I know we were all bummed out over the results of this weekend series with the Giants. First, a pitcher they had owned all year shuts them down. Then they rally to tie and then go ahead. Then they lose in extras on an error on a easy play. They come back on Saturday behind some great pitching and win 6-1. Then on Sunday, their Ace implodes and gives up 6 runs to a tram he has owned his entire career.
The offense continues it’s month long struggle to score, and does not rally until the 9th inning, blowing several chances along the way against the Giants parade of bullpen pitchers. So it was a downer all the way around.
That is the bad news. The good news is that they are only a game back. They have 25 to play. 4 with the slumping Cardinals, then 3 at home against the Padres followed by 3 with the D-Backs.
Then they leave on their final road trip of the year, 3 in Cincy, 3 in Colorado, and then on to Arizona for 3 more with the D-Backs. Then they come home for the final 6, 3 each with the Padres and then the Brewers.
While all that is happening, the Giants are in Colorado for 3, then head to Chicago for 3 before coming home to face the Padres for 4 and Atlanta for 3. They then head out on the road again for 3 with the Padres and 3 more with the Rockies. They finish the season at home with 3 against Arizona and finish with 3 against the Padres. The Giants have 10 games left with the Padres, 6 with the Rockies, 3 with the Cubs, D-Backs, and Braves.
The Dodgers have 6 left with the Padres and D-Backs, 4 with St. Louis, 3 with the Brewers and Rockies and Reds. The Reds, Padres, Brewers and Cardinals are over .500. D-Backs and Rockies are not. So 12 games against sub 500 teams and 13 with teams above .500. The Brewers staff will probably be the toughest they face in this stretch. Cardinals staff has been hit hard by injuries, Mikolas, who is starting game one has a 0-1 record. The other pitchers they will face are Happ, Wainwright and Kim. Flaherty is out. Rockies have been a very good home team, so they will need to put up some runs there. D-Backs are a mess, the Reds have been slumping and the Padres staff is also hit hard by injuries.
The Dodgers need to find their offense and find it fast. But they have been in this position before. 2018 going down to the wire with Colorado. Even though they have some veterans, the Giants have not been in this position before. And their starting pitching has been really hit hard.
The Dodgers can do this. They have a deep team. They have weathered all that has been thrown their way. The have plugged the holes and gotten to where they are on the strength of their pitching. And I am not going to let a bad game by one of them make believe any less that they are not going to be right there at the end.
I believe they will call Beaty back up. He has been very hot at OKC hitting over .400. No one else looks ready to contribute to the offense. Lux, who was hitting close to .300 last week, is now at .240. Of course the pitchers are going to be on a shuttle service. But hopefully Kersh comes out of his start at OKC feeling good. And Gonsolin is getting close also. You have to keep believing in the Blue.
The pitching has kept this team as close as they are. It will have to keep doing so for them to keep close to the Giants and hope some of the opponents of SF can string a couple of wins in a row against them. Yesterday’s win over the Cardinals was as frustrating as it was satisfying. The offense once again went into slumber mode after scoring early. And it was only Scherzer’s gem that kept fans on the edge of their seats because the offense was over matched the rest of the game.
I have to keep believing that someone in this lineup is going to get hot and lift the team up. Who that might be, I have no clue. But my obvious choice would be Betts. He is an ignitor when he is hitting. Turner, Trea, and Muncy need to crank it up a little too.
I checked this morning and the Dodgers are now 9 games over .500 against teams with a over .500 winning pct. Their road record is almost as good as the Giants. And they are great at home. The Giants are 11 over against plus .500 teams. And they have a few tough customers in Atlanta, the Brewers and Padres left on their schedule. It should be fun down the stretch. By the way Dodgerram. the Dodgers record against lefty’s is better than you think. They are over .500 against them. So Happ being a lefty with a high ERA is not as daunting as you might think. Pujols and Betts can inform their team mates what he throws. They both faced him a lot in the AL.
lux went 3-4 with a homer yesterday, Beaty 2-5 and is not batting an even .400. Offensively both guys would be better offensive solutions than Belli at the moment. But I am willing to give Belli some more time to get it together. However if he continues to flail at the plate as he has done all year batting below -170 now ( is that even possible for a former MVP ? has this ever happened ?) the Dodgers will have to make a chance in the starting lineup.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!
His injury has as much to do with his bad stats as anything. It took Kemp a year and a half to come all the way back. Bellinger missed almost all of spring training, then broke his leg, came back from that and had the hammy issue. This is pretty much a lost season.
Yes Kemp lost power. But I’m pretty sure his batting average was more than 80points higher I don’t think it’s fair to compare him to Kemp.
I don’t know who you’ed compare Belli’ to
Kemp had the benefit of a full spring training, and was not reinjured 4 games into the season. Bellinger hit .260 in June. He has struggled since.
Not to mention, when he does barrel it up, as often happens to slumpers …… he still makes an out. Example was that last line drive he hit, it was smoked …… right into the shift.
cheers
pb+
Yes I think its not a matter of Beli ‘getting it together’. The guy is physically not able to perform and Beatty would be a better option. How long can you stick with a guy who is just about the worst hitter in Baseball. And when you see a lineup with him batting 7, Barnes 8 and then the pitcher. YIKES!!
I am not saying to give up on the guy, but not ready this year.
One thing about Belli and his probable injury woes: His batting was bad even before he hurt his shoulder celebrating that Game 7 go ahead homer with Kike. That should not be forgotten when evaluating his troubles.
He was not very good to say the least in 2020. That downward trend has gotten momentum in 2021 to an unparallaled ineffectiveness at the plate never seen by a former MVP.
