If you are among the thousands who follow SportsNet LA on Twitter (@SportsNetLA), you are well aware that part of their detailed Dodgers coverage are their postgame interviews with players (usually the star of the just-concluded game) and always with Dodgers manager Dave Roberts during his postgame interviews with reporters.

If you are indeed among those who watch Roberts’ ‘postgames’ (as they are often referred), you are well aware that he often uses a number of buzz phrases when his team: A) Wins, and B) Loses.

As such, and after their ugly 2-4 road trip during which they lost two of three to the NL Central third place Cincinnati Reds and two of three to the NL East third place Philadelphia Phillies, the Dodgers finally return home, but do so in second place in the NL West 3.5 games behind the division-leading Arizona Diamondbacks and 3.5 games ahead of the NL West third place San Francisco Giants.

That 2-4 road trip, of course, meant that Dodgers fans heard more of Roberts’ B buzz phrases than his A ones. Among them was his use of “soft contact” by the opposing team, which he used (ad nauseam) when trying to justify those four losses – a couple of which were unjustifiable (often referred to as ‘should-have-won’ games) – and one that he again used after Sunday’s ‘should-have-won’ 7-3 loss to Philadelphia

“I thought ‘Fergie’ (Caleb Ferguson) threw the ball well, a couple soft contact balls that got in,” Roberts told SportsNet LA’s Kirsten Watson postgame after his team’s fourth loss of their (thankfully) now concluded six-game round trip.

‘Fergie’ did not throw the ball particularly well. He allowed one run on three hits to the six Phillies batters he faced. And though he struck out two of those six batters, he needed 22 pitches to do so (20 strikes) – enough to prevent him from coming back out to at least begin the second inning, and enough to make him the losing pitcher of record in Roberts’ ‘bullpen game.’

But after Sunday’s ‘should-have-won’ ‘bullpen game’ loss to the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park in which his team went an unacceptable 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position while stranding six men on base, SportsNet LA’s cameras captured what immediately brought to mind another popular buzz phase – one that has generated millions of dollars in T-shirt sales over the years:

Here are the final pitching numbers from Sunday’s ‘bullpen game’:

Don’t worry, Dave, they made me drink, too.

Play Ball!

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