, except the point that it is all relative; that I believe that the Giants and the Padres both have better managers than the Dodgers, which would mean that we would always need to have better talent than they do, or they will surpass us for years. Such things do happen in sports.

    We also have problems with declining personnel, due to age or injury. The only starters whom we can reasonably rely on next year, are Betts, Freeman, Smith, maybe Lux. Starting pitchers, Urias, probably Gonsolin, maybe May. Bullpen, we need a top closer. We probably need a rebuild, which is not easy, and would frustrate fans.

    We need a manager who is every bit the equal of the best in the game. Who can coax surprising performances out of middle-level players. Who can make moves which at least give us the best chance to win a given game. Who knows how to use the bullpen to maximum effect. There aren’t too many of those, but we need one.

    I would try to hire Kevin Cash from Tampa Bay, if at all possible. If not, then I don’t know. Barbary is a good suggestion, we might need someone like that, though there may be others with similar qualifications. I don’t think we need a Dodger, per se. There is no special Dodgers way, not since the the 1960’s. We need someone who has proven something, and who management can tell has special quality. Again, I very much wanted us to hire Kapler seven years ago, not Roberts. Roberts is reasonably well-spoken, he is even-keeled, the players probably respect him–but that’s all he’s got. And this dissipates over time, even with great managers, many of who get fired at one point or another.

    I suppose we will finish the season with Roberts, and we will likely make the playoffs. Maybe Buehler will come back, and we will do well in the postseason. But I still think that SD and SF will be stronger than we will, going forward, and that may not be easy to fix; who are the great minor league prospects who are going to do it?

    Finally, I really would like to see a manager who plays aggressively, at least at times. We have speed, with Betts, T. Turner, Lux, and we rarely use it. We need a verve, not sophomoric rah-rah, but playing smart and aggressive baseball. Yesterday, we had a player whom I was starting to want us to try to sign, loaf his way out of a run in the eighth inning, and then say that his run was not very important then, though it would have made the game 2-1 instead of 2-0, and take away SFG’s buffer. And after the game Roberts said one of his stock phrases, “We showed ‘compete’ out there” Oh? Scoring zero runs, and not running hard?

    Actually, I think that we are at a crucial point in the direction of the franchise–that is, in terms of trying to win championships, not just being pretty good and making the playoffs. I think we will see that more clearly in the next few years. We need to get ahead of the curve, before we are left behind. We would end up being the Kerstin Watson Dodgers. “How did it feel to get that double in the fourth inning?” “Tell us how great it was to break that losing streak, and now be only five games behind in the standings.”

    1. Amen!

       Go Dodgers!

    2. Awesome bits and pieces here:

       The best is starting with:
       “ I will not repeat it here, except the point that it is all relative;”

       Then there are these wonders:

       “ We probably need a rebuild, which is not easy, and would frustrate fans.”

       “….in terms of trying to win championships, not just being pretty good and making the playoffs.“

       1. I actually have no idea what you are saying. “It’s all relative” referred to my comment that it is not some abstract idea of how good a manager Roberts is on some kind of scale, it is how he compares to the best managers in the division; and I think that the relatively easy task he has had, has become much harder, trying to beat SD and SF with their managers.

          The other two meant exactly what I said. This team was put together to win now, and if it does not, we are faced with the choice of whether to start fresh, which fans may have tolerated in the past, but likely not now. The Dodgers are out to win titles, their pickups of late were gratifying in that regard. The Dodgers of the ’90’s were happy enough to be in the mix, they would not spend, and yet the fans put up with it. If we don’t win the title this year, we will be known as a franchise which got relatively little out of the talent we had, and be mocked by the fans of some other teams.

       2. So, we’re already at “let’s tear it all down and start over!” because the team got swept?

          Not a really high tolerance for any and all setbacks!

          Could you imagine? A first place team just throwing up their hands and saying “fuck it!” and trading away their players for prospects?

          1. You are misconstruing what I wrote; some did last year regarding this, so I will try to clarify. I was not saying that we should dismantle the team this year, that would be ridiculous with the team still on track to win 101 games. I was suggesting that we need to win this year, because even given that I do not have the in-depth knowledge of our minor league players that Mark and a few others have here, it does not look like we have too many great prospects down there, mostly due to lower drafting position. in the last seven years.