The injury iMHO is only part of his troubles at the plate. And that is a worrysome fact when it comes to the point where the Dodgers maybe have to decide between him and Corey and who will get a huge contract.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
How many hitters were really good last season? Belli was not the only one. Pederson hit .190, Muncy hit .192, Bellinger by comparison was a superstar hitting .239, and he got hot the last month of the year. He had the same number of HR’s as Muncy, 12, and more RBI’s Turner and Seager were the only players with plus .300 batting averages. So your argument is wrong. He had shoulder problems BEFORE he hurt it worse with the celebration with Kike. He had 4 HR’s and 13 RBI’s in the post season, including a crucial game winner against the Braves in game 7. Muncy on the other hand had 3 and 14. And here is a telling fact, Bellinger played in 10 games this spring. He did not even play until a little over a week before spring was over. He got 28 at bats, less than half of what he would normally get. His shoulder at that time was definitely not very strong. He played 4 games and broke his leg. He came back in May and played 3 games, and hurt his hammy. So he played a total of 7 games in the first two months of the season. And they never sent him on any rehab stints. He played in 16 games in June and had his best month hitting .260. Since then, he has struggled. His shoulder is still not at full strength. He has played in 79 games. He played in 50 last season. And you are wrong about the contract part too. Bellinger is under team control until 2024. He is eligible for arbitration but is not a free agent until after the 2023. season. Bellinger will not be 27 until next season, Seager is 27 now. Bellinger will be entering his prime years next season, and I would bet, with a full offseason to work on strength in his shoulder, and working with staff on his mechanics, getting a full spring training next season and starting with a new outlook, will work wonders for his mental and physical peace of mind. And Seager has been somewhat injury prone himself. Missing the better part of a couple of years, including this season.
Except for the fact that Beaty A. does not play CF, and B. Is a much worse defensive option almost anywhere but 2dt base where he is ok.
Beatty is a very good pinch hitter with runners in scoring position and can play LF and 1B.
Not very well.
My lineup without Belli and until AJ returns:
TT, 2b
CS, ss
Mookie, rf
MM, 1b
JT, 3b
Smith, c
Beaty, lf
JT3, cf
It is a good RH-LH balanced lineup and Beatys subpar defense is not hurting too much in LF. I put CT3 in the 8th hole to make sure Beaty gets some good pitches and it gives some speed at the bottom of the lineup.
I DFA McKinney and bring up Lux who I think is the more versatile defender and better hitter.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
CT 3 is almost as useless as Bellinger is lately. And he strikes out way too much. I get rid of McKinney in a heartbeat, but I am way less sold on Lux than you are. He would simply be a defensive replacement in my mind. His bat is a huge question mark at the major league level. He has always hit at AAA.
The Dodgers need to DFA Flyout Strikeout Mckinney ,bring up Steven Souza Jr. for a second time and his much needed outfield right handed bat with Pollock on the IL to platoon with Bellinger against lefties,, and option Mckinstry to OC and bring up Beatty for the stretch run.
All eyes will be on Oklahoma City tonight with Kershaw hopefully going 3 innings and able to return to the rotation or bullpen against Arizona next week .
Souza is on the taxi squad right now.
He will be activated at some point.
Activated today, got a run scoring double
Wow, we had a nice win yesterday after a brutal travel day with a masterpiece by Scherzer and all anyone wants to talk about is Bellinger who absolutely smashed a 107 MPH bullet off the bat against a 94 MPH 4 Seamer. Here’s the list of guys in the lineup yesterday that didn’t hit a ball that hard…
Trea Turner
Max Muncy
Mookie Betts
Justin Turner
Corey Seager
Chris Taylor
Austin Barnes
Yep, that’s right. The hardest hit ball all day was off the bat of Cody Bellinger.
Please stop with that hard hit ball. Even a pitcher can hit a ball hard here and there. I am sure some posters here could occasionally hit a ball that hard if you give them enough AB.
Fact is: Cody is hitting below .170 all season long. All season! That is not your normal slump it is grand canyon of a slump. And as I said above his hitting woes began well before he hurt his shoulder in Game 7 of the NLCS last year.
At some point you can not carry a bat like that in the regular lineup. I am not at that point yet but pretty close and if he does not start producing I hope the Ddogers insert a player in the lineup that does. His defense is superb but his hitting is atrocious to say the least.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I doubt any of us could square up a 94 mile an hour heater. Maybe a 45 mph softball. Hard hit rate matters. Oh it helps to get a couple of bleeders now and then . Don’t belittle people who do something you have no shot at ever being competent at. Bellinger has an MVP and ROY< you and I have none. End of story. He has not played close to a full season either. He has played in just a little more than half. And that shoulder had been giving him problems for a couple of years before he hurt it with Kike.
I guarantee that even 30 years ago, I could not hit a 94 MPH fastball with a 107 MPH exit velocity.
However, it wasn’t the velo that gave me hope, it was the way it was hit: a flat controlled swing and BTW, it doesn’t take any inside info to know how hard Cody is working. Just listen to Nomar, Orel, and David Vassey and you would know.
Only because you could not do it does not mean no other poster could.
and BTW, I was using a little exaggeration here. The comparision should not be you, me or bear or any other poster but another MLB bat like Beaty, Lux, Souza for example.
And Bear: Yes, he has a MVP and ROY on his resummee. That is great. But you know the phrase What have you done for me lately ? How long will those awards go ? I really like Belli, always have since the Dodgers called him up, but the trend is worrysome. If the shoulder was hurt before the Kike incident it did not stop him to win MVP and ROY awards.
I am still hopeful he will eventually turn it around but maybe the Dodgers will be forced to go a different route this season.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Like I told you earlier, he was a better hitter last season then Muncy or Pederson so your argument does not hold water. And you said any poster here with enough attempts could do it. I doubt they could see, let alone square up a 94 MPH fastball. I was a pretty good hitter when I was young, but I could not do that.This late in the season, with not being able to make any trades to bring in help anymore, the roster limited to 28, tell me, just which direction should they take? They have limited options, almost none at AAA, and none of them even close to being as good as Belli can be. They have stuck with him this long, they will do it until the end.
