Mookie Betts isn’t Mookie Betts right now, and the Dodgers are absolutely feeling it. Mirjam Swanson over at the Los Angeles Times summed it up perfectly: this team flat-out needs their star to step up. When your lineup’s anchor isn’t pulling his weight, the whole ship feels it, you know?
Struggles At The Plate, Frustration In The Dugout
It’s not just Betts, either. Kyle Tucker has been downright rough at Dodger Stadium this year. So rough, in fact, that manager Dave Roberts sat him twice on this last homestand. Roberts isn’t sugarcoating it, admitting he sees the “frustration” in Tucker as he’s pressing at home. Ouch. Molly Knight’s newsletter, The Long Game, didn’t pull any punches either, calling the Tucker signing “a disaster thus far.” Talk about brutal honesty! For a team with their sights set high, having two key hitters struggling like this is a massive problem. You gotta wonder, when do things turn around?
League’s Best, But Off-Field Worries Loom
Despite those struggles, the Dodgers still have some serious talent getting recognized across the league. ESPN just updated their top 50 MLB players last week, and guess what? Five Dodgers made the cut! Shohei Ohtani snagged the No. 1 spot overall, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto at 18th, Tarik Skubal at 21st, Freddie Freeman at 29th, and Andy Pages at 30th. That’s a loaded roster on paper, but it only highlights how critical it is for Betts and Tucker to perform like the players we know they can be. And then there’s the whole other drama brewing: majority owner Mark Walter’s business dealings are under federal investigation. Laurence Darmiento at the Los Angeles Times dove into what’s at stake for Walter, and let me tell you, that kind of off-field noise can’t be good for anyone.
Remembering a Game Changer
Speaking of big baseball names, the game lost a true legend last Saturday. Tommy John died at age 83, and man, what a career he had. We’re talking an astonishing 26 years pitching in the big leagues, all thanks to that groundbreaking elbow surgery in 1974 that now bears his name. Dr. Frank Jobe, who performed the surgery, said back in 2013 that while they “did a little surgery,” John “did all the hard work” with his “tenacity and unique intelligence” developing the rehab program. Joe Posnanski even asked in John’s obituary if any pitcher in the last 75 years changed the game more. Dr. Neal ElAttrache went so far as to say in 2024 that in “dollars and cents,” it’s “the most valuable reconstructive procedure there is.” The Effectively Wild podcast just did a tribute to him last Friday, looking back 50-plus years on his impact. He even pitched six seasons for the Dodgers, not counting the 1975 season he missed for recovery. Sam Miller’s old tweet about Vin Scully broadcasting the same year Connie Mack managed games really puts the vastness of baseball history in perspective, doesn’t it?
So, what’s next for the Dodgers? They’re stacked with talent, sure, but the on-field performance of guys like Betts and Tucker has to snap back. Add in the federal investigation swirling around the owner, and you’ve got a pressure cooker situation. The season’s on a knife-edge, and the Dodgers need their stars shining, and fast.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by True Blue LA.
Leave a Reply