             Speculating, Buehler is at risk, we all hope he fully recovers. Kershaw is winding down his career. We do not have a high-end closer; or even if Kimbrel does great the rest of the year. he is only on a one-year contract. Bellinger is beginning to look like a .220 career hitter. Trea Turner will not be signed. Justin Turner may retire. Muncy is a big question mark. I still have high hopes for Will Smith, but we may have been too optimistic, he may be a .250 hitter with 20 HR or so. Chris Taylor has his limits.

             I don’t see us being the favorite in the division next year. I am certainly not saying dismantle the whole team, but we probably will need a shortstop , third baseman (maybe Rios could do it), centerfielder, maybe even leftfielder; a top starter, a closer. Either we are willing to spend big money with some of the payroll saved, or we try to make brilliant frugal buys, or we rely on minor leaguers whose upside, except perhaps for Cartaya and one of the pitchers, is by no means as certain as Buehler’s, Seager’s, Bellinger’s were. a few years ago. . I think that the Padres and Giants are better positioned, but maybe Friedman can do some amazing things with the roster. Roberts can’t, he needs to have the best talent to win.

             1. So, you are down on the prospects (pun intended) of the team in first place, with the top ranked farm system and most admired front office?

                With fans like William, who needs fans?

             2. Having one of the best farm systems in baseball… maybe even the #1 system doesn’t mean what it use to… especially when you are pushing one narrative.

14. Not sure Doc should be let go but it is time to fire RVS. Dodgers #1 in offense but that is a bit misleading. Bag out 15 hits in a 12-2 game, late inning HR’s in a 9-3 game only to follow that up with being shut out and hitting w/ RISP (aka clutch hitting) seems to be a concept not completely grasped by many Dodger hitters.

    If I was AF I would shake up the clubhouse with an RVS termination today. Enough of this offensive play that lacks strategy ( or at least it seems so) and certainly execution. If MLB is a results oriented business and someone has to be held accountable , it’s time to fire the hitting coach who doesn’t have the boys doing much of that lately

15. Aside from Betts, Freeman, Turner and Lux who 9n the Dodgers is hitting. JT appears to be is showing his age, Bellinger is doing what he’s been doing for several years. Muncy has been slowed by coming back from injury. Taylor is doing ok but with so many strikeouts it’s hard to score if you don’t put the ball in play.

    When more then half the lineup is not hitting it shouldn’t ge a surprise that the offensive inconsistent. AF is ware of this. That’s why Busch is playing left field. He can platoon with Taylor. Not sure if the splits support it (Muncy I believe has even splits) but how about platooning JT and Muncy at third?

16. I have always felt Roberts is more of a company man than a good manager. I have always questioned some of his more head scratching moves, especially in the World Series. But his teams have been very successful. Not because of his managing skills, but mostly because of the talent on the team. Taylor to me is not an everyday player. He strikes out too much. His value has always been what he contributes off of the bench. He is streaky and when he is hot, he is pretty good. But still not an everyday kind of player. Kike begged to play every day and left so he could. As Boston’s everyday CF, he has been extremely disappointing this year. I have no idea what is going through Bellinger’s head. Maybe too much success too early. But he looks nothing like the ROY or MVP years. Constantly being beaten by high fastballs, swinging at pitches a snake could not hit. Slumps happen. Freeman was more disappointed with his bad at bat with the bases loaded than we were. But when the entire offense goes into a funk at the same time, changes in approach are needed. Maybe hitters need to go back to the old see ball hit ball ways. I do know that this weekend they lost at least 4 hits to the shift including Cody’s game ending grounder on Saturday. Roberts just got his extension, which probably buys him this year at least. If they do not get to the World Series and win, the fans are going to go nuts. And AF might just be forced to re-evaluate the leadership in the clubhouse.

17. Cmon, we secretly all love it when the Dodgers don’t play well. It allows us to whine and complain and play GM. Cause we’re all smarter than AF! I bet posts are up when the Dodgers play poorly rather than when they play well. A perfect season would be for the Dodgers to squeak into the playoffs with the worst possible record and then win a WS.