I could hit anything. The most difficult pitch I ever had to make contact with was one of those small plastic whiffle balls,you know, the ones with no holes in them? Stevie Castro could throw one of those hard and you had no idea where it was going. A baseball? Has seams, which ever direction it’s spinning, that’s the direction it’s going. Helped to have 20-10 vision. Nobody else in my neighborhood did.
Actually, hard hit balls are something mgmt pays A LOT of attn to. When Will Smith was having a pretty horrible start to the year they kept saying that he was killing the ball, but it was ending up in the wrong places & he was making hard outs. They were encouraged by that & said that they would start falling …. they did. Not saying Belli is not in a worse place, but barreled up balls start giving the hitter the right feeling.
cheers
pb+
Dodgerram, the reason I point this out is because I want to encourage people to do some research before forming an opinion. But, people like you keep throwing out nonsense based on more nonsense instead of doing their homework. You’re claim about even a pitcher can hit a ball hard here and there, in this context suggests that Bellinger is about the same as a pitcher hitting. You are wrong and not very bright if you truly believe this.
It is mostly suggested that Matt Beaty would be an adequate replacement for Bellinger by putting him in left field. Here’s the homework…
Consider that Matt Beaty is a horrible outfielder. Consider that CT3 is a worse CF than Cody. So, you are weakening two defensive positions for a team that keeps winning on pitching and defense with the entire offense struggling for the last two weeks.
Now consider that there is a certain amount of luck when it comes to batted balls. That’s why we keep track of BABIP because baseball people know that luck will eventually even out in the long run. I look at statcast data to see if someone is lucky or unlucky.
BB% is a good indicator of quality of contact. It is the percentage of Barrels (Ideal combination of Exit Velocity and Launch angle) per Batted Ball Event (Balls that are put into play).
Your nonsense argument about a pitcher, blah, blah, blah is just BS as you can see below…
Player BB%
Bueller 0%
Urias 2.4%
Beaty 3.4%
McKinney 6.5%
Souza Jr. 6.7%
T Turner 6.8%
J Turner 7.6%
M Betts 7.6%
Bellinger 7.8%
Okay, let’s compromise. At your request, I will stop with the hard hit ball, if you stop posting solutions without doing your homework like “Beatys subpar defense is not hurting too much in LF” Have you looked up any stats to backup this claim?
Big leaguers are supposed to hit the ball hard. No such thing as a moral victory, it’s all about results. Twenty years ago I once shot a hole-in- one and have never come close again. That feat didn’t make me ready for the PGA tour but it felt good.
Results is what we need to see, we’ve seen hard hit balls that never equate to a slump buster. He has to start hitting if the Dodgers make a good playoff run and defend their title.
Actually MLB players first are supposed to get on base. I cannot count have many we have both won and lost because of timely weak ones through the shift, broken bat slow rollers, bunts, etc. Yes, FOR SURE you want some power hitters as well & for good reason, but the first thing you have to do is get on base any way you can.
cheers
pb+
I have a question: Why does everyone mention Buehler, Wheler and now Scherzer as potential Cy Young winners, but no one mentions Urias … Doesn’t he deserve at least one mention? He is the leader in wins…
ERA Jorge. His is pretty high, and he has had the benefit of pretty good run support. He does not strike out a lot of hitters. There a lots of reasons. He also does not go as deep into games consistently as all of the other pitchers do.
Does’t he have the highest run support in the league?
I think he does
Is Mitch White the scheduled “bulk innings” guy today?
If so, then is Price Andre Jackson the bulk guy tomorrow?
Probably, But no opener announced yet.
Yep, Doc said as much in his interview yesterday. White bulk on Tuesday, Jackson on Wednesday. Price will be a multi inning reliever when he feels well enough to pitch.
Bear’s comment on how bad Taylor has been lately has been somewhat overlooked because of the constant Bellinger criticism. I knew Taylor has been struggling lately, but last 30 game stats show he has been even worse than Bellinger in contact rate. Taylor’s KO rate during the last 30 games is 39%. For that KO rate he has produced a HR every 37 ABs which is not what you want to see. He hit one out yesterday, but I believe it was his second hit in the last 7 games. And that was a HR. So right now the Dodgers are playing with only six somewhat productive offensive players with Taylor, Bellinger, and the pitcher’s spot adding almost nothing to the offense. That’s a tough situation to overcome in trying to win a division. To have played as well as they have in the past month is a remarkable achievement.
Agree Ted!
I might add that defense is important. Defensive stats are not very accurate especially in small sample sizes. But, anyone with eyes can see that Bellinger is the best center fielder on this team that also has CT3 and Mookie. Part of the reason we don’t allow many runs is because of the outfield defense.
Replacing Bellinger with Matt Beaty is akin to patching your leaky tire with duct tape and bubble gum. Sure, you might get by for a little while, but it’s eventually going to explode on you. Beaty is what he is. A bad fielder with a decent bat against righties off the bench. If you need to give a guy a day off, he can get the job done. But, he isn’t a valid solution.
By considering both injuries, defense and very bad luck. It just makes more sense to let Bellinger try to keep getting healthier because the payoff is going to be much better than we can hope for with any of his potential replacements. If it goes South, you still have an elite outfield defense at all three positions.
Right now watching Bellinger hit is like watching Albert play centerfield
Right now watching Bellinger hit is like reading comments about Bellinger. Actually, reading the comments is worse because we can all recognise bad comments, but mose can’t recognise a well hit ball that finds a glove.
Well I can recognize a swing and a miss that finds the catchers glove.
