The Dodgers’ loss in Game 5 of the NLDS against the Washington Nationals was heart-breaking to say the least. Is the offense to blame? Dave Roberts’ questionable decision-making? How about the persistence of Playoff Kershaw? If you want a real answer, they are all to blame.
In a recent segment for Fox Sports, the panel talked about where the Dodgers went wrong. It is not often that a team as powerful as the Dodgers gets knocked off in the first round. In fact, the 2019 Los Angeles Dodgers set a record for the most wins of any team in the divisional era to lose in the first round. It’s honestly sad.
When asked about who deserves the blame, Alex Rodriguez implied that he believed it fell on the whole organization and distinct aspects of it:
“It goes everywhere. They are a powerhouse and it’s hard to say one guy..it’s just like in basketball. At the end of the day, Phil Jackson puts in Michael Jordan and expects him to make that three. If it’s Joe Torre putting in Mariano Rivera, he hopes he closes. Dave Roberts goes to his eight-time All-Star, three-time Cy Young winner, and MVP Clayton Kershaw hoping he closes and it does not happen. So who’s blame is it? It’s everybody’s.”
Former MLB pitcher Dontrelle Willis also weighed in on A-Rod’s opinion:
“It’s a tough situation. Once he won the matchup with Eaton, he should be out of that game. You went out and got Kelly and have Jansen in the wings. They have Rendon — one of the best right-handed hitters in all of baseball. They have to go righty on righty. That is exactly why you signed Joe Kelly…for this situation right here. I blame it on Kershaw because you still have to execute and keep balls in the yard, but also Dave Roberts for putting him in that situation.”
Former Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz took a different approach. He blamed the lack of mental stability from the Dodgers:
“You start programming things the way they are supposed to be mentally. The mental part of the game is very important.”
All of these perspectives are accurate. Everyone deserves blame — from the top to the bottom. It’s a bad situation to be in, but at the end of the day, the Dodgers got flat-out beat by the Washington Nationals. They are in the NLCS with a 2-0 series lead and the Dodgers are not. It’s not fun to watch, but it is the way things went down and we have to accept it. Blame whoever, but it does not change the outcome of the 2019 Dodgers’ season.
