Cody Bellinger: Superstar!

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1. The Dodgers are planning on reinstating Mookie Betts from the injured list on Thursday, per Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times. The outfielder has been dealing with hip pain all year and is currently in the midst of his second IL placement this season because of it. Despite the nagging hip situation, Betts has still been tremendously valuable when on the field. In 87 games this year, he’s hitting .277/.378/.521, for a wRC+ of 143. Getting him healthy will be a huge boost to the Dodgers as they attempt to chase down the Giants and make up the 2 1/2 games that separate them in the race for the NL West crown.
   The Dodgers could also welcome Joe Kelly back into the fold this week, per Castillo. Kelly was placed on the IL without explanation on August 10th, but a source of Castillo’s confirmed that it was because of a positive COVID test. The righty has seemingly recovered, given that he started a rehab assignment on Friday. He’s done some quality work this year, throwing 29 2/3 innings of 3.34 ERA ball. The bullpen could use his fresh arm, since it’s recently put Garrett Cleavinger and Evan Phillips on the 10-day IL, as well as Jimmy Nelson going under the knife for season-ending Tommy John surgery earlier this month.

2. When will we see Mitch White and/or Andre Jackson again?

   1. White? For sure soon!

      Jackson? Maybe… Next year for sure!

3. Odd game. Lost the way this Dodger team loses. It’s going to happen on occasion.

   Phil and I agree on a few things Cody could do with 2 strikes to help make contact. Apparently he’s not going to do them. He’s also chasing again, a sign he’s pressing. And he missed a sign on the bases. I assume it was him anyway. The way Pollock hugged third with the third baseman so far from the bag tells me he was surprised. Oh well. Rally killing play. I think Bellinger will get it back before the end of the year. Not if he continues to chase though. He’s got to punish mistakes, and he got a few yesterday.

   There are things this team does well and there are things it doesn’t do well. Clearly we are not a good defensive club. I’ve known that for a while now. We have only 2 players that can steal an out, one of them isn’t on the field and the other one is recovering from shoulder surgery. We will win with pitching and slugging. We’ve added a speed asset and that will help on occasion. Our problem now is we are only playing with 6 offensive innings. We have 3 innings of easy outs just about every game. We’ve played around it well for the last few weeks, mostly with good pitching and solo home runs. Getting Mookie and Bellinger back will be huge additions.

   I wonder if Kershaw will return. And, will Duffy add anything.

4. We all love Cody but the question some of us ask is not that he was a superstar but will he remain a superstar. The protracted abysmal BA, OPS, SLG has many a Dodger fan concerned that what we have seen for nearly two years is the player he will forever be. Is he just another ball player or is he the man? That is what has some fans perplexed.

   Great speed, great defense, great arm an occasional HR and some opportune hits, but not the consistent offensive threat he was when he had his MVP season. We want it for him, for the Dodgers, for his teammates but we’re frustrated when we don’t see improvement.

5. Cody has performed at an elite level in MLB that very few players will ever attain. I loved that he got a key hit yesterday with 2 RBI’s. However the next at bat with a runner at second he swung and missed 3 pitches with none being near the strike zone. At least 3 times in the Mets series he swung at pitches a foot or more inside. Until he starts having consistently good at bats I’m afraid his struggles will continue. We all would like for Cody to return to being a consistent threat at the plate by play-offs. Getting Mookie healthy will do wonders for this team. GO DODGERS!

6. Good explanation on Belli, Mark. But, as you know, you can offer reasonable explanations all day long, every day and you here the same old crap. Belli has gone through a lot this year as your video clearly states. He had an offseason where he couldn’t get into prime shape because he was dealing with shoulder recovery. He didn’t swing the bat all offseason, had a very short Spring, broke his leg early and then had to come back with weak legs and a weak shoulder. With all of that, he’s still hitting homers on pace for 25+ while playing great defense.

   There’s just no reason to make a move. Plenty of players are banged up and CT3 gives all of them an opportunity to rest. CT3 is having a great year, but he’s also top 10 in all of baseball in striking out. You don’t need to consider replacing Belli, with CT3 until the playoffs at the earliest, but I still like having the better glove in CF and the better bench bat on the bench.

   Shane Greene never threw the ball very hard. He relies on movement and command. The movement was there, the command wasn’t. It’s worth a few more tries before cutting bait. Maybe he needs to go on the IL and then on a rehab assignment to get some work.

   Neftali Feliz looked pretty sharp. He’s not throwing triple digits, but I’ll take 95-96 with a great slider. He looks like another Bickford. Maybe there’s a little more in there. He sat for a week before getting into a game.

   The double steal was busted because of miscommunication by Doc, the great communicator. He talks about it here at around the 30 second mark…
   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tekdk0Hm-YE

   I think the Dodgers made a mistake by putting Kershaw and Duffy on the 60 day IL. Both mostly likely would be healthy enough to come off the IL earlier than respective eligibility dates. They’ll be able to carry 28 men on the roster when they’re eligible and with all the arms they have on the roster, I’m pretty certain that they’ll max out the number of pitchers on the 28 man. Duffy me a lefty long man out of the pen and Kershaw will jump back into the rotation.

   Sorry guys, but Bellinger is a pro and a former MVP. His dad was a player and he is surrounded by Albert and other pro hitting coaches. You are not going to fix him with the same advice you’re giving to the kids you coach. Let it go.

   Andre Jackson was optioned on August 17. He’ll be eligible to return the next time we need a 5th starter, right after the Padres series. Mitch White was optioned on the 19th and he’ll be eligible to return by the time we need another 5th starter following Jackson’s turn in the rotation. Either can come back to club by putting someone else on the IL.

   Price had some tough luck in the first inning. A seeing eye ground ball that goes for a shift hit should have been the second out and the Mets should have only scored 1 run in the first. After that he settled in nicely, but Doc just won’t give him an opportunity to get stretched out ending his night at 75 pitches.

   I agree somewhat with Mark that he doesn’t look quite right, but you can’t put your finger on it. That could be frustration with how he’s been used all year.