Never seen Albert in center, but I remember how bad he was at 3rd. And Taylor swings and misses WAY MORE than Belli does.
I am not for or against Cody Bellinger.
My entire point is that the people closest to the situation should have a better idea than we do.
I believe that they do… and I trust that they will do their jobs.
If they decide to play him, there must be a reason and if they decide to sit him, there must be a reason.
I am not going to lose my mind over it (one way or another) for the sole reason that I believe they are in possession of more facts… facts of which I may or may not be ignorant.
The word ” ignoramus” comes right from the Latin word, which literally means “we do not know,”
Ignoramus is an American word meaning don’t listen to Amos cuz that guy doesn’t have a clue what he’s talking about. There are multiple Amos’s on the internet, even a few show up here once in a while, or every few minutes.
White pitched 6 innings Friday night for RC, so probably tomorrow is more likely and Jackson pitched 4.2 innings last Saturday for Oklahoma City and could technically pitch tonight with 4 days rest.
No chance of that, he is not on the roster, White is.
Don’t know if it’s been mentioned but former Dodger prospect A.J. Alexy, who was traded for Yu Darvish, has had a really nice start to his MLB career.
He is 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA and has struck out 11 in 11 IP and allowed just 2 hits.
Only negative – 5 BB!
You never know what you are giving up…
* Max is so efficient. He’s 7 over par after the 1st inning, based on 15 pitches an inning being par (I actually used 16 but 15’s are easier to count). So the 2nd inning is 10 pitches, so he’s just 3 over. After 3 he’s 5 under. After 4 he’s 11 under. He finished 17 pitches under par for 8 innings with 13 strike outs. That’s incredible. He could have easily pitched the 9th and been well under 120 but there was no need with a 4 run lead. A 4 run lead in his games feels like 7.
* Mookie and Smith seem to get more fastball strikes called on them that are a whole baseball off the plate.
* Some guys just show bunt to move defenders with no real intention of actually bunting. I’m not sure Belli was fully committed to that bunt attempt yesterday. Like many have mentioned, I’d like to see him use that tool way more ofter. Like once a game when the situation calls for it. I know he’s hitting 8th a lot but still lay down a bunt single, then sacrifice him to 2nd with the pitcher to get to the top of the order.
* Joe Davis is fixated sometimes with exit velo on batted balls that are outs. I pay attention to exit velo but the game isn’t our barreled up balls versus theirs. Dusty Baker has said it best “I don’t care about balls hit hard. I care about hits.” I have no problem with exit velocity but there’s something to be said for ‘aim” as well. Like missing a shift once in awhile.
* I enjoyed Orel’s conversation about restaurants in St. Louis like Mike Shannon’s Steak place and the Italian places on The Hill. Tommy knew his Italian food. What was funny was Orel describing their signals and stuff to know when and where their meals were comped. When you’d think that wouldn’t matter to a big league player; to many, it does. In those days meal money was about $105 a day, but despite that generous amount for those days, I never knew a big leaguer to turn down a free dinner, or cocktail, or beer. I was involved with a few bars and restaurants around the west and we catered to the sports crowds. You’d be amazed at the NBA stars who sat at my bar and never paid a dime. All the tabs were picked up by strangers. And many times I’ve seen them stiff the bartender or waitress. They paid for nothing. My staff hated waiting on them. My friend Hot Rod Hunley owes me for about 1000 Budweisers. Frank Layden paid his way and everybody’s around him. He wasn’t hesitant to pick up the check. I was with him when he quietly gave gloves and scarfs off him body to homeless folks.
I bet Tommy Lasorda may have gotten some free meals but I bet the wait and kitchen staffs got well taken care of. The MiLB guys might get a free meal at favorite spots at home occasionally but never on the road. The guys with the cash got the most freebies.
Tommy used to frequent Bobby’s (not our Bobby) http://www.restaurantwebexperts.com/BobbysRestaurant/
which back then was full of Dodger memorabilia, and an Italian Joint that I cannot remember the name. We spent plenty of nights in those joints with Tommy and many of the Dodger Players. I went there for 20 years.
Years later, at Camelback Ranch, Tommy and I were sitting in the bleachers at one of the back fields and he said “I recognize you from Vero Beach… Yeah, you’ve been to Bobbys. And then I told him that I was at the last game at Vero and reminded him of his final speech to the crowd there.
“Our” Bobby’s would be more like a Del Taco or El Pollo Loco
The privileged. Screw ‘em.
Bellinger stabbed at that bunt. Horrible mechanics. He clearly doesn’t work on bunting.
Dusty cares about line drives. He may say something like that just to get attention but he knows 7 out of 10 line drives are hits. Well, they used to be. Not so with the shifts. Exit velocity is new speak but line drives have been around forever. Hit it hard and you will be rewarded. There are some things Bellinger could do to have a better chance at hitting one or three hard every night. We’ve talked about a few, obviously he’s not going to do them so, we wait. He’ll come around eventually. Maybe not this year but eventually.
The privileged. Screw ‘em.
Listen to this song:
Good song.
We pay an FCI pushing $250, these guys are all millionaires and I’m gonna buy them a drink? I don’t think so. STFU Orel. Please. Just stop talking.
I was doing the same thing with the pitch counts yesterday. After the first, it was “oh crap”, then it went to “okay, not so bad”, then it went to “okay I like this, and then to “RIGHT ON”.
Supposed “obstacles” get thrown in front of him & he just seems to steamroll right over them.
cheers
pb+
You are wrong and you are frequently wrong and frankly it’s an embarassment to this site that your voice is so prominent. I wish you the best in whatever you’re good at but writing about baseball ain’t it.
DodgerLover
I’m with you. I agree.
Not saying it will happen, but if it does, Has a team ever received a Cy Young winner and a Batting Champ in one trade? Max is possible for the Cy Young & Trea is a possibility as Batting Champ. Could Belli need glasses? Some of the pitches at which he swings are not close to the strike zone. Some umps don’t seem to know the zone either!
