Dave Roberts is Having His Best Year as Dodgers Manager, What's Different?
The 2023 Dodgers are much like the original Iron Man suit from 2008's Iron Man. "Built in a cave with a box of scraps!" Jokes aside, the club entered spring training with a new look roster and very different expectations than in years past.
At least in the eyes of baseball pundits.
The presumed goal was to cut costs and save to sign Shohei Ohtani next offseason. In reality, it was to rework the makeup of the roster and build a better 26-man group to get over the hump in October.
With several new faces and without his top clubhouse lieutenant Justin Turner, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts seemingly had his toughest task yet since taking the job ahead of the 2016 season.
All that he has done is put together possibly his best season at the helm in Los Angeles.
Yes, the roster still isn't exactly cheap, but it's not laden with the same type of talented players that put together a 111 win regular season in 2022.
In place of Justin Turner you have savvy veterans like Miguel Rojas and Jason Heyward. Instead of Trea Turner and Cody Bellinger, you'll find your James Outmans and Jason Heyward.
High character guys mixing with the incumbents and some rookies give the Dodgers, perhaps, their most dynamic roster in recent memory.
And Dave is seemingly pulling all the right levers to help guide this club to another division.
Roberts' exceptional job piloting the ship was the topic of conversation in a recent edition of the Blue Heaven Podcast on Dodgers Nation TV on YouTube. Doug McKain and I discuss the differences with Doc this season and how the lessons learned over the last seven postseasons might have finally made him a complete manager.
Watch below or at this link and while you're on YouTube, subscribe to the channel where an authentic Mookie Betts jersey is being given away to one lucky subscriber once the 70,000 subs mark is reached.
