Dodgers: Truth About Why the 2021 Season Fell Apart, Top 4 Reasons Why LA Fell Short
The Los Angeles Dodgers are heading home for the offseason. Facing elimination Saturday night, the Dodgers lost Game 6 of the National League Championship Series to the Atlanta Braves by a final score of 4-2. LA was trying to become the first National League team to win back-to-back World Series titles since the Cincinnati Reds of the late seventies.
LA entered the season as the prohibitive favorites to win the World Series, with some national pundits even predicting that the team had a chance to go down as one of the winningest clubs in baseball history. Unfortunately, the team fell short of those expectations but were able to match a franchise record with 106 wins despite being snakebitten by injuries and losing their big off-season starting pitcher acquisition to administrative leave.
As is the case every year they don’t win the World Series, the Dodgers head into the offseason with questions as to why they ultimately were unable to get the job done in October and we give you our top 4 reasons why LA fell short in 2021. From key late-season and postseason injuries to an inconsistent offense to a historic Giants team that forced the Dodgers into playing high-level baseball for the majority of the season, we dive into the truth behind why the 2021 Dodgers were ousted earlier than they would have like this postseason.
Plus, were the Dodgers out-managed by the Braves in the NLCS.
WATCH
Fans so far have made their voices very heard on our poll on Twitter. With more than 50% of the vote, most true blue faithful feel that the offense was just too inconsistent this October.
Biggest reason why the #Dodgers lost to the Braves in the NLCS?
— Dodgers Nation (@DodgersNation) October 24, 2021
Injuries came in second and, as always, coaching got its fair share of votes from the “fire Dave Roberts” crowd. Where do you feel the Dodgers came up short? Continue the conversation in the comments below!
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Right a 22-year wrong; bring back Mike Scioscia!!!
Yeap.
I’d be ok with it too. But unless the FO doesn’t change how it operates, it won’t matter who is at the helm of the juggernaut. Just spit ballin’ Doug
Yup. Mike should have been offered the job a long time ago (by different front office)
The dodgers don’t hire actual managers. They hire puppets who keep the players on board. This is why Roberts is still around
Pretty much all the big bats came up short when there were runners in scoring position. The staff got too cutesy with the rotation leading to a horrible era in the playoffs. And Buehler became the new Kershaw – let’s just throw him out there with no rest and then be shocked if bad things happen. And now we have a potential free agent blood bath. Let the Hot Stove begin.
We need all new hitters. They only came up clutch last postseason because they were basically playing June baseball which over the years is when they’ve typically started heating up the most.
All of the above!
It all stated and ended with the CLOWN roberts !
Hitting inconsistent and managing out managed by braves
Braves got a lot of 2 strike hits and homers
I would say, that it was a little bit of everything. It puts a lot of pressure on a pitcher when you can’t score runs for him. Defense wasn’t at its finest, and having guys playing out position in an important series, to me wasn’t the best idea. The shift has to go. With what we had in starting pitching, I would take those three guys any day of the week, unfortunately, they are not relievers and should have never been used that way! Imagine having these guys with their normal rest between starts, we would be playing for the championship instead of going home.
You make more sense than all the Roberts haters!
We have been out managed the whole year. I can’t think of any game that we won, that was due to roberts managing, but I do recall alot of games and series that we’re mis managed by him. Resulting in a loss or loss of series and momentum.
mistake were instead of we’re my bad.
106 regular season wins puts the burden of proof on you to make a case for your assertion. Any other team would be lucky to have such a clown.
Any other team would love to have the Dodger roster….
D2
Ignore them. The “fire roberts” crowd are clueless clowns themselves.
finally a voice of reason. not one fire-doc can name a real-life available manager that would do a better job and win the World Series every year! lol heck I hear them now – “he better go 162-0 in the regular season too, why with a team like the Dodgers, and all.”
Joe, you and I are usually on the same wavelength. You know I’ve been an ardent DR supporter but I have to give him a thumbs down for the NLCS. Souza? Really? While his best pinch-hitter sits and makes 1 appearance in the series? Unbelievable.
