It took all of two months, but the “Fire Dave Roberts” choir has started singing and the armchair GMs are ready to trade half the team for the Flavor of the Week. Maybe the “Fire Andrew Friedman” Trio will start playing as well when he calls Max Muncy back to the majors and fails to send Cody Bellinger down. Well, it actually makes sense that Muncy and Bellinger should be in the Major Leagues. Neither one is going to learn anything they don’t already know by playing at OKC. If Max is healthy, then he should play in the majors. Nuff said!
Now, I am not saying that this will last forever, but Bellinger is only about .050 points behind Will Smith in OPS and no one is calling for Smith to be deposed. Cody tantalizes us with a HR and a Walk and then takes two steps back. Nobody is calling for JT to be sent to OKC, but JT is OPS’ing about 40 points below Cody. Just in case you aren’t aware, here is how players are evaluated by OPS:
So, where do the Dodger hitters fall (right now)? Let’s take a look…
- Mookie Betts .955 – Great
- Trea Turner .819 – Above Average
- Freddie Freeman .808 – Above Average
- Chris Taylor .775 – Average MLB PLayer
- Will Smith .744 – Average MLB Player
- Gavin Lux .702 – Below Average MLB PLayer
- Cody Bellinger .699 – Below Average MLB Player
- Justin Turner .652 – Poor MLB Player
- Max Muncy .590 – Poor MLB Player
At the present time, the Dodgers have no Superstars. .. statistically speaking! They do have one Great Player (Mookie) and two Above Average Players (Trea and Freddie). They have two Average Players (Taylor and Smith), two Below Average Players (Lux and Bellinger), and two Poor Players (Muncy and JT). I happen to believe that those numbers may very well be much higher for 80% to 90% of these players at the end of the season. Of course, it is not possible to predict where they will end up, but I believe their OPS will look something like this by year-end:
Mookie Betts 1.000
Trea Turner .920
Freddie Freeman .960
Chris Taylor .800
Will Smith .840
Gavin Lux .780
Cody Bellinger .770
Justin Turner .790
Max Muncy .800
That’s right! I am picking Mad Max to get to a .800 OPS by year-end. I believe that the only reason he is coming back (allegedly tomorrow) is that he is not injured. I do not think I am closer to the situation than Andrew Friedman, Dave Roberts, and the Dodger coaches and trainers. I am pretty dang sure they have the inside scoop! So, if they are calling him back up, then it is for a reason.
This has been a weird season for many professional hitters. Look at some of these player’s OPS:
- Matt Beaty – .364
- Andrelton Simmons – .374
- Miguel Sano – .379
- Paul DeJong – .417
- Christian Pache – .439
- Lorenzo Cain – ..444
- David Fletcher – . .488
- Nick Madrigal – ..500
- Steven Duggar – .509
- Josh Harrison – .527
- CJ Abrams – .,543
- Yadier Molina – .553
- Jason Heyward – .573
- Andrew McCutchen – . 582
- Wil Myers – . 582
- Trent Grisham – .583
- Cavan Biggio – .589
I’ll stop there, but you get the picture. All of those players are worse than Max Muncy in OPS. If Max is healthy, he knows how to play. You may not like the way he does it, but his career OPS is .839. Max will return to form. I am not as convinced about Cody Bellinger, but I do believe he will get better. How much? I am not sure, but his defense and speed cancel some of the batting issues.
Just so that you see what is happening to other players, here are a few other prominent players’ OPS: Gleyber Torres – .753, Bo Bichette & Charlie Blackman – .750, Alex Bregman – .716, Nelson Cruz – .693 (about the same as Cody), Brandon Crawford – .669 (I’ll bet Farhan had that contract back), Marcel Ozuna – .673, Darin Ruf – .660, Jesse Winker – .611, Adam Duvall -.596, Whit Merrifield – .575, Javy Baez – .544. This is a problem that is all across baseball right about now. Is it the ball? The weather? Global warming? Who knows?
