February 9th, 2023 at 8:00 am 
by 0799291000348 Hot seats are uncomfortable! They can cause abnormal squirming and should come with built-in stress and anxiety meters that have warning signals which sound when temperatures rise to dangerous levels.
For the most part, Dodgers executives, the on-field leadership team, and players have gone about their business over the last seven years with no one really feeling the heat during the regular season. Winning more than 63% of those games, and a World Championship in 2020 (never to forget the 2017 World Series heist) makes for a pretty comfortable work environment.
But the Dodgers are coming off a shocking end to their 2022 season. After winning 111 games during the regular season, they lost to the San Diego Padres in the best-of-five National League Division series three games to one – this after Manager Dave Roberts guaranteed the team would win the 2022 World Series:
“We are winning the World Series in 2022 … We will win the World Series this year, put it on record.”
Roberts learned his lesson. No more World Championship guarantees.
Nonetheless, the Dodgers and their fans are not satisfied with merely making the MLB postseason tournament, the equivalent to NCAA March Madness, they are expected to represent the National League in the Fall Classic. Roberts has a HOF-worthy .632 winning percentage during his seven regular seasons as skipper of the Dodgers, but his 2021 and 2022 teams uncomfortably watched the World Series on television.
Roberts is considered a players manager, and his reliance on the Dodgers advanced analytics obviously works well over long, 162 regular season schedules. However, the 2023 roster remains a work in progress. Other than catcher, he will start Spring Training with an uncertain middle defense: shortstop, second base, and centerfield. The Dodgers have ordained Gavin Lux (shortstop) and rookie Miguel Vargas (second base) as their double play combination, with a patchwork of journeymen (Jason Heyward, Chris Taylor, Trayce Thompson, Bradley Zimmer) and unproven rookie James Outman competing for the centerfield position. It’s hard to remember the Dodgers starting a Spring Training with so much uncertainty surrounding their middle defense. Perhaps the 2003 unit would be a good comparison: catcher Paul Lo Duca, second baseman Alex Cora, shortstop Cesar Izturis, and centerfielder Dave Roberts.
The 2023 season will likely be Roberts’ most challenging of his managerial career as he turns to rookies Vargas, Outman, or Michael Busch to replace previous All-Stars Cody Bellinger and Trea Turner in the lineup. Then, when October Madness begins and the relatively short postseason format plays havoc with the Dodgers algorithms, Roberts will be on an even hotter hot seat.
Roberts is not the only member of the Dodgers who may be on the hot seat in 2023, but clearly the most visible as the on-field leader. Certainly the players performance will be scrutinized, as will the team’s executives, who have assembled the 2023 roster, eschewing high profile and highly compensated free agents.
Dodgers pitchers and catchers report next week to Camelback Ranch in Glendale Arizona to begin preparations for the 2023 MLB regular season, which opens on March 30.
The seats are warming – and will only get hotter – as Opening Day approaches.
* * * * * *
Posted in 
Even though Roberts received a respectable 65.3% ‘A Rating’ on Dodgers Nation following his team’s 111-51 2022 regular season record (even after being blown out of the 2022 NL West Division Series three games to one by the Padres), one has to believe that 2023 could be Doc’s final season as the Dodgers manager if they do not at least make it into the 2023 postseason.
Just my $.02.
Who would you replace him with?
Great question. Unlikely that they would go old school even though they have Chase Utley, Ron Roenicke, and Jose Vizcaino on the payroll as Special Assistants. New school guy Danny Lehmann who was just promoted to Bench Coach? It would not surprise me if Mark Prior is the heir apparent to Roberts.
I am a HUGE fan of Austin Chubb, who managed High-A Great Lakes the last two seasons. He was just promoted as the Dodgers’ assistant Minor League Field Coordinator.
Good name to know, will do some homework on him. I feel safe in predicting Alex Cora will not get an interview.
I will take it a step further Ron, I think Roberts may be replaced if the team doesn’t make it to the NLCS.
Would make a lot of Dodger fans happy.
I struggled writing this piece as it might come across as a get-rid-of-Robert’s which was not the intent. I have been a Roberts fan from the moment he was one of the finalists for the Dodgers managerial position. He definitely went through a rough OJT, but now he is a seasoned ML manager of one of the great MLB organizations ever. He is on the hot seat, but I don’t know how much in-game decision making authority Roberts has been given by Friedman.
