Of course Dave Roberts is not going to stand at a microphone in April and admit the Dodgers are checking the Padres’ score every night like nervous fans refreshing a group chat. That was never going to happen. The Dodgers are the Dodgers, Roberts is too polished for that, and nobody in Los Angeles is going to publicly treat a hot San Diego stretch like a five-alarm fire.
But that’s also what makes this whole thing so satisfying from the Padres’ side. After the Dodgers’ loss to the Giants earlier this week, Roberts was asked about San Diego catching Los Angeles atop the National League West. His answer was exactly the kind of quote that sounds calm on the surface and becomes a lot more fun once Padres fans get their hands on it.
“I don’t think anyone [on the Dodgers] is too concerned about the Padres and what they’re doing,” Roberts said. He later added that the Dodgers do not really concern themselves with anyone and that it was “no disrespect to any team.”
Technically, that’s the right answer. Also, good luck selling Padres fans on the idea that there’s nothing spicy here.
Dave Roberts gives Padres fans new reason to enjoy Dodgers pressure
The Padres have already made themselves a Dodgers talking point again, and that matters more than Roberts’ attempt to brush it away. San Diego started the season 2-5, then ripped off a stretch that pulled it into a first-place tie with Los Angeles.
By no means have the Padres taken control of the division. The Dodgers are still loaded, still annoying, still operating with the kind of financial margin most fan bases can only stare at with bitter envy. But the Padres being tied with that machine right now is also not nothing.
That’s especially true because San Diego hasn’t exactly been floating through perfect conditions. The rotation picture has been messy enough that the Padres went out and added Lucas Giolito as another veteran option.
And still, here they are. That’s the part Roberts cannot make disappear with a smooth quote. The Padres have done this without looking like a fully formed version of themselves. They have done it while patching together rotation answers, leaning on their bullpen, and riding an offense that still has its work cut out. There are obvious long-season concerns.
For Padres fans, the fun is Roberts had to answer the question at all. That’s the difference between chasing relevance and creating pressure. The Padres are not just quietly stacking wins in the background. They are forcing the Dodgers into the familiar posture of pretending none of this registers. Maybe that’s true inside their clubhouse. Maybe Los Angeles really is too experienced and too talented to care about early season movement in the standings.
But from San Diego’s side, that almost makes it better. The Padres don’t need the Dodgers to confess concern. They just need to keep making them explain why they are not.