Dodgers News: Dave Roberts Walking the Tight Rope of Rust vs Rest in Final Week
The Los Angeles Dodgers have a tough schedule in the last week of the 2023 regular season. The Dodgers must play a doubleheader at Coors Field on Tuesday, and play every other day the rest of the way to close out the season.
Dodgers manger Dave Roberts must balance playing time and rest to keep his stars ready for the postseason. He doesn’t want anyone to get injured.
“You still have to field a team, and any player that runs out there and plays, there’s always a chance for injury,” Roberts said. “Could you potentially overdo it [by playing regulars too much]? Sure. But there’s also a psyche part of it that guys have to still feel like they’re getting ready.”
Any time a team must play a four-game series at Coors Field, it can be disastrous. The high altitude at Coors Field frequently causes injuries, and this is the last thing the Dodgers need. It also exhausts a pitching staff.
Unlike when major league rosters could be expanded to 40 players during the month of September, Roberts has no choice but to play his important players during the series against the Rockies. Luckily, Clayton Kershaw, who seems to get injured whenever he pitches at Coors Field, isn’t scheduled to pitch in Colorado.
Both Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman are chasing all-time records. Betts is in a fierce battle with Ronald Acuña, Jr., for the National League MVP. If Betts earns that most-desired award, he will be only the second player in MLB history to win in both the National League and American League.
Freeman wants to be the first player to have 60 doubles in a season since 1936. Roberts doesn’t want to stand in his stars’ ways in achieving their remarkable accomplishments.
Additionally, the Dodgers, who will have a five-day break in between the final day of the regular season, don't want to fall out of a rhythm before the postseason.
These are just a few of the many difficult things Roberts will have to deal with over this final week of the season.