Ah Yes, the venerable Manager Dave Roberts. I concur with JP, and have been a Roberts’ fan since the beginning. It is a puzzle that he makes so many robotic decisions, maybe he is on a tight leash by AF; the true test of a great manager is knowing when to keep with your workhorses and when to relieve them. I suppose, and anticipate some reaction to this comment, that back in the days when Fernando and Orel and Nomo and others would go the distance, the manager had trust in them. And don’t get me started on Koufax and Drysdale, heck if Alston would have come to relieve DD in a tight game because he gave up back to back singles, I think Drysdale might have pushed him off the mound. 200 innings is now considered to be a lot, Koufax pitched over 300 in three of his final four seasons. Sometimes it seems like the hook comes a little too soon. Now it’s all about analytics, 2nd time through, 3rd time through, sometimes it matters and sometimes it doesn’t. I guess it’s kind of like the shift; sometimes you hit through it and sometimes it becomes an out (by the way, I am not a fan of the shift, it just seems funky, and every little kid including myself played straight up baseball with no shifts in little league). Boudreau made the first shift for Ted Williams, but seriously, The Kid would have batted over .300 with TEN guys playing on defense. All this being said, I really hope that Robert’s can pull it off this year. The league seems to have more and more parity and in any given year, any team can win, that is why the last back to back WS champion was over 20 years ago; players will win and leave a team, other players will join a team that is close and they win a championship. In the end, I am going to be 63 this year and would love nothing more than to see history repeat itself for the first time in 60 years- Dodgers sweep the Yankees in 4! (Hey, everybody needs a dream right?)
Sorry, scratch what I said about Nomo.
Yes, Koufax pitced 300 innings in a season. A ‘Real Man®”… And as a result,as we all know, he pitched with amazing amounts of pain and was forced to retire at the age of 31. Because Kershaw was not abused in such a fashion, we will have the privilege of seeing him pitch again this season at age 35. And there is a good chance that Fernando would be in the HOF today if Tommy hadn’t pitched him so much at so young an age.
On the positive side Roberts has always been a players manager. He gets along well with all of the guys veterans and rookies alike. I hope he suceeds this yr and develops a perennial winner. Good luck Dave.
The problem is that we don’t know who is making all the decisions. Five innings for the starter, no third time through the order: fine for the regular season, but you need more flexibility in your he playoffs. But is that coming from Roberts or above. I think the reason he hasn’t been on the hot seat is it isn’t him.
Rob the problem is that under those circumstances any manager would be forced
To do those same things. Sad.
Terrific point Steve. And if the front office is as controlling as it may seem, some managers may decline to even be considered for the position.
I would be shocked if there is even ONE Dodgers Complete Game in 2023. They are a thing of the past. Big-D is rolling over in his grave.
Spot on Ron! It would take a very rare set of circumstances for a Dodgers starter to have a complete game — exceptionally low pitch count through 7 innings, off days in the coming week, big lead, tired bullpen, etc. Chances of complete game are somewhere between slim and none.
So the manager gets the blame for the higher ups philosophy. It’s clear that Friedman believes in these and other types of advanced analytics that his manager must yield to. Then they can fire him as a scapegoat and nothing changes. Friedman has secured his position for life.
I don’t believe the Dodgers would fire Roberts for implementing a front office strategy (and remember, this is nothing more than conjecture). If a change were to be made I think it is more likely that the team would move Roberts into a front office position where his strengths could be used as a team ambassador similar to Tommy Lasorda’s role after he stepped down from managing.
I never even thought of this, but it makes perfect sense under the current administration.
The obvious problem with this, of course, is that the front office (including Roberts, if this indeed were to happen) would undoubtedly replace Roberts with a Roberts type of manager.
Man, I miss Tommy.
Oh yes, I am a throw back. Although Walt Alston was the quiet man and Lasorda was boisterous, they commanded the team like generals, knowing what it took to win games — even being combative. I agree with you — under the current Dodgers leadership, someone very similar to Roberts will be the manager. My guess, perhaps ever a younger and more analytically savvy person.
Those types are becoming rarer and Tommy was one of a kind.
SO SO SO glad you cited 2017 as a “heist”. THANK YOU for doing that, Jesse.
I just kills me; as it should all true baseball fans, that nearly any articles discussing recent Series say the Astros “won” the Series. They absolutely did not. They cheated, they ADMITTED cheating and not a damn thing of any lasting significance was done about it. This is a scandal and a travesty. And already everyone shrugs and have moved on.
The World Championship should have been vacated just as the American League pennant should have been. If I were a Yankee fan I’d be just as angry.
As time goes on young baseball fans will not know what the Astros did and that seems to be just what our joke of a Commissioner wants. Rings should have been taken away and certainly financial shares should have been withdrawn and given to charities chosen by the Yankees and the Dodgers.
Thanks for the opportunity to get that off my chest.
Well said (written)! 2017 should forever be a disgrace on the Houston Astros (aka Cheatos), an embarrassment to MLB, and a permanent stigma on the record of Rob Manfred.
I call them the Astro-holes. But we’ll said by all.
Dodgers signed David Peralta to play LF.
1 yr 6.5 mil. I like it.
@Dodgers Don’t ask yhe WS question plz. We don’t need that jinx.