Brewers' Pat Murphy perfectly summed up Dave Roberts' Dodgers burden

In every conceivable way, the Milwaukee Brewers outclassed the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS. They out-played the Dodgers, they out-prepared the Dodgers, and they especially out-coached the Dodgers.

There's a reason Pat Murphy has won two consecutive Manager of the Year titles and might be on his way to a third. The Brewers' skipper just always seems to push the right buttons at the right time. The Brewers, like their manager, are always multiple steps ahead, something Roberts himself acknowledged right at the start of the series.

Roberts, meanwhile, made a number of questionable decisions throughout the four-game sweep that drew the ire of every Dodgers fan watching. So, leave it to Murphy to defend his rival, profusely telling the media that LA's manager has the hardest job in the sport.

Dave Roberts' "tough" job description doesn't grant him excuses for NLCS disaster-class

From a competitor's standpoint, Murphy's sentiment is understandable. Roberts has won three World Series titles in the past seven years and five pennants in the last 10. Factor in 10 division titles, and you've got a skipper with an unprecedented résumé of success in the 21st century.

Success, of course, breeds expectations. And the expectations for the Dodgers in 2026 were simple: three-peat or bust. Heck, the inevitability of their dominance has been the main factor cited by both players and owners ahead of the impending lockout, which their spending habits have played a major role in accelerating.

In those circumstances, the pressure facing Roberts is deserving of some sympathy. There was really no margin for error in the results he brought to the table this year, which is why his job is so "tough," despite the fact that it seems like he and his team can just cruise through the regular season.

Still, Murphy's analysis of the situation is generous; he knows he ran circles around Roberts in the NLCS. Whether it the idea to intentionally walk Brice Turang in Game 2 to get to William Contreras, leaving Blake Snell on the mound for far too long in Game 3, or his refusal to go with an all-hands-on-deck approach in Game 4, the Dodgers' skipper invited lots of room for questioning with his decision-making.

Given how good the Brewers looked in their quest for revenge, maybe those choices didn't really matter in the grand scheme of things. But at the end of the day, Roberts did the Dodgers no favors in their quest to win the 2026 NL pennant. By every conceivable definition of his job as manager, that's an unacceptable performance.

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