Here we are… the Dodgers have just 69 games left to play and Cody Bellinger is hitting .173! Of course, everyone has a theory of why he is doing so poorly.
- “He’s not a superstar” – His career stats say otherwise.
- “He has lost his confidence.” – You know this how?
- “He won’t listen to the coaches.” – I know for a fact that is not true.
- “The Dodgers should trade him.” – Yeah, that’s smart – when his is hitting poorly, it would be a buyers market (i.e., his value is low). It would be felony stupid to trade him now.
What is wrong with Cody Bellinger is that he has battled his shoulder problems for three years, had surgery, was out for an extended time, came back, and had the leg issue which set him back again. He is adjusting to his rebuilt shoulder and re-tooling his swing, getting his timing back, fighting to not try too hard, and all of the things that come with being an MLB hitter.
In June of 2019, the great Mookie Betts (who does not have the long swing of Bellinger), in 127 AB’s hit .217. In 127 AB”s this year, Cody is hitting .173 and striking out 33% of the time. His career strikeout percentage is 25%. What’s wrong with Cody is NOTHING! It’s a slump, pure and simple, caused by surgery, recovery, and a long rehab. When Corey Seager comes back, Cody just needs to slide down to the #6 spot. Realize he does not have to carry the team and get his swing and confidence back.
Hitting is a large part “CONFIDENCE” and the only way you get it back is to keep hacking. Cody’s career OPS is .889, which is still higher than Mookie Betts. Cody just needs to do what Mookie did and work on making his swing as repeatable as possible. I am sure he is pressing and a day off will not hurt, but he needs to keep hitting. I believe Cody Bellinger is a TOP 10 player in baseball and the cream will rise to the top.
Patience Grasshoppers.
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Discussion (40)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Wow, they are a game out, and the rats are deserting the ship. You guys amazed me. A bunch of grown men bawling like little kids who dropped their ice cream because their hero’s had a bad game and lost. That’s called baseball people. Sometimes the ball takes a bad hop at the wrong time, and boom, all of a sudden the opponent scores big. Takes Betts last hit in Saturday’s game, the Rocks CF, Hampton, had that ball in his glove, and then he and Blackmon ran into each other and the ball popped out. Forced to use a bullpen game, you blame Roberts for the lack of execution by players he put in the game. He is not out there throwing 2 strike pitches right down Broadway, the pitchers are. How about the offense, 17 more left on base, and 12 more strikeouts. The two guys at the top of the lineup, the table setters, went a combined 0-9. Is that Roberts fault? The prior game they went 8-9. With 3 HR’s. Kenley Jansen blew a save for the first time in weeks. Bickford made a couple of bad pitches, and did not have real good control, but lately he has been nails. Reed is a marginal pitcher with a funky delivery and he gives up 1 run, and the world goes nuts. Coors Field has one of the worst infields in the majors according to the players. Vassage and Charlie were talking about how the players had been complaining about it all weekend. The Rockies, despite their place in the standings, have played a lot better of late, and they have some guys in their lineup who can actually hit. Kenley’s biggest mistake was giving a cookie to the leadoff hitter in the 9th with 2 strikes, and now it is almost like extra innings because there is a man on second and no outs. How about giving Rockies hitters some props for doing it the right way and getting him in on two sac fly’s. Smith and Turner combined for all the offensive output yesterday, and outside of Pollocks 2 singles, they got no help from the rest of the team. And the injury bug hits again. They said Lux’s hammy was more like a cramp, and he might have been dehydrated. That happens a lot at altitude if you do not drink liquids. I know, I live here. The Giants are now here, and there are 12 days to the deadline. Please TM, do not embarrass yourself and come up with trade proposals that make no sense to the front office what so ever. Neither Bellinger or Lux are going to be traded. They might end up having to send Cody down to AAA to get his head straight. There are really no offensive options in the minors to replace him. Peters is hitting .242, but striking out in 1/3 rd of his at bats. Reks and Raley have been hitting down there, but neither has shown much with the big club. Muncy will miss a game or two this week with his wife ready to have their child, and their focus at the trade deadline will be starting pitching. Kershaw will not be back until August, Price did a decent job yesterday, but still has not stretched out enough. So they are doing it and staying competitive with basically 3 starters. Urias, Buehler and Gonsolin. And even Tony has still not been stretched out much. Smoke and mirrors there boys.