   I can’t wait for the Padres series that begins tomorrow especially with the pitching lined up. The Mets are back home and their season is slipping away. They need to beat the Giants in order to have any chance at salvaging their season. I think the worst case scenario is we take two from the Pads and the Giants take two from the Mets. The Giants have Long Cueto and Wood lined up against MeGill, Walker and Carrasco.

   1. I saw that Doc took the blame for the miscommunication with the steal. To me, that is what makes him a good leader. He owns up to his mistakes and players respect that!

7. I think one of the hardest things to do is to undo a bad swing, break a bad habit and then create a new swing. I personally have a terrible slice in golf. I know what I’m doing wrong and I tell myself not to drop that back shoulder. Then in my back swing something subconscious takes over and I slice again! Drives me crazy.

8. It’s funny that the only two games we lost since we traded for Trea Turned, one against the Phils and yesterday against the Mets, Trea did not have a hit in either game. He provides the spark for the offense ,but the rest of the lineup yesterday looked Mort, or dead for all the non Italians on the site It was a the last day of a 13 game ,no day off stretch. Hopefully the bats wake up with a day off and we help put SD out of their misery, by helping the Reds challenge for the Wild Card. With all the praise for Preller passed around this past Winter for his moves, wouldn’t it be funny if the Padres don’t make the Playoffs? Right now they’re one game out of the Wild Card chase,

   1. The elephant in the room is how bad Darvish has been since they got rid of the sticky stuff. With his mental fragility, I don’t see it ending well for him and the Padres. Remember when everyone here was crying about the Padres trading for super star Blake Snell? That 5 inning pitcher is in the midst of his worst season while pitching in one of the best pitching parks in MLB while averaging just 4.6 innings per start while consistently topping the 90 pitch mark. He’s also averaging more than a walk every two innings.

      1. Yep. The Padres in the past have gotten these shiny new toys that with minimal play time turn out to be broken. I thought the Darvish and Snell moves were going to make a difference for the Padres in their flashy and feeble attempt to be competitive with us. Snapping Scherzer away from them was the icing on the cake for the Dodgers. I believe it’s Jorge who is our resident Padre “super hating and wishing them the worst” fan on the site. He has to be ecstatic.

9. The Padres have 36 games remaining. 44% of the schedule is as follows: 16 games against SF and LA. 10 games against SF and 6 games against LA. Their last 3 games of the regular season are against SF and could determine them making the Wild Card or not and maybe helping us win the division,

   1. You got their schedule wrong. They face the Dodgers 9 times, and the Giants 7. They finish with 3 in SF while the Dodgers are playing the Brewers. Giants have one more game to play than the Dodgers. Dodgers last 6 games are at home. SD and Milwaukee. After the Mets this week, SF has a 10 game stretch where they play the resurgent Braves, then 4 against the Brewers before LA comes in for 3. They then have 6 with the Cubs and the Rockies before SD and Atlanta come to SF for 7. Then they go to SD for 3.

      1. Michael, I missed the 3 games SD plays against the Dodgers, but SD does play the Giants 10 more times for a total of 19 games remaining against LA and SF.. SD plays the Angels 4 ,the Snakes 3 ,the ASStros 2,the Cards 3 and the Braves 4. That is a very tough schedule.21 on the road where have not fared well.

         1. You are right. 19 is correct. I missed that last 3 in SF. 7 of those games are in San Francisco. I just hope they beat each others brains out and we slip in there while they are not looking.

10. The comments in The LA Times about Trevor Bauer:

    Whatever becomes of this sad Trevor Bauer story, no one should be giving the Dodgers a free pass through all of this.

    The Dodgers are paying $30+ million a year on a “key man” and they don’t do enough due diligence to find out that he had another similar suit pending from a few years back in top of everything he himself posted on the very public Internet?

    Every administrative job I ever applied for and received ran a background check complete enough to know everything, including my favorite ice cream flavor. Either the Dodgers didn’t want to know about it or they need a new HR department.

    WOW!

    Bill Shaikin is now the second columnist to try and convict Trevor Bauer in the press; malign his attorney; and denounce the Dodgers as being insensitive to sex crimes.

    I am not a Bauer apologist, but with the disclosure of evidence and the court ruling this week, the columnists have painted themselves into a corner: do we continue bashing Bauer, his attorney, and the Dodgers or, maybe, see what the facts are?

    I think the second person has it right!

    1. I saw that headline and gave actually clicking on it a hard pass. EVERYONE is a post mortem expert in the media these days.
       cheers
       pb+

    2. The previous case was sealed, so it wouldn’t show up in a background check. The reason that it came about now, is that someone who had access to it, or knew details about it, called the WaPo and offered it to them for cash.

       I have been background checked as much as anyone, since I was an IT Consultant for over ten years working for government agencies, hospitals and fortune 500 companies. It is beyond doubtful that an “administrative job” would require a high enough level of clearance to divulge personal information like a favorite ice cream flavor. This person does not know what they’re talking about.

11. Cody has youth on his side and with that getting healthy is near 100% a sure thing. When Xmass eve comes it’ll mark 10 years to the day I suffered a stroke which I was completely paralyzed on my left side at the start.. I worked hard to get it back to my normal and could fake that pretty good. But I couldn’t run or even jog so when the zombies come towards any group I’m with I guess I’ll be the chowder and the others will get away. The stroke wasn’t as hard on me as breaking my leg about two years ago and it wasn’t that bad of a break. If I wasn’t so old and fat it would been like nothing but getting old found a new overdrive. I’m still here and I’m looking for something to help slow down rapid aging. Cody has adventure and talent with youth on his side and will be bombing soon and often. They don’t want him to change his swing they want him to recover. And he will because young men are made of rubber.

12. I know I said that I was done commenting on Bellinger’s demise and would settled up at the end of the year. But, I wanted to respond to today’s post. For the past 2-3 months when Cody happens to hit a HR or knocks in a couple of runs it’s “this could be the beginning of a turn around”. Or comments like “However, just like yesterday, you will see flashes of his greatness.” WHAT? He had two RBIs on a single, KO once, and made a baserunning blunder on the apparent double steal. And, that qualifies as greatness? OK then. I do agree with you on the fact that Cody hasn’t let his horrible hitting woes affect the rest of his game. He flat out hustles when he hits an occasional ground ball and continues to play GG defensive despite recovering from a broken leg and hamstring injury.

