The Los Angeles Dodgers have played poor baseball for quite some time now, and it’s been a combination of bad offense, bullpen meltdowns and sloppy defense.
They’re just 6-11 since July 31, 14-15 since the All-Star break and 19-21 since the start of July.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has called on his club to play with more urgency and focus, but his comments have yet to translate into on-field results.
With their struggles, there’s some belief the Dodgers could just be treading water and waiting for the postseason. They’ve made the playoffs every year under Roberts, and after back-to-back World Series titles, the regular season just doesn’t bring the same energy.
Could a lot of their veteran players just be waiting to flip a switch and lock in once the postseason comes around?
“I hope that’s not the case,” Roberts said. “I’d be very disappointed if anyone in the clubhouse felt that way, because we are a Wild Card team again. I just think what’s made us really good is how we’ve gone about each day in all facets of the game.”
The Dodgers fell into a similar lull last season, and Roberts noted that players could increase their intensity and turn things around once October hit. However, it’s still not something he wants to see become the norm.
“I do think a switch can be flipped,” Roberts explained last year. “But it doesn’t feel good saying that, because I think there’s a certain way you go about things and each day should be equally important.
“Every little play, pitch, should be equally important. How you do anything is how you do everything, that adage, I believe in that.
“Again, when you’re playing a long season, it’s hard to be that locked in every single pitch. But I’m not going to not try to ask our guys to do that.”
The Dodgers ended up turning things around and finished out the 2025 season strong before going on to win the World Series. Whether they can do that again remains to be seen.
Dodgers offensive struggles
One key factor in their slump is the club’s lack of offense. Roberts has attributed that to players not having a plan when they step up to the plate.
“That’s what it comes down to,” Roberts said. “You swing at a first pitch that’s a ball out of hand, yeah, you have two more strikes, but that still flips the count.
“So I think that urgency of every single pitch is important. I don’t think that we have that intent. Some guys are scuffling with their swings and things like that, which is real. But I think other guys are not valuing every single pitch.”
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