Give this some thought – with all of the Dodger’s hitters’ struggles, they are right with the Mets in total runs scored in all of MLB. Imagine what will happen when they pull out of this funk and return to near normal. Also, think about what will happen if Walker Buehler fixes his mechanics and Heaney and Kershaw return. This will help the bullpen as they will not be as stressed and especially since there are several other pitchers who will also be back. This team’s problem is not the Front Office or the Manger. It is player injuries, mechanical issues, and just not getting untracked. It’s not on Roberts or Friedman, it’s on the players. They simply need to execute better.
Patience Grasshoppers and it is silly to be making any trades right about now. They ain’t happening.
Dodger Minor League Notes
- Carson Fulmer with another win, but it was not without drama.
- The Loons and Drillers were rained out!
- Pete Heubeck started for RC and went 3 innings. He allowed 1 hit and 1 BB and struck out 5. He looked very solid… even good… especially for a 19-year-old!
Finally, Rob Manfred has some major problems… not the least of which is Trevor Bauer. Any similarity between Bauer and Johnny Depp? Stay tuned…
Discussion (43)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Heaney with a fine outing at OKC. 4.1 scoreless innings.
Pepiot followed that with 4.2 one run innings, striking out 6 and no BBs.
kid is looking better and better, finding his command. At the least he is excellent value in a possible trade come the deadline.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!
Something I don’t understand….
Graterol, Ferguson and Phillips didn’t throw many pitches. Each were effective–but each only threw a single inning. Why not leave them in for another inning? They can’t be tired and other RPs might need the rest.
If it ain’t broke…
Maybe Vesia and especially Hudson needed rest.
Will Kimbrel be back Friday?
My timing was impeccable.
Daniel Hudson needs a few days rest.
Well Mark, they’re gonna have to score more than 11 runs a game to reach your OPS projections! Ha ha!
Well, hopefully Max has taken a step back to his former self. Good day today.
Cody should be better. At times he looks good, other times he swings through balls.
Curious how ending the shift will effect him next year.
I’m fine with Gavin Lux. His hustle helped them win today. Four hits.
I’m not sure the Dodgers need to trade for a bat. They really hit Justin, Cody, Will to pick it up. The top three are about as good as it gets.
They need to keep Trea. No way to replace him.
I will ask your thoughts on something has been bothering me from some time.
I think the troubles DHudson had today was triggered by the use of shift in the 9th, which it is widespread throughout MLB. It was a 4 run advantage and there were 2 cheap hits back to back, hit against the shift. I understand all the Saber Munbo Jumbo but I don’t like para nada my closer gifting onbase runners. If you are going to make a rally, just hit.
Dodgers strike out too much. 15 SO in 39 ABs. Room for improvement.
That was a fun game to watch. Who woulda thought coming in that Muncy would have a 2B and HR and 5 RBI! Lux with 4 hits. Anderson scoreless streak broken and that he wouldn’t go past 3? Coming back from a 4-0 deficit?
Awesome game. I like the way Hudson gutted that one out
Everybody bitching about Muncy, Turner, Lux and Belli. In today’s game, Belli got the scoring started after being down 4-0. Muncy with a bomb a double and 5 RBI. Lux with 3 hits, on base 4 times a couple of runs scored and is all the sudden hitting 286.
It’s nice to see Muncy finally show something. This is his turnaround game. Send him to the minors until he’s fixed is not heresy.
Lux is going to wind up hitting 300 this year. If you have a 300 hitter, who gets on base over 360, can steal some bases and is fast as shit, it doesn’t matter if he’s not hitting bombs. That’s called a leadoff hitter. Hitting in front on Betts, that’s basically what he is / will be. He’s not far off from 300/360 right now.
Belli is who he is. He’s at least a top 10 CF as is. You can do worse.
JT looks like the hitting version of David Price.