    Another comment that is puzzling “The Dodgers feed off of Cody Bellinger’s energy.” Really? He bats eighth. He KO’s at about a 30% rate. He doesn’t walk so he can’t take advantage of his baserunning skills. When he does make contact most are popups or fly balls. Hew has more unproductive outs than any other player on the team. Yeah, he’s just an energizer bunny.

    With regard to his shoulder, the question I have is why does he continue to swing as hard as possible on most of his swings? If his shoulder is hurting one would think that he would try to cut down on his swing in order to minimize the trauma to the shoulder. Try to make contact with a more controlled swing. Have more productive outs or outcomes than he is currently having. Cody, you’re hitting eighth for crying out loud.

    Another quote from above “Cody Bellinger has had shoulder issues since his rookie year, but in 2019 and 2020 the shoulder popped out several times”. How do you know this information about the 2019-20 issues? I think it was 2018 he was playing 1B and he dislocated his shoulder diving for a ball. He was then moved to the OF and in 2019 played mostly in RF where he won a GG. So, the first half of 2019 his shoulder was apparently fine because Cody was incredible. Then I guess his shoulder started popping out in the second half of his MVP season and continue popping out in 2020 until Kiki finally dislocated it during the playoffs. And, now 10 months after his corrective surgery the shoulder weakness has caused Cody to swing at high fastballs and low sliders that he can’t possibly hit. The shoulder weakness has caused him to continue to swing violently regardless of the situation. No one on base swing hard. Runners in scoring position swing hard which leads to unproductive outs which doesn’t help the team win. Yeah, that’s the energy his teammates feed off of.

    So, yeah, I’m a moron. If that helps give you your “moron” fix for the day I’m willing to contribute. It’s your site and your rules. I’m cool with that. With the incredible quality and quantity (looking at you B and P) of information and opinions on this site it’s well worth being called a moron occasionally. Mark, your takes on the pitching staff and prospects are usually right on. But, with Cody it’s like were each watching a different player. The reasons and excuses you use to justify your support of Cody are humorous and entertaining.
    Carry on.

    1. I was careful not to call anyone a moron.

    2. Not to nitpick Ted, but I’ll go ahead and point out where you are absolutely wrong…

       First off, Doc already took credit for Belli’s baserunning blunder saying he miscommunicated and wanted a straight steal.

       Second, you are downplaying his day at the plate. The “single” where he picked up the only two runs that were scored in the game was crushed as was the his line drive out. Both would be considered barrels with statcast data. He hit both very square and hard. The K was horrendous. He swung at three pitches, all out of the zone. Maybe he was overconfident from crushing the other two. He also did it against very good / great pitching.

       Third, your paragraph about Cody’s shoulder is opinionated at best. The facts are that he’s only played a third of a season this year, and a third of a season last year. He’s been very good to great in every full season so far. Not bad for a 25 year old. It makes little sense to bash on the only guy that picked up RBIs yesterday.

       4th, you’re flat out wrong about him not taking walks. He has 26 in 264 plate appearances. That’s on pace for about 70-75 for a full season which is on par with career norms.

13. We really won’t ever know what happened on that steal call in the 4th. Perhaps Doc was wrong. Perhaps Bellinger or Pollock (likely not Pollock) was wrong.

    But either way, Doc took the blame instead of blaming his players. That’s why the players love him.

    Now let’s go win 2-3 in SD, all while listening to Jorge lose his mind on this board the next 3-4 days.

14. Well, I was at the game yesterday.

    Just some observations.

    Masks, sunshine and 50,000 plus didn’t make for a fun day. Most got too hot and removed the masks. No surprise.

    David Price was not ready to pitch. Walked the first hitter and was behind in the counts early which led to three runs.

    Cody Bellinger hit the ball well twice, a line drive for an out and a two run single. A signal mess up led to Bellinger being tagged out on what should have been a straight steal. A little late in the year for this kind of confusion.

    I’m in the Bellinger won’t fully recover until 2022 crowd, but there will be moments and he plays great defense and has the speed to make things happen. I also agree with Nomar Garciaparra’s thinking that he needs to change to a contact first approach and the power will follow.

    For all the really good hitters the Dodgers have they still are not very consistent with the bats.

    According to a story in the Daily News, based on data, Kenley Jansen is not as effective when he goes in back to back games. But believe what you want.

    I’m a big fan of AJ Pollock, most weren’t. But where would we be without Pollock today?

    As for Max Muncy, I argued that he was better than pretty much better than any free agent on the market. But he created some doubt with a poor 2020 performance so I get the concern.

    No one has really mentioned this, but California produces more major league talent than any other state, yet the Dodgers don’t seem to do a good job in their own backyard. Not sure why. That needs to change.

    They passed on Jack Flaherty, Phil Hughes and Giancarlo Stanton just to name a few to go after a player back east. I know some will simply pass that off, but I think it’s a flaw.

    Another observation, remember the big international signing surge by the Dodgers a few years back. They spent or wasted countless millions. Turned out to be a bust. They passed on Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

    Maybe the international Dodger scouts etc. are not all that hot. Maybe Friedman, bright guy that he is, has made major changes. Based on all the scouting reports, I thought Guerrero was a no brainer. Who were all those guys they signed and will any of them actually show up at some point or the other?

    Farhan Zaidi is a bright guy and has done a great job with the Giants, but the Giants are still an older team so where does this go long term?

    Look I get that Mark likes to challenge those who think the sky is falling, but debate is healthy and sometimes the critics are right. Okay, they are probably wrong more than they are right. Even if that’s not the case, the Dodgers should regularly question what they do. The road to mediocrity is paved with telling yourself that everything is going great, even if it is, then getting blindsighted. No one saw the Giants coming, right? Now I still think the Dodgers win it all and no one could see all the injuries, particular Corey Seager’s hand fracture or Bellinger’s leg fracture. Nor could anyone see Farhan coming up with signing a bunch of free agents, who are turning in exceptional years. Or finding pinch hitters who hit game winning homeruns in two straight games.

