Plaschke: Dodgers’ NLDS loss falls on Betts, Freeman, players

for days afterwards The biggest disappointment in Dodgers historyFans were blaming it hard as if it was an ugly yellow towel.

Fire Dave Roberts! Fire Andrew Friedman! Team Sale! Hire a bird scientist!

DodgersHistoric collapse vs San Diego Padres In the National League Division Series, this past weekend has fingered enough to take all the gauntlets they won’t need until February.

All but one of the notable groups appear to have been accused of dereliction of duty.

Everyone was blamed but the Dodgers players themselves.

Frankly, that’s on them.

Roberts had a poor seventh game Its the decisive game 4 and still needs more help hidden away. Friedman failed to get the starting pitcher during Summer trade deadline disaster And he needs to rethink his club culture.

But, for once, none of the usual rascals were the biggest cause of embarrassment.

That’s one of the $260 million gamers that came out on the cheap.

This is one on careless bat That stood at 0.147 with the runners in the scoring position, nearly 130 points below their league-leading average in the regular season.

This is one on heavy glove that has consistently failed to make an impact or create a game-changing game.

This one is in the business group of club veterans who didn’t show the kind of fire necessary to match freshmen Padres and their crazy fans. Where was Kirk Gibson when they needed him? Where was their bulldog?

This one’s on the Mookie Betts, who has a $365 million contract with the team and needs to start acting like him. He had two hits in four games, hit .143, boo kee

This one on Justin Turner, also a two-stroke, hit .154, the captain of the team that needed to carry a little more load.

This one is on Trea Turner, a potential free agent who Failed Strike in Game 2 It was the beginning of the end, nice to meet you.

This one is on Will Smith, a three-stroke, .188 hitting medium, squeezed player pressure.

This one is on Cody Bellinger. He had one hit out of seven bats with four strokes, the good they needed Send it to another placeCurrently.

“Obviously everyone wants a clear answer, and I think if you’re going to cut it down to its simplest form, in the regular season, we’ve led baseball in every stat category with sprinters in the scoring positions…. In this series, we haven’t been very good,” Friedman said Tuesday. “The question is, is it baseball? Or are there things we can do to improve it? Are there levers we can pull, are there things that put us in a better position out there? “

There are things that need to be improved. There are plenty of levers to pull. But looking closely through the smoke of this particular wreck, one can look beyond Roberts and Friedman and see the harsh expressions of a team that simply cannot summon the sense of urgency required to go five games against a desperate opponent.

In this group of superstars they had so successful a fourth-highest regular season win total in baseball history, someone needed to put this club on their shoulders and carry it through that first treacherous move. This is how it is done. This is how every team hoping for the championship does it.

Philadelphia Phillies owns Bryce Harbor. I have Padres Mane Machado. The Houston Astros own Jordan Alvarez.

Before Game Four, the Dodgers talked about what a potential elimination game would feel like any other.

“We can’t start adding extra pressure, especially from the inside…. It’s still the same game we’ve been playing since February.”

no not like that. The postseason is a different season and the Dodgers had to realize that, yet they quietly moved forward as if it was June.

If you think about it, the only Dodgers team that has Won the world championship During their current 10-year period of dominance, it was that game that was played in the most post-season environment outside of October in history.

It was 2020, there were a few fans in the stands, and every big game was played at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.

“A lot of our guys have a lot of experience in the post-season, and they’re not intimidated at the moment,” Friedman protested.

However, unlike the cheery Dodgers champions of past seasons – remember, Fred Claire signed Kirk Gibson just because he might cause a ruckus – these dodgers aren’t built for the moment, but for a long time.

Friedman looking for a crane? What about off-season possession that will produce the club captain with some new fire? He must be a daily player. It has to be Patrick Beverly in a ball.

Betts was not created to do this. Freddy Freeman is so much fun to do this. Will Smith is too quiet to do that.

And it’s not the manager’s job to do that, Roberts has other things on his plate.

Like, figuring out how to successfully navigate stress in the October rounds.

No, Roberts wasn’t fired, Friedman confirmed that Tuesday, and that was no surprise.

Roberts has the highest winning percentage of any manager for six years in baseball history, a stint that included six playoffs, three World Championship games, and one short season championship. Plus, are you legally allowed to fire any baseball manager after 111 wins?

However, domestic criticism of this manager reached critical mass this week after a chaotic elimination game once again got Roberts’ fingerprints.

The shooter pulled out too early. Loyal star used too late. A misunderstanding became a hit. Fans of Dodgers have seen this before. A heavy loss in at least three other postseason losing series was painted with the same brush.

It was chaos again, and Roberts knows the chatter is there again, but he said he had an answer for that.

“Honestly, I really didn’t care about it,” Roberts said in a phone interview on Tuesday. “What I do know is that there was a lot of work, preparation and thought that went into giving the players the best chance of success.”

Friedman supported him, saying, “Personally, I don’t think the criticism Dave received was fair.”

Much of the enthusiasm on both men arose from the perception that Roberts was compelled to follow a text written by Friedman, an idea that Friedman vehemently denied.

Friedman was annoyed when asked if Roberts was allowed to make his own decisions within the game.

“One hundred percent,” he said. “And we answered this a lot.”

When told of Friedman’s statement, Roberts confirmed it.

“Everything we do, there’s information, and I welcome it all…. There are a lot of scenarios I have to be prepared for,” he said. “But, in the end, do I make the decisions? definitely.”

In this case, while Friedman is looking to change the game at the club, he also needs to give Roberts a little more help in the dugout. The game speeds up. Roberts can get lost in numbers. He needs a reminder to deal with his eyes.

One decision Roberts said he didn’t guess was Warranty year last spring This team will win the world championship.

“I don’t regret it…. I think it showed how much I believe in the players and the organisation.” “I don’t think my spring training quote had any effect on my four matches in October. Words are powerful, but my words are not that strong.”

However, will he make the same promise next spring? what do you think?

“I won’t guarantee that next year,” he said, “but my belief in this organization is just as strong.”

Fans of Angry Dodgers will need to see some changes before sharing this belief.

While Roberts and Friedman have a lot of work to do, this time those changes should start with the Dodgers players themselves.