Dodgers: Four of the Biggest Overreactions From the Losing Streak

The Dodgers Will Not Win the Division and Will Miss the Playoffs

Going all the way back to when this stretch started, the Dodgers were 91-36 (.717) and 21 games ahead of the Diamondbacks for first place in the NL West. When the month of August concluded the team’s magic number to clench a playoff spot was under 10. There wasn’t a concern of IF the Dodgers would win the division or clench a playoff spot, but it was a matter of when.

Well, the Dodgers just recently clenched a playoff berth on the night that Clayton Kershaw ended the streak. Regardless of how poorly the team played in their last 17 games, the club still had 94 wins on the season. Theoretically, the team could have lost every game for the remainder of the season and would have still been in a prime spot to make the playoffs.

Since 1996, which was when the Wild Card era began,  98% of teams that have won 94 games in the season have made the playoffs, per Business Insider. So obviously the Dodgers were in a good position to make the postseason, and this was just an egregious take.

Now the division, there was some reason for worry, but not too much. As I mentioned above, the Dodgers were 21 games ahead of the Dbacks and the Dbacks were able to slice that in half during this rough stretch. Today the division lead sits at 9.5 games and the Dodgers magic number to clench is down to 7. The Dbacks made a nice run keeping the Dodgers honest. But the boys in blue will be popping’ champagne some time next week. I’m thinking on the road against Philadelphia.

Dave Roberts Should Be Fired

I think this is perhaps my favorite one out of all the egregious takes. Reigning defending Manager of the Year and quite frankly, the favorite to win this season through the midway point of the season, should be fired.

Dave Roberts is 185-123 through his first two seasons as a big leagues manager for the Dodgers. That translates to a .600 winning percentage and is the best in baseball during that stretch. The thought of firing the reigning MOY is hilarious even to give a thought, but some fans had their reasons.

Roberts has the accolades to secure his jobs. But in the eyes of fans, Roberts doesn’t do an adequate job to deserve being the Dodgers managers. Why? Because they haven’t won a World Series? My response? For crying out loud, the man has only coached the club in one postseason!

But in defense of the fans who supported this hot take Roberts could be frustrating at times. Roberts continues to over-analyze the daily match-ups and continuously tinkers with starting lineup and batting order. Not to mention the fact that he continues to call on Pedro Baez in high-leverage situations. To some extent I get it.

Dave Roberts doesn’t show much emotion after loses in his post-game conference. He doesn’t express anger or frustration over the team’s performances and settles for answers like: “We’re going to continue to do what we’ve been doing all season.” To add insult to injury, when Roberts does get mad he gets mad at the fans for booing a player that continues to blow games for the Dodgers.

The truth here is that Roberts is the perfect manager for this club. He’s a young, energetic manager that communicates well with the mixture of veterans and young players on the roster. He may be too hard headed in certain situations, but he’ll smooth that out with experience. He’s dealt with a lot since joining the Dodgers. Outside of high expectations from the ownership and the city of LA, Roberts has had to manage a roster with an abundance of talent (I know, first world problem for an MLB manager). He’s communicated perfectly with everyone, including the fans so to ask for his job is not only a bit premature, but also a bit Bratty.

The Front Office Should Be Fired

This one is also one of my personal favorites. At the July 31st trade deadline, there was a lot of speculation as to what the Dodgers would do to improve a team that was arguably the best in franchise history. The task came to Andrew Friedman and Farhan Zaidi.

Friedman and Zaidi stepped up to the plate and made the biggest splash they could make, trading for Yu Darvish. Since becoming a Dodger, Darvish has not been the shutdown number two the media was making him out to be. Darvish has been extremely hit or miss with the Dodgers. In 7 starts, Darvish is 3-3 with a 4.34 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 37 1/3 innings. Those stats are far from the dominant number two we were advertising Darvish to be for the Dodgers.

So naturally, fans reacted, calling for the jobs of Friedman and Zaidi. Fans were complaining the front office did not make the right trade and should have traded for Verlander instead of Darvish. These fans do not understand that the Dodgers did not want to eat up the hefty contract Verlander is due over the next two seasons and the club’s desire to stay under the luxury tax and keep their top prospects.

Keep in mind, these fans are also the ones who complained when the front office did not make the big trade at the deadline for Cole Hamels, Chris Sale, or Chris Archer. These fans were willing to part ways with Corey Seager, Julio Urias, or even Cody Bellinger if it meant trading for one of those top available arms. Instead the front office held onto their top prospects and they are the reason why this club is poised to make a deep postseason run.

I’m not saying Darvish hasn’t been a dud. But to call for the jobs of Friedman and Zaidi is insane. To think about how well these two have bolstered the Dodgers farm system, while putting out a playoff caliber team in their three years with the Dodgers it’s crazy to even think of letting them leave the Dodgers. There’s more to baseball than just assembling a super team. These two are one of the best in the business at controlling the product that is on the field at the big league level and in the farm system.

The Sports Illustrated Cover Curse

More from Dodgers Way

• Kevin Kiermaier being ‘top target’ to replace Cody Bellinger is bad sign for Dodgers
• Are the Dodgers really prepared to hand Shohei Ohtani a blank check?
• Dodgers fans shouldn’t dismiss interest in Dansby Swanson for this reason
• Giants laughably sign pitcher that Dodgers absolutely own
• Dave Roberts’ quote about Padres in NLDS should motivate Dodgers

This hot take has some reasoning, but is child play to think of it being true. The Dodgers were the best team on the planet before August 24th. They were 91-36 with a .717 winning percentage and a +223 run differential. That was 12 games better than anyone else in the league.

On August 24th the Sports Illustrated Magazine dropped the latest edition with the Dodgers on the cover. The Dodgers won on August 24th and 25th, but after that is when the streak of losing series (5) and 17 game stretch started! Coincidence? Probably.

Let’s be mindful here the Dodgers were winning at a .717 wining percentage that was unsustainable. Continuing at that pace would have put the Dodgers tied for the MLB record for most wins in a season (116). The Sports Illustrated cover gave the Dodgers more publicity, but the reality is the club was due for regression at some point in the season. It just so happened to be when everybody was watching.

The Dodgers and several Dodger media outlets had fun with the thought of the jinx. Dave Roberts even poked the bear over a week ago when asked about the SI curse. There were broadcast on SportsNetLA to help “end” this curse, and I even recall hearing Roggin and Rodney bring in a psychic to the studio on AM570 to remove the curse for the Dodgers.

At the beginning of all this nonsense talk, it was all fun and jokes. But when the Dbacks pulled within ten games of the division and the Dodgers set their worst losing streak in LA history, things got serious. It just turns out the Dodgers didn’t need a psychic, or a cleanse, they just needed Clayton Kershaw.

Next: Jansen for Team MVP

As I mentioned earlier, losing suck. As a fan, you are entitled to get over emotional on the way your favorite team performs. There’s a reason why the word “fan” stands for fanatic. But at the end of the day, before bashing the team you love most, take what’s going on with perspective. Once a fan can understand the point of view of a team things become a little more clearer.