Dodgers: Giants Player Claps Back at Dave Roberts

Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford responded to Dave Roberts' bold prediction that the Dodgers would win the World Series.

Hope springs eternal on Opening Day. Every team and every fan, well, except for maybe the Orioles, Pirates, and Athletics, can convince themselves that their respective team has what it takes to win it all. 

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts doesn't need to convince himself. He firmly believes that LA will be winning their second championship in three seasons. During spring training, Roberts guaranteed that LA would win it all. In fact, he guaranteed it twice.  

He didn't stop there. Doc then tripled down when talking to reporters during the exhibition series against the Angels.

Predictably, Roberts' comments made the rounds. Giants manager Gabe Kapler didn't take the bait, but shortstop Brandon Crawford had a bit firmer of a reaction.

“He probably thought that last year, too. A manager saying that out loud in a public interview is a little surprising, but I think every manager with a good team thinks that going into any spring. Baseball’s such a long season, you never know what’s going to happen. I’m not going to sit here and say that we are going to win the World Series, but that is our goal at the end of the year.”

Crawford and Doc agree on one thing - winning the World Series should be every team's goal at the start of the season. 

After acquiring Freddie Freeman this offseason, there's already plenty of pressure on the Dodgers to win it all. Perhaps this is just Roberts' way of embracing it.

Roberts and the Dodgers do boast a strong recent track record of playoff success. They've played in  four of last five NLCS and three of the last five World Series. 

It's a fine list of accomplishments for the franchise, but it will be referenced very little if the Dodgers fail to win it all this season.