Very disappointing defeat as they always are when they happen late.
Cody’s career path reminds me of our former Phenom – Yasiel Puig.
He arrived and took MLB by storm, but obviously had some issues that for whatever reason couldn’t be addressed.
We then persevered for way too long, before trading him away for far less than we could have had.
Some saw the flaws and suggested trading him very early in his Dodger’s tenure because they didn’t believe he would become the player many thought he would – mainly because he lacked the desire and maturity to take advice and therefore evolve as a player.
I see many similarities here. Cody like Puig undoubtedly has the tools – but is he capable of utilising them? Maybe his value is actually as high as it’s going to be at this moment?
I’m still in his camp, but allowing for the healing injuries, I’m not seeing much effort to change.
On a different note, good to see most of the old guard back here, Pete, Badger, Bums, and well played Collin Morikawa – that boy is gonna win a lot of golf tournaments.
Bring on the Ryder Cup.
Predictably, when the Dodgers lose, the panic emerges.
Someone asked about trading Bellinger. I am certain that about every GM would be interested, but with the slump he is in you would be selling low. They woukd want a discount.
Damn this ain’t the Titanic, but I’m figuring some are stowing some sh–t in the life boats…
Hasn’t it been established that SF has exceeded freaking expectations and the Madres will fade???
Belli, I’m more worried that the torque he puts his body thru with his swings will really screw him up… I’m no kinesiologist, but I got with Mike Marshall and he agreed…
I truly hope Seager isn’t reading any of the fish wraps or blogs, because he’s going to be watched his every move… May the baseball gods be with him…
Happy with D. Price today, but wished a few more inning were in the chamber…
We gotta win 3 of the next 4??? If not, what do I do??? Get ready for College football or the Olympics???
I know AF is holding daily skull sessions with the staff and he’ll make a move or two.. I don’t, repeat don’t want to deplete our minors…
If I got free tix behind home plate for Rev. Timmons and a plane flight would he go to SF and enjoy the ‘City’???
DH for Cody??? The fentanyl made TM say that….
How does a team that is this talented continue to lose the one run and extra inning games? Does anybody else think that Roberts holds most of the blame? His in game management has always been questioned and the results show
that he doesn’t know how to put the right players in a position for us to win the close games. Totally frustrated with the lineups that make no sense…hoping that Seager’s return will lead to a regular lineup that will be balanced and productive!
Earlier today I suggested that batting Belli leadoff might change his mindset for the better and not have him swinging for the fences on every at bat. I was wrong. Apparently he is unwilling or unable to change his approach.
Therefore, since his defense is very valuable, since I doubt they will bench him or send him to OKC, and since it looks like our regular #8 hitter is going to the IL with a hamstring problem, I am now suggesting we bat him 8th for the foreseeable future. The one exception would be on Urias starts, where we would bat Cody 9th.
Once he pulls himself over the Mendoza line, Doc can decide where he would best be used in the lineup, but in the meanwhile, he needs to hit where his production suggests he should hit.
2 more unearned runs. Actually 3 I believe. Turner should have fielded that grounder he olé’d. With this defense we need to score 7 every night.
Great defense today by JT and CT3 and yes that’s sarcasm. Lux to the IL while Seager is activated. I’m predicting we won’t miss Lux’s bat.
Defense and Kenley are to blame for this loss. Dodgers fumbled away two runs and Kenley blows the save.
Could have caught the Midgets today. Bellingers now hitting below .180 ??
Wow, this is an epic struggle Belli fights here. Hope Seager comes back fast and is hitting. Lux probably going on the IL. Looked like a strain to me.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My spanish is weak, but did Jose put this on Roberts??? Oh well, Doc hasn’t been racked lately..
What a day, much to the chagrin of my wife… The Open followed by Dodger baseball!!!
2 out of 3 @ CO… I’ll take it and head home for some home cooking…
No Betts, and basically no Lux or Bellinger, if your main contributors like Muncy and Taylor have a bad day, it makes your line up very vulnerable. it puts a lot of pressure on the bullpen. they’ve been very good lately but they can’t do it every day
Well that sucked. Guy who has not hit a homer since June 1st walks it off, 2 blown saves in one game. At least the Padres and Giants both lost. Now we get SF for 4 in our yard, need at least 3 of 4.
