The complete Cody Bellinger: 2021 #SaveEli Postmortem - True Blue LA

susukema.blogspot.com

As #JuniorCircuit has a signature GIF, whenever I return to the past of #SaveEli, I shall draw upon the meme I’ve adopted for my own. I feel that it’s important to lean into your eccentricities. Plus, the GIF really does sum up that first trip.

---

From the Adventures of Edwin Rios...

After Game 2, which was [Edwin Rios’] final game of the year, he was batting .078. A statline that would make former-Max Scherzer green with envy, as he went 0 for the season, and current Dodger Cody Bellinger green with empathy, probably in a “thank God, I wasn’t that bad” manner (he’ll have his turn in the barrel…oh stories to tell as to that one.)

Cody Bellinger moving back to his position in Los Angeles on September 15, 2021.

Michael Elizondo

It was rough to watch Cody Bellinger in 2021. Every time you thought “that’s got to be bottom, right?” - it just kept getting worse.

It’s worth supplementing what Eric wrote:

In just the fifth game of the season, with the Dodgers leading by seven runs in the ninth inning, Bellinger beat out an infield dribbler, only to get spiked by covering pitcher Reymin Guadan at first base. Initially, Bellinger was thought to have left calf contusions, but after he didn’t improve, further testing showed a fractured left fibula that knocked him out for 46 games.

April 5, 2021 was a fun night in Oakland until you know - CRUNCH.

Michael Elizondo

As previously discussed, Dustin May looked like a cocky demi-god; the Dodgers’ offense looked unstoppable. As such, they were romping on a chilly night in Oakland. It was the first time I had seen my colleague and friend since the pandemic began. In fact, there was only ONE entrance to that hole, which is otherwise known as the Coliseum, because all the other entrances were devoted to administering COVID vaccinations.

We happily showed our cards, just trying to get to the game. Dodgers were up 10-3 and Cody Bellinger hit a ground ball single into the shift which looked normal until, well - CRUNCH. We all figured he had just been spiked, by accident, of course.

But it was worse than that. As a result, I didn’t see Cody Bellinger again until June 5, 2021, in Atlanta. The irony is that infield hit was Bellinger’s only hit of the night. 0 for 5 otherwise with 2K. Eric went into the stats with aplomb. I can only add what I personally saw.

Michael Elizondo

I saw Bellinger in person 18 times in 2021, even with all the injuries.

Cody Bellinger in 2021 #SaveEli Games

Games (out of 30)	18
Games (out of 30)	18
AB	67
H	9
BA	0.134
R	6
HR	1
2B	1
3B	0
RBI	4
BB	3
K	14
HBP	0
SF	1
GIDP	1
OBP	0.169
SLG	0.194

Decent statline if one is a pitcher, but Cody Bellinger is not a pitcher. Michael Elizondo

Per Baseball-Reference, Belli had a -1.5 WAR for the year.

In a quirk typical of 2021, I was present for Bellinger’s only SF of the year. It was in Miami. In prior years, it probably should have been a home run, but c’est la vie.

That is an ugly stat line for a regular who isn’t a pitcher. There was one stretch in May/June where I went to Atlanta and Pittsburgh where Bellinger sort of resembled a major league hitter. He went 5 for 20 (.250) in five games in Atlanta and Pittsburgh, with 2 R, a BB, and 2 Ks.

Cody Bellinger at bat in Pittsburgh on June 10, 2021.

Michael Elizondo

However, that means he went 4 for 47 (.085) throughout the rest of the regular season when I was around!

Cody Bellinger struck out against the Diamondbacks on September 13, 2021.

Michael Elizondo

When diving into the statistics, a single question rose to mind: Was there anyone in baseball with a similar stat line under the same or similar conditions?

And to my surprise, there was such a player, as this player went 2 for 39 (.051) with 19K.

Antonio Senzatela of the Colorado Rockies.

Even when Bellinger was helping in the regular season, it did not look right.

Considering the offensive futility, apart from the salary, the main reason to keep Bellinger in the lineup in 2021 was his defense. But even at the end of the year, he was the clear fourth outfielder, especially once AJ Pollock injured himself on the worst slide I had seen in a long time in San Francisco.

Cody Bellinger warming up prior to the Dodgers’ loss in Atlanta on June 6, 2021.

Michael Elizondo

I suppose if I truly wanted to share the quintessential Cody Bellinger regular season at-bat of 2021, the first at-bat that comes to mind is Game 4 of the series in St. Louis on September 9, 2011. To some, Dave Roberts essentially sent out a Triple-AAA lineup; for me, I figured the reserves of both sides would somehow crank out an 11-9 game because…baseball! (That did not happen in any conceivable form. If you like pop-ups and strikeouts, then this game in St. Louis was for you...weirdo.)

It’s the top of the third inning, the Dodgers have the bases loaded and seemed poised to punch the Cardinals in the mouth and amp up the pressure on the Giants in the NL West race.

Up comes…Cody Bellinger…who was at bat for about the length of a sneeze - quite literally. First pitch pop-up out. MVP Bellinger would have knocked it to the moon. 2021 Bellinger maybe hit it 200-250 feet.

The Dodgers went meekly for the rest of the game and I consoled myself with looking at an arch and drinking seven-dollar Amaretto Sours nearby until I didn’t much mind what I had seen. (Spoiler alert for the St. Louis page of the Guide.)

If I truly wanted to depress myself, I’d go through all the Bellinger games I was there in person for and count how many times Cody Bellinger grounded out into the shift. (It was a lot; Eric doesn’t pay me enough to design hair shirts.) It got to the point where I would literally shout encouragement and plead for Bellinger to literally hit it anywhere else. If I had a dollar for every time I saw him hit into the shift, I’d likely have enough to pay for a day’s worth of expenses on a trip. If I also included the Ks, that’s basically a day trip right there.

But unlike the McKinstry postmortem, that’s not all there is to this Postmortem as there was another act to this play.

We return to Game 2 of the NLDS – or my first live postseason game ever.

It’s fair to point out that while Bellinger broke the game open, he did end up going for 1 for 4 with 3Ks and at the start of the game, it was more of the same. That’s the same bad cut I’d seen from coast to coast.

So imagine my genuine surprise when the following happened, with an opportunity to do some damage:

The Dodgers never looked back that game.

And if we’re lucky, Bellinger makes some semblance of a return to form. It would be quite disheartening if he were to follow the Yasiel Puig arc, when it seems pretty clear that Bellinger can function and grind in the clubhouse with everything stacked against him. And then even more stuff would be stacked on top of him.

Before I conclude this trip down memory lane, it’s worth pointing out two moments to supplement the official recap.

When I went to the White House in 2014, I did not have the presence of mind to spin around like Belli and call a buddy a “paper chaser.”

(For the record, the following trailer is the only Paper Chase I acknowledge but we’ll get to that during Chris Taylor’s Post-Mortem. (spoiler alert))

But if we’re going to relive Game 3 of the NLCS we might as well do it right.

That pitch was at his literal eyeballs…

To this day, I still can’t believe it. Only wish I saw it live, but the only playoff game I saw in 2021, the Dodgers won.

Adblock test (Why?)

"complete" - Google News
March 28, 2022 at 10:03PM
https://ift.tt/W4cQMpo

The complete Cody Bellinger: 2021 #SaveEli Postmortem - True Blue LA
"complete" - Google News
https://ift.tt/mHG3IsW
https://ift.tt/4OU3hgH

Bagikan Berita Ini