Dodgers News: Dave Roberts Not Worried About Team Getting Lazy
Life becomes easier when you know you've made the playoffs. This doesn't mean it's time to take any days off as the true grind has finally began.
The Dodgers clinching the division this early brings joy throughout the team as the team can rest their players and experiment with different rotations heading into the postseason. Of course, the natural response for players, it might be assumed, would be to take some days off.
This narrative of course isn't the case as the point of being in the MLB is to try and win every single game. If that isn't your objective, what exactly are you doing?
Dave Roberts has taken exception to claims that his team has been getting lazy (quotes via Jack Harris, The Los Angeles Times).
“If you start seeing our guys get lazy, then come talk to me. Our guys are smart enough to know, it matters.”
If being the first team to reach 100 wins isn't evident enough of their efforts, Roberts would argue to look no further than how the team responded to playing in the rain, scoring two runs in the 10th inning and the team celebrating Justin Bruihl recording his first career save.
“There wasn’t any lack of focus or taking plays off. "It was the same intensity as I saw last year, when we were in a pennant race with these guys. So credit to our players.”
The Dodgers continue to cruise into the postseason despite the concerns of the team caring less about winning games. Whether people continue to doubt the Dodgers abilities and urgency, 101 wins speaks for itself of how the team feels.