I’d be willing to risk trying to get Gabe Kapler back from the Giants and put the Dodgers in his managerial orbit.
Ron, I wrote this under your comment elsewhere…
Kapler and Doc were the two finalists when the Dodgers hired Doc. I think they are happy with their choice.
Nice try though! 😉
Injuries and fatigue. The Roberts-bashers are forgetting 106 regular season wins and the full throttle September (and Oct. 1-3) finish to keep pace and even gain on the Giants. There was no resting up, including for the Wild Card game.
Losing Muncy not only removed his team-leading RBIs and home runs, but also affected who played first base AND center field! And the attrition kept coming. At the end, there was just not enough fuel in the tank.
Jon R. NOBODY is forgetting the Late Aug early Sep meltdown by Drrrrrrr playing Mckinney-Bellinger-Raley-Souza and the rest of the 150 hitters over Beaty and Lux Who by the way were hitting 250 and rested. There shouldn’t have been the need to GAIN on the Vagiants- That’s when the Vagiants went into the toughest part of the schedule so Drrrrrrrrrr didn’t gain anything except Everyone here wondering WTF he was doing starting 4 sub 160 hitters. He gave away several games like that throughout the season… didn’t you even watch it? Or are you just consumed with the 106 regular season wins that apparently is ALL you Drrrrrrr sympathizers understand?.
Jon R….
Listen to the man, Kirk.
100% on the money.
D2
Kirk,
How could you forget the other amazing Roberts ‘full time’ player:
YOSHI TSUTSUGO
What a waste of 4 at bats per game he was for about a month, in LF almost every friggin’ game!
Ugh…
D2
Dougie, your boy Summo wrestler YT sure kicked it up a notch with the Buco’s though. Just needed a change of scenery I guess. 😉
Oh well, back to the drawing board. At least the Giants are in the WS. I look forward to seeing if Joc can help beat the Astros.
All the above reasons why Dodgers fell short are in play here. Both Robert’s and FO are to blame for letting analytics dictate Everything.. I believe we are all tired here of Robert’s lefty/righty matchups no matter what and it’s no surprise as to why Dodgers got sent home. My main reason is an inconsistent inept offense that did what they did in that 7th inning with runners on 2nd and 3rd with no out and the following 3 batters strike out. End of story. But I was right when I said at the very beginning that the offense would not be as good as last year and not having a DH had a great deal to do with it.
Paul, you and I both know what contributed to the inconsistent Line ups. Drrrrrrrrrr changed the line up on a nightly basis, no one ever knowing if they were playing, not knowing what order. Lefty righty stupidity. He allowed Bellinger to bat 4th while in his Historical slump? Costing a few games right there. It’s not like there’s no proof of the failures of this team to produce runs against good pitching. Is there a stat that shows what the team BA was with pitchers with ERA’s 4 and under compared to those with ERA’s 5 and over? The failure to play fundamental Baseball -Situational baseball WAS the reason this team failed against the better teams. They scored a lot of runs, but that’s a jaded stat as well because they would score 11 against the D-bags, then 1 against the Va-giants. D-bags pitching ERA’s over 5, Vagiants under 4. So it was obvious even with Muncy and JT in the line up they never did real well against good pitching. Hence, the need to be able to produce runs in tight moments. How many times were runners stranded on 2nd after a lead off double? Couldn’t and wouldn’t play situational baseball. They deserve to be watching the world series again….And it’s all on Drrrrrrrrrr and the FO!! their ideals need to change, or at Least flip the pendulum back to center using Both new and Old school succesful Baseball philosophies.
And yes you were right . I remember you saying this even during Last years World Series…..
Kirk, I will agree that lack of fundamental baseball skills is entirely lacking with the Dodgers. The thing I see, however, is that it’s the same way among the other 29 MLB teams as well. Just seems to be part of 21st century baseball.
