There have been few stretches this season where the Los Angeles Dodgers have fired on all cylinders. Of late, the bullpen and lack of offensive production have hindered the club.
As a result, the Dodgers have not only fallen behind the Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League West standings, but also been leapfrogged by the Colorado Rockies and settled into third place in the division.
Though frustrating, the mounting losses during the month of August have not impacted the Dodgers’ approach or focus night in and night out. Many point to manager Dave Roberts and his steady presence as reason for that.
And Roberts is who Friedman credited for not allowing the club to get down on themselves, and the Dodgers president of baseball operations is optimistic better days are ahead, per Andy McCullough of the L.A. Times:
“I think Doc and our coaches have done a tremendous job of continuing to stay positive and helping to prepare our guys go into games,” Friedman said. “I think we all share in the optimism that that day is going to be the day that things turn.
“Obviously, it hasn’t happened in the last couple weeks. I think we all share that optimism, that we have a really talented team that hasn’t played like one in the last few weeks, but that we will place bets on not only what this team is capable of, but what this team will do.”
Roberts has previous experience in guiding the Dodgers through a rocky stretch as
Los Angeles endured a 1-16 stretch that coincided with their appearance on the cover of Sports Illustrated, which asked if they were the “Best. Team. Ever?”
The Dodgers overcame that, won eight of 10 games heading into the postseason and came within one win of a World Series championship.
While there’s plenty of ground to be made up in the NL West with only 32 games remaining this season, the Dodgers have seven remaining with the Diamondbacks and six against the Rockies.
Only Kenley Jansen, Matt Kemp and Clayton Kershaw were on the 2012 Dodgers roster that missed the postseason. They were also part of the 2013 club that went on a remarkable summer stretch to overtake the Diamondbacks in the NL West standings.
