Dodgers Team News

Dodgers: Dave Roberts Earns Praise From Andrew Friedman

At the 2019 exit meeting for Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman, there were understandably a number of questions surrounding manager Dave Roberts. Namely his status, and questions about the decisions he made in LA’s game 5 loss last week.

As expected, Friedman was complimentary of the 4-year manager.



Here’s the short and sweet takeaway on Roberts’ status going forward.

The whole thing is… focusing on how we get to winning those 11 games in October, and in our mind Dave is absolutely a part of that and is an additive part of doing that.

Of course we already learned Doc would be back — he has three years left on a deal signed last off-season — so that wasn’t exactly news. What this press conference did offer was Friedman the opportunity to open up on his thoughts regarding Dave’s in-game decision making in game 5, and the season as a whole.

We won 106 games and I think between Dave Roberts, [pitching coach] Rick Honeycutt, [bench coach] Bob Geren… they’ve demonstrated a really strong ability to make in-game moves. They don’t work all work out, but more often than not the questions I have end up playing out in a favorable way.

Friedman was never going to put his manager on the spot in front of the media, but the sense of frustration was there. While Roberts will retain his job in 2020, there will be changes beside him on the bench.

A move to a front office role for Rick Honeycutt was already announced, but there is also the reasonable expectation that Bob Geren will leave the organization for one of MLB’s unprecedented eight (and counting) managerial openings.

If any of the impending changes add another experienced voice to aide Roberts with in-game tactics, surely Dodger fans would be ecstatic.

Clint Pasillas

Clint Pasillas has been writing, blogging, and podcasting about the Los Angeles Dodgers since 2008. Under Clint's leadership as the Lead Editor, Dodgers Nation has grown into one of the most read baseball sites in the world with millions of unique visitors per month. Find him online on Twitter/X or his YouTube channel!

13 Comments

  1. Way to go you unleashed the Nationals because you couldn’t get 6 outs with your entire bullpen at your disposal. You know when you resort to Kershaw out of the pen? In a situation like the 2016 nlds game 5. What happened in 2019 game 5 is a fireable offense. Absolutely zero logic and reason for that

  2. If the Nats win it all the Dodgers will take home the award of biggest disappointment of the decade. Imagine being worse than the Nats when it’s all said and done

  3. Pretty sad when your manager doesn’t know his own pitching staff. The Nats just played the worst team in the playoffs and should have been the Dodgers. But no couldn’t hold a 3-1 lead in the 8th. This was the biggest choke job by a Manager in the history of baseball. Fans were booing their own manager in the Playoffs! Never have I seen that before.

  4. Why would he.. the both think the same way.. screwed up!!!!! Get rod of them both.. Dodger’s fans deserve better..than Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum.

  5. The guys above said it all, but I keep asking what good does it do? Freidman and Roberts don’t or won’t listen to the fans who know more than they do.

  6. Sign Cole and lefty reliever Will Smith and it will be a successful off season. AF will have money from Freese retiring, letting Hill and Ryu go and trying to sign Martin at a discount. Also I would trade Peterson ,Stripling, Barnes, and Kiki for a right handed bat. Maybe Texas will take Kershaw if we eat some of the salary now that they’re opening the new ball park and Kershaw is from Texas. Maybe AF can work his magic. Hopefully Kenley opts out but that’s wishful thinking.

    1. And you call your self a Dodger fan? Why not get rid of Dodger Dogs, memories of Vin Scully, the numbers of all the retired players in the outfield including Jackie Robinson and anything else that is “Dodgers!” You would trade all these players. First, someone has to want them or you aren’t trading anything. If Martin stays why do we need Barnes… I agree. Stripling needs a new start somewhere else. Kike-absolutely not! He and Taylor form the best utility team in the majors. Kershaw can stay and retire a Dodger. He is just not a reliever, especially when you have Maeda sitting in the bullpen who has been a reliever more than a few times. There needs to be some changes, but wholesale changes, NO!

      1. I would guess that changes should be made as a direct result of seeing how Dodgers were not the team most thought they would be in the NLDS. Pitching wins championships.. see the Nationals since they swept the Cards in the NLCS.
        Putting the ball in play especially with RISP will better the chance for winning a championship…not striking out 64 times in 5 games. But how the pitching is managed and the lineup shuffling on a daily basis could determine a lot whether or not Dodgers get to that WS championship.

  7. Roberts gets praise from Freidman but guess what he has been getting and will most certainly be getting from us fans…. hint..it will NOT be praise of any kind.

  8. blind leading the blind……look at the team for the last few years and see the downspiraling taking place…..the big hype ends up being the “wait until next year” and we’ll reward you with a few more bandaids, rise in tickets, rise in parking, park renovation and no tv….with no tv it doesn’t give you the opportunity to turn the channel and remove the pain of the Dodger mess….hopefully someone will come to their senses and put together a team with a little chemistry and a new view for the Dodgers because the one now isn’t working……

  9. DODGER OWNERS ARE LOADED W/ MONEY ,SPEND $ GET COLE $ RENDON, j.T. IS PRONE TO INJURY & WILL NOT LAST TO LONG. KIKA HAS AVERY GOOD GLOVE, better than muncey, trade muncey, kaki @2nd belli 1st. rendon @ 3rd, & used @ 3rd,2nd. & S.S. UNTIL J.T GIVES UP. FRIEDMAN PRAISES D. T., WHAT ELSE CAN HE DO AS OWNERS DO NOT GIVE UP MONEY TO HIRE BETTER. D.R. IS THE WOREST MANGER OUT THERE. FIRE HIM .

  10. The Dodgers should take thos down time to teach Gonsolyn and May new pitches other than the 4 and 2 seem fast ball to prepare them to become starting pitchers . Curve ball , sliderand so on . Urias could also be added to the mix. Beuhler , Urias May , Gonsolyn are your primary starters .I would love to see Ryu come back at a team discount of course. I don’t want to see him with the Gaints or Padres or any other team in the NL. Our left hand hitters Pederson Seeger and Bellinger every year seem to get to the playoffs and run out of steam, Bellingers first half of the season looks nothing like his second half of the season I think that the MVP race appears to have gotten to him. He began swinging at baalls out of the strike zone in the second half of the season in the First half of the season he would hit the ball against the shift into left field the second half he started swinging for the fences . I think Joc hit the ball well when given the chance but I think having the noose or quick hook placed on him made him swing at bad balls. Because he felt that he had to produce. The man hit 36 home runs so he had to be doing something right. Also having the cloud of being on the trading block even before the season started didn’t help . Seager simply ran out of gas , it was his first full season. Hopefully he will get better

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