Why this is so is beyond me! The quants think they’ve got the magic formula I guess. D-Rays are the poster child for the quants and have face planted twice in back to back years. Snell was absolutely dealing in Game 6 last year and Cash yanks him…two batters later Dodgers lead. End of story. This year up 1-0 in the series and up 5-0 early vs Sale at home…Red Sox advance!
Quants will win out over 162 and face plant every October! They simply can’t measure the human element such as Eddie flipping Rosario! Or Kike “Mr October” Hernandez!
Once the calendar flips to October it’s time to use the EYEBALLS! And the Noodle! Stats don’t mean Diddly! Cody Bellinger should be an excellent example thereof. Braves pitched like an MVP not a .165 hitter!
Thank you, Dougie Mc!
I am going to go with this theory….
The Dodger roster is made up of very high level athletes, athletes with pride, All-Star city.
Many times during the season I noticed what seemed to be ‘lack of interest’ from many of the players. Many times there was no intensity, no fire in their eyes….
As I have stated before, I think Roberts lost the clubhouse. Could it be that the players might have tried to sabotage Roberts in order to get him replaced? Just spit ballin’ here. Roberts, in an interview, stated there were things in the clubhouse that were left there and he was thankful. Many said he was referring to T Bauer. Maybe it was the players were voicing their displeasure with Roberts? Who knows.
What is fact, is that on numerous occasions, he made many a head scratching move. It was almost a daily occurrence.
All players go into slumps, but not the entire team, all at the same time, over a long period of time.
Time will tell. Me personally, I’d like to see a change. I’d look at Albert P as player/manager (dual role for 1 year). AP has universal respect throughout MLB.
D2
Doug, I can surely see your point. Who knows because we don’t know what goes on behind closed doors.
But someone please explain why the most glaring weakness of the 2021 season never got addressed…THE BENCH!
Cards, Braves, Giants all did a better job of addressing their respective teams’ weaknesses at the trade deadline or 2020 off-season. All were below .500 mid-way in 2021 or 2020 for the Giants.
As you say Doug…just spit ballin’
100%
Didn’t the Giants set their record for PH HR’s this year?
D2
Duh
Wow! You’re correct on several key observation’s.
I watched 130 games and the lack of intensity was obvious, especially from Justin Turner, Cody Bellinger, Cory Seager and many times Mookie Betts. The chasing outside of the strike zone and those lathargic swings by JT and Seager drove me nuts the entire season.
JT needs to be a bench player at his age. He can’t run, too slow. Bring up Cataya to catch and move Will Smith to 3rd. Let Kershaw go to Texas.
Brain Freeze (Dave Roberts). WTF can I say? There’s no defense for him leaving Buehler in when you have lefty Vesia warmed up. God there’s so much more damage control to be done here.
I was constantly irked by The Who Cares attitude exhibited by several players as well. Mookie’s post game interview was absolutely atrocious! Not at all what I expected from a former WS MVP. Let’s face it folks, we are talking about over-paid prima Donna’s here. Trying to get them to pull as one is a real tall ask! Just ask Jayce Tingler (ex Padre manager) how easy it is to keep hold of a clubhouse!
The biggest problem in SD?
Manny M
Just ask the managers of:
BALTIMORE
LOS ANGELES
SAN DIEGO
One day, MM will be a Jeopardy question under the category of “JERKS”.
D2
Lol. So True. What a loser. Waste of talent
That’s exactly why the Org needs a strict manager with the Eggs to put these guys on check. The friendly Cheer leader gig Drrrrrrrrr uses is long past it’s time….
Kirk, as much as I like DR, as long as the Dodgers win I don’t give a rats behind who heads the juggernaut. As Al Davis said “Just win baby!”
I just think it will end up the same way unless the FO will quit thinking they know better.
Lorenzo, I’ve been screaming about putting Smith at 3B. He has 486 minor league innings there. I think Dodgers were planning on Rios at 3rd but he was lost to shoulder surgery earlier this year. It’s truly remarkable how much WAR was lost to injury this year! By far most in MLB!
