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Dodgers: Dave Roberts’ guarantee should worry LAD fans

Adam Weinrib
Adam Weinrib

Dodgers Way

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - OCTOBER 18: Manager Dave Roberts of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates with his team following their 4-3 victory against the Atlanta Braves in Game Seven of the National League Championship Series at Globe Life Field on October 18, 2020 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts tempted fate with a guarantee after Los Angeles advanced to the World Series.

The Dodgers completed an NLCS comeback of epic proportions on Sunday night, winning Game 7 late after a game-tying blast by Kiké Hernández was followed with a tape-measure Cody Bellinger shot.

For three consecutive mid-October days, it was an outright pleasure to be a Dodgers fan.

But after the game wrapped, Dave Roberts took to the microphone and made every Rays fan (is there more than one of those?) in the nation confident when he declared that 2020 was, in fact, the time for the Dodgers to finish this thing off.

“This year is our year! This is our year!” might’ve sounded great to the 10,000 reduced-capacity diehards in the building in Arlington, but that much louder sound you’re hearing is metropolitan Los Angeles groaning collectively.

Why? Why, Dave?! It’s the type of thing you always want to scream, but sorry, you simply can’t scream it until the deed is done. Just one more round, then you can scream.

We do understand why Roberts is vibing this way, though, considering he basically just pitched a perfect game through Games 5-7. Specifically, the manner in which he closed out Game 7 (three exceptional innings from Julio Urias) felt extremely different from the Ghosts of Roberts Past. What does he do if this situation presents itself last season? Kershaw for the ninth? Kenley?

That adept managing is a very specific reason why Roberts probably feels like this rejuvenated team might very well lead him to the promised land.

But you can’t say that out loud! That’s when the ghosts’ll get ya.

The World Series starts on Tuesday night in Arlington, with Clayton Kershaw likely on the mound on full rest. This season unlike any other will conclude with the Dodgers’ third shot in four years to capture the elusive hardware that marks a champions.

And you’ve got to spend the next 24 hours trying to forget that Roberts might’ve jinxed himself yet again.

Adam Weinrib

Adam Weinrib

Adam Weinrib is a Content Director on the FanSided network, and has been the co-editor at Yanks Go Yard and Dodgers Way for 4 years. He also co-hosts The Baseball Insiders Podcast twice weekly, alongside FanSided MLB insider Robert Murray, as well as the Yanks Go Yard Podcast. Previously, he was a Senior Editor at 12up.com, and has been covering MLB and NFL for eight years. Previously, he was a headline and features contributor at ClickHole and Onion Sports, as well as the Associate Producer of the ESPN 30 for 30 film "Believeland". An avowed fan of the New York sports teams -- specifically the Yankees -- as well as the North Carolina Tar Heels, you can find Adam complaining mid-game on Twitter, as well as on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn if the game goes really poorly.