“Could Belli need glasses?” My wife asked me that the other night. Good question. I would assume these guys get their eyes checked periodically. And yeah, some umps definitely need to get their eyes checked. ABS. Can’t happen soon enough as far as I’m concerned.
Most likely next season if all goes right. At this point I think one of the biggest battles in the new CBA is going to be the owners desire to lower the Tax threshold to under 200 million with a 100 million dollar floor. No way the players are buying into that. They want more money,, not less. Inciarte DFA’d again. Braves extended Morton for one year at 20 million.
Funny you mentioned eyes checked, Badger. I mentioned that long ago as he swung through more and more pitches like he had a hole in his bat. I assume the Dodgers have had his vision checked long ago and he’s fine. But with high school teams, I would frequently recommend that parents take their kids to the eye doctor for a check up. Many times vision problems were their hitting problem. I had a latin kid transfer in once and when his eyes were blue, he couldn’t hit. He hit a little better when his eyes were brown. Better but not great with a very nice swing. Come to find out he was wearing hand-me-down blue contacts. He got new lenses, just for him, and he mashed for 4 years all the way through college.
I will say for the 10th time. There are a few things about Belli that have led to problems. He drops his head and eyes 15 inches to get into a launch position and start that long, complicated swing. That position that he gets to with bent knees and flex at his hips is where he should start. Take that stance. The killer move is that he is still moving into that position when the ball is half way to home. That’s why he is consistently late on pitches and his timing is miserable. If you can frame by frame with your remote, watch it. Brandon Belt stand very upright as well but with more knee flex. The difference is Belt has gotten into hitting position, ready for his trigger, before the pitch is released. His foot’s down and he’s ready. Belli is not ready. He’s still moving that head and eyes into position while the ball is getting on him. No time and no trigger.
I have no idea how that hasn’t been fixed. You can tell me that since I only coached very proficient 18 and 19 year olds that I don’t know shit from apple butter. But basic solid hitting fundamentals aren’t a secret only known by select professional coaches. And look where many new young hitting coaches started. If you haven’t seen quality late teen prospects play, you need to. They have been well taught and well coached before they hit pro ball. The basic mechanics are the same, just adjusted for extremely talented competition.
I kinda promise that this is the last hitting thoughts I’ll share about Bellinger until I hear the same advice come out now that some of us were analyzing months ago.
Trea is also in the running for the MVP
I think this season is unique and very special and very difficult to repeat how things have turned out. That the team is on track to achieve 100 victories with the number of injuries of key players but above all that it will achieve it with one of the weakest player benches in MLB, for most of the season, it seems to me an incredible achievement. This team has overcome very strong things and is still in the fight, this team is tough, this team is special.
I was just listening to MLB.Radio and they said that based upon the Pathogorian Win-Loss Model the Dodgers are 5 games behind where they actually should be and the Giants are 5 games ahead of where they should be. They have been lucky and the Dodger have been cursed. Based upon the Pathogorian Model, the Dodgers should be 9 games ahead of the Giants… except they are not!
Always thought the Pathogorian was an old building in Greece………
It is a THEORY about an old Greek bldg 🙂
Thank you for that clarification. I thought I was hallucinating.
I saw on yahoo today in their “power rankings” the we have again overtaken the midgets even with the loss Sunday. They noted even with that loss we have been better than the midget for the last month. I don’t put a lot of stock in what they say, but it was there.
cheers
pb+
Just a lot of BS. Like hard hit balls% and BABIP
Hard hit balls % and BABIP is BS???? Thus the difference in being a fan and being someone who gets paid to build teams.
When I say it is BS, I mean it is just coming up with some stat to state the obvious. Or if the BABIP is lower than expected it is ‘bad luck’. That is BS. So if you have a low BABIP chances are you are hitting weak shots, or popups, or ‘hard hit balls’ into the shift. So why do you need another stat to state the obvious.?
I do not know. Ask the guys who make the baseball decisions because they certainly look at those numbers.
When you say pathagorian I have to ask y?
It’s how to calculate WAR — square hits and square K’s, add them together and the square root of that sum equals the new WAR.
Ahhh…silence is golden…..one of the biggest pain in the ass residents is going to be gone for a month or so. I am going out to California for Christmas this year. Not driving, taking the train. I hate short bench’s, Limit’s the managers options. With 28 spots now, they are still carrying only 12 position players.
Bellinger is hitting .165/.240/.304/.544. His BA against fastballs 94 MPH or higher is .093. They pinch hit for him with Austin Barnes for heaven’s sake.
All of the happy talk about hard hit balls can’t disguise what he’s done this year. He has an OPS+ of 48 where 100 is league average. You can put lipstick on a pig but he won’t look any better. Bellinger is a liability at the plate right now. Period.
He’s not going to figure it out this year. Maybe in 2022 (if there’s a 2022 season).
By the way – for all of those who said that he is figuring things out in June when his numbers improved, his OPS in July was .401, in August was .597 and so far in September it’s .077!
And when they hit him 7th and Barnes 8th, they essentially run only 2/3 of a lineup out there.
Last 30 games:
Bellinger 26G, 84AB, 12 H, 2 HR, 8 RBI, .143 AVG , .170 OBP, .262 SLG, .432 OPS
CT3 24 88 15 3 9 .170 .245 .307 .552
Muncy 25 91 17 8 14 .187 .282 .495 .776
J. Turner 22 71 16 1 5 .225 .333 .262 .432
But the bullpen has always been our weak link?! Because AF doesn’t know how to build a pen. Well in the end he didn’t know how to build a lineup!
The problem is that there is no bona fide depth in position bench players when Doc needs to rest players or bench players that are not hitting.