18. It’s always easy to blame the Manager. So the Dodger bats are slumping and we’re having trouble scoring runs. This team is amazing it what I’ve call the facet offense. The valve is either open full blast or it’s shut off completely.
    Now in fairness to Doc, he isn’t batting, pitching or fielding. His team isn’t executing right now. To the point I made previously, sitting around waiting on a big inning isn’t working. When a team is struggling, my nature says it’s time to shake things up. Time to be more aggressive and manufacture some opportunities. No panic, just step on the gas a little when opportunities arise.
    That is exactly what Doc DOES NOT do. I could go back and pick out times where opportunities presented themselves to try to make things happen and Doc sat back and watched the game.
    Our situational hitting is very poor.
    To my point without digging too deep, including the game where we left 14. Here are some examples from yesterday
    *After CT doubled, down 2-0 in the 7th, Bellinger comes up. He really needs to move the runner to 3rd with NO outs, anyway he can. Belli could be a team-guy and patiently wait for a pitch that he can pull, just like he always does. Any way he can includes even bunting the ball on his own against the shift to move the runner and maybe get a hit. But apparently Belli is playing to tie the game with one swing. The percentages of that happening are slim. The last 3 seasons Bellinger has a home run every 25 at bats so maybe this is one of the 25?
    In perhaps the worst AB possible, Belli hacks at the very first pitch; a pitch up and away, that even he can’t pull. And he pops up to 3rd. Just an awful, selfish at bat. That AB that in previous decades would have come with a fine. Every coached up high school kid knows to take that pitch and get something to move the runner. Barnes than K’s and Mookie grounds out. Out of the inning with CT3 stranded on second. That is just BAD baseball.
    * When my team is struggling, I want to be more aggressive and try to manufacture a run. Top 8, Trea Turner singled with one out. Since we’ve yet to score, I’m putting him in motion despite being down 2 – 0. Doc chooses to play it by his book and does nothing. He predictably doesn’t want to risk getting thrown out down 2 with Smith at the plate. But Trea Turner is successful 85% of his attempts. I will take that against Austin Wynns. Trea stays put and with 2 outs, JT singles to right. If Trea is on 2nd he scores a run. But he wasn’t. CT3 ends the inning by striking out again with runners at 1st and 3rd for yet another scoreless inning.
    Again Doc chooses to play conservative baseball waiting for that big hit. And we are waiting on that big hit a lot lately.

19. Why do some people think the front office makes the in game decisions? And how the hell can the front office do that in real time during the game?

    1. Not saying they do but,……….. we do have these mobile communication devices these days. So who really knows?

    2. They don’t!

       However, they do continually supply data.

20. I don’t agree that Roberts should be fired. However, Mark made the best argument for such a move. I agree in the sense that something needs to be shaken up. I agree with the diagnosis, I just don’t agree on the best medicine.

    I’m with many here who believe Roberts makes far fewer calls than many think. The organization has a system. And they want a manager that implements the system. The issue is certainly obvious, in my opinion. There is no fire. No sense of urgency. Some players simply don’t have that in their makeup, which is fine. Trea isn’t going to be that guy. Lux isn’t going to be that guy. They come out and do what they do. Mookie is certainly that type of player. Bellinger has been that guy. But he has to actually hit the ball to light a spark, and it appears he has forgotten how to do that entirely. But when there is a spark, it’s contagious. Unfortunately, so is apathy. And apathy seems to have become endemic.

    I would argue we need a spark from the players side. And it is unlikely to come with anybody on the current active roster. I remember 2013 like it was yesterday. Dodgers were old, fat and happy. High paid players were not playing well or at least not close to how they played in recent seasons. Then a guy named Yasiel was called up and Hanley Ramirez came back healthy. The two of them lit a fire that resulted in one of the greatest 50 game stretches in baseball history. Vin coined the term “Wild Horse” and it looked like veteran players who were having totally forgettable seasons got a spring in their step. Hanley simply raked, week after week.

    We need to shake up the roster. Not rebuild. A big move. Something shocking. Not on the pitching side. I would start looking to bring up guys from AAA (or even AA) who can light that spark. Try em out. See how it goes. If Bellinger, Taylor or JT lose ABs, so be it. I’m hoping AF is out there looking at every available trade option. A player who is hungry (young or veteran) who is sick of playing for a loser organization but still has that fire to win. I’d love that to be Mike Trout (who wouldn’t?), even though he perfectly fits that scenario he ain’t going anywhere. But there are others. People we may haven’t even considered. We have a TON of money coming off the books and a very very deep minor league system. We have room in LF. We have room at 3B to make changes. We have room for players who may only be a DH. The right move that makes a huge plash for the right type of player (performance, attitude and leadership) might be the answer.

