How confident is Dodgers manager Dave Roberts that his team will be the last one standing this October? Here’s what he had to say Thursday onThe Dan Patrick Show.
The Dodgers were prohibitive favorites to win the World Series (+500 odds on Caesars Sportsbook), even before signing former MVP Freddie Freeman to a six-year contract. Of course, that’s been the case for years now, and the Dodgers—owners of MLB’s highest payroll at an unprecedented $273.46 million—still have only one World Series ring to show for it. In fact, Los Angeles didn’t even win its own division last year, finishing runner-up to the Giants in the NL West (though the Dodgers would end up beating them in their first-round playoff series).
It’s a testament to L.A.’s absurd depth that even after losing a three-time Cy Young winner (Max Scherzer), a former World Series MVP (Corey Seager) and an All-Star closer (Kenley Jansen), the Dodgers are still as well-equipped as any team in baseball, boasting a lineup Jeff Passan recently characterized as the best he’s seen in nearly 20 years covering the sport. Fortunately for MLB’s other 29 teams, championships are rarely won on paper. If they were, wealthy clubs like the Yankees and Mets would have a lot more hardware in their trophy cases.
Roberts has every reason to be confident in the star-studded Dodgers, an obscenely talented group led by a quartet of former MVPs (Freeman, Mookie Betts, Clayton Kershaw and Cody Bellinger). But if we learned anything from seeing the 88-win Braves slug their way to a title last fall, it’s that the regular season isn’t always the best indicator of playoff success.
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