Steve Webb
Doc guarantees series win and then gets extended in one crazy 24 hours
CAMELBACK RANCH, AZ — Wow. Quite the day for the Dodgers’ skipper today. This morning the internet was all abuzz with Dave Roberts boldly “guaranteeing” that the Dodgers would win the 2022 World Series. And by the afternoon, the story had been supplanted by the news that Roberts has extended his contract with the team for another three seasons. Wow, indeed.
Three-year deal gives Roberts peace of mind
First things first. While the kerfuffle about the guarantee will die out by Opening Day, one thing that will impact the Dodgers long-term will be the deal the Dodgers announced on Friday. Though the terms of the deal are not known at this writing, we do know this. Doc will be helming the Dodgers until at least the end of the 2025 season.
In six years as a manager so far, Roberts has led the the team to five division titles, three National League pennants and a World Series championship in 2020.
No manager in Major League Baseball history has managed more games than Roberts with a better winning percentage than his .622 career mark. His 542 regular-season wins are fifth-most in club history. And not since Tommy Lasorda has the tenure of a Dodgers manager lasted so long.
Roberts is a perfect fit for this team
Roberts is known as a players’ manager, and that he certainly is. But more importantly, he has shown himself to be a “General Manager’s manager,” willing to implement strategies that have been handed down from on high, worked up by Andrew Friedman and the brain trust that has been crunching the numbers for the team. And it’s tough to argue results. Most teams only dream about the success ride the team has been on since Roberts took over.
To be sure, there have been second-guesses, especially during the post-season. One thinks of the early pulling of a cruising Rich Hill in the World Series as one that stands out. But I think the leash on Roberts has loosened a bit since Farhan left for San Francisco, and he seems to be trusting his gut when appropriate more often. One need only think about the wonderful job of game management that he did during the Wild Card game last year to know what a brilliant baseball mind he can exhibit.
And yes, we will win the World Series…
About that other thing, it’s of course silly, but it’s the kind of thing the Internet gobbles up with a spoon. In an interview with Dan Patrick, Roberts threw down a marker. Patrick started him off with the clause, “The Dodgers will win the World Series if…” and Doc didn’t hesitate, “if there’s a season and a postseason.” It’s bold, yeah, but it’s also a pretty boss move to just say, the only way my team doesn’t win is if there aren’t playoffs.”
Then, when Patrick, taken aback a bit by Roberts’ Pat Reilly-like guarantee tried to clarify, but Doc doubled down with: “We are winning the World Series. Put it on record.”
He went on to add an asterisk. “if our starting pitching stays healthy,” he said, finally, but quickly added, “that’s my answer. You can dig in a little bit on that, but I think it’s about our starting pitching.”
Wooboy! I like this new Dave Roberts. Let’s f*ckin’ go!
