Blake Snell’s wife, Haeley Snell, says she received a threatening direct message after the Dodgers’ loss to the Brewers in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series, and the note she shared quickly made the ugly side of sports fandom impossible to ignore.
Haeley Snell posted the message on Instagram story Wednesday night, shortly after Los Angeles dropped into a 3-0 hole in the series. The account behind it, @fernan0177, is private and says it belongs to someone named Kavidies Fernan. The DM read:
“It’s simple: tell that son of a b- to back off before October 20th. Otherwise, I’ll cut off your fingers, one by one.
I don’t care about spending 40k to track you down, you b-. He has until October 20th.
Consider yourself warned.”
Haeley’s caption made clear how she viewed it: “Tell me you lost a sports bet without telling me you lost a sports bet.”
The date mentioned in the message is a strange one. Oct. 20 would come after what would be Game 7 of the NLCS if the Dodgers somehow won their next three games. If that happened, Snell would presumably be the Game 7 starter, meaning he would already have pitched again by then.
Snell’s outing Wednesday was not the total collapse the final score might suggest. He was tagged for a homer on the first pitch, then settled in and struck out the next three batters.
He finished with nine strikeouts, allowed only one other hit, and walked just two. The damage came late, when he gave up two crushing homers in the seventh inning.
For six innings, the Dodgers were in position to steal the night. Will Smith’s bases-loaded double gave them a 2-1 lead by the end of the sixth, and for a moment it felt like Los Angeles had real life in the series.
But the offense never gave them enough help. Outside of Smith’s big swing, the Dodgers went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and stranded eight runners on Wednesday night.
Whatever frustration came from the loss, and however much blame someone wants to assign for the Dodgers’ position in the NLCS, threatening a player’s family is way over the line.
In Other News...
Miguel Rojas Already Has A New Dodgers Role After Retirement
Miguel Rojas is moving into a new chapter almost as soon as his playing one has ended, with the longtime infielder officially announcing his retirement after a 13-year career spent with the Dodgers and Marlins. He shared the news and his gratitude on Instagram after Los Angeles was knocked out of the postseason, closing the book on a career that ended with him firmly tied to the Dodgers organization.
Rojas will stay close to the club in his next role, joining the Dodgers front office in player development. For a team that has valued his steady presence and understanding of the game, the move keeps him in the building as Los Angeles looks to keep developing the next wave of talent, even as one of its most trusted veterans steps away from the field. [Read more 🡒]
Mookie Betts Breaks Silence As Dodgers Face A Painful Offseason
The Dodgers are heading into an offseason full of hard questions, and Mookie Betts offered a glimpse of how the group is processing the ending. After the loss to the Brewers in the National League Championship Series, Betts posted a message on Instagram thanking Dodgers fans, a small but telling acknowledgment after a season that fell short of another championship run.
Betts own postseason line underscored how difficult October was for him and for the lineup as a whole, with a .207 batting average and no home runs or RBIs in 29 at-bats. Now the focus shifts from the disappointment of missing a third straight title to the roster decisions ahead, with the Dodgers facing a winter that could reshape what the team looks like next season. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Face A Painful Offseason Decision With Key Arms At Risk
After another October exit at the hands of the Brewers, the Dodgers are already turning the page to an offseason that could reshape the pitching staff and parts of the roster. A group of familiar names is heading toward free agency, and the front office will have to sort out which pieces still fit the clubs plans, which ones might draw real interest elsewhere, and which veterans could be looking at very different futures.
The list includes arms and clubhouse mainstays such as Kris Bubic, Brusdar Graterol, Eric Lauer, Evan Phillips, Blake Treinen and Alex Vesia, along with position players Enrique Hernandez and Miguel Rojas, plus Tarik Skubal as part of the broader market picture. Some of those decisions are straightforward in theory and messy in practice, especially when recent performance and career stage point in different directions. For a team built to contend every year, the challenge now is deciding how much turnover it can stomach without weakening the group that has to go back and chase another title. [Read more 🡒]