    Enjoyed the write up today Mark.

    1. The Giants lost Longoria and Desclafani to the IL today. Dodgers getting Betts, Urias and Kelly back.

    2. The count of Cali players vs. any other state or country in the world is pretty staggering. I think I read over 2k from Cali and no where else hits 1k. Willing to be corrected, but thought I saw something like that recently.
       cheers
       pb+

15. Conspiracy Theory Alert!

    Clayton Kershaw started the season on a roll not counting his first start in Colorado when he ended the day with a 7.94 ERA after giving up 5ER in 5.2 innings. He made five more starts that month going 6 or seven innings each time on his way to lowering his ERA to 2.09 by the end of April. Since then, he’s been solid but unspectacular.

    Could it be that the Dodgers chose to have him sit out so he can be the best he can be down the stretch with extra rest and a good reason to use him as the fourth starter in the playoffs where he would benefit by having extra rest?

    Had they brought him back sooner, it would have been harder to convince him to be that fourth starter even though they now have more trust in Julio, especially in post season games.

    How many people here would rather see Kershaw pitch more than Julio in the postseason? My vote goes to Julio.

    1. I think Julio will pitch more than Kersh in the post season. But having Kersh is a plus. Yeah, they would love him rested for the stretch run and he will be. He is already throwing long toss and high velocity. Julio opens the San Diego series. I am for anything that makes them tougher in the playoffs.

16. Cracks me up. Guys who never swung a bat at a 99 MPH fastball complaining about a player who has one more MVP award than any of them will ever have. None of us has any clue what goes on in that clubhouse, dugout or on the field. I care less what someone on here thinks Bellinger is doing. I have had injuries, and my job was a lot less physical than his is. As far as his shoulder goes, only him and the medical staff know how it is healing. My son had a chronic shoulder problem. It kept popping out of the socket. Very painful stuff. It took surgery while he was in the Navy to fix it. And even then for the first year and a half he had limited motion until the shoulder muscles got stronger. And he was no athlete. Quit complaining about a condition you have not had, nor recovered from. And since no one on here has any idea about the guys mental state, you should keep that opinion to yourself also. Unless you have inside information and a source, you are just guessing.

    1. Good comment. I am no “playa'” for sure, but my buddies and I used to go the the cages a lot. 70 & 80mph cages I could hit pretty well …… 90’s cages? Seemed like the 10-20mph increase was like 50. Seemed like the ball hit the fence behind me b4 I realized it had left the machine.
       cheers
       pb+

       1. I totally agree. When I was driving, sometimes I would stop at a batting cage and take some swings. Since I despise metal bats, I always had my Louisville slugger with me. I could crush the 70-80 stuff. I would get in that 90 cage and whoosh was the only sound you would hear. Oh maybe once or twice I would foul it back. But only if I started my swing way early. Embarrassing. I also hated those stupid 2 flap helmets you had to wear. Hard to pick up the ball.

          1. Batting cages also made me appreciate how hard it is to hit speed changes, there is a reason they are pros. We would also have a hoot after being in the 70-80 cages and then we would go over to the slo-pitch cages. Almost universally it would take 5+ swings to be able to even put the bat on slo-pitch…… for the opposite reason we could not hit the 90 cage.
             cheers
             pb+

    2. We all see how hard he swings so it’s only fair to wonder if it’s not physical it’s between his ears. And by that I mean it seems like he’s pressing and lost confidence. I know I don’t know anything, but I thought confidence was a big part of hitting. Like somebody said above a little debate doesn’t hurt, I thought that was what this site was about. If everybody agreed on everything I’d pretty boring.
       There’s no reason to attack anyone just state your case and chill

       1. Debate is one thing. Just plain piling on is another. Yes, he has a violent swing. So does Baez. And confidence has a lot to do with being successful. That does not mean it is that easy to get back to where you were. Cody is swinging the way he always has. He is just not catching up to pitches he used to crush. But questioning the guys mental state, well, none of us have the inside story. So it is all just guess work. And that never helps anything.

          1. I don’t think what’s written on this site HELLPS or HURTS anything to do with anything

             1. Exactly

       2. I was not attacking anyone. It was a blanket statement. Saying the same old thing all of the time gets old.

          1. Understood

17. I think I know what’s wrong with Price, and something definitely is.
    I’ve actually thought it from the moment he arrived as a throw in in the Mookie/ Verdugo trade.

    He doesn’t actually wanna be here.
    I’m not sure he really wants to be anywhere.

    He was very keen to pass on 2020, like a handful of others (I’ll get stick for this), but with the way the players were controlled with “Bubbles” etc, he wasn’t exactly taking a big risk. He was in a very small minority that passed.

    He then turns up for ST – jumps at the opportunity to volunteer to go in the Pen, something I thought odd considering he’s a former Cy Young winner. He didn’t want to rise to the challenge of competition for a place in the Starting Rotation with Kershaw. Bauer, Beuhler, Urias and May and even Gonsolin. I didn’t see anyone else putting their hand up for a role in the Pen.

    Now we are in the twilight of the season, and he’s not even stretched out enough to be more than a Long Man, when we absolutely need him
    to fill the void left by Kershaw, May & Bauer’s demise. Has he stepped up? No he hasn’t – he looks under prepared as if he’s always searching for some rhythm.

    To put it bluntly, he’s not bothered. He’s been traded here, and he’s going through the motions. If he cared, he’d be working his butt off, doing as much side work as possible to help his team
    out, and possibly if he pitches well, get himself a starting role in the interesting time of the schedule – the Post Season.

    Bottom line – I don’t think he wants it enough or still has the hunger for it.
    He didn’t seem right from the start and seems happy to be getting handsomely rewarded ( $32m this year $64 through 22) for minimal effort. Just my opinion.

    Bobby – hope life is good?

    Doc defends his players which makes him well liked – but I would rather he made them accountable, this might increase the urgency.

    AC – since your excellent post about Manfred you’ve turned me into something I never thought I’d be. A Conspiracy Theorist lol.
    The more I look at it, the more I think you’re onto something.

