The Dodgers' Only Goal: Win The World Series

By Mitch Chortkoff

Sports Editor

Dave Roberts, welcome to the Dodgers and you’d better win a World Series during the next three years.

That is plainly what the new Dodger management expects from their manager who has agreed to a three-year contract.

After all, Don Mattingly’s Dodgers won a division championship three straight seasons and had a winning record in all of his five years and then was replaced. No World Series win, you see.

Rumors began Sunday and the Dodgers officially announced the hiring of Roberts Monday.

My first impression is favorable. Roberts was the Dodgers’ centerfielder for three years and impressively fits into the category of not having the greatest talent but succeeding by working hard, hustling, getting along well with people, drawing respect as a good guy to have on a team.

He was a productive player who once stole a base for the Boston Red Sox that led to their conquest of the New York Yankees in the world Series.

He gained experience as a bench coach for the San Diego Padres for two years. At 41 he appears ready to be a major league manager.

He beat out some strong candidates. After nine men were interviewed the finalists were Roberts, Gabe Kapler and Daryl Erstad

Kapler, another former big league player, has done well in the Dodgers’ front office. Erstad, the former Angel, is currently the baseball coach at Nebraska University and is happy there.

Roberts inherits a division championship team but the Dodgers had other problems last season rather than anything Mattingly did.

There is a rumor going around that Clayton Kershaw wants the Dodgers to trade Yasiel Puig.

He wouldn’t be the only one as opinion is divided among those who think Puig is talented enough to eventually work out his problems and those who think the Dodgers should go in a different direction.

And then there’s the performance of new chief Andrew Friedman and his general manager to be addresed.

To be honest they didn’t do well in their first season with the Dodgers. When you spend the highest amount in baseball history for your roster and come up short in the playoffs you deserve some blame.

The Dodgers’ offense fell off in the second half of the season and they didn’t acquire one of the elite pitchers who went to other teams at the trading deadline.

There’s talk now that the Dodgers are trying to sign free agent David Price, and if they do it would help a lot.

The current World Series champion Kansas City Royals have a chemistry the 2015 Dodgers didn’t come close to matching.

Can Roberts head them in that direction? Will he try to do that?