El juego de hoy 100 % pérdida de Roberts
Friggin bullpen.
I’ve said I was hopeful about Bickford but now it is looking more and more like he is a ROOGY.
I hate the three batter minimum rule.
Hey Mark, something you said in your article has been gnawing at me, so I would like to get this off my chest if that’s okay with you.
You said to try to trade Cody this year is just stupid because no team would offer much in Return because of his down year.
Now let’s play with that thought for a while. So, what I’m hearing from you is …. there isn’t a team out there who would give up much in order to acquire the former MVP who is only 26 years old. Who would give up much for a .170 hitter, right? Is that an accurate statement?
So, if Cody is so good and if you are so convinced Cody can and will turn this around and be the man he was 3-4 years ago, why aren’t there any of these baseball GMs convinced of such as you are? I mean, why would they only be willing to give up marginal prospects and not go any higher if the Dodgers said no to those trade proposals for marginal players? Surely, if they truly believed Cody can and will turn it around wouldn’t they be offering players that are substantial enough to make the Dodgers seriously consider doing it?
So, as I am hearing you, all these teams don’t want Cody that badly to give up top prospects not so much because Cody is having an off year, but maybe because they don’t believe the Cody of 3-4 years ago will come back. I mean if I was assured, like you, that the Cody of old will return, You better believe I would ante up in order to acquire this huge talent. I mean after all….he can run, he can play the OF or 1B, he can hit for power…he was the closest thing to Superman a few years back. Hell yeah, if I knew he will be that guy again, I would make sure I get him, even if it means giving up top prospects. After all, you have to give up something to get something, right? Why would these teams not open their coffers to get Superman? Maybe it’s because there isn’t one GM out there who is convinced like you are that Cody could be the man again.
In conclusion….the Dodgers wouldn’t trade cody for peanuts….but I wonder if there is any GM out there who would offer more than peanuts based on their belief that this Cody of 2020 /2021 will go away and the cody of 2017/18 will return.
This is Belli’s chance to come up big!
Lux pulls a hammy running out his infield grounder in the 9th. We might miss his glove, but his bat not so much.
If we hang on to win today, I would call this a GREAT WIN.
To win without Red Hot Mookie, Marvelous Max having an off day, two automatic outs plus the pitcher……amazing, just amazing. (Now watch Jansen blow it in the 9th.)
Smith bomb for the lead.
GIANTS LOSE!!!!!!
Where is the offense today?
Small sample for sure but Bellinger is now 0-11 with 6 K’s lifetime batting 1st in the order.
Turner has definitely lost a lot on defense at 3rd. Can still hit but not the high fastball. He is still a quality and clutch Mlb player but age is slowing skills sadly.
Well, Cody misses a strike 3 cookie by 6”.
The Dodgers are #1 in the National League in OPS in both batting and pitching.
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Zach Reks is with the team on the taxi squad. He’ll be ready to fill in when Max Muncy leaves for the birth of his child, which is likely to happen sometime this coming week.
Today’s starting lineup, Bellinger, CF, Muncy, 1B, Turner, 3B, Smith, C, Taylor, 2B, McKinstry, RF, Pollock, LF, Lux, SS, Price P. Someone obviously has a lot of faith in Bellinger.
Here’s my take on Mookie. For the entire season (up until yesterday), I did not see Mookie run at his full, elite speed. There have been numerous times in the outfield when he would judge (early) a ball as uncatchable and then jog to get it knowing the hitter would get a double. Rarely did he run out ground balls at anything approaching his top speed. I kept saying to myself (I’m sure I am not alone) – he can’t cut it loose (his running). He is protecting something, some nagging injury.
Then yesterday, after his second double — we saw last year’s Mookie. Muncy hit a one-hop, sharp single to a charging leftfielder that very few players could score on. Mookie cut it loose and looked amazing, scoring easily, and I was like “WOW” finally he is really back!! My sentiment was, of course, short-lived as we know what happened: by going 100%, he aggravated the hip that has been bugging him all year.