    Michael and Mark – great work recently – you boys are setting a very high bar.

    1. Sorry but I think you are dead wrong about Price. I think volunteering to do what ever the team asked shows he is a great team player. Not playing last season? Posey opted out too. No one accused him of being disengaged in the game and he is having a fine season. Pitching is a whole different attitude. So Price did not have it at the beginning of yesterdays game. He settled down and kept them in striking distance by giving up nothing the next 3 innings. Roberts offense let him down, or Price probably would have pitched into the 5th. Considering he has had only a few starts to build up innings, he has been pretty good. Also name me one other player that gave 1000 dollars to every member of his teams minor leagues like Price did last year. And he sold his World Series ring for charity because he did not feel he contributed to the win. And he also is making 32 million bucks this year and next to pitch for the Dodgers. Impugning the mans desire to be here is way out of line.

18. Padres just FIRED their pitching coach, Larry Rothschild. Blame the coach for the pitchers ineptitude. How come Von Scoyoc is still here?? His hitters are terrible at being consistent…..this is sarcasm gang.

    1. After yesterday’s game, he’s back to Von SukSuk

       1. I agree… I never liked the 3 outcome stuff anyway. See ball. Hit ball. Easy peasy.

19. Nomar didn’t say anything that hasn’t been said here by a few knowledgeable guys.

    https://www.fangraphs.com/players/cody-bellinger/15998/stats?position=1B/OF

    It’s all there if you know what you’re looking for. His K rate is up and so his O-swing rate. You think maybe the two are related? Duh. Barrels are down, oppo is consistent but hard% is way down. Think about it.

    The coaches know what’s wrong. First rule of hitting is get a good pitch to hit. He’s pressing and chasing. Stop that practice and barrels will go up and balls will start falling in.

    I leave him in there. Relax, punish strikes, go oppo with two strikes. There’s only 2 defenders over there. There’s 5 over here.

    Bullpen games and Price as a starter are, in my opinion, unsustainable. We need 5 starters who can all go 6. Is that asking too much? Those guys get paid a lot of money to pitch 2/3 of a game. Earn it dammit.

    1. They also need to leave him at 8 for a bit. They had him there, he got a couple nice ones & they automatically moved him up higher in the order to a more “pressure spot” and he did not react as I am sure they hoped.

20. * We played tired on Sunday. It’s a welcome day off today. Price set the tone early giving up 3 runs and throwing a million pitches. Nobody was sharp.
    * We also didn’t execute well. A couple throws home probably should have been cut to hold the Met runner at 1st, early in the game, and not put another runner in scoring position. Those are on Smith to have the throws cut if there’s no shot at home. Maybe he thought they had a play?
    * I went on some long explanation yesterday about how to properly run a double steal. And then Doc blows by “expertise” out the window by saying it was supposed to be a straight steal by Belli. Never mind.
    * Well not really. That just brings up a couple of different questions. Like, once Pollock sees Belli stop and get into a rundown, why doesn’t he adjust on the fly and realize he can’t stand on 3rd and watch the play? He needed to then treat it like a start and stop double steal. He has to fake to home and draw a throw or go when the second baseman has to spin and throw home. He may be an easy out, but that out has to be made at home or between 3rd and home and not Belli getting tagged out. I’ll also point out the Mets didn’t execute the defense well either. Once the runner is stealing and the pitch isn’t put in play, the first baseman, Alonso, has to then chase behind the stealing runner. Like a first baseman following a runner on a sure double. If the runner stops and gets in a rundown, like Belli did, Alonso is in position to close in, call “ball” and tag the runner. The goal is to tag that runner before the runner at 3rd can score. Well, Alonso was standing on first watching the play. A lot went wrong here. But Pollock needed to get over his surprise and fake or break to home.
    * I’m not actually sure if I’m a moron or not? I really like Bellinger and always have. I love his athleticism, speed, defensive play and spirit. I want him to do well. But I don’t like his swing. Badger and I have both offered suggestions that we think would work better knowing full well that he has hit his way forever, and that he has plenty of hitting coaches. B&P offered “You are not going to fix him with the same advice you’re giving to the kids you coach. Let it go” Perhaps he’s right so I will do just that….let it go.
    * Like I said before, at this point what do you do with Bellinger? Just put him in the 8 hole and leave him alone. And hope he gets hot. He’s not going to AAA or getting benched. Maybe he gets platooned in the play offs against an ACE lefty but I don’e see that happening either. We’re too far into this to make some panic decision. Leave him alone and use his D and speed.
    * Geez. we’re playing great and hopefully Mookie will be able to play right field on a semi regular basis, we get CK back and start another run at the Giants who are in a coma winning games late.
    Yesterday was a stinker after a winning streak. Turn the page. I think we’re going to win the Division.

21. I never swung at a 90 MPH pitch, I never played pro ball, I never had shoulder surgery, I was never in a clubhouse or dugout. So I guess I cannot have any opinions about that. I have been out on sunny days, so it did look sunny the last time I watched the game. Anyone want to debate that with me.

    1. Just saying, it is not that easy. It is easy to sit back and criticize. And many of us do. All fans have opinions, and most of the time they are wrong.

    2. I’ve actually done all of the things you mentioned David, including more than one shoulder surgery. But my opinions apparently can’t be just skipped over. I’ve basically been asked to stop it. I love this site but sometimes folks with opinions, get ganged up on, criticized and told they’re wrong, unnecessarily, IMHO. It’s not just me. But they win. I’ll stop analyzing players and the game.

       1. You can have opinions as much as you want.

          Your opinions do not suck. Some do.

          1. Thanks MT. I appreciate that.

22. Wow – so if you have never played major league baseball, you aren’t entitled to an opinion. Then what are we doing here? What are we fans for?

    Also – if you aren’t a doctor you don’t have a right to an opinion about any health care topic
    if you aren’t a lawyer you don’t get an opinion about the law or its execution’
    if you aren’t a politician you don’t get an opinion about politics or what’s going on in Washington (or any other governmental seat)
    if you aren’t a musician then sit down and shut up about music – if you don’t act or direct, the same about movies and TV – if you aren’t a published author, the same about books, magazines, newspapers

    And so on

    I guess we are just all ignorant and we should all just shut up. So what do we need a blog for?

