Max Scherzer’s meltdown vs Padres has Dodgers fans pulling receipts

It’s far in the past now, but Max Scherzer’s horrific start against the San Diego Padres last Friday played a defining role in booting the New York Mets out of the playoffs. Now, the Los Angeles Dodgers will face SD in the NLDS.

The Mets lost that first game of the Wild Card series 7-1. Scherzer gave up all seven runs on seven hits (four homers!) in just 4.2 innings of work. And even though Dodgers fans didn’t have a horse in the race as they were enjoying their first-round bye, they did not let Scherzer off the hook for what he did to them in 2021.

You all remember the “dead arm” that sidelined Scherzer in the NLCS. The Dodgers needed him to pitch badly with the Braves putting them on the ropes, but Scherzer backed out and LA was forced to start Walker Buehler on short rest. It didn’t go well, and now Dodgers fans are blaming Scherzer for Buehler needing Tommy John surgery this year after being wildly overworked in 2021, with that being the final straw.

Even with the hated division-rival Padres battering Scherzer, Dodgers fans didn’t care who triumphed over the three-time Cy Young winner. All that mattered was Scherzer falling short after his actions caused the Dodgers to do so last year.

Blaming manager Dave Roberts right after you signed a record three-year, $130 million contract, too? Hope the couch is extra comfy this offseason, Max.

Dodgers fans went all in on roasting Max Scherzer after his awful start

Going as far to say the Dodgers “dodged a bullet” by not re-signing Scherzer to a two-year, $72 million contract? That might be a reach. He’s still one of the best pitchers in the game and would offer LA much-needed rotation support at the moment. So let’s not let the sour grapes make our head explode now.

But reveling in his misfortune after he let down the Dodgers and then calling them out on a Zoom video with his agent, Scott Boras, right beside him? That’s fair. Watching the Mets fall embarrassingly short again after they talked trash all year and treated the regular-season series against the Dodgers in New York as their World Series? Incredible.

It’s just so obvious Scherzer was in it for the money and not winning. Reports previously suggested he would never play in New York. When the Yankees inquired about him at the 2021 trade deadline, they were told he wouldn’t waive his no-trade clause to go there.

He wouldn’t push himself in the 2021 NLCS because he needed to head into free agency without any sort of blemish so he could collect every last penny possible from Steve Cohen.

Money is a big part of the game, yes. Players deserve to be paid. But that disingenuous behavior has come back to bite him. Scherzer is a Met. The Mets Met. It’s what they do. Enjoy the next two years!

The Dodgers’ 1-2 punch of Julio Urías and Clayton Kershaw cost a fraction of Scherzer’s and Jacob deGrom’s price tags, and there’s no question both have more extensive October resumes (some Dodgers fans might even be more comfortable with Urías and Kershaw over Scherzer and deGrom).

They’re also not going to point the finger at somebody else and chase the most money when the opportunity arises. That’s why the Dodgers are more of a “team” than the Mets will ever be.

Dodgers dodged Max Scherzer drama after injury, controversy

The Los Angeles Dodgers appear to have dodged some drama by letting Max Scherzer cross the country to the New York Mets this offseason.