😢⚾ **”I PUT MY FAITH IN THE WRONG PEOPLE”, Dave Roberts in tears speaks about the 2 players who disappointed him the most after the longest losing streak in history.
He said that even though he created many opportunities, these 2 players disappointed him over and over again… and led to the decision to terminate their contracts early.**
The Los Angeles Dodgers entered August 2026 as two-time defending World Series champions and the clear favorites to repeat once more, yet a seven-game losing streak that stretched from late
July into early August forced manager Dave Roberts and the entire organization to confront uncomfortable realities about execution, roster construction, and the fine line between talent and consistent production. The
skid, which matched the team’s longest since an 11-game slide in September 2017, ended only when Shohei Ohtani delivered an infield single in the 10th inning of a 2-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on August 9.
Even that hard-fought win did little to erase the frustration that had built over a week of blown leads, silent bats, and late-inning collapses.
Roberts has long been known for his measured public demeanor. He rarely singles out individuals in postgame comments and almost never allows visible emotion to dominate his media sessions. During this stretch, however, the strain showed.
After several of the losses he spoke with a quiet intensity about the team’s failure to finish games it had positioned itself to win. “A loss is a loss, but to get walked off
never feels good,” he said following one particularly painful defeat. “We didn’t play a clean game on either side of the baseball, but we did enough to put ourselves in a position to win
a game, and unfortunately we couldn’t finish it.” Those words, delivered without the usual optimism that often softens his critiques, reflected a deeper concern about accountability inside a clubhouse filled with star talent.
The most visible flashpoint centered on the back end of the bullpen. Closer Edwin Díaz, acquired at significant cost and expected to lock down ninth innings after recovering from elbow surgery, struggled mightily upon his return.
In successive appearances he allowed the tying or go-ahead runs, posting an ERA that climbed into double digits in a small sample of outings. The velocity remained impressive, yet the command of his
secondary pitches, particularly the slider that had once made him nearly unhittable, simply was not there. Roberts publicly noted the lack of feel for that pitch and acknowledged that other options in the bullpen were not exactly thriving either.
The repeated late-inning failures became a symbol of larger issues: high-priced pieces failing to deliver when the margin for error shrank to almost nothing.
Offensively the problems were more diffuse yet equally damaging. A lineup featuring Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Kyle Tucker and others averaged fewer than three and a half runs per game during the skid. Quality at-bats evaporated. Adjustments that the coaching staff expected never fully materialized.
Roberts observed that the group was not making the necessary changes against opposing pitching, particularly against fastballs and secondary pitches that previously had been handled with more consistency. In one game he even sent Max Muncy to
the on-deck circle as a potential pinch-hitter for Teoscar Hernández in a desperate search for a spark. The move underscored how thoroughly the usual formula had broken down.
The combination of bullpen instability and offensive quiet produced a razor-thin margin for winning. Starting pitchers could deliver quality outings only to watch the lead evaporate. Role players who had been given opportunities to step up often failed to seize them.
Roberts repeatedly emphasized that the talent level remained high and that panic was not the appropriate response. Yet he also made clear that the current standard of play was unacceptable for a club with championship aspirations.
“We’re just better than this,” he said after one loss. “As we always say, it’s not a try league. We gotta get it done.”
The longer context of the season complicated the narrative. The Dodgers still held a substantial lead in the National League West even after the seven-game slide. Their overall record kept them among the best teams in baseball.
They had already demonstrated the ability to weather difficult stretches in previous title runs. Last season they endured a similar seven-game skid in July and still emerged as champions. That
history provided perspective, but it did not erase the immediate disappointment of watching a roster constructed to dominate instead look ordinary for an extended period.
Behind the scenes, conversations about roster decisions inevitably intensified. High-salary players who underperform create difficult choices for any front office. The Dodgers have long prided themselves on both aggressive acquisition and ruthless evaluation.
When production fails to match expectation, adjustments follow, whether through reduced roles, demotions, or, in rarer cases, early exits from multi-year commitments. Roberts has never been one to air those internal deliberations publicly.
His style has always favored protecting players while demanding better results. The recent stretch, however, tested that balance more severely than most periods of his tenure.
Fans and media filled the silence with speculation. Some pointed to specific underperforming veterans and suggested that patience had run out. Others focused on the broader challenge of managing egos and expectations in a star-laden clubhouse.
The truth, as is often the case, likely sat somewhere in the middle. Opportunities had been extended. Consistent production had not followed in key spots. The cumulative effect contributed to a stretch of baseball that fell well short of the organization’s standards.
Roberts’ public comments after the streak ended remained characteristically restrained. He expressed relief at securing the win while acknowledging that the quality of play still needed significant improvement. The offense had to generate more runs. The bullpen had to regain reliability.
Collective adjustments had to replace individual struggles. None of those fixes would arrive overnight, yet the manager insisted the group possessed the capability to correct course.
What the episode revealed most clearly was the unforgiving nature of a long season even for the most talented clubs. A seven-game losing streak does not define a championship team, but the manner of the losses—the blown
saves, the quiet bats, the failure to capitalize on opportunities—can expose fault lines that require honest attention. Roberts has built his reputation on navigating exactly those moments without losing the room or the message.
Whether the recent struggles ultimately lead to roster changes remains a decision for the front office. What is already evident is that the manager’s patience, while still present, is not infinite when the same mistakes repeat themselves night after night.
The Dodgers will continue to be judged by the highest standard because they have set that standard themselves. A single win that snapped the skid provided temporary relief. Sustained improvement
will determine whether the disappointment of early August becomes a footnote or a turning point. For now, the organization and its manager are left to confront the gap between potential
and performance, a gap that, during the longest skid in nearly a decade, proved wider than anyone in the clubhouse preferred to admit.