    1. If i sing in the shower, or in the car, does that make me a musician and thus give me right to comment on music ?

       1. Have you had voice lessons, made a record or studied music theory? If not then no

       2. That depends on how the neighborhood dogs react to said “singing”.
          cheers
          pb+

          1. And the cats in the alley…..

    2. Bravo Bravo Standing O for you dodgerrick

       1. Might not mean as much coming from a moron like me but I’m giving it do you anyway

    3. Actually so many being incorrect about their many opinions is what makes the site go. Everyone needs fodder for THEIR supposed correct opinions and observations which in the case of the team we root for, are almost NEVER based on knowing all the facts. The other side of the coin is that if you are here proffering your opinion, you should have your big boy or girl pants on & EXPECT someone to disagree with you. IMO, having zero response to a post you expect traction on is MUCH WORSE than having some dissenting ones.
       cheers
       pb+

23. Wat, I”m great! I have plenty of bottles of water for us when you finally come back and we meet up at Dodger Stadium!

    1. Haha – looking forward to it Bobby – always good to keep hydrated.

       Good to hear you’re well.

24. Also, if you haven’t had shoulder surgery you don’t get an opinion about that either. Well, I have had 2 shoulder surgeries, and the 2nd one was a 6 hour reconstructive procedure which included a labral repair (what Bellinger had). I have 2 anchors holding the 4 tears in my labrum together. (I set off alarms every time I go through an airport metal detector.) And many people never recover. You simply lose the range of motion. That’s what happened to Matt Kemp for over 2 years. He couldn’t bring the bat all of the way through and finish his follow through. He got it back eventually, but it’s not guaranteed. I never recovered even with lots of rehab. it’s not a sure thing.

    1. Okay, so I might have crossed a line, but it gets pretty tiring hearing the same old crap after every damn game. Pile on Belli all you want. Opine all you want. It won’t change anything and it gets annoying. But fire away. No me problemo. Sorry you had to go through that Rick. My son had the same thing. He has never recovered much range of motion either. But at least he is not in pain all of the time.

       1. I think the posters here that want to have Bellinger traded or sent down to OKC, are in the minority. Most of us genuinely want to see him do well.
          I know I do, he’s been one of my favorite players since he’s come up.
          There of been times when he’s gone the other way, or cut his swing down to stay alive. It just gets frustrating to see him revert back to his all or nothing swing.
          To have Mookie and Kersh back and to have Cody raking again would be my three wishes
          I

          1. I totally understand, I get very frustrated watching him sometimes. But I try to understand what is going on with his shoulder, and yes his mind.

       2. I’m in pain 24/7. I have to sleep with my arm propped up on a pillow. I have about 100 degrees flexion and abduction. At this point the only alternative is shoulder replacement and I’m in no hurry for that.

          1. That is bad. I feel for you my friend. I have pain all of the time, but mostly because of my arthritis. I have not been able to straighten my left knee for about 30 years. It always hurts. I could get knee replacement, but at my age I have just said screw it, I can live with the pain.

          2. Guess I am lucky with mine. Though the left is the most F’d up, the pain is somewhat mitigated by the fact that it only has about 70% normal feeling. Feels like I had lidocaine which is wearing off, but has felt that way for at least 10yrs & docs have said they see nothing. I really have just given up since it is something I can mostly ignore.
             cheers
             pb+

             1. Probably the worst part of diabetes is the dumb ass tingling in your feet all the time. They feel like they are numb. But that is part of aging. If I felt like I did when I was 20, I would be very surprised.

       3. Friendly reminder that you and the writers here know nothing either. Let’s not pretend anybody’s an expert just because Mark lets them scribble on a blog.

          1. Well when you consider how much research is done it kinda does add a certain measure of expertise.

             As far as Mark goes, he is an expert on his own opinion and I always enjoy his takes.

          2. Not once have I ever considered myself an expert, and I try really hard not to scribble and I research everything I write. And I also try very hard not to miss things or misrepresent anyone or any thing. I also stick to subjects I am attracted to the most. And Dodger history and history in general are two of my favorite subjects. One reason I do not try to rant about situations I am not privy to. And I am not privy to what Bellinger or any player on the team is feeling at any time. I do not know what the teams state of mind is. Nor do I know what measures the coaching staff and Bellinger himself are taking per his problems at the plate. I do know that recovery from that kind of surgery can take a long time, so I try to give him the benefit of the doubt. I guess I just get real tired of all the negative stuff fans write when they have no clue what is really going on. It is their right to have an opinion, that is a given.

25. Sometimes I get in a bad mood, and I just get tired of negativity. There is enough of that going around in the real world and having it drain into sports just gets a wee bit depressing. You all can opine and disagree all you want. That is what this site and others are all about. And it can get a little testy at times when we disagree. But it is all cool. I can just be a really grumpy Bear at times. Orioles claimed Connor Greene from the Dodgers on waivers.

    1. I’ll drink to that Bear Cheers

       1. Thanks. Considering some of the crap that is going on in the world right now, we can all use one. or two or ten.

26. Superstars come cheap these days if you think Cody is a Superstar. I trust you had your tongue in cheek when you said this.

    2019: I will agree with this….Cody was a superstar in 2019!
    He had 115 RBIs, 1.025 OPS and a .305 BA.

    2017 He was close to be a superstar:
    He had 97 RBIs; .933 OPS; but only a .267 BA.
    But I would call that a very good year, not superstar.

    2018 he was just okay to good:
    76 RBIs; .814 OPS; .260 BA
    Definitely not a superstar

    2020 he was less than average.
    30 RBIs; .789 OPS; .239 BA
    Definitely not superstar

    2021 he is poor
    31 RBIs; .594 OPS; .174 BA Yikes!
    Definitely not superstar

    Career stats:
    349 RBIs over 4 years (not really 5)= 87 average (very good)
    .875 OPS (very good)
    .262 BA (mediocre)

    Conclusion: clearly 4 of the 5 years he was not a superstar. His career stats do not reflect superstar status either. His last two years, although battling injuries, have been less than mediocre. Cody has one of 5 years where he was a superstar, so we should give him that. But to be a superstar, you have to be consistent. One of five years does not reflect the consistency demanded.

