Los Angeles Dodgers: The biggest mistakes to avoid in 2019
By Jason Reed
No manager is perfect and there are some big mistakes that Dave Roberts must avoid making for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2019.
The widespread opinion on Dave Roberts really is a mixed bag with fans of the Los Angeles Dodgers. After Roberts and the club agreed to an extension in the offseason, the true opinions of the fans came out, of course, via social media.
There are the Roberts (and front office) die-hards who will defend any move he makes as the right move. There are also the nitpickers who go back and find every decision that didn’t pan out and throw that in Roberts’ face — because hindsight is 20/20.
The reality of Roberts as a manager lies somewhere in between. Has Roberts made some questionable choices? Absolutely. Pulling Rich Hill out of Game 4 of the 2019 World Series haunts me to this day.
However, in his defense, it appears as if the front office and analytics department has too much say in the matter. At some point you have to let the manager manage, hopefully, the 2019 World Series was an eye-opener.
Not every decision that does not work out is a bad one and most times Roberts has really good reasoning for the moves that are being made. Baseball is a tricky game, after all.
Roberts is a great coach who could become the first manager in the history of Major League Baseball to make the postseason four times in a row to start his managing career. No, we are not counting that one game managed with the San Diego Padres.
Roberts is a smart guy and appears to be an excellent locker room presence for this team. In 2019, he (and the front office) have to use those smarts and avoid making these mistakes.