Just wondering, and it is just one game. But they used to say that when you are struggling or injured, just try to go up the middle or with the pitch. I know that’s ‘old fashioned’ but wondering if Muncy is trying that.- a hit to center and left- I leave that analysis to those more knowledgeable than me
Lets face it. We all said that we expected Max to start hitting again
I REPEAT!!!
FIRE DOC ROBERTS!!!
HIRE TONY LARUSA!!!!
Way to go Max, and against the left-hander
Max and the Dodgers sure needed that.
Hoping this will be the start of a turnaround.
Remember Mookie looked lost in the beginning of the season, And then seemingly out of nowhere turned it around
FIRE DOC ROBERTS!!!
LETS HIRE TONY LARUSSA!!!!
Not sure why some here are down on Trea Turner all he does is put up a 300-ish average and an 800+ OPS.
I think Freeman is having a big influence on Lux’ approach to hitting.
Players aren’t robots. But I think due to all the technology and analysis, there’s a movement to make them more robotic. Just like golf you have “feel” players and the “mechanical” players, always in search of the perfect method. Pitchers are very similar. While Walker Buehler is searching for his mechanics and that optimum delivery for his 4 seamer and velo, you have guys like Johnny Cueto who just pitch by feel. He changes many things pitch to pitch. He makes stuff up as he goes. Kind of an artist on the fly who seems more concerned with the outcome than the method. And I find that refreshing. And for the Walker Buehler’s that style just isn’t who they are. Their methods seem much more fragile but better when they are “on” their mechanics.
Some golfers play better when they give up the quest for the perfect swing and decide to “play” golf instead or “work” golf. They become less robotic and analytical. I think that could help some pitchers but that certainly isn’t the trend today. I fear all the technology can lead to making more robots and players who are a lot less fun.
Does anyone else notice that Tyler Anderson rubs his hat in a certain spot which looks kind of white a lot between pitches? I have noticed this in almost all his starts. I know they check the pitchers for sticky stuff but that was one example of how hiding sticky stuff was done in the past before they started to crack down on it. I am sure if it was something illegal he would have been nailed for it. Just an observation is all, not saying he is doing anything illegal.
Since you guys are talking a lot about the Dodgers position players, I thought I’d give my opinion.
Besides Justin Turner and Max Muncy, 1 is old and the other is injured. The 2 worst starters to me who don’t have an excuse are Gavin Lux and Cody Bellinger. I’m not sure how long Lux should stay a starter without any power. But then who replaces him?
As for the bench, I liked Edwin Rios but he is injured and I don’t know when he will be back. I never liked the 2 current bench players we have Hanser Alberto and Eddy Alvarez. Austin Barnes is fine as the back up catcher.
Max and a .800 OPS = a lot of walks!!
Lux might be hitting as ordered. Ball not traveling makes OBP that much more important.
Can’t say I like Lux batting stance. Loan some of his bent knee to Bellinger.
The Dodgers will not be OK with Lux hitting .270 with no power. Mike Busch will be knocking at the door. However, I am not convinced Lux cannot hit 15 HR and 35 doubles. Time will tell. I think Busch will be ready in 2023.
This is how bad baseball is this year.?Joc is Jim Bowden’s pick right now for all star LF!