    Firing Roberts will only swap out on PR rep for another. Dodgers need to make a roster move. Something bold.

    Just MHO.

    1. Dodgers have brought in a Mega Star just about every Trade Deadline for Roberts.
       Machado, Turner, scherzer, darvish etc
       What good has it done?

       No , the Problem is Roberts.
       A Team Plays like the Manager Ticks
       Why Not Finally Go the different Route this Time and Fire Roberts?

       Go Dodgers!

       1. Maybe trade Roberts instead of releasing him.

       2. I didn’t say a mega star. But somebody with a different attitude and some fire in the belly.

          This reminds me a lot of the 2013 team at this point in the season. Big contracts, rampant underperformance from some of the biggest names on the team.

          I don’t believe firing Roberts will do much to turn that around.

21. Muncy was looking for walks. That’s a lack of confidence.

    Bellinger needs to retool his swing and stance and mindset.

    Doc could let the team play looser with hit and run and stealing more. Add a bunt here and there.

    Dodgers should pair up their rotation and try to get 9 innings out of two starters.

    Trade for Bogarts and play him at 3rd base or CF.

    1. Every time Lux gets to first with two outs & Mookie following him should be an automatic steal attempt. You either end up with a man in scoring position for Mookie, or if caught, Mookie leads off next inning with the big 3 up. They have done this a couple times, but I have seen several that they have not & it blows my mind.

22. The damn season is 162 games long. That’s a lot of games for even a gifted athlete to keep his focus.
    Every team, even this year’s Yankees will eventually have a slump……………or two…………………or three.
    We’re having ours now. Maybe we’ll have another before October, but we’ll wind up in the playoffs. That’s our goal for the season. Our goal for the playoffs is to be the last team standing.

    It would be nice to have an excellent strategist as we head to the playoffs, but we have Doc. We need to live with that for now.
    Dave Roberts is not the best manager on the planet. He over manages his bullpen and under manages his offense.
    I completely agree with Phil’s comments about not being aggressive enough when we’re in a funk.
    But Doc ain’t goin’ nowhere this year, so we can stop hoping for that.

    I would love to see Chase Utley hired next year as manager or bench coach. I guarantee that our basic approach to offense would improve. I really have no opinion about RVS, except that I think that guys like Belli probably tune him out every so often. No one would tune out The Grey Fox. He’s got that aura about him where nobody wants to disappoint him. He’s done it and the players have a tremendous amount of respect for him.

    In the meanwhile, I’m concentrating on the fact that we have slumps like this every year, yet we always make the playoffs. It’s really frustrating to watch, but this too shall pass.

    1. What Makes You think Roberts Will Be a better Manager in the postseason than he s now or in prior seasons?
       The goal aus You Said is Not just making the Playoffs but to,Win a title.
       And Roberts certainly does Not give US the best Chance
       We already Know that

       Go,Dodgers!

       1. Where did I say that Doc would be a better manager in the post season? He is what he is.

          I just said that no change will be made this year, so we need to live with that.

23. Roberts is just an easy target. It’s too simplistic. Any manager of this team will implement the organization’s plan for the players on the roster. If they fired Roberts today we’d be right back here in two months hearing people bitch and moan about the new guys’d terrible in game decisions. Because the decisions still wouldn’t be coming from the manager.

    The plan needs to change. There needs to be roster changes. New blood. I love JT. He’s been a great Dodger. He needs to sit. Bellinger needs to be viewed as a defensive first CFer. Muncy needs to sit more. And those ABs need to go to other players. Inside the system or outside.

    I’m afraid modern mangers (especially on the Dodgers) are little more than PR reps and clubhouse managers. They are empty uniforms and largely interchangeable. Put a new guy in the uniform to do the post game press conference, fine. I don’t believe it will help.

