Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. Will the person in charge please stop turning up Earth’s thermostat. It’s warm enough now.
There’s a problem in the Dodgers’ offense. Yes, they are near the top in most offensive categories, but, well, let’s see if you can spot it.
Batting average/OB%/SLG% by lineup position
Batting first: .275/.378/.522
Second: .229/.305/.348
Third: .273/.364/.457
Fourth: .262/.340/.445
Fifth: .247/.333/.406
Sixth: .273/.339/.464
Seventh: .264/.344/.447
Eighth: .269/.341/.410
Ninth: .265/.326/.402
One of those lines is not like the other. The No. 2 spot in the lineup has been horrible. And it’s not just one person, it’s anyone they try there. A look at each player who has batted in the No. 2 spot this season:
Santiago Espinal, 1 for 1
Tommy Edman, 2 for 4
Andy Pages, .254/.336/.431, 238 plate appearances
Kyle Tucker, .238/.330/.333, 97
Freddie Freeman, .213/.276/.263, 87
Alex Call, 1 for 5
Miguel Rojas, 1 for 6
Mookie Betts, .149/.196/.234, 51
Dalton Rushing, 0 for 1
Will Smith, 0 for 8
Wow. Everyone who has spent any time in the No. 2 spot is hitting worse than their overall numbers.
Last season, the No. 2 position hit .259/.324/.418, which was mainly Betts.
Let’s break out the four players who have the most appearances in the No. 2 spot this season and see how well they hit in other positions:
Andy Pages
Batting second: .254/.336/.431, 238 plate appearances
Third: .167/.200/.167, 25
Fourth: .200/.292/.350, 24
Fifth: .222/.300/.500, 40
Sixth: .375/.394/.781, 33
Seventh: .271/.329/.414, 79
Eighth: .476/.500/.810, 22
Kyle Tucker
Batting second: .238/.330/.333, 97
First: .222/300/.556. 10
Third: .000/.111/.000, 9
Fourth: .263/.391/.395, 92
Fifth: .226/.329/.387, 73
Sixth: .225/.297/.326, 101
Seventh: .333/.412/.633, 34
Ninth: 0 for 1
So hit Pages sixth and Tucker seventh?
Freddie Freeman
Batting second: .213/.276/.263, 87
Third: .328/.421/.572, 273
Fourth: .288/.342/.452, 79
Fifth: .417/.417/.583, 12
So Freeman should bat third.
Mookie Betts
Batting second: .149/.196/.234, 51
First: .125/.125/.500, 8
Third: .179/.281/.429, 32
Fourth: .261/.326/.436, 181
Fifth: .250/.276/.464, 29
Betts at cleanup? Should the Dodgers lineup be:
Shohei Ohtani
Tommy Edman
Freddie Freeman
Mookie Betts
Max Muncy
Andy Pages
Kyle Tucker
Teoscar Hernández
Dalton Rushing
Of course, here we are talking about making changes to the team that is fourth in the majors in runs scored per game (5.15).
But why does everyone fall apart in the No. 2 spot? Do the pitchers relax a bit after facing Ohtani and pitch better because of it? Do they concentrate more? Is it just the randomness of baseball? We’ll never know. But right now, the No. 2 spot is a weakness.
Editor’s note: Of course, right after I write this, Pages goes five for eight with a double and a homer in the No. 2 spot. The randomness of baseball!
Where doesn’t it hurt?
We knew that Shohei Ohtani‘s left knee was still bothering him, but it turns out his right biceps is bothering him, too.
“My biceps is not 100%,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton while speaking to reporters. “Just [a] similar issue with the knee. Do we consider pushing this? It is still July. So, I think the conversation would be a little different if we’re in August or September.”
And the longer Ohtani sits, the more likely he will have to be built back up as a starter. Don’t expect him to come back and pitch seven innings right away.
“You know, he’s a starting pitcher, and then, when you start missing three, four, five weeks of that build-up,” Dave Roberts said, “then you’ve got to kind of start up again.”
Phil ‘The Vulture’ Regan dies
Phil Regan, who had one great and one good season as a relief pitcher with the Dodgers, died earlier this month at 89.
In 1966 with the Dodgers, Regan pitched in 65 games and went 14-1, with a 1.62 ERA and a league-leading 21 saves. It was that season where he earned his nickname, “The Vulture.”
On Aug. 1, 1966, Sandy Koufax was facing the Pittsburgh Pirates and left after seven innings with the score tied, 1-1. Regan relieved him, and the Dodgers scored four runs to win the game. Afterward, Koufax said to Regan, “You’re getting to be a real scavenger. A vulture, that’s what you are.”
Regan went 6-9 with a 2.99 ERA and six saves with the Dodgers in 1967. He pitched in five games for them in 1968, going 2-0 with 3.52 ERA, before he was traded to the Chicago Cubs along with Jim Hickman for Jim Ellis and Ted Savage.
Regan last pitched in the majors in 1972 with the Chicago White Sox, who released him in July. His career record was 96-81 with a 3.84 ERA and 92 saves.
He went on to become a longtime pitching coach for several teams and managed the Baltimore Orioles during the 1995 season.
He came out of retirement at 82 in 2019 to become interim pitching coach for the New York Mets, saying, “Well, I love the game and I love what I’m doing. I know I’m 82 years old now, but I still enjoy it. I feel good. I’m going to retire one of these days, or die, I dont know. One or the other.”
Scheduling note
The next newsletter will be delayed until after the trade deadline so we can discuss what happened, or what didn’t happen, and see what moves other postseason contenders made.
Up next
Friday: Boston (*Ranger Suarez, 4-3, 3.02 ERA) at Dodgers (TBD), 7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020
Saturday: Boston (*Payton Tolle, 6-6, 3.32 ERA) at Dodgers (Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 11-6, 2.72 ERA), 6:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020
Sunday: Boston (*Jake Bennett, 6-4, 2.74 ERA) at Dodgers (Emmet Sheehan, 4-7, 4.95 ERA), 4:20 p.m., NBC, Peacock, AM 570, KTNQ 1020
All times Pacific
*-left-handed
In case you missed it
Dodgers’ Andrew Friedman addresses Shohei Ohtani’s knee injury and trade deadline approach
Dodgers Debate: Trade deadline madness
‘Do we consider pushing this?’ Shohei Ohtani’s return to the mound remains unclear
Shaikin: The Dodgers’ three-peat chance may never come again. Trade accordingly
Dusty Baker’s peers expect him to become the first Black manager in the Hall of Fame
And finally
Vin Scully calls Game 1 of the 1988 World Series. Watch and listen here.
Until next time …
Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.