The Los Angeles Dodgers are a porous 6-14 in their last 20 games and an overall 19-17 on the year. Their 17 losses already matches the team’s total from the shortened 60-game season in 2020.
Of course, there’s still plenty of baseball left to be played, and the Dodgers enter play Wednesday only three games out of first place in the National League West standings.
With more room for error this year, manager Dave Roberts believes it’s unrealistic to treat every game like an elimination game. “I think that’s fair,” he answered when asked if it’s difficult to create a sense of urgency on a nightly basis in a normal season.
“I think you can in theory try to play every game like it’s Game 7, but in reality it’s not. When you look out at a 162-game season, I think there’s going to be times when you’re not getting hits, teams look lethargic. That’s every ballclub that’s not swinging the bat.
“I do know we still have a lot of good players and we’re going to win baseball games. I think to have our hair on fire for 162, it’s hard. Our guys understand it is a marathon. I don’t like how we got to .500 as far as the last couple weeks, but we are where we’re at and we’ve got to keep getting better. That’s what we’re focused on.”
While Roberts acknowledged it’s more difficult having a sense or urgency this early in the season, he can tell his players are working tirelessly to get back to their winning ways. “I think there is. And urgency is certainly different than panic,” Roberts said.
“We just expect more of ourselves. Like Max said, we’re much better than this. There’s absolutely a sense of urgency.”
Betts sees sense of urgency in Dodgers clubhouse
Like Roberts, Mookie Betts sees a sense of urgency in his teammates. “Yeah, I definitely think so. It’s still early, but every game matters,” Betts said.
“We can’t lose that sight. We have to just continue to play and turn things around.”
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