It's About That Time…
Why can’t the Dodgers just win every game? Come on, at the rate they are going; they will only win 109 games! That is unacceptable! I had them winning 162. Man, was I off! A lot of us feel that way… even if we don’t admit it, but I am elated that the Dodgers have the record that…
Why can’t the Dodgers just win every game? Come on, at the rate they are going; they will only win 109 games! That is unacceptable! I had them winning 162. Man, was I off! A lot of us feel that way… even if we don’t admit it, but I am elated that the Dodgers have the record that they do when a lot has gone wrong. Let’s start with the fact that the Dodgers do not have a single hitter on the team hitting .300. They are one of the few teams that don’t have a single .300 hitter. They only have three hitters hitting over .260:
- Freddie Freeman – .297
- Mookie Betts – .290
- Trea Turner .289
Mookie wasn’t Mookie until the last 30 days, but he is now in Beast Mode! This is the best he has played as a Dodger… maybe ever! He is back in the MVP conversation. However, Max Muncy, Cody Bellinger, and Justin Turner are all hitting below .214, but JT is trending up. Muncy and Bellinger are pretty much flat-lined. Cody missed several grooved pitches yesterday that he should have hit out. I would assume that the Dodgers have checked his eyes, but have they checked his eyes? I do not know how he missed a couple of those pitches yesterday.
I have given Cody and Max a very long leash… but I think I have reached the end of that rope. Something has to change. Whether you use statistics or if you use the “eye test,” none of this makes sense and we have to go down another path.
At any rate, I have reached the point, right here, right now, here on May 26th where I think Cody Bellinger should go back to OKC (only with his buy-in, of course). The Dodgers still have Kevin Pillar, who is a general facsimile of a defensive fill-in for Cody and might just hit at a higher average than Cody. However, this needs to be planned and calculated. I think whatever SVS and Company are doing, it is not working! I believe that Cody needs another hitting coach. Who, that is… I have no idea, but there has to be someone.
The odds are (if his eyes are OK) that he only needs a tweak. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results. He is only missing by “that much.”
This is a man of immense talent, but what they are doing is not working. Maybe it’s Freddie Freeman’s father… or someone else? Who knows? Bellinger has options. Max Muncy does not. I have no idea what to do with Max. Maybe it is Craig Wallenbrock. He’s the guy who was behind Robert Von Scoyoc’s success. This shouldn’t have gone on this long, but it has. Maybe Max falls down the stairs and has to go on the DL. I’ll volunteer to push him. Gently… of course!
I also have to ask why three players who were once in the TOP 50 (maybe Top 30), have fallen so far. How can that happen? Max and Cody may both have the same problem, but different causes. All I know is that two months is enough! At least in my opinion. Get Pillar up and maybe Miguel Vargas. Vargas will be up at some point this year – why not now.
Dodger Notes & News
- This team is too good to be shutout like yesterday, I don’t care if Mookie is sitting! Inexplicibly, they do this occasionally!
- Andrew Heaney is feeling good after bullpen sessions. Here’s the question: Do they send him to rehab a couple of starts, or do they just start him and let him go 3 or 4 innings?
- OK, here is something that I should add if you want me and many other readers here to take you seriously: DON’T JUST POST WHEN YOU HAVE SOMETHING NEGATIVE TO SAY. When you do that, you have pretty much summed up who you are.
- With the rumors flying around that the Nats could trade Juan Soto, what could the Dodgers trade for him? It would likely take a package of Miguel Vargas, Mike Busch, Bobby Miller, Landon Knack and a couple of other prospects. It’s a step price to have to pay, for someone who is going to demand a $400 to $500 Million Dollar Contract. How about this lineup?
- Betts RF
- Freeman 1B
- Turner SS
- Soto LF
- Smith C
- Bellinger CF
- Turner/Muncy 3B
- Lux 2B
- DH
Just Dreamin’…..
