Maybe if you say it enough times it will come true?
That’s what Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is hoping after his radio hit with Dan Patrick on Thursday morning, where he all but guaranteed Los Angeles would hoist the trophy in 2022 when asked to complete the sentence: “The Dodgers will win the World Series if….?”
“We play a full season and there is a postseason,” Roberts said. “We are winning the World Series in 2022. We’re winning the World Series this year, put it on record. We are winning the World Series. That’s our focus, that’s our goal.”
That’s about as strong as it gets. Typically you don’t see MLB managers be that direct, probably because they don’t want to put added pressure on their players. But the Dodgers have had the best team in baseball for nearly a decade now, and have only one title to show for it. Last year — a team that one famous LA columnist called the greatest of all time — they failed to even make the Fall Classic after winning 106 games.
Again the Dodgers look like a juggernaut. They added another former MVP in Freddie Freeman to a lineup that was already arguably the best in MLB. Vegas has their over-under win total set at 97.5, the highest in MLB by more than five games.
Roberts went on to be more specific, noting that healthy starting pitching will be a key factor for the Dodgers this season.
“To your question, we are winning the World Series if our starting staff stays healthy. I know that’s vague, but that’s my answer. I think it’s about our starting pitching, just keeping our guys healthy.”
