These words were uttered by 29-year-old Dodgers right-handed Dodgers reliever Yency Almonte after he and his bullpen teammates blew a 4-2 Dodgers lead handed to them by 35-year-old Dodgers ace and future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw, which ended in a devastating 8-4 loss to the American League Central third-place Chicago White Sox at Dodger Stadium – their first home game following their dismal 2-4 road trip.

That ‘…group out there’ may be a great group of guys (and they indeed are), but they now have a combined 13-13 record on the season with a combined 4.90 ERA – last in National League and 29th in Major League Baseball.

“Very deflating. It’s very deflating,” a visibly upset Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters postgame. “Clayton pitched his ass off [even though he didn’t] have a whole lot as far as stuff. We took a lead and we gave it away.”

Yes you did.

“It’s very frustrating and they have to do better. It’s not workload, it’s not the wrong lanes or the right lanes, it’s they need to be better, period. They’re getting opportunities, and as you run them out there, you learn more,” Roberts added.

“Can’t lose that game. We have to use the guys we have. That’s how we go forward, and they have to be better,” he concluded. 

From a fan’s perspective, Roberts is the last person on the planet to finally come to grips with exactly how bad his bullpen really is. And while we all understand and accept that it is extremely important for a manager to stand behind, praise, and promote their players, Roberts’ combined bullpen is horrible, excluding 28-year-old Dodgers right-hander Evan Phillips with his excellent 2.55 ERA over his 24.2 innings pitched thus far this season.

There really isn’t much more to say, so I won’t

Play Ball!

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