Dave Roberts comment pours even more fuel on the fire of Dodgers-Padres rivalry

Well, it's clear what role Dave Roberts thinks he and the Dodgers are playing in this year's NLDS series; heroes. In a press conference on Monday, Roberts said "That team over there is... You know, they like the villain-type kind of role, and they feed off that," in reference to the Padres.

Roberts didn't specify why he thinks the Padres are the "villains" of this NLDS series, but it's safe to assume it stems from Manny Machado throwing a ball toward (or at, depending on who you ask) the Dodgers dugout during Game 2, an incident which Roberts called "unsettling."

Are the Padres really "villains?"

Not really. This is a bit dramatic from Roberts, especially now that we've seen the alternate angle of Machado's "throw" toward the Dodgers dugout. Have the Padres talked some trash to the Dodgers? Obviously; this is postseason baseball. The Dodgers have given that trash talk right back! To frame this series as San Diego coming in as the big, bad villains while Los Angeles is just out there to play some good, honest baseball is trivial from Roberts. Of course, his view of things is a little skewed as a member of the Dodgers, but does Roberts, in his heart, believe the Padres are the "bad guys?"

It's good to be passionate in the MLB, and it's good to stand up for your team if something nefarious happens. But tagging San Diego as "villains" is a reach from the Dodgers manager based on what we've seen from both teams so far — which is pretty much just normal postseason back-and-forth.

Tensions continue to rise between Dodgers and Padres

So, let's recount. The series is tied at one, Jack Flaherty and Manny Machado had a war of words during Game 2, Machado accused Flaherty of hitting Fernando Tatis after the game and now Dave Roberts has tagged the Padres as "villains" ahead of Game 3. If you're a fan of either team, you probably have strong feelings one way or the other. If you're a neutral fan, you're probably just very excited to watch a fiery Game 3 on Tuesday night.

We'll go out on a limb and say there will be a few more quotes from both sides before this series ends.