To stay on the field, Mookie can’t cut it loose. I would not be surprised if he comes back soon, but we see the Mookie who makes tactical choices with his running. I also think (based on his fourth AB after the aggravate hip) that the hip may not bother him while swinging. That would be great news, because he has fixed his swing — hitting lasers to all fields, and it would be a huge lift to the team for him to be a part of the upcoming seven games against the Giants.
We’ve seen this for several years from JT — he knows if he runs 100% he’ll instantly pop a hammy. And he knows of his value to the team is is hitting, so he goes what seems like 50% most of the time around the bases. It looks kinda pathetic some times, but he is managing his body so he can stay on the field.
I am sure none of this is news to most of you — just felt like yesterday clarified what many of us were seeing/feeling.
Mets To Place Jacob deGrom On Injured List
By Anthony Franco | July 18, 2021 at 10:52am CDT
The Mets are placing Jacob deGrom on the injured list, manager Luis Rojas told reporters (including Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News) this morning. He continues to deal with forearm tightness and won’t throw until that subsides.
It’s not an unexpected development after deGrom’s throwing program was halted yesterday. Nevertheless, it’s still a tough blow to a Mets team that holds a meager 2.5 game lead in the National League East. The diagnosis of forearm tightness and seemingly uncertain recovery timeline are even more alarming, given deGrom’s status as the best pitcher in the league. (deGrom underwent a Tommy John surgery as a prospect back in 2010).
deGrom has dealt with a few health issues over the course of the season. He missed a couple weeks with side tightness earlier in the year, and he’s also been forced out of starts early with forearm and shoulder soreness. Neither of the previous arm problems required an IL stint, but his most recent injury will land him on the shelf.
It’s so refreshing that everyone has turned their attention away from Pollock and onto Belli. It’s not hard to predict that that everyone will shift their focus to Seager if he comes back and doesn’t start hitting like Ted Williams right away.
Come to think about it, I haven’t heard anyone complain about the bullpen in a while.
I’m not worried about Belli at all. Most of his struggles right now are timing and chasing out of the zone. If you look at Shohei Ohtani’s stats from last year, you’ll see similar results. Now look at him.
Cody may have a down year this year, but there’s way too much talent there to suggest trading him, like MT says, when his value is at a career low. In a normal offseason, Cody will be able to work on his swing and build strength for the upcoming season. Last year, he was unable to do either, instead focusing on rehabbing the shoulder. People have very short memories, so I will remind them that Cody only appeared at the very end of Spring Training and then almost immediately suffered that freak broken leg.
I’m not buying the hole in his swing theory either. A couple years ago he went from being platooned against lefties to being the best left handed hitter against lefties the following year. This proves he’s capable of making an adjustment.
It might take another week or two for Cody to start getting back into a groove, but it will happen. He may not have superstar numbers when the season is done, but he’ll have his moments and he plays elite defense in CF and is a great baserunner. So, there’s value keeping him in the lineup regardless.
As we approach the deadline, the only real move that needs to be made is for some Bauer insurance. It seems like only Bueller can really be counted on a healthy starting pitcher. Everyone else has questions marks attached to them. If we can keep everyone healthy, we have enough to put together a solid Post-Season rotation. Bueller, Kershaw, Urias, Price and Gonsolin is enough to get the job done.
The bullpen is shaping into a force to be reckoned with. Darien Nunez is a pleasant surprise and Knebel suddenly ahead of schedule is akin to a big deadline score. Jansen, Knebel, Treinen, Kelly, Nelson, Bickford, Graterol, Nunez, V-Gone is deeper than I can ever remember. White, Vesia, Clevinger, Sherfy, Reed and Alexander provide unheard of depth.
Even with Cody’s struggles and Seager’s extended IL stint, we’re still the top offense in the NL and not far off of the Astros for the best in all of baseball. And we don’t play half of our games in a bandbox.
This team has been limping along all year and still have the second best record in the league. The Giants have played over their heads all year and are just one game up. In case you’re new to baseball, and I’m not going to say never, but this is going to change at some point. The Dodgers are a juggernaut and have had the worst luck out of any team that I can remember when it comes to injuries and the Bauer situation. With any karma, luck or law of averages, we will dominate the second half and continue our dominance with another NL West title and a lot of home field advantage with a rocking Dodger Stadium for another deep run.