Dodger Minor League News
- Gavin Stone just might get a shot at the Dodgers rotation THIS year. In just his second AA start for Tulsa, last night Gavin went 5 innings, allowing 4 hits, 0 runs, 2 BB and struck out 7. For the year in A and AA, his line is: 35 IP/28 H/4 ER/8 BB/43 K/1.03 WHIP/1.03 ERA. He is just getting better and better. He’s small – about Buehler’s size, but his fastball plays at 94 to 95 with his max effort pitching.
- Eddys Leonard hit his 7th HR for GL last night as he went 2-4.
- Jesus Ramos (recently promoted) was also 2-4 for the Loons.
- At RC, Damon Keith was 3-5 with 3 RBI and 2 runs scored. He is hitting .328/.992 OPS.
More from Dodger Talk
Dodgers Food Trailer
I did this interview a couple of weeks ago with Chef Mike, who runs the Dodgers Food Trailer for the Great Lakes Loons. They are there for every home and road regular season and playoff game. They prepare three meals a day for approximately 50 people (players and coaches). Since games end late most evenings, they do not prepare breakfast. Many of their hotels have a complimentary breakfast anyway. However,…
Meet LAD 2026 Draft Picks 1-12
3 picks were High School players (2 SS and 1 OF). There was a college OF, college catcher, college SS, and 10 college pitchers. Of all the talk for a need for a catcher, the only catcher the Dodgers selected was Luke Bard, son of LAD bullpen coach Josh Bard. Bard was a 4th year senior from Houston Christian University. He is not a prospect, so the Dodgers are still…
Interview with Paul Beachy – Team Bus Driver For The Great Lakes Loons (LA Dodgers Minor League Team)
It’s been a few days since I did this interview. We have evidently been working my son-in-law (the video guy) like a rented mule at US Water Systems. However, I am taking him to London with me in a few days, so maybe Watford will buy him a pint as a tip, but he’s a dang Red Sox fan, so there is that! I thought that it would be interesting…
Thanks for Your Service: Chris Taylor
I was going to do this post when Chris announced he was retiring, then he changed his mind, but since the chances of him ever playing for the Dodgers again are slim and non-existent, I will go ahead with this post. He unretired, went on the IL, then decided to call it quits on May 24th. Taylor was born in Virginia Beach VA on August 29th, 1990. He attended Great…
Discussion (83)
Disagree, not disagreeable
I put on my negative hat and a thought came to me. Yes, there was some tin foil and a spinner in that hat but how else are revelations discovered.
Rarely have the Dodgers had a good hitting team. Rarely meaning there have been a few decades where they hit like the 50’s, 70’s, and the last 5 or so years. They use their top draft picks on pitchers and can’t teach hitting. The Giants can teach hitting. They fixed Joc, they can fix Max. Trouble is the Giants wouldn’t trade Joc for Max even if Rios were thrown in.
I am back to wearing my white hat now and am back from space.
Wow! That was a web gem by Lux right there.
OK, so the batting practice is over.
Two questions:
–How often has everybody in the starting lineup Dodgers had at least two hits each?
–How often have FIVE players had at least three hits each?
Pretty funny after yesterday’s 1-0 loss, when they couldn’t get a hit with runners on base.
Maybe Muncy needs more rest, if this is the result…
Something I just don’t understand….
White throws four scoreless innings (with help from the defense) and Bruhl throws one scoreless inning.
But Bruhl is credited with the W.
Are the scorekeeping rules that strict? In a game like this, it seems obvious that the guy who threw the most innings deserves the win.
Not important in the grand scheme, but it just makes no sense.
So the LA Times is reporting that Muncy’s elbow is bothering him and he could be headed for the injured list–and Pillar has been added to the taxi squad.
Makes sense. Pillar could free Taylor to play more 2B and 3B.
LHP Andrew Heaney (left shoulder discomfort)
Expected return: Mid-to-late June
Heaney threw a 50-pitch, three-inning bullpen session on May 26 at Chase Field. The left-hander came out “feeling well,” according to manager Dave Roberts. It’s another positive step in Heaney’s progression. Heaney’s next step is to face hitters at Camelback Ranch on May 29. — Juan Toribio (Last updated: May 26)