I’ve stated previously it’s never one thing. You can point fingers all you want. Does little good. Improve everywhere possible and win the 2022 WS please.
Thank Dodgers for a wonderful year.
lack of interest? NO MLB team wins 60% of their games despite many injuries to key players throughout the season and have little if any interest! SMH. Just think about what the free agents are trying to do in their contract year!! Kersh, Jansen, Seager, Taylor, etc. they had no interest?
You guys are all….nuts.
Joe, you see Mookie’s post game interview? “I’m not disappointed at all. “ really? Totally unacceptable! I’m make $350m, I don’t care.
The two unforgivable managerial mistakes were: (1) bringing in Julio Urias to pitch in the 8th inning of Game 2 when Blake Treinen had thrown very few pitches in the 7th inning and either Treinen or Kenley Jansen could have combined to cover the 8th and 9th innings and (2) not bringing in Alex Vescia to replace Walker Buehler in the 4th inning of Game 6 when a left handed pinch hitter was announced or at least after the pinch hitter doubled and the score was still tied. Playing Gavin Lux in center field, starting Buehler on three days rest, and never using Austin Barnes can be discussed and questioned. But those two pitching decisions were unconscionable given the lockdown Dodgers bullpen during the past two weeks.
RZ, you say 2 mistakes but really mention 5. And you are right on! These type of moves went on almost daily during the season. Not to mention the 5 previous seasons also.
Additionally for all of the #30 supporters, having to play for someone who flips coins and throws darts promotes that uninterest for the team.
Looking for change and real leadership in 2022 (Or sooner).
Please provide managerial candidates and their qualifications to replace Doc. Only serious ones, not my little league manager.
Given the situation up north, It’s hopeless to expect, but since you’re asking…I offer up Gabe Kapler as a managerial candidate. His qualifications are obvious as heading up a 107 game winning regular season, his knowledge of the game, plus his perceptiveness of up and coming talent he showed while with the Dodger organization. There’s a reason that ex-Dodger executive personnel who transferred up to the Giants organization brought along Kapler with them.
IMHO the most glaring weakness which was a strength in 2020 was THE BENCH! This weakness went completely unaddressed at the trade deadline either. I will forever feel it was short comings by the FO and their insistence of being involved in every on field decision as causing the Dodgers to come up short in 2021. Look at what the other 3 NL playoff teams did at the trade deadline or during the 2020 off-season. Dodger FO was out-maneuvered!
Nice vetting on Bauer. That’s on the FO not DR. That shaped many other roster choices. Now Dodgers are saddled with a bloated contract unless MLB or a good attorney can assist.
boy you are spinning this one big-time. We started with 8 starters, doc had to get it down to 5 – who knew we’d lose 1 to TJ, 1 to sore elbow for half the season/all the playoffs, and 1 to sexual assault, 1 became batting practice Price, and t-gon playing with the kitties. FO brings in Max S and now we have 3 starters. Barely enough, and due to misuse in the playoffs, not enough thx dead arm! as for the bench EVERYONE forgets McKinstry was getting it done in April&May before he was injured. He was the Kike replacement. bringing in tio was huge – RH bat that hit lefties!!! so no I disagree 100% with anyone saying it’s Andy Friedman’s fault we had no bench.
Andy, the FO and doc will all be back for the rumored 2022 season – I predict a strike sadly!
Joe, the info on the human dumpster fire was out there and simply disregarded. Apparently not an issue to your boy Andy. Expecting a completely unproven kid (Zach McK) to fill the shoes of a PROVEN POSTSEASON STUD like Kike is just plain STOOOOPID! I could go on and on with the disasters that get swept under the carpet by your hero. But it’s pointless as he’s not going anywhere. He’s got ownership hoodwinked. Over and out.
*Roberts is NO CLOWN…I think he works very well with the players. The way they set up the pitchers seems to be a problem AND it’s my understanding that It’s NOT his decision alone… everyone in the front office including the janitor votes on it…where does that leave him???
