Dodgers baseball has been enjoyable these days, hasn't it? Except for a blip in mid-April the place they dropped seven out of 9, the 2024 Dodgers have been flat out. Who knew it might make a journey to Washington, DC, and Toronto to get this practice again on observe?
Nonetheless, there are a few flies on this ointment. The Gondola venture continues to be a factor. Beer gross sales are down at Dodger Stadium if you happen to're into that kind of factor. The third backside of the common coaching (not named Austin Barnes, Miguel Rojas and Andy Pages) is successfully hit as a pitcher.
It hurts to write down the next sentence, however Chris Taylor might have reached the tip of the highway with the Dodgers.
Taylor has 4 singles in 56 at-bats this season, hitting .071/.209/.071. His taking part in time disappeared with Andy Pages, Gavin Lux, and others choosing up the slack.
Invoice Plunkett of the Orange County Register wrote a moderately ominous article on Tuesday, together with the next from Dave Roberts about Taylor:
“I feel it's extra efficiency, matchup,” Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts mentioned of the components behind Taylor's lack of taking part in time. “CT has been working very arduous. I'm looking for the suitable alternatives to place him there.
“It's very tough as a result of we're at all times attempting to win video games. Should you have a look at our roster, Kiké (Hernandez) and Miguel Rojas have taken good at-bats. CT was not, frankly. I attempt to contain him since you don't get higher if you happen to don't have alternatives, which I clearly perceive. I attempted to make a few these lefties with no hint. We bumped into a number of rights. So it's powerful. However in fact he isn’t forgotten.”
[Emphasis added.}
Normally, Roberts is a master of not saying anything, but outright saying that someone is having bad at-bats is shot across the bow when coming from him. Roberts is not wrong by any stretch. Either by the eye test or via Baseball Savant, Taylor is currently having the worst offensive season of his career.
Here are some statistics that will blow your mind: Taylor is currently seventh on the team with 28 strikeouts, despite playing only 25 games. His 41.2-percent strikeout rate is third-highest among 363 major league batters with at least 50 plate appearances.
Taylor has not played since May 7, sitting the last seven games. He currently has four total bases; whereas Jason Heyward has three total bases in four games.
“I wanted to trust it was eventually gonna work,” Taylor said recently.
I used to joke on Twitter that the quickest way to determine whether Taylor was hot or cold would be to throw him a center cut, 88-mph fastball and watch happens. As of now, it’s a lot of striking out and not much else.
To quote one of my favorite films, now that we know the nature of the problem, now that we know that the music has stopped, what can the Dodgers do about it?
The music has stopped
Does the fact mean that Taylor’s days are numbered? Since Taylor has batted nine times all month and has not been in a game since May 7, not even as a defensive replacement, that data point feels ominous for Taylor.
Out of curiosity, I reminded myself of a bygone age by asking a question: did Clayton Kershaw provide more value at the plate during the last full year that pitchers batted? The answer is yes. In 2021, Kershaw went 8 for 36 in 21 games with a slash line of .222/.243/.222 and three RBI, one walk, 11 strikeouts, and two sacrifice bunts.
I can hear the likely rebuttal from the most ardent of his fans:
Hey, aren’t you being unfair?!? CT3 can do nothing wrong!
Honestly, that meme needs to stop, because, frankly, it feels like cruel bullying at this point.
More importantly, I have been one of Taylor’s loudest defenders to be re-signed and to be given time to meet the expectations of his contract in 2023. Taylor has always been notorious for being streaky. However, at some point, if one is just down and stays down without any improvement, that’s not being streaky, you’ve just crashed.
Initially, this essay started as a thought experiment caused by a glib remark comparing Taylor’s strife with another streaky outfielder, former Dodger, Trayce Thompson.
It’s worse than you remember
For individuals who forgot, Trayce Thompson had a Cinderella Man-like resurgence in 2022. He had a primary sport for the ages in 2023 earlier than a marketing campaign all of us need to neglect, together with an 0 for 39 skid that lastly ended captured by an ideal day in Tampa Bay. Thompson in the end performed two video games after the finals in Tampa earlier than being injured and traded, partly, for Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly.
