Stop the Corey Seager Bashing!

DISCLAIMER: What follows, was written before last nights game.

At the end of May, Corey Seager had a .244 BA with a .350 OB% to go with 4 HR and 18 RBI, and yet, it seems that just about everyone is placing the majority of the blame for the Dodgers 4-14 record in the past 2+ weeks. Virtually every one of you has thrown Corey under the bus. I looked back at Corey Seager’s monthly hitting records by month and here is what they are:

1. April 2021 – .255
2. July 2020 – .344
3. August 2020 – .299
4. September 2020 – .301
5. April 2019 – .236
6. May 2019 – .264
7. June 2019 – .425
8. July 2019 – .250
9. August 2019 – .255
10. September 2019 – .291
11. April 2018 – .267
12. April 2017 – .319
13. May 2017 – .255
14. June 2017 – .313
15. July 2017 – .333
16. August 2017 – .333
17. September 2017 – .210
18. April 2016 – .250
19. May 2016 – .301
20. June 2016 – .343
21. July 2016 – .347
22. August 2016 – .330
23. September 2016 – .277
24. September 2015 – .337

So in five Aprils, Corey has averaged .264. In 2021, he is 9 points below what his career BA is for April. In fact, this is his second-best April. He has three Aprils that were worse. In his 24 months in MLB Corey has hit below .300 12 times and above .300 12 times. It is very unremarkable to see Cory hit .255 in April, but it seems that many of you think it means something! IT MEANS NOTHING… except that he is in a slump! But of course, when you see the team struggling and Corey (World Series MVP) is only hitting .255 in April, it’s pretty easy for many of you to conclude he is in decline, offensively and defensively. It’s easy to place blame and see decline … even if there isn’t any. Defensive metrics are very subjective.

Corey has 4 errors and a .967 fielding percentage which is exactly in line with his career .968 fielding percentage. His fielding percentage is actually 15 points better than in 2020. What do you have to say to that? Really, you shouldn’t say anything because it is simply very silly to castigate Corey Seager right about now. Now, many say he is feeling the weight of his Free Agent year and that he might suck all year. That’s possible, but you don’t have any way of knowing that! It’s silly to assume such nonsense… especially at this juncture. What I do know, is that this is a typical start for Corey Seager and that his fielding percentage is 15 points better than last year.

Corey can be cold and he can be red-hot. We have seen it throughout his career but is hot more often than not. We have also seen Max, Mookie, AJ, Will, JT, and CT3 get red-hot. It is bound to happen again. That and Cody Bellinger will be back! I remain undaunted!

THIS ENDS WHAT I WROTE LAST NIGHT!

We Don’t Know a Damn Thing…

… about a team after a little over a month. So, are you willing to bet that the San Francisco Giants will win 98 games? That’s the pace they are on. Anthony DeSclafani has a 2.40 ERA. Kevin Gausman is at 1.97, Alex Wood is 1.96, Johnny Cueto is 1.80, Aaron Sanchez is 3.18. Actually, it is more likely that they will all be injured than have anything close to those ERA’s! Come on, man!

Here’s my point: After 34 games we really have no idea how the Dodgers or other teams will finish up. Maybe at 60 or 80games, the trends become more clear, but how can you even make a rational judgment when you have ten players on the IL and others hurt to the point they can’t play? You can make a judgment, but it would not be rational. Everyone is losing their minds about Mitch White and Dennis Santana giving up 10 runs last night. They both have major league arms, but not the requisite experience.

They obviously have been rushed, but there was another factor at work last night: When you come into a game ahead by 14 runs, it’s hard for a youngster to really focus and if you are not focused MLB hitters will eat your lunch… even poor hitters. White and Santana need to go back to OKC, but what they have there might not be any better. Then of course, you have to blame someone – after all, it’s Andrew Friedman’s fault! He should have foreseen that he will have eight pitchers on the IL on May 8th. What a dumbass he is! Why is everything always someone’s fault?

We all have perfect 20/20 hindsight, but lest we forget, bullpens are not only built in the offseason but they are built during the season. To say that the bullpen almost blew the game last night would make you Mr. Obvious. Even Ray Charles can see that. The Dodgers are just going to have to suck it up for a few more days… or weeks until some pitchers and Bellinger become healthy. Oh, he might make a signing or two – Shane Greene comes to mind, but I would not expect anything major until at least July. This is not panic time – they are only 128 games left!

The Twins who were one of the favorites in the AL are 12-20 and there are 18 other teams including the Dodgers who are hovering above or below .500. The Yankees, Rays, and Astros are struggling and the Braves, whom many predicted ready to take the next step are below .500. Their vaunted pitching has a 4.65 ERA! We can not like what we see, but what we see will be changing as some of those ten players start returning. Myself? I think it is pretty damn amazing that the Dodgers are two games above .500 and I find it ridiculous that fans think this is not the deepest organization in baseball. No team can withstand such a plethora of injuries as the Dodgers have, but actually the Dodgers have survived it! They are not 13-2 but they are 18-16, 2.5 games out of first place!

This team is built for the 162 and I think it will all end well. You don’t spend what the Dodgers spent and then do nothing, but today is not the day to be making a knee-jerk reaction. Piece-by-piece is what has to happen. That said, it was good to see the Dodgers bats come alive. I cannot remember them scoring that many runs without the aid of a home run. Games like that build confidence in hitters. 50% of the game is 80% mental…. or something like that.

Minor League Report

• OKC was beaten by the Round Rock Express 6-5. Reks was 2-5 with a double, and Christian Santana was 2-3 with a double. Carlos Asuaje hit a 2-run HR and drove in 3 runs. Kickham pitched 3 innings and gave up 3 HR. Yasiel Sierra walked 3 batters in 2/3 of an inning, and Pazos and Quackenbush both pitched an inning without allowing a run and Quack struck out the side.
• Tulsa was drilled by the Sod Poodles again, 5-3. Busch added another hit (a double) and a walk. He is OPSing 1.172. Cuadrado was 2-4, and Kendall also had a hit (he is hitting .417 in a small sampling. Ryan Pepiot pitched 4 innings, allowing 1 run, and Nate Robertson pitched 1.2 innings and allowed no runs.
• The GL Loons are now 1-4 as they were beaten by the Dayton Dragon2 6-5. Vargas has a double, Ryan Ward hit a 3-run homer, and Deacon Liput had two hits. That was all of the hitting by the Loons. Melvin Jiminez pitched 1.1 innings without an event.
• The Inland Empire 66ers Quaked at the sight of Rancho Cucamonga as RC won 7-1. Jake Vogel was 2-4, and 19-year old Alex DeJesus was 4-5 with 2 HR’s. Kendall William pitched 4 scoreless innings, and Franklin De La Paz pitched the last 1.1 innings to close it out.

Cover Photo Credit: MLB and Getty Images

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