*THe team seemed to hit every other game in the playoffs…AND they appeared to be exhausted…the league allowed NO TIME for the teams to re-charge!
*As for the hitters…they lost too many to injuries towards the end especially Munsy & Turner…AND the magic they used to have with Joc & KiKi off the bench just wasn’t there except for Albert.
With all that said…..they still won more games than anyone else in baseball (when you add the playoffs) including the Giants!
division winners had plenty of time to recharge. Dodgers were a Wild Card, and simply ran out of gas
Joe, that is fair statement. Red Sox WC too had a 2-1 lead and ended up losing too.
Keep Andrew Friedman in the office and don’t take his calls, unless it’s asking for Dave’s advice. I’m sick of analytics in game.
The problems started with injuries… is that conditioning? And, did anyone check Trevor Bauer out beyond his ERA?
I definitely think we need a new hitting coach, someone who’s actually faced Major League pitching. Forget home runs and get some hits. The Kryptonite for us for the past couple years is RISP.
Amen Paul
Meant Dodger since 1956
So you want to get rid of the guy who literally invented launch angle and turned JD martinez, justin turners, Muncy, and CT3’s careers around – just to name a few amoung the hudreds he’s helped now.
Brilliant.
I agree about Bauer… the info was out there, but I think they were more concerned about him potentially going to a competitor. I was against this signing from the start, not because you can predict what he did, but because there were plenty of signs he had psychological problems that would eventually cause chaos because of his narcissistic tendencies.
The majority of the blame is on dumb old Roberts. Yes, there have been inconistencies offensively and defensively, but it is stupid Roberts’ who puts those guys out there. I really hope that this idiot is fired and never manages another game of baseball for the rest of his life.
Dodger Boy, I really do enjoy your passion, but you really do show your youth too.
It’s never one thing! It’s a combination. Trying to figure out one lone responsible party is foolish. Unfortunately it’s over. I’m still in disbelief.
Mis management of all facets of the game from top to bottom is a big reason for the team falling short. Ok, injuries proved too much to overcome but I COMPLETELY AGREE with you about that bench. IMHO the very worst part of this team in 2021.
This is simple. We need a manager that can manage a game, and especially a bullpen. Lux batting 5th EVER, is a big mistake. And with 4 bonafide ALL-STAR closers in the Bullpen, why are we bringing starters in relief? SCHERZER in Game 5 vs SF began the demise. The guy is with Doc 2 months, and he killed his arm. 7 Tommie John surgeries amongst the staff, and MANY other injured pitchers, because he don’t know WTF he’s doing. ATL brings in a Lefty reliever to face 3 righties….and he struck them all out. Dave, you think too much, this game isnt that difficult. If you’d like, I can come in with my 30yrs of managing experience, and show you how to manage game.
Oh puleease, both Alston and Lasorda pitched their respective pitchers until their arms fell off too! Koufax retired at 31. Hershiser only pitched 59 scoreless innings! He was taken out in the 9th inning of game 1 of the 1988 NLCS vs the Mets when he finally gave up a run after 67 consecutive scoreless innings! Lasorda said “Bulldog get off the mound your tired” Orel’s reply was “Tommy I just look like I’m tired because I just gave up my 1st run in 67 innings!” He left with a 2-1 lead, couple of hitter later? Dodgers lose 3-2!
Folks cast all your opinions about a particular individual aside. It’s never that simple to figure out why!
BTW that 1988 team was far less talented than the 2021 team was. What the 2021 Dodgers team lacked was Heart! As much as they showed it in Game 5, it was practically non-existent in game 6!
All of the above, but I’d reverse the order. #1: Fatal Robert’s decisions, #2: the roller-coaster offense we all know about, #3: starting pitching by Buehler and the others who always seem to give up playoff home runs in critical situations (Kershaw included), and #4: the inevitable injuries that every team experiences. But getting back to the Bash Roberts as #1, a great manager is one who makes decisions that overcome every other negative, and he didn’t.