24. Roberts is going no where. He just signed a new 3 year deal before the season. Now, if the team does not perform up to what the front office wants, then maybe after the season they will decide to eat the remaining two years on his deal and get someone new. JT? Hardly. As good of a player as he has been, he has zero managerial experience. Mark’s suggestion of Barbary makes some sense. He knows the young players in the system and has a history with them. To me, Roberts is nothing more than a glorified back slapping cheer leader. He has been in the game a long time, but is doing exactly as the ownership and front office want.

    1. I’m in total agreement.

       If Roberts were to go, Barbary would be smart. But at this stage, I hope AF is on the phone with Barbary everyday looking for the right piece to bring up.

       I will be the first to say it; it might be Miguel Vargas’ time. I know, his defense ain’t good. But I’d like to see what he can do. It’s not like JT’s defense is any good anymore and with Rios injured I don’t expect the offensive production to get much better at 3B.

    2. Barbary? A AAA manager who had helped develop many Dodger prospects named Lasorda became the Dodger manager. That kind of worked. If Roberts doesn’t get to the work series this year I wouldn’t be surprised to see him replaced. He doesn’t make that much where it would be a factor. Example Carl Crawford, over $100M wasted on Cuban misfits, and hopefully David Price. Money wouldn’t factor into the equation.

       1. Carl Crawford when he was on the field for the Dodgers was actually a productive player. Of course the problem was he was only on the field in 320 games over his four years with the team. But in 13 and 14 he hit over .285 for both years and had over 100 hits each season. He stole 48 bases during his time in blue. Injuries were always his problem. And of course, most do not believe he was worth what he was being paid. But when compared to some of the other players on those rosters, he was more than serviceable.

25. I have only posted a few times in my years here, but am a little surprised that no one has mentioned what Adrian Gonzalez said immediately after the game yesterday when they went to the studio. I can’t recall word for word, but he basically said that this is going to continue to happen when the organization is telling the players to take their A swings every at bat and never promote just making contact to move runners around. I half expected him to be fired today.

    1. Glad you brought that up. I do remember it, and I was thinking the same thing ,ha ha

26. Interesting analysis on ESPN. I have said all year I am NOT worried about our pitching. Even with Walker struggling (and now injured) and Urias having some bad games. The Dodgers have the arms. What is interesting is this particular correlation. Walk to strikeout ratio seems to quite accurately predict a team’s success. Absent any analysis of offensive numbers.

    ESPN:

    A few weeks ago, baseball statistician Bill James did a study on if controlling the strike zone is as important now as it was in Ted Williams’ day. He came up with a simple formula that pretty accurately predicts a team’s winning percentage based only on walks and strikeouts.

    In his study, he explained that 90 teams had a strike zone winning percentage of .613 or higher, with an average of .638. Their actual winning percentage was .595. The worst 109 teams had a strike zone winning percentage of .363 and an actual winning percentage of .377.

    In other words, knowing nothing about a team other than how well it controls the strike zone is a strong indicator of how good or bad the team is.

    Heading into Sunday’s games, the top three teams in strike zone winning percentage:

    1. Yankees, .629

    2. Dodgers, .627

    3. Astros, .573

    The Dodgers also led the majors in this category a season ago, although their pitching depth will now be tested with the news that Walker Buehler will be shut down for at least six weeks because of a flexor strain in his right elbow. Of course, the Dodgers excel at getting the most out of their pitchers. For example, Tyler Anderson had a career strikeout-to-walk ratio of 2.90 before signing with the Dodgers. Now it’s at 6.11 and he’s gone 7-0 with a 3.07 ERA. Tony Gonsolin is also 7-0, with a 1.58 ERA. So, as expected, the Dodgers’ 1-2 punch is Anderson and Gonsolin rather than Buehler and Julio Urias.

27. Mark, I am sure you have many DEMOCRAT friends, but I hope they are also Democratic. Not one in the same though. Sorry, we all have our pet peeves.
    Personally looking forward to NOT watching every game as downhill mountain bike season is starting up & I will be up on the mountain at least 3 days a week.
    Cheers all

    1. Never much of a downhiller. I raced XC as Expert/Cat 1 in the NORBA days. Do the local Over The Hump race here in OC.

       1. I’ve actually never downhilled before. But they really like me up on the mountain after working this winter so they asked if I would come up this summer. Right now it’s 20° cooler up on the mountain at 9,000 ft than it is down here in the valley at 5,000 ft. Sounds like a winner to me. Plus I get all the free rental gear I need when I want to go out on my own. Not a bad deal.

