Snakebit!

Jesse Winker of the Cincinnati Reds will be 28 in August. This is his 5th year in MLB and while he has been up and down the first four years, this year it just clicked! As we speak, he is hitting .397 with a .443 OB% and a 1.183 OPS. That’s Mike Trout, Babe Ruth, Micky Mantle territory. However, he has not always hit like that and if you took any small sampling from any of his seasons, you would possibly conclude that he was Luke Raley, Matt Beaty, Edwin Rios, Zach McKinstry, Sheldon Neuse, or DJ Peters (OK… maybe not Peters).

Winker has 73 AB’s this year, so that means he is the next Mike Trout? Does that mean that Raley, Beaty, Rios, and others are chopped liver? Only a moron would think either case was a possibility, so most of this small sampling means nothing. However, if Jesse is still hitting like this in a couple of months, the NL may have a new MVP. On the other hand, he could do what his teammate, Nick Castellanos did last year: The first month of the season Casty hit .375 with a ..464 OB% and 1.214 OPS. However, he ended the season hitting .225! Casty is back to his old tricks again hitting .322/.366 OB% and 1.021 OPS. Which player is he?

Right now, Justin Turner is the only Dodger hitting with regularity. Even Mookie Betts is a shell of himself. The problem is that they have not hit! Oh, they can get on base. In fact, the Dodgers currently lead all of MLB in OB% with .344! That is really good, but sooner or later, you have to hit to get the runners across the plate and they are not getting that job done. This, in turn, puts pressure on the pitchers who may try and make the “perfect pitch” every time, which leads to never making the perfect pitch. This too will change – some hitter will breakout big time and then the team will follow… if we all live long enough!

If you all want to lose your minds… have at it! I will not participate in the insanity! This is simply a prolonged slump and everything the Dodgers do right about now is wrong! It has not happened for a couple of years, but it’s baseball where anything can (and will) happen. They somehow managed to score 5 runs on just 4 hits. Buehler struck out 10 and only walked one but gave up 5 runs. Go figure! They’re 2-7 in their last nine games and are 9-8 on the season against teams that aren’t the last-place Rockies.

Sean Doolittle got his first save last night after blowing his first opportunity. HIs ERA sits at 4.66. He would fit right in with this bunch! With Gonsolin, Price, and Knebel out for extended time, the bullpen is thin and while he may not inspire confidence, Joe Kelly will likely be back in the next couple of days. All we can do is hope! Victor Gonzalez and Mitch White are also on the IL – it was not disclosed if their injuries were real or imagined.

It sounds like Bellinger is getting closer. The pain in his leg has subsided and he is taking BP every day. It will be a big shot in the arm when he returns. Let’s hope it is soon. I think this losing streak could last a little longer. Sometimes when you are down, it’s hard to get up.