    This begs the question….What have you don’t for me lately?
    Answer: Not very much

    Maybe it’s better to say this….”Cody can be a superstar when healthy and when he learns to hit with two strikes.”

    I remain,
    TM

    1. Agree – what is a superstar? A .900 OPS? Let’s look at Henry Aaron for example. He was only 20 when he came up. A superstar is consistent!
       Year 1 – .288/.322/.447/.769, 13 HR, 69 RBI
       Year 2 – .314/.366/.540/.906, 27 HR, 106 RBI
       Year 3 – .328/.365/.558/.923, 26 HR, 92 RBI (200 H)
       Year 4 – .322/.378/.600/.978, 44 HR, 132 RBI (MVP at 23)
       Year 5 – .326/.386/.546/.931, 30 HR, 95 RBI
       Year 6 – .355/.401/.636/1.037, 39 HR, 123 RBI (223 H)
       Year 7 – .292/.352/.566/.919, 40 HR, 126 RBI
       Year 8 – .327/.381/.594/.974, 34 HR, 120 RBI
       Year 9 – .323/.390/.618/1.008, 45 HR, 128 RBI
       Year 10 – .319/.391/.586/.977, 44 HR, 130 RBI

       And so on. A superstar is consistent!

       1. Rick,
          I think we would make a good tag team in WCW? Nice follow up!

          TM

          1. Not fair. Henry Aaron was a superstars superstar
             And as far as I know he never had any surgeries

             1. Lots of superstars. Most were consistent. Ted Williams, Willie Mays, Stan Musial, etc. A superstar is great all the time (or almost). A superstar is consistent.

                One or 2 good or great years doesn’t make you a superstar.

27. Mike Trout is a superstar. Bellinger is a very good player with great skills who has not reached that status yet. But he is still a kid baseball wise. He can still reach the heights. All he needs is consistency.

    1. I think he reached that status and then slipped back.

28. You guys may be using the same word for two different things.

    A superstar has talent and flair, and usually bursts onto the scene capturing a large following in a relatively short time. Cody certainly fits that description.

    It seems to me that some of you are conflicting that with a star who performs over time that would bring him into the discussion of all time greats. Cody may or may not ever be part of that discussion. That will take more time.

    Just a thought.

29. Sorry Dodgerrick, but I agree with your analogy about your shoulder surgery vs Belli’s. I’m not sure if you were 24 when you got cut on, but it stands to reason that age would be a contributing factor towards a full recovery. I’m also thinking there’s more than a slight chance you didn’t get the benefit of having access to the best surgeons like Belli had.

    Many pitchers recover from a torn labrum these days and it’s definitely harder for a pitcher than it is for a position player. Urias and Ryu both made recent and full recoveries.

    I don’t see the point of comparing Cody to one of the top 5 hitters the game has ever seen either. But, I will point out that Bellinger’s age 21 and age 23 seasons were better than Hammering Hank’s, so there’s still hope for Belli.

    You also keep saying he’s has two bad years which is untrue and you know it is because I’ve mentioned it several times. Over the last “two years” he’s only had 1/3 of a season. So, he’s really only been “Bad” for 1/3 of year, since a .789 OPS isn’t exactly bad especially when you’re glove days you’re a great defender in CF.

    1. 1 – labral tears are tough to recover from period. And it might take more than a year. According to a study in the Orthopedic Journal of Sports Medicine 54% of MLB pitchers who undergo surgery for labral tear return to their previous level of performance. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5298447/. For position players 78% return to play at their previous level. It’s not a sure thing. (Urias had anterior capsule surgery – a different surgery.) Average recovery period is 2 years.
       2 – The point that I was trying to make is that some here claim that Bellinger is a “superstar”. I maintain that a superstar is consistent over a period of time. Aaron did it every year. Bellinger had 1/2 of a superstar season, 1 1/2 good seasons and the rest were so-so or injured. I maintain that Bellinger is still recovering from his shoulder surgery and that we won’t know for sure how much recover that he will get or how long it will take.
       3 – And I was older than Bellinger when I had my surgery and had more wrong with my arm than he did, but had one of the top shoulder surgeons in Sacramento do my surgery. I wasn’t making an analogy about my surgery, incidentally. Bear said that we had no business having an opinion about shoulder surgeries unless we had one – I’ve had 2.
       4 – When Bellinger can do it several years in a row he’s a superstar. Until then, the best we can say is that he might be one someday.

       1. As lawyers often do, you’re arguing over semantics. Superstar? That is a subjective term, you want to settle on “Great” fine by me. Good to Great, still no reason to sit him. He won a ROY, MVP, GG, SS and a 2x All Star in his first three year before he turned 24 and you’re complaining about his down years each of which are 1/3 of a season.

          Then you try to diminish his great seasons saying he only had half a good season in one of those years.

          As far as labral tears go, you’re article sites a study conducted between 2003 and 2010, so the average of the participants is close to 15 years ago. I’m assuming the success rates improved since then. Still at 78% for position players, that’s a pretty damn good success rate.

          Not Superstars by your definition…
          Joe Mauer
          Mookie Betts
          Shohei Ohtani
          Josh Donaldson
          Jose Abreu
          Jose Altuve

30. OK, in case you are wondering, I write a little edgy deliberately to stimulate conversation.

    Otherwise you end up with very few commenters at sites like __________________ (I won’t name them).

    By writing what I did, I am not trying to stifle conversation but rather, stimulate it. You are all free to disagree and even say “Anyone who thinks Bellinger is a superstar is a moron.” 😉

    Insofar as to what DodgerRick said, I can tell you what I think good music is (it’s highly subjective), but I can’t tell you how to make it. Some people have an innate ability to do that but it generally takes years of training.

    Medicine, Law, Politics, and other disciplines can be learned, but having a Law Degree is not proof that someone knows anything. I know a lot of really dumb attorneys, doctors, bloggers, water specialists, and especially politicians.

