Yankee Stadium, NY — From a pure fan perspective, this World Series has been a dud. Game 1 in Los Angeles was a classic, but Freddie Freeman’s walk-off grand slam crushed the hearts of Yankees fans and stole the thunder from the vaunted Bronx Bombers bats.
World Series Brings Highest Viewership Since 2017
Two games later and the LA Dodgers, MLBbro manager Dave Roberts and star player Mookie Betts are on the verge of winning the franchise’s second World Series since 2020. It’s the matchup everyone wanted and despite the one-sided results, the series is averaging 14.55 million viewers, the best numbers since 2017.
As far as the MLBbros are concerned, it was a win-win situation. There’s a combined seven MLBbros on World Series rosters this season. The Yankees have five with Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Jazz Chisholm, Trent Grisham and Stro Show. The LA Dodgers have Mookie Betts, ace Black Jack Flaherty and Roberts is leading the way. It’s been years since we have had that kind of melanated representation.
Giancarlo Stanton has six homers in 12 games this postseason as Aaron Judge has suffered through a treacherous stretch that laid waste to his dreams of leading the Yankees to the promised land this season. But Playoff Stanton’s been front and center. According to former WFAN radio legend and avid Yankees fan Mike Francesca, appearing on Mad Dog Russo’s radio show, Stanton has already solidified his Hall of Fame status with 429 career homers and 17 more in the postseason.
Jazz Chisholm is batting .167 in these playoffs, but he is getting his first taste of NY Yankees playoff life. If he sticks around, he will be competing for something every season and will get his chance to shine on the big stage.
Dave Roberts & Mookie Betts Building MLBbro Hall of Fame Legacies
Dave Roberts and Mookie Betts’ legacies will benefit most by closing out the NY Yankees sooner rather than later.
Roberts will become the second Black manager in history to win two World Series titles, joining Cito Gaston. Mookie Betts will win his third World Series title and second since Boston discarded him after he won an MVP and brought them a championship.
Mookie is batting .291 with four homers and 14 RBI in these playoffs. He’s been typically sensational with the glove and could win World Series MVP. He surely would deserve team MVP for the way he held down the shortstop position, graciously accepted Shohei Ohtani into the fold, even if his own popularity suffered, returned from his wrist injury and proceeded to be the MVP caliber leader he’s always been.
Boston hasn’t come close to a World Series since Mookie was shipped out after the 2019 season. The LA Dodgers have been perennial contenders, and it appears as if they are going to breakthrough with another title. Now we can stop all of the discussion about whether or not Dave Roberts is the guy to lead the Dodgers. All he does is win.
Everyone knows the LA Dodgers would rather close out the World Series back home in Game 6 in front of the fans. Major League Baseball probably wants that scenario as well. The entire Yankees organization wants to avoid a sweep at this point and Aaron Judge probably wants to extend the series as long as he can to get more chances to redeem himself.
MLBbros Will Make More Noise Before World Series Ends
There’s still much at stake for all the MLBbros. Will Marcus Stroman get a chance to make an appearance? The usually raucous Yankee Stadium crowd didn’t have much to get excited about before Alex Verdugo hit a two-run blast late that gave the pinstripes some hope to avoid a sweep in Game 4.
Regardless of how this shakes out, the MLBbros are continuing to edge their names in the history of baseball, among the elite to ever do it at their position. Shohei Ohtani’s presence on the LA Dodgers and his impact on MLB and his 54-59 season definitely helped elevate the media hype surrounding the team. He will walk away with his third MVP award this year (won in 2021 and 2023 with LA Angles) and join the legendary MLBbro Frank Robinson as the only players to win MVP in both leagues.
Dave Roberts rolled the dice and crapped out as the Los Angeles Dodgers relinquished their control of the National League Championship Series by falling to the New York Mets 7-3 in Game 2 on Monday.
The Dodgers manager has been creative while trying to manipulate his bullpen because of injuries to their starting rotation down the stretch of the regular season.
Dave Roberts Bullpen By Committee Fails In NLCS Game 2
Roberts tried once again to use a combination of bullpen pitchers for a complete game as he did in game four of the division series against the San Diego Padres. That move proved genius as eight Dodgers pitchers shut down the Padres in the midst of a historic stretch of 33 consecutive scoreless innings.
However, the game plan that worked to perfection last week was blown up in the second inning of game two of the NLCS. Francisco Lindor opened the game with a leadoff home run off “starter” Ryan Brasier in the first inning. The Dodgers then broke the game open in the second inning. Tyrone Taylor doubled and then Roberts intentionally walked Lindor to face Mark Vientos who basically put the game with his grand slam.
“It all is great when it works well and guys are throwing up zeros, but you’re still facing really good ball clubs,” Roberts said via Associated Press.
