Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Roberts’ bullpen plan works to near-perfection
Uses ‘the process’ to give Dodgers late-game edge
CHICAGO — A team must secure at least 27 outs to win a game, so Dodgers manager Dave Roberts fills the hours before each postseason contest contemplating a countdown.
He consults with his coaching staff and the analysts from the front office. He gauges the readiness of his relievers. The group assembles a plan, one they trust Roberts to implement.
“There are things that I have in my mind that give each player the best chance to have success,” Roberts said. “To deviate from that, that goes away from my process. And I preach nothing but process.”
As the Dodgers held a 2-0 lead over the Cubs in the NL Championship Series and moved two wins from their first World Series since 1988, the process has been nearly flawless.
The series shifted to Chicago for Game 3 on Tuesday night, and the gap between the bullpens has been decisive. The Cubs have yet to record a hit against the Dodgers bullpen, with the pen recording 24 outs and one hit batter. Roberts was willing to remove starters Clayton Kershaw and Rich Hill after only five innings because he trusted the relievers to hold firm.
Led by hulking closer Kenley Jansen, the relief corps has looked indomitable, benefiting from months of planning for this stage. The success of this bullpen is an organizational triumph, the result of keen RESULTS, SCHEDULE Game 1: Dodgers 5, Cubs 2 Game 2: Dodgers 4, Cubs 1 Game 3: at Cubs, late Game 4: at Cubs 9 p.m. Wednesday
at Cubs 8 p.m. Thursday
at Dodgers 4 or 8 p.m. Saturday
at Dodgers 7:30 p.m. Sunday scouting, open communication, the tactical prowess of Roberts and the execution of the players.
The presence of Jansen, a two-time All-Star who may be baseball’s best reliever, serves as a sizable building block in constructing a bullpen.
The other contributors were assembled through canny trades (Tony Cingrani, Tony Watson), a lowwattage signing (Brandon Morrow) and the reallocation of assets (Kenta Maeda). Together they form a bridge to Jansen that, unlike in 2016 against the Cubs, has not buckled.
Near the end of January the Dodgers added Morrow, who had an enviable arsenal of pitches and a troubling history of injuries.
As the hours ticked away toward the trade deadline, the Dodgers finalized deals for Rangers ace Yu Darvish plus left-handed relievers Watson and Cingrani.
Watson made sense. He was a former All-Star with a track record of generating soft contact. Cingrani seemed less useful. He carried a 5.40 ERA with the Reds, but his addition underscored the guile of the front office.
To finalize the mix for October, the Dodgers turned to a player hidden in plain view. Maeda spent most of the season on the periphery of the rotation, with a 4.35 ERA in 25 starts. He has emerged as the breakout performer of this postseason, retiring all nine batters he has faced.