Letters to Sports: Dave Roberts deserves a contract extension. Or does he?
Amen to Dylan Hernández’s plea for an extension of Dave Roberts’ contract. In addition to Hernández’s reasons, add that Roberts manages a roster that contains players 15 years apart in age, rookies as well as Hall of Famers and players who speak three different languages. And he does all this while keeping everyone calm and confident in the dugout. His people skills are far more important then putting together lineups or making in-game changes.
With all the great players the Dodgers have had over the past decade, one could argue that any decent manager could have taken them to the playoffs. But in L.A. the goal is not just to get to the playoffs — it’s to win a championship. The problem is that once in the playoffs, Roberts’ pitching decisions are often disastrous. With better decisions in 2017 and 2019, the Dodgers would likely have won in both those years. His perennial mantra that if he had it to do over again, he would do the same thing is really irritating.
The Dodgers had a Hall of Fame manager in Walter Alston. He managed the Dodgers from 1954 through 1976, signing 23 one-year contracts. Alston won four World Series titles and seven National League pennants. The Dodgers were not disrespectful to their manager, the players did not see Alston as a weak leader, and his one-year contracts were not an obstacle to winning. Current Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has not received an extension on his contract and it might be a distraction to the team? Really?
If pitching is 75% or more in importance, the obvious must be stated: The Dodgers are indeed in trouble come playoff time. We all knew ace Tyler Glasnow wouid go down and Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched once a week in Japan.
The 162-game season means very little unless, and until, L.A. gets three or more hurlers who will be healthy in October.
Truly surprising is how surprised the Dodgers organization seemingly is with the respective injury breakdowns of key offseason pitching acquisitions Tyler Glasgow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Their respective history with arm injuries was common knowledge around the entire MLB. That Glasgow made it into July without a trip to the injured list was the only real surprise.
Every year, it appears it’s a right of passage for every Dodgers pitcher that is under contract to at some point be put on the injured list or out for the season. This is a direct reflection and indictment of the pathetic coaching and training staffs. It isn’t a coincidence any longer, it’s an epidemic. In baseball’s past, at any level, pitching injuries as those today were rare. Today, they are as common as breathing. When you are coached to throw as hard as you can instead of being coached to actually pitch, you will ruin your arm or shoulder. When you do not get your body and arm into shape, you will ruin your arm or shoulder. It’s time for a change within this organization or they will continue to be perennial runners-up while spending more money than some country’s GDP.