    I will say that if you have had shoulder surgery, then you understand some of what Cody is going through, but if you have not been in the Minor or Major Leagues, you probably have very little clue what goes on (Jeff D does not count). Phil Jones has, so he gets a pass!

    1. “but having a Law Degree is not proof that someone knows anything.”

       Guilty!

       1. I did not know you were a JD.

    2. I have worked very hard at my practice – I have been an attorney for almost 38 years. I have an AV rating in Martindale Hubble (ask if you don’t know what that means). I object to any non-lawyer implying that I am dumb or don’t know what I’m doing.

       And if only someone who has been in the Majors is entitled to an opinion, that would include YOU.

31. Eric made the comment that Kenley Jansen had blown 5 games. That’s true.

    It’s also true that he saved 27.

    Did you know Blake Treinen has blown 4 saves?

    He has also saved 4.

    Is anyone telling me that Treinen is a better option? If so, explain your math. Kenley has saved 27 out of 32 while Treinen has saved 4 out of 8. Mathematically speaking, Kenley is better!

    How many blown saves do the Giants have this year? 24

    How many blown saves do the Dodgers have this year? 24

    Go figure!

    1. You can blow a save just by allowing a runner on base if your manager takes you out and the next reliever allows your runner to score if it is a save situation. I don’t know for sure, but I bet that happened to Treinen early in the year when Doc didn’t know what the hell he was doing with the bullpen or didn’t have defined roles for the bullpen.

       I’m not a fan of the save and blown save stat.

       I did say Jansen alone has blown several games. That’s true because he is allowed by Doc to finish games no matter what almost always.

       1. I don’t know if Treinen would be a better closer than Jansen, but I wouldn’t mind finding out. Also I’m a big believer in the OPS stat for both batting and pitching and we have other guys that have a better OPS this year than Jansen, Treinen is one of them. Of course I am talking about guys with a big enough sample size.

          1. “I don’t know if Treinen would be a better closer than Jansen”… which is why you leave that alone.

    2. A blown save occurs when a relief pitcher enters a game in a save situation, but allows the tying run to score. The run does not have to be charged to that pitcher. If a reliever enters with a man already on third base, and he allows that runner to score the tying run, he is charged with a blown save.

       So not all blown saves are created equally so I checked the game logs. Kenley has 5 blown saves and not one of them did he come in with runners on and all 5 of them the Dodgers lost. He has 27 saves on the season and no holds.

       Blake has 4 blown saves, 2 of them he inherited runners. He has 24 holds to go along with his 4 saves. So out of 28 opportunities, he only blew 2 on his own accord. 3 out of his 4 blown saves, the Dodgers won.

       Now who’s better?

       1. Eric Gagne…hasn’t blown a save in years,,,,,,,

          1. Best closer ever for a very short time. Failed starters make great closers sometimes.

             1. Got that right. Smoltz became a monster as a closer. Remember Dick Radatz?

32. I have played music, and sang for most of my life. Pretty good at it, but, I never had any formal training. I also play guitar, but I cannot read music. Kinda dumb huh? I never took music theory or any voice lessons. But I have near perfect pitch, and my tempo and rhythm are always on. If you are singing, I can harmonize with you almost immediately. That comes from being able to get to your key simply by ear. All of these things have come naturally to me. Some people have that, most do not. But try as I may, I never could hit a high fastball. Either in high school, or fast pitch softball where it gets on you pretty fast. SO when a major league ballplayer, who has skills I will never have, struggles. I try to be a little less critical. Doesn’t always happen, but I try. I also try to not get frustrated when all the negative Nelly’s come out of the wood work. Not always successful at that either. But, that is what life is. Ups and downs, highs and lows.

    1. Hey Bear, do you have demo tape of your group?

       1. No, we just get together for mostly fun now. But you can hear my song that I wrote on Gary’s site. garyandmaureenshoe.com. Go to Arroyo Music, click on that and you will see tunes by me, my friend Johnny Macias and Gary and his wife. My song, Don’t Look Down on Me was written to honor homeless Vets.

33. All I am saying about Cody Bellinger is that unless you have played at its level, it is very hard to comprehend what it takes… mentally and physically!

    I have been doing this blog for about 20 years and I cannot tell you that most times when a fan wants to get rid of a certain player, that’s the player the team wants to keep. I know that Doc, Andrew, and the Dodger Brass know a lot more than I do, so if they keep rolling him back out there, they have a pretty good idea he is going to overcome whatever is holding him back. I may not know crapola, but I am confident the Dodger Brass does and the people who irk me are those who pretend to have a clue.

34. Señores todos los que amamos a los Dodgers estamos de acuerdo que Belli esté con el equipo, si es o será una superestrella no tiene importancia, me daré por satisfecho si el muchacho recupera 100% su salud, el resto vendrá por si solo, es mi opinión. No tiene sentido estar debatiendo sobre quien sabe o puede más, el se recuperará y el tiempo dirá la respuesta sobre el status deportivo de Belli.

    1. Translation: Gentlemen, all of us who love the Dodgers agree that Belli is with the team, if he is or will be a superstar it does not matter, I will be satisfied if the boy recovers 100% his health, the rest will come by itself, it is my opinion. It makes no sense to be debating who knows or can do more, he will recover and time will tell the answer about Belli’s sporting status.

       VERY WISE, JOSE!

35. So, who comes off of the roster when Kelly, Urias and Mookie are activated this week???? Food for thought.

    1. Greene, Bruihl, and McKinney!

       I’d call that a slight upgrade.

       1. I could live with that.

       2. Greene? You calling an injury or a DFA after just one appearance? I’m better Graterol or Vesia over Greene just because of options. It will by them time to have a longer tryout until rosters expand and Kersh and Duffy return. You might even see Bickford see some down time off roster.

          1. Happened to the other Greene. But this one signed a MLB contract. Not sure how that will work, but Feliz looked better than he did in his one inning of work. It is going to be interesting to see which way they go. As for Kersh, he won’t be added until after they go to the 28 man roster, so no move needed there, and Duffy is not expected back until at least the 15th of September.

          2. Vesia ain’t going anywhere.

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