          1. That weather sounds amazing!

    2. As can be said for Republicans as well.

       1. I totally agree! I was just doing a little grammar clean up. Ha! I am neither of those and even those of us that are neither of those fall on both sides of the line so I wasn’t trying to point out anything party specific.
          Cheers

          1. My apologies if I read your post wrong. Take care.

    3. I’m not sure how or why this thread became political, but I want to register a complaint.
       The work of the Jan. 6 committee has been TOTALLY PARTISAN!
       I mean, practically every witness who has given damning testimony is a REPUBLICAN and TRUMP SUPPORTER! Even his DAUGHTER and SON-IN-LAW have testified.
       Not a single Democrat called to testify. And no Democrats accused of begging Trump for a pre-emptive pardon for their corrupt deeds.
       We heard from a Capitol police officer who was beaten by the mob–but why not anything from those who weren’t beat up? How is that fair?
       This would be like an investigation of the Trashtros cheating scandal that heard only testimony from Astros!
       So biased!
       As far as the fact of Dave Roberts goes, I like the idea of a no-name minor league manager ascending up the ranks. Crash Davis might be good. He does hold the minor league HR record, you know.

       1. This is a highly over-produced (and well-produced) hit piece which is much like a trial where the prosecution gets to present evidence but no cross-examination is allowed. Anyone who thinks it means anything is a mental midget. Do you still want to embrace it, because I will blow you out of the water with what I am about to say. As Chuck Schumer says “You won’t even know what hit you!” OK, do you feel lucky?

       2. DeSantis for President in 2024,not Trump!

28. I think Mark conned you all into ‘agreeing’ with him. I expect his next column to be calling you all dopes, as he posts how the team leads in all offensive and pitching stats. HA HA what dopes

    1. 😉

29. Reading the posts over the past few days has me shaking my head. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but please try to base those opinions on facts. Here are the Dave Roberts facts:
    1. .621 regular season winning percentage is the best in MLB history. The only other Manager (that managed any length of time) with a winning percentage over .600 was Joe McCarthy.
    2. Been in the post season all 6 years
    3. 3 trips to the World Series (half his years managing the Dodgers), winning one and it could be argued probably would have won the second (2017) if the Astros wouldn’t have known when Kersh was throwing a slider in game 5.
    4. Blessed with great player talent, but no greater than some other Managers (Sparky Anderson, Tony La Rusa, Bobby Cox, etc) had but no other winning percentage came close to Docs.
    Yes he’s made some questionable moves but so has every other Manager/Coach in history. I have been a fan since the late 1940’s. As a 7 year old, I cried when I saw Bobby Thomson hit the shot heard round the world Iive on TV. I’ve watched Dressen, Alston, LaSorda, bunch of guys in the middle (including Joe Torre), and now Roberts. Trust me when I tell you that all the second guessing and complaining in the world doesn’t change the fact he is damn good at what he does. All I can say is take a deep breath, chill and try to gain some reasoning in your approach.

30. Hmmm. I see Roberts is STILL Manager. And Belli is STILL batting two bucks and change. Cuz he didn’t bat today. And the Dodgers STILL lead the division.

    1. Tied for the division with San Diego.

31. … and I may or may not believe all of this.

    Sometimes we need some stimuli!

    1. https://youtu.be/Mh4Zm6YRHDk

       1. You are on to me…

    2. The inflation data dictates that the last thing we need is more stimuli. Or are we talking baseball again? If it’s Dodgers: yes. More stimuli. Can we bring Puig back?

32. It was a little hard to believe since you come across as a loyal person of firm convictions. And one weekend sweep by the Giants and you wanna pull the plug on Roberts??? Not buying it Boss.

33. Here is what I would do immediately:
    Bring up Zach McKinstry and send down Eddy Alvarez.
    Bring up James Outman and send down Hanser Alberto.
    Bring up Mitch White and release David Price.
    Bring up Marshall Kasowski and send down Phil Bickford.
    Bring up Ryan Pepiot and send down Michael Grove if he is on the roster, otherwise send down Brusdar Graterol.

    Bench Max Muncy and Justin Turner for awhile, while giving Zach McKinstry and James Outman a shot at starting.

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