It’s going to be interesting to see how they handle Lux and CT3 when Seages comes back. CT3 is going to be the main guy to spell Turner at 3B and to give a regular breather to Betts in order to keep those nagging injuries at bay. I think we can safely assume that the lineup against lefties will continue with Albert at 1B and Muncy at 2B. Lux will probably wind down to playing second 2-3 times a week and providing an occasional breather for Seags. I can see Z-Mack get a start once or twice a week to give Pollock a rest and Beaty will be sprinkled in late in games after Pujols gets pulled for a tough righty pitcher.
Mookie has been incredible these last 4 games. Hopefully this latest injury is just a minor setback. Corey and Cody will be the icing on the cake if they can perform close to their averages. If so, even with some starting pitching problems we will be the team to beat in the playoffs. This is a deep, talented team without a doubt when we are healthy.
I have faith in Cody Bellinger. I think he bounces back. Will it be this year? Not sure?
I think it’s a combination of a shoulder injury, limited spring and the leg fracture. Just an observation. But he’s not catching up with fastballs, hits some balls hard, but into the shifts. I really believe he needs to drop more bunts when they shift. He’s actually a very good bunter and has great speed.
You really don’t want him on base. He can steal, goes first to third on a hit or score on something in the gap.
But his swing is a little complicated and right now, he misses too many balls. Has he lost confidence? Probably. Doubt has to play into this, nature of the beast.
I still want Bellinger long term, believe he has the total package. Made a lot of big plays and had key hits in the playoffs last year. I don’t get the trade him for prospects mentality.
Sometimes you can listen to too many people and that ends up hurting you. Do this, do that. Best to clear your mind. See ball, hit ball.
Shipping Bellinger to the minors to fix his problems would weaken the Dodgers considerably on the defensive side.
Deep breath everyone.
Right now Bellinger’s stats are of a 4th outfielder who has defensive skills making 18 million per year . Is future fatherhood affecting him? How can you hit with the bat wrapped behind your head, with too many moving body parts and are late on center cut fastballs? Don’t the hitting coaches see this? He sometimes hits shit pitching ,but he is 5 for 51 in his last at bats and I cringe when he comes to the plate with runners in scoring position. If this continues he may have to be platooned or take a bus to Oklahoma City to work out his problems. He may never find his swing and right now I wouldn’t consider signing him long term.
I’m thinking-hoping Seager won’t have any difficulty returning to form and we’ll see the end of those close games on the losing end. What he does for a lineup ain’t easy to come by, hitting inspires hitting and now that it’s down to a sprint again Seager is exactly what the Doc ordered. I saw it all in a dream. And no fears. And what Mark said!
Makes sense to me.
I have my own old school techniques that I think would help him make contact, but clearly the “2 strike” approach of yesteryear goes against his nature. I’ve seen him go the other way on occasion, and that’s part of a solution, but choking up and thinking “back up the middle” is not.
Everyone can see the holes in his swing. The charts are there. He appears anxious, he’s late on fastballs up and he’s chasing. There are techniques to fix that. I’m confident that Cody and his instructors will remedy the problem and he will improve. In my opinion the first step is think – punish strikes and lay off balls. Easy to say, takes discipline to do. He will get there.
Agree! I know you can’t help how you look (well maybe you can), but he looks like he is strung out on something.
I am worried about Mookie again. great stretch of hitting. Now hip injury flaired up. We know a lot of ‘slumps’ are injury related. He says he is ‘good’. No player ever says he is playing thru injuries and should be sitting. Ok hoping for the best. Lets see what he does with a one day rest.
Hope you are correct, but I have my doubts. I will gladly genuflect if you are correct, but his prolonged pedestrian offensive numbers are not suggestive of a rebound. Perhaps this is who he is…a great defensive ball player, a great arm with great speed, but maybe, just maybe a very average offensive player.
I want to be wrong, but when I watch a game and see JT, Max, CT3 and even occasionally Will Smith come to bat I’m optimistic about a big and timely base hit. I have to admit I dread Belli coming up in a big moment knowing more often than not we’ll see a K or a pop up and a wasted AB with a scoring opportunity go to waste.
Believe me I’m a big fan of Belli even have his jersey that I wore proudly last Saturday to DS when we beat the snakes 22-1 (what a game by the way) but his offensive game is not fun to watch right now.