Even discounting Thompson's spectacular three-homer sport, Thompson nonetheless had a comparably higher streak whereas scuffling in 2023 than Taylor has now:
- Taylor (2024): .071/.209/.071 (4 for 56), 5 RBI, 9 BB, 28 Ok
- Thompson (2023): .119/.289/.209 (8 for 67), 2 HR, 6 RBI, 15 BB, 36 Ok
You might argue that the above comparability is unfair as a result of Thompson had a fantastic day in Tampa earlier than his harm and final outing. Additionally, one might argue that eleven additional at-bats isn’t a good comparability. So let's make the comparability as shut to 1 to 1 as potential.
- Thompson (April 2-Could 18, 2023): .071/.257/.125 (4 for 56) 1 HR, 4 RBI, 13 BB, 30 Ok
Even with each potential handicap, no disrespect to Thompson, Taylor nonetheless stands within the comparability.
Thompson made $1.45 million in 2023 for which the Dodgers have been liable for simply over $940,000. Taylor does simply that 9 occasions extra this yr ($13 million) and subsequent yr ($13 million).
The four-year, $60 million deal additionally has efficiency incentives in 2025, which we are able to in all probability safely ignore at this level. For the sake of comparability, if the Dodgers have been to swallow the hit on Taylor's contract, it might price as a lot as they paid Trevor Bauer to go in 2023.
2023 Philadelphia followers: Please clap
At this level, if Taylor must sacrifice a bucket of rooster wings, begin carrying glasses, or wants everybody to clap like Tinkerbell to carry her season again from the brink – wait a tick , that final suggestion sounds acquainted, if solely I might put it. my finger on it.
Trea Turner had a reasonably mediocre inaugural season with the Philadelphia Phillies after signing his huge deal, punctuated by the precise studying with all the passion of ordering a meal at Panda Categorical. For a lot of the yr, Turner relived his rookie yr in a foul approach, hitting simply .235/.290/.368 in his first 107 video games.
These stats are definitely not what you signal somebody to an 11-year/$300 million contract for. Turner's duties have been so extreme that he was continuously booed at dwelling, even by his personal mom (Happy Mother's Day, everyone!). Philadelphia 94.1 FM radio producer Jack Fritz had an concept earlier than Turner's first at-bat on the subsequent dwelling run on Aug. 4: that the followers at Residents Financial institution Park ought to attempt to pump up the sentiment. of Turner giving him a standing ovation.
Because the concepts, it was not unhealthy, it doesn’t make sense to alienate the star participant who can be there for the subsequent decade within the first six months of the connection. On August 4, the Phillies devoted obliged.
Was it hokey? Possibly a bit of, however right here's the unusual factor: it helped, for Turner! Correlation isn’t causation, however Turner was a a lot completely different and higher participant after the standing ovation for the remainder of the season than earlier than, hitting .337/.389/.668 in his closing 48 video games.
Trea Turner on the finish of the 2023 season:
“I owe you a thanks. I heard that you just have been accountable, so I need to say thanks for you,”. he mentioned. “… I began taking part in rather a lot higher, and it was due to you and the gang.”
Take a web page from Vin to assist Taylor
Taylor figures to come back off his break as soon as the Dodgers return dwelling, starting Thursday.
As soon as Heyward completes his rehab project with Triple-A Oklahoma Metropolis, he’ll want a roster spot. Is a scuffling James Outman relegated to the identical island that Miguel Vargas is presently on? Possibly Possibly the Dodgers will eat the contract and depart Taylor by the wayside. This risk isn’t zero at this level.
Taylor happening the injured record? The quick query is for whom and moreover, the location on the injured record can solely be backdated for 3 days. The Dodgers successfully performed with 25 gamers and a cardboard cutout for the previous week.
For these questioning, Taylor has the required service time to refuse any demotion to minors. It might take Jose Abreu-agreeing to be demoted to the minors so he can attempt to salvage his disastrous season (as of now).
So with apologies to the late bard of the Dodger wave, Vin Scully after the Kirk Gibson walk-off within the 1988 World Collection, with apologies to the Philadelphia followers, it is perhaps time to let Taylor pay attention. It is perhaps time for a median of simply over 46,000 paid attendees to let loose a mighty roar in appreciation of the whole lot Chris Taylor has accomplished in a Dodger uniform.
On Thursday, if you would like Taylor to cease and also you're at Dodger Stadium, as quickly as Chris Taylor involves bat in opposition to the Cincinnati Reds, you arise and scream your head off.
Possibly it really works, and perhaps it doesn't. At this level, Taylor and the Dodgers don’t have anything to lose. But when nothing else, at the very least the followers tried.