So, leading the league in runs scored means nothing when Seager, Bellinger, Betts, Pollock, et al have missed bunches of time?
Translation:
BA over past 30 games:
Cody Bellinger – .165
Autin Barnes – .203
Chris Taylor – .205
Max Muncy – .191
Justin Turner – .225
So, Cody is the suckest of the suckiest!
Well at one time or another all those guys had hot streaks when we needed them EXCEPT Belli. And he is the least likely to ‘turn it around’ with 25 games to go.
Not counting Barnes who is just there to fill in at catcher
What, they should be 30-0 instead of 23-7.
No, But Beli is not going to come around this year. And against quality pitchibg in the playoffs, his weakness will just be magnified
And yet they are 23-7 in their last 30 games. Which is a better pace than their incredible 60 game WL % they were at last year. They are at a 124 win pace over their last 30 games. How about instead of looking at all of the negativity, we give plaudits to a team that has done whatever it takes to find a way to win. For the entire month of July, the team was going on two starting pitchers. Since August 1, they are up to all of three starting pitchers.
I cannot explain Belli, but somehow someway they still win with his awful offensive production. Belli has been playing GG CF for the last couple of years, and yet when he may have misplayed a ball on Sunday, all of a sudden he is not a good CF. Some out there just want to bitch. And that is acceptable. I will not apologize for staying positive, and I will not dissuade anyone from finding negativity even in a win. Somebody steps up (including Billy McKinney) most every game to bring home a win. They got five hits yesterday but some how scored 5 runs and got a win. The last time I checked the team with the most runs (not hits) gets the win. No team has scored more runs. Instead of complaining about the lack of BA/OBP/SLG/OPS with some players, be glad for a 5-1 win even with 3 singles, 1 double, 1 HR. and 2 BB.
Jeff,
Many here suffer from Opticrectumitis.
That where a nerve in their eye, crosses with a nerve in their a$$ and gives them a sh__ty outlook!
Corey Knebel to Start Tonight Against the Cardinals.Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts did say that they expect to use Mitch White in a bulk role in this one. In the last couple of weeks, they have used him several times and deployed him both as a starter and out of the bullpen following an opener.
DODGERS SELECT STEVEN SOUZA JR.
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers selected the contract of outfielder Steven Souza Jr. and optioned infielder/outfielder Zach McKinstry. In order to make room on the 40-man roster, the Dodgers transferred left-handed pitcher Garrett Cleavinger to the 60-day injured list.
Souza Jr., 32, returns for his second stint with the Dodgers after hitting .160 with one homer and two RBI in 13 games for Los Angeles. He has spent the majority of the season in Triple-A Oklahoma City, batting .247 (37-for-150) with 12 doubles, nine homers and 27 RBI. He has spent his Major League career with Washington (2014), Tampa Bay (2015-2017), Arizona (2018), Chicago (2020) and Los Angeles, slashing combined .231/.321/.415 with 72 homers and 205 RBI in 495 games. He signed with the Dodgers as a minor league free agent on April 12.
McKinstry, 26, was added to the roster on September 1, going 0-for-1 in his lone pinch hit appearance. On the season, he is batting .215 with seven homers and 29 RBI in 60 games for the Dodgers. In six minor league seasons in the Dodgers organization, he has hit a combined .269 (349-for-1296) with 33 homers and 157 RBI across five different levels. He was originally drafted by the Dodgers in the 33rd round of Central Michigan University in the 2016 First Year Player Draft.
I sure hope that Souza has some magic in him. Anyone can get hot, let’s see if he steps up.
Lux looks like he’s starting to figure out how to hit again in the minors. He’s played one game in center field so far in AAA.
Does anyone trust the numbers at AAA OKC?
They worked for Will Smith.
I guess I should have specified this year.
“The numbers” from OKC have not been much to trust this year. Certainly not much for position players. Except when Beatty get sent down & then called back up.
I would have taken Matt Davidson:
In 272 PS, he has 22 HR and is batting .283 with a .360 OB%/.624 Slg/.985 OPS
But they probably know something or three I don’t!
According to baseball Savant , Lux is the second fastest dodger behind Trea Turner . Speed is a big factor in playing centerfield. But you also have to figure in getting a good jump and running good routes. He’s used to seeing the ball off the bat from middle the diamond so that helps. If he learns to play the outfield, maybe he could be our next super utility player.
That’s if he learns to hit major league pitching
Tonight’s Lineup:
HITTERS H-AB RBI HR SB AVG
T. Turner2B 159-498 58 21 26 .319
J. Turner3B 126-452 71 21 2 .279
A. Pujols1B 60-251 48 16 2 .239
C. SeagerSS 74-264 39 8 1 .280
C. TaylorLF 124-469 71 20 13 .264
W. SmithC 94-355 67 22 3 .265
S. Souza Jr.RF 4-25 2 1 0 .160
C. BellingerCF 45-273 32 9 2 .165
C. KnebelP —– — — –
No Mookie or Max
So Mookie needs some rest yet again `? Hmm, I thought he was feeling better than all season.
Go Dodgers””””””””””””””””
Normal rest day like Roberts always does. Has nothing to do with him being tired.
Right, and they’re just being careful with him. It’s the prudent thing to do
Exactly. And someone else will get a day tomorrow. Probably Turner.
2021 Batting average vs LHP.
Trea Turner .323
Billy McKinney .313(5-16)
Albert Pujols .313
A.J. Pollock .298
Chris Taylor .293
Corey Seager .290
Max Muncy .283
Justin Taylor .264
Mookie Betts .262
Will Smith .218
Austin Barnes . 214
Steven Souza .200 (3-15)
Cody Bellinger .118
Sorry but the numbers going down were in line when I typed it but when I posted it, they came out not exactly under each other. Well I tried but you get the jist of it.
