Dave Roberts Speaks on Dodgers' Need for 'Urgency' as Padres Threat Looms
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Remember when everyone was concerned that the Los Angeles Dodgers were going to break Major League Baseball this season?
Well, this Dodgers team certainly isn't playing like it has some sort of unfair advantage due to its massive payroll. The Dodgers have got the sixth-best record in MLB, and as of Tuesday afternoon, they've only got a one-game lead over the San Diego Padres for first place.
Outside of 2021, when they won 106 games but finished a game behind the oddly dominant San Francisco Giants, the Dodgers haven't failed to win a division title since 2012.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - MAY 04: Manager Dave Roberts #30 of the Los Angeles Dodgers looks on prior to facing the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on May 04, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - MAY 04: Manager Dave Roberts #30 of the Los Angeles Dodgers looks on prior to facing the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on May 04, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Monday night's 7-4 loss to the Los Angeles Angels was perhaps a tipping point of sorts. The Dodgers now have lost all four Angels matchups this year, and sit a game under .500 since the All-Star break.
Manager Dave Roberts seems to be adequately concerned with the mediocrity. He's now preaching a message of "urgency" as the threat of the Padres taking over first place looms.
"There definitely has to be some urgency," Roberts said Monday night, per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. "I don't think anyone is blind to the fact that the standings are the standings. It's gotten a lot more interesting.
"So we've got to go out there and play good baseball. I definitely feel that our guys are starting to feel that urgency. It's been long enough of middling baseball."
The Dodgers are now 5-5 since the trade deadline; the Padres, who were far more aggressive about improving their roster, are 7-3. It's a small sample size, to be certain, but there's no question about which team is playing with more momentum.
Certainly, the Dodgers still have the best roster in the sport if everything starts clicking again. But there's no denying that things have been a little off, and though it could happen any day, there's no magic wand to wave that can get this team magically back on course.
More MLB: Red Sox's Roman Anthony Matches Ted Williams' 86-Year-Old Franchise Record
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