Richard, doesn’t even really matter what the order is. If you want regime change fine. My contention is you will end up with the same result unless FO quits trying to be the de facto manager.
I think it’s time for Dave Roberts to move on. Wasn’t bad, it’s just time for a change. I didn’t like hearing that he wants an extension.
The active roster needs fixing for sure with all those free agents. Decisions, tough ones will need to be made.
#1 reason – it started with a FO that failed to do their research on Bauer. He already had a similar complaint filed, that they somehow overlooked. And losing Bauer set into course a chain of events that included a lot of extra bullpen days and work.
#2 reason – injuries. Plain and simple, and losing Muncy the last day of the season, when they had no option to replace him was a big blow. Losing May, Gonsolin, Kershaw, Betts and Seager for much of the season, and not resting Bellinger longer to allow him to fully heal.
#3 reason – not figuring out a new strategy (starting several years ago), when baseball owners banned together to stop unlimited spending on international amateur players. The dodgers used this to their advantage to build their farm system, now it’s empty and ranked towards the bottom of baseball.
#4 reason – over thinking their pitching matchup in the playoff, specifically bringing in Urias in game 2.
#5 reason – not making lineup adjustments when normally productive players were hurt or seriously struggling. You have to have lineups that can string hits together to win in baseball, and there were huge holes in the lineup that prevented rallies from happening.
Too much to unload here, so I’ll settle for all of the above. I selected inconsistent offense, but all of the questions were valid.
With that lineup and that pitching staff the team’s mascot could run this team.
I agree. The reasons are too numerous to repeat. Trying to find one scapegoat is just plain useless.
Let’s improve over-all and figure out a way to build team Chemistry. The Braves certainly exhibited it.
f4l – you of all people succumbing to the garbage here that our team had no chemistry, lost interest, etc. Dude, they won 106 games despite all the crap they endured over the season, more crap than any other team (ex. Bauer). they played playoff baseball for well over a month BEFORE THE PLAYOFFS STARTED. they entered postseason with only 3 starters, when they were banking on 4!! They also lost their best slugger and first baseman. As the wild card they had no rest before the NLDS started. and they still beat the best team in baseball this season in the NLDS! By the time they got to the NLCS, mistakes were made at every level of the organization due to exhaustion: Front office, Mgrs, coaches and players. Don’t bail on them now after supporting them here for the season!
Joe, maybe I’m being too harsh. My contention is that this another 1919 Black Sox story. The inconsistencies of AB’s from game to game…CT3 being caught where he was in game 1 (if it was Trea I wouldn’t feel the same way.) CT3 IS WAY TOO SMART TO HAVE GOTTEN CAUGHT THERE!
The 1-4 hitters going cold all at the same time? Really? It stinks to high heaven if you ask me. But I’m just a conspiracy nut anyway.
It was a great year. Just left a bad taste in my mouth how it ended.
That post game interview by Mookie was simply unacceptable!
Blame sleazy Donna Hill. Should have started David Price. Hire Bochy as GM/Manager!
There is no doubt a lot of that was in play. But some of Robert’s decisions really put players in tough and unnecessary spots too numerous to note here but everyone knows where the bad decisions were.
It remains a great team and looking forward to next season but have to believe there are better and deserving field managers out there, perhaps give a younger guy a try? It worked for the Giants.
Would love to see Craig Counsell as Dodger manager.
Counsell isn’t a bad manager…no WS appearances though. Just sayin.
Albert P or Mike S.
Both would kill it, providing less interference from the FO. <—– THAT is the $64 question….
Dougie, I’d be ok with the AP thing. mike S no way. AP would be the only non-Dodger acceptable. Torre and Mattingly both didn’t work, why? Both Yankees
not a bad suggestion Scotty. Not aware of what his pluses and minuses are. Is he a better in game manager than most? Is he a players manager like doc?
