The fireworks at Game 2 of the Dodgers-Padres National League Division Series were, to put it nicely, crazy. Much of it was the Padres’ fault, of course — how could anyone not be angered by Fernando Tatis Jr.? — but Dodgers fans also did not help their team’s image, especially when balls and trash were thrown on the field. To top it all off, Ken Rosenthal described the “Sinister Sling” in an article for The Athletic, which led to his exclusion from the Padres bench in Game 3.
Manny Machado launched a warmup ball into the Dodgers’ bullpen that was a bit too fast and too close to Dave Roberts for the Dodgers’ liking. Roberts described it as “unsettling” and claimed that “there was intent behind it,” and the Dodgers went so far as to file a complaint with MLB – a futile exercise. Nothing came of it, no one was penalized, and the Dodgers lost that game 10-2 before losing Game 3 to fall behind San Diego by one game.
But they came back with a vengeance in Game 4 to shut out the Padres, and during the winner-take-all Game 5, it appeared like the Padres had simply given up and chosen to call it quits.
With Game 2 over a week behind them and the Dodgers’ NLCS hopes alive, Roberts acknowledged to deliberately exaggerating the situation with Machado.
“It was [designed to take the pressure off his own players after their 10-2 loss in Game 2],” he explained (subscription required). “As a manager, you never want to make it about yourself. In that case, I felt it would be beneficial to remove some of the burden from our team. Manny and I have a great relationship. I’d take him any day. But I don’t believe that diversion was a terrible thing for our team. They replied by having my back.”
Dave Roberts admits to a deliberate overreaction to the Dodgers-Manny Machado beef during NLDS Game 2.
The funniest part of all of this is that during the initial press conference, when Roberts described the ball-throwing as “unsettling,” he also alluded to a strained relationship with Machado during their time together with the Dodgers, before essentially dismissing that sentiment and complimenting Machado instead.
Roberts was clearly seeking for a way to energize his team, and while it took two losses for that fire to ignite, they responded admirably in Games 4 and 5. They genuinely shown fire and fight, two qualities that had been severely missing in the face of the Padres’ perennial inferiority mindset.
If Roberts felt compelled to engage in some crazy mind-gaming as a manager, that’s great. A little bush league, but really great.
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