(Fleischer Studios – circa 1937)
* * *
As a team, the 2025 Dodgers are playing shoddy baseball.
Losses are going to happen. Even great teams lose 60 games during a season. But watching some players continue to perform at bush league level is beyond frustrating.
Old school Dodgers fans remember when their team was known for being fundamentally sound in all phases of the game: pitching, offense, defense, and base running. When players made physical and mental errors, they were called out by the captain, or their teammates, coaches, and manager. It was not uncommon for teams to hold their own kangaroo court, with occasional benchings and/or fines from the manager.
Dave Roberts is known as a players’ manager, an on-field leader who understands the ups and downs of a long regular season and who consistently has the players back. But there comes a point when players must be held accountable for continuing to make the same mistakes. Starting pitchers who run up their pitch counts that put a strain on the relievers. Outfielders who misplay fly balls, throw to wrong bases and overthrow cutoff men, pitchers failing to field their position, hitters failing to hit behind base runners, awful base running gaffs.
The front office shares responsibility with some head-scratching roster decisions. Failing to address the center field black hole that was a carryover from last season, adding pitchers like Noah Davis, Matt Sauer, and Luis Garcia to the roster, and keeping Chris Taylor on the roster when Roberts only uses him to pinch run and as a late-inning defensive replacement.
(Alex Gallardo)
What does it take to play Dodgers baseball?
There isn’t a simple answer, but a good place to start is for everyone – executives, coaches, and players – to hold themselves and each other accountable for playing Dodgers baseball — the best roster possible with strong fundamentals in all phases of the game.
Let’s go Dodgers, you’re better than this!
* * * * * *