It starts with the front office. All the smart people left and Friedman has been among the worst GM’s in baseball since he assumed the position after Zaidi bolted for San Francisco. Before the 2020 season, Friedman traded Verdugo and a top prospect for Betts and Price. Then he signed Betts to an astronomical contract that has the Dodgers paying him $32.5 million or more a year until he turns 40. He also took on Price for three seasons and tried, but failed to trade Joc Pederson to the Angels for a minor leaguer. Luckily his incompetence worked out as Pederson was a big contributor during the post-season..
In the most recent off-season Friedman knee-jerks a decision to go all in for Baurer, watches half the bullpen walk out the door, the trades away a couple more. He informs Pederson his services are no longer wanted and Kiki Hernandez signs with Boston. Friedman replaces them with an assortment of recently released players who couldn’t hit water if they fell out of a boat.
BH for President! Dude you have hit the nail right smack on the head! I’ve been saying as much here for a while now.
AF makes splashy headlines with the Scherzer/Turner deal while at the same time sweeping his dozens of mistakes under the carpet.
“Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain…I am the great and powerful OZ!” Lol
If I’m ownership, I can him and keep Roberts!
Yeah, the offense was inconsistent. Who’s responsible for fixing that when it happens? The guy who makes out the line-up card and his staff (yet, it took them forever to turn Bellinger around).
I can’t blame the players for this team’s failures. We got all the way through the season and into the league championship series with minor leaguers and srap heap finds plugging some pretty significant holes. We also pulled off a pretty crafty deal at the deadline. Too bad we didn’t shore up the bench then as well!
Any knowledgeable follower of this team can pick off a poor decision at the time it is happening. It’s not about hindsight when you can see it happening. I don’t disagree with every unusual decision Doc makes but we can’t afford to go into a pennant race or into the post season with a guy who makes unworkable lineup choices and highly questionable in-game decisions. That bothers way more than spa days and bullpen games. We simply have to do better than that. People like Sciosia know how to manage but they need to be allowed to go against the metrics when their experience tells them to. DR has gradually turned me into a non-supporter. Why field a team this good and have it managed by a guy who hiccups recurrently in the post season?
65yr, I have been an ardent DR supporter for some time here. Unfortunately I find myself wavering now following his NLCS performance which by all means was not his shining moment. I think he had done better in the past. What I continue to struggle with is just where the boundary between what is his decision alone and those provided to him by committee lies. This is cloudy at best. Given Friedman’s track record of poor decisions, I’m willing to give DR a pass.
The roles of manager and FO need to have better separation IMO. This Saber-metric garbage works out over 162, and fails every October. The Rays are the poster child for this. Eyeballs and noodles are rewarded in October. Not nerds.
What I got tired of seeing were the batters swinging at pitches that were nearly rolling across the home plate. I realize that these pitches are designed to seem coming in low and just skimming that rectangle we see on TV. But they do the same and then drop. Why do not these batters take a chance that they are balls and make the pitcher abandon them for a while? I even saw a batter stretching across the plate to miss hitting the ball. If they must stretch across the plate or even drop to one knee to hit it, should not this action tell the batter next time that, hey, he just threw me a ball! I agree with all of the others in that what killed the Dodgers in this series was inconsistency at the plate…and no Kiki Hernandez.
Absolutely atrocious plate discipline. Watch a middle middle heater for strike one standing like a statue, then with two strikes swinging at ball in the dirt around your ankles! Arghh
My goodness. Perhaps group therapy is needed on this thread….
Lol.
Don’t Blame Dave Roberts. same problem all year long. Offense doesn’t hit with men in easy scoring position. Always swinging for the fences. If Bellinger, Seager, Taylor, and Betts would have cut down their swings, in order to just make contact from July to August, we would have won 112 games. No Giants division win, no wildcard, less stress on the bullpen, and home field advantage throughout. Its that simple.
The Braves beat us because they knew we had some glory hogs in the lineup. Who will ever forget that 7th inning? 2nd and 3rd, nobody out, then whiff, whiff, and whiff.