Cody Bellinger: Superstar!

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

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.

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.

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.

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!

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!

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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!

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?

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.

* 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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.