Dave Roberts is not afraid of the San Diego Padres

Dave Roberts Padres — (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

The San Diego Padres have been making moves that could put them at the top of the National League. But the LA Dodgers head coach Dave Roberts is not afraid of the Padres.

Unless for some reason you’ve been living under a rock and missed it all. You have seen that the Padres acquired Blake Snell from Tampa Bay, Yu Darvish from the Cubs, and Joe Musgrove. Add on Chris Paddack and Dinelson Lamet and this could be the best rotation in baseball.

Not to mention, the Padres already have one of the best lineups. Add those together and this could be the best team in the NL West.

In an article on MLB.com, I found the following quote.

“The other day I told Dave Roberts, one of the best managers in baseball since he got to Dodger Stadium, something he already knew about the Padres, whom Los Angeles swept in the NL Division Series en route to its first title since 1988.
“They’re coming for you,” I told him.
Here was his response:
“Bring it on.”
There is no reason for Roberts or the Dodgers to think otherwise. They were the team to beat going into the short 2020 season, even after the disappointments of the ’17 and ’18 World Series, and the way the Nationals came back in the late innings from a 3-1 deficit in Game 5 of the ’19 NLDS against Los Angeles. The Dodgers came back from all that, came all the way back from being down, 3-1, in the ’20 NL Championship Series vs. the Braves, before finally winning it all for the first time in 32 years.”

Should Dave Roberts be afraid of the Padres?

Yes and No.

There is no question, that the Padres haven’t gotten better and could be the team to beat. But, Roberts still has a great team himself.