We are at the third of a season pole. This is how I see the players on the team so far. I am probably wrong about some of them, but that is simply my opinion. Freeman is as advertised. Everyday Freddie has been solid at the plate and in the field. He probably needs a day off since he has had a couple of mini slumps. The Dodgers struck out 9 times in yesterday’s game and Freddie had 3 of them. He might need a blow. Lux has been solid at second, but very underwhelming with the bat. He is hitting .272 with absolutely no power. 1 homer and 12 ribbies are not the kind of production you expect from a player with the kind of hype he has had. Not a total bust, but nothing special. Still takes way too many pitches right down Broadway and Is caught looking too much. Does not protect the plate well with two strikes. Trea, another player who is playing the way you expect him to play. Stellar defense, a tough out. Leads the team in RBI’s which is something you expect from the hitter in the 3 hole. JT is not the JT of a couple of years ago. Age is slowly catching up with him. He is not punishing pitches up in the zone like he used to. Average way down and power numbers not where one would expect them. Clearly on the downside of a stellar run as a Dodger. Chris Taylor is much better serv ed coming off of the bench. He leads the team in K;s by a wide margin striking out 71 times already. That is a percentage of more than 33% of his at bats, They need an everyday LF who can hit and defend as well as Taylor can and move him back to the super sub role he excels at. Bellinger will probably never be the player he was in 19 again. But he is the best defensive CF in the league. He tantalizes with his power capability. And then disappoints with his penchant for striking out so often. Chases pitches he has absolutely no chance of hitting, but capable of changing a game with one swing. Power numbers down simply because the ball is different. He hit several early in the season that would have left the yard last year. Mookie Betts is the best RF in the majors hands down. He is healthy and it shows. Also goes into mini slumps ala Freeman, but defense and offense have been Mookiest as of late. Alberto is Kike without the banana suit. Energetic and fun loving, he is the jester on the bench. Beloved so far by his teammates. Not an offensive force, he does have the ability to contribute a clutch hit now and then and he can pitch occasionally when there is a blow out. Will Smith has not really hit his stride yet. But he has had some big moments. The power is evident, the defense is solid if not spectacular, and his game calling skills and ability to gun down opposing runners has improved some. Solid # 1 catcher and one of the leagues best. Austin Barnes is so far a weak hitting great defense typs catching back up. But his power numbers this season are close to what he piled up all last season. Edwin Rios is a huge loss since his kind of power does not just show up all the time. Likely lost for a huge chunk of the rest of the year. Eddy Alvarez is a very good athlete. He can be an asset since he is very versatile and can play a lot of positions. Being a switch hitter is a huge plus.. Max Muncy is not healthy. If he was Maxwell’s Silver Hammer would be at the top of his game and punishing pitchers, We will obviously see him more in the coming weeks but I believe he would have been better served having surgery on his elbow last winter.
The starters are very good. Even with their struggles, Buehler and Urias have pitched well on occasion. Anderson and Gonsolin have been outstanding. You might not believe they can keep it going, but until they prove otherwise, they are All-Stars in any league. Kersh comes back Sunday. If he is the same pitcher he was when he went down, they are a lot better team. The bull pen for me has always been the Achilles heel of this team. Simply my opinion since I believe they are overworked. But so far, they have had only a couple of meltdowns. Bit series in Frisco this weekend. They will see where they stand with one of their biggest rivals. Going to see Top Gun Maverick today. Have a great day guys.
The day everyone, and especially Bellinger, understands and accepts that he is not a Superstar, then and only then will he be fine and we will stop criticizing him and expect an improvement. He is who he is, a gold glove, a fast runner, spectacular defensively, but he is still and will continue to be a mediocre hitter, not bad, not good, just average-mediocre. Stop waiting for him to return to his all-star level, he is not, he only had a spectacular half season, but the same was Puig, and where is he now?
2:10 PM ET
Dodgers (36-20)
White Sox (26-28)
SP Tyler Anderson L
7-0 2.59 ERA 55.2IP 53K
Confirmed Lineup
RF Mookie Betts R
1B F. Freeman L
SS Trea Turner R
2B Max Muncy L
DH Will Smith R
3B J. Turner R
CF C. Bellinger L
LF Gavin Lux L
C A. Barnes R
Partly-cloudy-day
0% Rain
74° Wind 8 mph Out
06/09/22 Los Angeles Dodgers activated 1B Max Muncy.
06/09/22 Los Angeles Dodgers optioned 2B Zach McKinstry to Oklahoma City Dodgers.
I have come to the conclusion that Cody Bellinger is going to have to go in a different direction to fix his swing, but it will have to be after the season is over and it should not involve current staff. I think he will be serviceable and improve somewhat this year, but he is going to have to change his swing to some degree. It may not be huge, but he has to do it.