You are going to see Cardinal Fans go crazy when Albert comes to bat.
Doc is batting him 3rd out of “professional courtesy!”
Albert. Unbelievable
Isn’t that just a great thing? And you just knew he was going to do something great.
Put Albert Pujols en Center Field!!! Jajaja
I have enjoyed writing for this site. There are some though who feel I am not qualified to write about baseball. Fine with me. I get tired of reading some of the constant bitching and moaning from the same guys every day. I can understand totally why Mark considered closing the site down. Sometimes when the same thing is beat into the ground day after day after day, the frustration of reading all that stuff gets very old very fast. You can have an opinion, I respect that. And there are times I might agree and other’s I will not. Like most people, there comes a point when you just cannot listen any more. There is enough negativity in the world and this country right now. And personally, I do not need any of it in my everyday life. You don’t like Roberts? Fine, your choice. You think you know more about how the team should be constructed? Fine. I no longer care about what you might think about those things. And I will no longer post a rebuttal. Just go your merry way, stay miserable, and I shall write about history and good things.
I want you to know that I appreciate what you do on this site Bear And I think you’re very qualified to write about baseball
Thank you. I appreciate that. But one gets really tired of reading the same bitches every damn day. And over the last couple of weeks, even though they are still winning a majority of their games. I get frustrated watching some of these guys flail game after game too. But I am not going to put all the blame on one player. It has been a team effort.
I think you do a great job of storytelling.
Keep it up!
Look forward to your great articles. Too much here of I am right and you are wrong. That is the theme of almost ALL of Marks articles. Why is that so important? Why can’t we just post our opinons and have a give and take. Of course we don’t know the answers and we are not in the dugout. And most of us were never professional baseball players. So what.!Also no reason that this just has to be a rah rah site-Go Dodgers!! It would be dull if we all agreed all the time. As for Roberts, well I don’t recall any manager that anyone liked. Except of course it was for another team
Bear:
You know I love all your articles as I try to say so to each one. You are our Dodger historian aficionado. I have kind of returned to being a reader only as it’s not much fun posting anymore for me. Keep up the good work my friend.
History is your forte, rebuttals don’t add much.
Neither do most other posters on here. I respect the opinions of guys who have much more baseball knowledge than I ever have. Others who want to be negative most of the time and back it up with innuendo instead of facts, not so much. But I am no longer going to even respond to that stuff.
Bear, you are top notch. I especially enjoy your historical pieces about those players of the past. Your articles are always enjoyable to read. Thank you for your research and perspective and keep up the great work!
Phillips has a good comand
Is there any hitter more accomplished than Albert to ever wear a Dodger uniform?
Who would even be 2nd on that list, behind Albert? Manny? Thome?
Manny or Gary Shefield. Look at Shefs walk/strikeou rate
And both were accused of using steroids. Manny was a great hitter. Sheffield also. But Pujols is a first ballot Hall of Famer. Those two are probably never going to be in the Hall. Sheffield has 3 more shots on the ballot. He has never gotten more than 40% of the ballot. Manny has five more tries. Most he has recieved is 28%. They may get in somewhere down the line, but Albert is a shoe in.
Bear I love your stories and the research you do. I love the strolls down memory lane. I really hope you continue posting. But I have an observation to make that I mean in a very constructive way. I’m going to be the coach for a minute and offer some well meant advice.
You’re taking this site too seriously and it isn’t healthy. Your frustration is real and has been apparent for a few weeks now. Your sense of humor is gone. The Dodgers and this site is obviously very important to you but some things, like folks perseverating on negative things, just have to be water off a ducks back. You’ve lost your ability to ignore it. While well meaning, you seem to think it’s necessary for you to respond to damn near everybody’s comments and opinions. Today, you’ve been doing that for 12 hours and 20% of all posts.
I don’t know you other than what you’ve shared. What I do know is, I like you. I love your passion. And I hope you don’t quit. Perhaps just give folks with a variety to opinions, who are driving you crazy, a little more space. Maybe, you’ve gotten a little too close to the Sun.
You are most likely right. I have not lost my sense of humor, I just set it aside sometimes. They can have all the space they want now. I am through arguing with them. Better for me, better for the site. I have no intention of not writing anymore. I am just going to ignore the negative crap and go from there. There is real life going on out there. My ex girlfriend lost her dad on her birthday. One of my closest friends from high school, lost her husband a couple of weeks ago. Being there for them has been a lot more important to me than arguing with people who have their minds made up. The soldiers killed pulling out of Afghanistan, those killed in the helicopter accident in San Diego. All of that is much more important than wasting energy arguing. I am going to get to meet Mark this week as he is coming out to Denver for a convention. We will get to discuss baseball the way it should be done. Face to face.
Well Put.
yeah, I too get tired of defending players who have earned heroship (that’s not a word but you get it) in my book and thusly have little to say other than cheerleading. But maybe the real reason is I don’t possess high enough baseball I.Q. for input. With that, that was some home rum by Smith, eh?
I am not up on all of the analytic stuff. Never have been. I always used the eye test, but some on here are really into all those stats and find them very interesting. Me, I have enough trouble calculating batting average. I see a couple of positive things tonight. One, they are beating a lefty. Two, they are hitting for some power and not just getting all of their runs in one inning early.
Hi Mark,
Need some advice again on the water front.
We live in West Los Angeles. Lots of sediment in the water.
We have a tankless water heater. They want us to put in some sort of house filtration system, which seems like a bit much to just keep the tankless heater running smoothly.
Do you have recommendations that maybe we can localize near the intake of the tankless heater?
Thanks in advance.
Bluto,
What municipal water supply? I want to look up their water report online
Do you have the name of the utility?.
Spicy home rum.
