The whole "guarantee victory" thing has probably been beaten to a bloody pulp in the sports world at this point. The Joe Namath thing happened before many of us were born, after all. Still, it's always bold to make definitive declarations and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has done just that, regarding his 2020 ballclub.
What's great about that one is Roberts was asked to fill in the blank. The Dodgers will win the World Series if ____. And he just basically said "if there's a season and a postseason." It's bold, yeah, but it's also a pretty boss move to just say, the only way my team doesn't win is if there aren't playoffs.
He doubles down with: "We are winning the World Series. Put it on record."
Roberts did, however, finish the original question, adding that the Dodgers will win the World Series if his starting rotation stays healthy.
"We are winning the World Series if our starting staff stays healthy," Roberts added. "I know that's vague, but that's my answer. I think it's about our starting pitching, just keeping our guys healthy,"
The Dodgers are the World Series favorites at 5-1 (via William Hill). SportsLine projects them to have the best record in baseball at 98-64. They won 106 games last season. I had them number one in power rankings last Monday and they'll be number one again the day before the season starts.
They are not, however, without question marks. The lineup is scary, but there are concerns there. Will Cody Bellinger bounce back? Is Max Muncy's elbow healthy? The rotation has a lot of talent, but questions of its own. Is Clayton Kershaw right? How will Andrew Heaney and Tyler Anderson pitch on the back end? What will they get, if anything, from Trevor Bauer? The bullpen is deep, but also faces a season without Kenley Jansen (he signed with the reigning World Series champion Braves this offseason) for the first time in a while.
Remember, the Dodgers have been to the playoffs nine straight years. They've been to six NLCS and three World Series in that time and only won the 2020 World Series. They've won 104-plus games three times and didn't win it all in any of those seasons.
Simply put: It's awfully difficult to win the World Series. Even if the Dodgers are the best bet to win it all, it would be a better bet, if given the chance, to take "the field" over the Dodgers.
Roberts knows all this and still has the confidence to declare his team is going to take the World Series trophy. It's bold. It's confident. I like the moxie. Roberts' opponents in the regular season and then -- assuming the Dodgers make it -- the playoffs won't likely forget this, either. That's fun.