Good morning gang. I just got finished submitting my All-Star votes. I used the Bear evaluation system which picks players combined stats. Top producer at each position is my pick. Dodger or no. When you look at the posted stats it is totally amazing that most players are way below their career numbers. Even the super players like Trout and Juan Soto, who is having a pretty bad season so far. I picked only three Dodgers for my squad, Trea, Freddie and Mookie. A lot of former All-Stars did not make the cut. Ohtani is not even on the AL team since Yordan Alvarez is having a better year and deserves the DH spot. He on the basis of his power numbers beats out JD Martinez. Some very big names are not producing the way one would think they should.
OPS by year from #1 OPS Team:
2022 – .755
2021 – .796
2020 – .832
2019 – .847
Notice the Decline. Manfred is an idiot!
To look at players OPS a third of the way through the season is not very revealing or interesting. And, then to predict “pull out of your ass” OPS numbers by the end of the season is comical. The list of OPS numbers for other MLB stars is interesting though. I agree that it’s something that can’t be explained right now. We know Mookie and Freddie are superstars and don’t need an OPS number to tell us that. All the Dodgers are above average MLB position players regardless of their stats.
From above:
“That’s right! I am picking Mad Max to get to a .800 OPS by year-end. I believe that the only reason he is coming back (allegedly tomorrow) is that he is not injured. I do not think I am closer to the situation than Andrew Friedman, Dave Roberts, and the Dodger coaches and trainers. I am pretty dang sure they have the inside scoop! So, if they are calling him back up, then it is for a reason.”
I hope you’re right about Mad Max having an .800 OPS by year end. I’m curious on how you came to this absurd conclusion. So, Max remarks that he won’t be fully healthy until 2023. Roberts claims Max is sent down to allow him to heal and work on some things. With all that you conclude he is returning in the next day or two is because he isn’t injured. Really? Yeah, the Dodger FO and coaching staff do have a reason to have Max return to the majors. The reason might be that he is embarrassing himself in the minors. In only four games he is hitting .143 with a 43% strikeout rate, a 53% no contact rate, and an OPS of .651. So, he is injured and doing poorly in the majors. He is sent to AAA and heals and does worse. And, now that things are all good with Max he is recalled to the Dodgers. And, is predicted to have a OPS of .800 by years end. OK. That all makes sense to me…..NOT! Right now it’s Sad Max, not Mad Max. Without having Bellinger’s GG defense and speed, Max isn’t going to play if things don’t improve on the offensive front. We can continue to hope he does return to form.
I’ve resigned my self to the fact that Roberts will forever be the Dodger manager. He is the perfect person to be the Dodger manager in the eyes of the FO. Roberts is the front office’s good soldier. He has and will continue to make head scratching decisions. But, I agree with Mark that the players have failed to produce at critical times more than Roberts has made dumb moves. How many times have we seen our “highly paid offensive stars” fail to even make contact with the runners in scoring position over the last several years? Or pitchers give up game changing HRs with two strikes on a batter? It takes an entire team to win championships. That includes players, manager, coaches, and front office.
Freddie Freeman is still awesome, but some of his awesomeness is waning right now. Maybe my favorite player, Will Smith, is awakening from his offensive slumber. JT’s average and OPS isn’t good right now, but he has 31 RBI (#3 on team) and has a strikeout rate of less than 20%. It shows that making contact helps to be productive in driving in runs or sets others to do so. It’s a team game.
Carry on.
Right here, right now Cody Bellinger is a top 10 center fielder. He’s tied for 7th in HR and 10th in OPS in MLB. You think you can do better, but in reality you can not. Unless you really think that Brandon Nimmo is going to be better than Belli next year.
You all need to adjust your thinking when it comes to batting stats. It all changed. Offense is way down.
Trea Turner, Will Smith and Cody Bellinger are all tied for second on the team in HR.
Bellinger is also 5th in doubles.
Bellinger is also 5th in total bases.
He’s just not as bad as you all think he is especially when you consider that CF, C and SS are supposed to be the worst hitting positions on the team.