Will does it again. Love watching that kid hit. Bellinger has not struck out tonight. That is a good thing. And he drove in a run. Also a good thing. Turner also homered. BP is doing a nice job.
Even though Betts lined out, it was a good sign because he hit it hard to right. St. Louis is hard to hit a ball out of. They have hit some balls really hard that have stayed in the park. Two this inning.
Kershaw went 3 innings at OKC. Gave up 4 hits and 2 runs. Both runs came on a 2 run homer. Gonzalez has given up 2 runs in 1/3rd of an inning and is still pitching with OKC up 7-4. Davidson hit his 23rd HR tonight. Neuse and Lux have 2 hits apiece.
As someone who mainly watched home team games, I did not see much of Albert. What I liked about Manny in his few years as a Dodger was he would be facing these National league pitchers for first time and often look silly the first time up. But that was all it took for him to figure them out. And watch out next time. Plus that fantastic OBP. I think in that playoff againmst Cubs when others struggled.
Shefield(watched in Fl and LA) I appreciated his tight swing. Never struck out over 100 times (83 was his high). And walked WAY more than strikeouts. A great feat for a power hitter. OPS over .800 his last year at age 40. But teams did not want to sign him.
They swept that series outscoring the Cubs 20-6. Manny had a great series and so did Russell Martin and Furcal, Loney did not hit much, but had 6 ribbies, 4 of which came on a grand slam homer off of Ryan Dempster in the 3th inning of game 1. Sheffield lost a lot of fans in LA when he was quoted as saying he did not give 100 pct effort all the time.
True,
Shef always had an attitude problem. But Like Manny, it seemed his problems were mostly with management, not teammates. Comparing someone to the Babe, not really fair
Hey, every player since has to be compared to someone. Except for the K rate, Manny and Sheffield are very close. Manny had a better career BA and more HR’s, Sheffield was less likely to strike out and walked a lot more. Manny was well liked by most everyone, Shef, not so much.
One of the greatest power hitters of all time, Babe Ruth struck out a lot and still managed a .342 career batting average. He also NEVER STRUCK OUT MORE THAN 93 times in his entire career. He only reached 90 twice. He walked 2062 times against 1330 K’s. His OBP was .474, his slug was .690, and his OPS was 1.164. His last full season at age 39, his OPS was .985. And his vice was beer and hot dogs. Sheffield was a very good player. His main problem was he was a lot like Barry Bonds, not very well liked by most fans or the media. Doesn’t mean anything on the field of course, but it affects greatly on how they are perceived by the fans and the media. Ruth on the other hand was adored by fans and media alike.
But anyway, the original question was not who was best of all time but who might be second to Pujols, who played for LA. So I say Manny, or Shef, or I forgot Piazza
Piazza was a monster for the Dodgers. And I would pick Piazza simply because he played longer in LA than Shef or Manny. Most likely Albert will be here one season.
Bear, hold your head up high. You do a great job here. I would tell you to respond less, but I’m one to talk. 😉
I am fine Bulldog. I do not hang my head over this stuff. Bigger fish to fry.
Bear,
like you an old timer and analytic stuff is new to us. Some interesting, some seems like coming up with a stat to state the obvious. Like someone is batting worse than his norm because his BABIP is much worse than past years. Well DUH. Or someone batting .425 at end of May will probably not hit that because his lifetime is .285 and will Regress to Norm. When I read that I wonder if someone is getting paid by the word.
I feel a lot of that stuff is repetitive. But teams use all of it to evaluate players. Smith has 4 hits tonight. Only one left the infield. Giants are crushing the Rockies 8-1.
Positive night for Bellinger. 0-4 but no K’s, Turner tied for NL batting lead after his 9th inning single. JT gets number 2 tonight….as Jackie would say, ” How sweet it is! “
That’s a pretty sad commentary on how bad it’s going for Bellinger! Hopefully this is the beginning of an offensive September surge to a title! And how good has our bullpen been during this stretch! Wow!
Sad? Maybe, But did you see the reception his team mates gave him in the dugout after he drove in the run on the groundout? Acted as if he hit one out. That shows everyone here EXACTLY what his team mates think of him. Dodgers win. Pujols with HR # 679.
Yeah I know I might be a sap, But it gave me goosebumps to see that
same here
And he lined out one time…..
I pop open the bubbly stuff when he doesn’t strike out or hit a weak infield pop up.
So today was a good day…….he flied out to center, hit a ground ball to short and lined out.
Who cares he went 0-4…I expect that….at least he hit the ball somewhat decently 3 times.
Of course, not against great pitchers but hey…..baby steps, right? I’m hoping by October he can maybe get one hit every so often…..but maybe I’m rushing things……stay tuned….
Remember him: Yadier Álvarez P Cuba He pitched 1 inning tonight 3Ks no runs allowed in the ACL .July 2, 2015 Los Angeles Dodgers signed free agent RHP Yadier Alvarez to a minor league contract.
kid had an electric arm but his head was wired the wrong way . Maybe he has cleared that up and obviously the arm is still there. Maybe he hits on his second chance.
Damn Giants keep winning and winning….
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!
Snell is pitching perfect vs Angels !!
Not anymore. Joe Adell gets a 2 out 2 strike 2 run single
Snell has been better of late. I hope he pitches a couple of gems against the Giants when they play them. He pitched 7 innings of 1 hit baseball, and lost the game because 4 pitchers shut his team down offensively. Adell had 3 ribbies and Rengifo hit a 9th inning homer. Rockies gave up double digit runs to the Giants for the second game in a row. Webb got the win.
Giants claimed Jake Jewell off of waivers from the Dodgers and sent him to AAA. Lux got 3 hits in tonights OKC win. Neuse had 2. Davidson drove in 5 runs
Former USC running back Sam Cunningham passed away today at the age of 71. I watched him play many times. RIP Sam the Bam.