Dodgers manager Dave Roberts confirmed team president Andrew Friedman’s shocking revelation that Roberts, the manager of the Dodgers, manages the Dodgers.
Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman held his annual end-of-season press conference on Tuesday, and about midway through, he was asked a question about the “narrative” that manager Dave Roberts doesn’t make in-game decisions like the ill-fated seventh-inning pitching changes in NLDS Game 4.
Freeman, to put it lightly, did not appreciate the question. With a disgusted look on his face, he said:
“Is that really a narrative? After every single postseason I’ve answered that question, so I don’t feel like it’s a narrative [except] based on the question at the end of it that keeps coming up.”
The reporter persisted, asking specifically if Roberts makes those decisions.
“A hundred percent, a hundred percent. And we’ve answered this a lot of times. I’d really like not to answer it— well, next year, hopefully, it’s after a parade, but it’s been very clearly answered here a lot of different times. If it ever changes, I’ll let people know. I don’t think it ever will, but if it ever does, I will let people know.”
In case Friedman’s word and common sense weren’t enough for you, Bill Plaschke of the L.A. Times got Roberts on the phone and asked him about it, too.
“Everything that we do, there’s information, and I welcome all of it. … There’s so many scenarios I need to be prepared for,” he said. “But, ultimately, do I make the decisions? Absolutely.”
Andrew Friedman has been running baseball teams for nearly 20 years now. For nine of those years, his manager in Tampa Bay was Joe Maddon, who is currently unemployed because he couldn’t handle his GM telling him to take an injured superstar out of a blowout game. Do we really think Joe Maddon lasted nine years under a GM who wants to make in-game decisions for him?
Kudos to Doc for not laughing at the question and hanging up on Plaschke, I guess.
