In Reply to: Roberts is bunting ... ug!* posted by NorthBruin40 on October 04, 2026 at 17:58:14
For starters, with a 1-0 lead, if he goes with Yamamoto today - everything else aside - the Dodgers win this game. But that is just the start.
The switch of Mookie and Ohtani means that Will Smith has to bat third instead of Freddy, because… heaven forbid two guys in a row bat from the same side. Will is a great Dodger with a career of hitting successes, but he’s not a 3. He’s too slow (always a DP risk), and doesn’t hit for average. He’s much better in the 4 or 5 slot. Freddy’s leadoff homer in the next inning would have been a 3 run job.
A leadoff double by the 8th hitter, and a fairly clutch post-season guy coming up followed by the top of the order, we bunt? Awful bunt, but why even do that? A great opportunity to score a run lost due to what I call “Roberts-outthinking-himselfism”.
Mookie ad Ohtani on base with no outs and we cant score a run. Announcers kept talking about what a huge lead Mookie had from 2b, and I don’t think Murphy is known as a shut-down catcher. So do we double-steal which keeps us out of a DP and probably results in a couple of sacrifice flies? Nope.
And who called that knuckle-curve that wild pitched in a run? Well, Bubic threw it, but I’m guesing Will Smith called it. And if Roberts knows his hand-picked reliever for that situation throws a knuckle-curve, with a man on 3rd and 2 outs wouldn’t you say “hey guys, no knuckle curves”.
Sale is every bit as good as Yamamoto, and he’ll be at home. There’s a good chance it never comes back to L.A., as opposed to 2-0 and needing only 1 of the next 3 not to mention demoralizing our opponent.
Great Job, Roberts.