The seven game series means that Roberts will have to rely on another all hands on deck “bullpen start” if the Dodgers are going to advance
“There is a margin that you have to guard against and kind of really appreciate the cost of the next games, and not forgetting that this isn’t a winner-take-all game. It’s not a three-game series,” said Roberts.
Earlier this week MLBbro.com Founder Rob Parker told ESPN’s Brian Kinney that he doesn’t think the LA Dodgers have the pitching to win the World Series despite their recent streak of 33 scoreless playoff innings that was ended by a Mets offensive barrage in Game 2.
Dave Roberts Must Prove Rob Parker Wrong and Make Bullpen Work
With the series shifting to Queens for the next three games Roberts’ use of his bullpen start may be the key to winning the pennant. Jack Flaherty was lights out in game one which gave them rest. However, it was the bullpen that led to their loss of home field advantage before the long trip to the east coast thanks to its bad start.
“It never feels good losing but you’ve got your high leverage pitchers ready to go for the next three games,” Roberts said. “I feel really good about that.”
After playing just 45 games following his trade from the Dodgers, Dave Roberts helped Boston steal the American League pennant from the New York Yankees with the most significant steal in the history of baseball’s postseason. Roberts was the catalyst for a team that rebounded from an historic 3-0 deficit in the ALCS to bring a World Series title to Boston for the first time in 86 years.
Dave Roberts continues to be blown away by the magnificence and versatility of shortstop Mookie Betts. Nick Hamilton spoke with the LA Dodgers manager live at the ballpark
Dave Roberts is currently in his ninth season as the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers. During his time in L.A. he has surpassed over 750 wins and has a World Series title.
On paper, Roberts has had some talented teams, but all he has to show for it is one title. This year, the Dodgers have a team filled with talent yet again, but this could also be his most difficult season.
The Dodgers made headlines during the offseason spending more than $1.1 billion on MLB star Shohei Ohtani and Japanese star Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Not to mention the additions of pitchers Bobby Miller, Gavin Stone, and James Paxton. The Dodgers wanted to add some pieces to their bullpen, but will this bullpen be able to carry this team through the 2024 season and into the playoffs?
Handling Shohei Ohtani Media Attention
And let’s not forget the Ohtani fiasco at the start of the season with his translator. Roberts has already had a lot on his plate and we’re not even 20 games into the season yet.
Roberts addressing the Ohtani situation regarding his translator
On March 20, ESPN reported the Dodgers had fired Ohtani’s translator, Ippei Mizuhara, after allegations of massive theft.
The allegations centered on wire transfers from Ohtani’s account, totaling around $4.5 million.
“I’m very saddened and shocked that someone who I trusted has done this,” Ohtani said in an NBC News article.
“Ippei has been stealing money from my account and has told lies.”
Roberts talked about the situation and believes the organization will continue to move in a positive direction.
“Actually, I would argue that it’s going to help relations internally,” he said before the Dodgers’ last exhibition game. “Because there’s no longer a buffer. I think that I’ve already seen it in the last couple of days. I think Shohei has been even more engaging with his teammates, and I think there’s only upside with that.”
Roberts wants to make sure the team’s chemistry is strong and that it continues to grow as the season progresses.
Can this pitching staff win games for the Dodgers?
Offensively, the Dodgers have one of the best lineups in all of baseball. Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and Ohtani are a recipe for disaster for opposing pitching staffs.
MLBbro Opening Day: LA Dodgers manager Dave Roberts Talks About Mookie Betts’ Unique Ability To Separate Offense and Defense Following Dodgers 7-1 win Over St.Louis Cardinals. pic.twitter.com/sLmoVYn9u9
Roberts will not have to worry about his team producing runs, with the offensive threats he has.
Now on the flipside, the pitching is another story. With Ohtani unavailable to pitch for the entire season due to elbow surgery, the Dodgers need to find that guy who can dominate on the mound.
The Dodgers threw a lot of money at Yamamoto and they are hoping he can blossom into a dominant pitcher. In his last start against the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday, Yamamoto had an impressive outing, going five scoreless innings with five strikeouts.
It was a much better performance from his debut when he only lasted one inning giving up five runs on four hits against the San Diego Padres.
“There’s a lot of confidence and there’s a lot of pride and fire,” Roberts said of Yamamoto in an ESPN article. “And appreciating the contract and his part of the deal — I think he takes it personal. And took it personal. He was really intent on pitching well for his home debut.”
Tyler Glasnow is a pitcher the Dodgers will look to have a significant impact this season. The 30-year-old looks to surpass 10 wins for the second straight season. But one thing to note regarding Glasnow is that he’s never pitched over 120 innings in his career.
That could play a factor in the latter part of the season.
Roberts will have his hands full this season and all eyes will be on him to see how he leads his team and navigates the ups and downs and media scrutin win his second World Series title as a manager.
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