The Los Angeles Dodgers have been eliminated from the Division Series (DS) for the second consecutive year, and fans are generally negative about the firing of manager Dave Roberts.
As of 9 p.m. ET today, 3,822 fans had responded to a poll posted by Dodger Nation on social media asking, “Do you generally approve of the job Roberts has done this season?” with 47.7 percent saying yes.
The negative response was 36%, 11.7% lower than the positive response. 16.3% said they weren’t sure.
Sports Illustrated (SI) commented, “It seems like there are still a lot of fans calling for Roberts to be fired, but I haven’t heard anyone calling for president Andrew Friedman to be fired,” and “Roberts is just doing his job with the roster the front office has given him. He’s done a really good job this year,” he said, giving Roberts high praise.
According to Dodger Nation, Roberts had a meeting with the organization’s brass after the team lost Game 1 and Game 2 of the DS at home and was assured that he “shouldn’t worry” about his job if the team was eliminated from the DS.
The Dodgers, who won the NL West with 100 regular-season wins, lost the first game of the DS against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium on Aug. 8, 2-11, after starter Clayton Kershaw gave up six runs in the first inning, and were swept in the second game, 2-4, after a poor performance by starter Bobby Miller and a silent batting lineup. They followed that up with a 2-4 loss in Game 3 in Phoenix to fall three games short of advancing to the NL Championship Series.
The Dodgers were also eliminated last year, losing to the San Diego Padres in the DS in three games to one after setting a franchise record with 111 regular-season wins. Two consecutive 100-win seasons without a postseason berth is a recipe for fan outrage. But in reality, the “good job Roberts” sentiment prevails.
There are two main reasons for the Dodgers’ early exit from the postseason. One is the failure to add to the starting lineup at the trade deadline last summer, and the other is the struggles of key hitters, particularly Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, two of the best table-setters in the game, who went 1-for-11 and 1-for-10, respectively, in Game 3 of the DS. 안전놀이터
Even so, there is a fair amount of criticism of Roberts’ timing of pitching changes, especially in Game 3, where he consistently sat on his hands while starter Lance Lynn was hit by four home runs in three innings.
While Roberts hasn’t had much fun in the postseason, he’s arguably the best manager of all time in the regular season. The Dodgers have won 10 district titles in their last 11 consecutive postseason appearances. They’ve also won 100 games in four straight seasons, starting in 2019, not including the 2020 shortened season. This is a first in the major leagues.
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