If CT3 is worth 15M, than Belli isn’t far off from the 17M that he’s making.
Andrew Heaney’s second start with AAA Oklahoma City is tonight. Soon there will be some tough decisions to make when MLB only allows 13 pitchers on the roster.
Wouldn’t Mark just love that! And I hope that AF would go fishing for a new center fielder to replace Belli this off season!
I agree I don’t think JT gets that 16M. As for Muncy and Beli. They will have to show what they can do this year if healthy
Your OPS predictions are wildly optimistic even for you Mark. The ENTIRE team is going off from here on out? I’ll take the under on JT, Muncy and Bellinger. And speaking of 23, that’s a negative on those three. Bellinger is a .200 hitter with maybe 20 home runs. Does anyone really want him back and if so what would you be willing to pay him? AF is looking for a new CF this off season
Gonsolin for Cy Young…..BELIEVE IT.
If RA Dickey can win one (and that was stolen from Kersh) then the CAT MAN can and WILL!!!
Freddie is about to go on a tear that is going to go thru the ATL Homecoming. Ill be there for that series….
Who will Not be part of the 2023 Dodger Roster?
The following players have Club Options and the Amount:
1. Justin Turner $16,000,000
2. Max Muncy $13,000,000
3. Dan Duffy $ 7,000,000
4. Dan Hudson $ 6,500,000
5. Hans. Alberto $ 2,000,000
6. Jim Nelson $ 1,000,000
Some tough decisions for BG and A F.
As for AJ, one hit against us doesn’t prove much. He’s batting about .220 this year
No, Mark, it took not “two months” before the fire Roberts choir began singing.
At least as far as I am concernded I have been singing this song for some time. I would not have extended Roberts If I was in charge for the Dodgers.
And I really don´t know why you are so itchy about this subject. Why do you in a really impertinent attempt have to drag Friedman, Muncy, Belli into this topic other than trying to discredit the critics of Roberts ?
If you think Roberts is the best the Dodgers can have as manager it is okay, but there is no need to ridicule Dodgers fans who are of a different opinion about it.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lots to think about there, but certainly good to get back to winning ways last night. Gonsolin has been a revelation along with Anderson, and Kershaw is back this weekend, so things are looking up, as well as the Bullpen being rested.
Read another excellent post by B&P yesterday about our need for another batter. We actually had him, and traded him for Craig Kimbrel, and we saw what he can do a couple of nights back.
I liked trading for Kimbrel, but as I suspected, we are missing AJs righty bat (hamstrings permitting) in our lineup, plus he was my favourite player.
I guess AF had to give to get, but we are missing him.
Can’t undo that deal now, so I really like the sound of JDM. Maybe that deal should be considered now, rather than down the road? We have a history of recent trades with Boston so not impossible.
With regards to Muncy and Bellinger, like in 2020, I don’t see us winning a ring without them contributing more than they are now, and therefore they both will be given every opportunity to improve their figures. Both are vital.
Now for Dave Roberts.
I have a long memory, and I recall a post calling for his head, penned by your good self, immediately after another head scratching evening in the Playoffs where the entire LADT readership had been watching through their fingers and screaming at the TVs across the globe as yet another winnable game was lost.
Let’s not pretend that he’s a great in game manager, because he isn’t. He doesn’t seem to have a “feel” for the moment or situations, just a playbook.
Look what happened when he threw away the analytics and allowed Julio to finish things off in game 7
Yes, I know it’s all about players executing, but its not second guessing when virtually everyone (and there’s a whole lot of baseball acumen and savvy here)!is posting before things have even played out.
Yes he’s perfect for AF and the owners, but i think you are being a little disingenuous when people like Dodgeram (Go Dodgers) and others point out Doc’s frailties. I’m in the more WS wins with a different leader camp.
Only a third of the way through a gruelling schedule and we are where we wanna be. A couple of shrewd pick ups at the Deadline and we will have a great chance.