Cedric Mullins 2024

[RZNJ]

2 hours ago, Fiver6565 said:

He’s batting ninth for the most part. It’s fine to stash him down there while he plays excellent defense and gets it together. We don’t have a better all around option for center anyways. 
 

The Phillies have one of the best offenses in the league. They have Rojas batting ninth with a .634 OPS because he stabilizes their OF defense. 
 

The Dodgers have Outman batting ninth. His OPS is .534.

 

EVERY team has players that are struggling at any given time. We don’t have to call for a benching every time it happens. 

The Dodgers have Betts and Ohtani and Freeman.  Maybe 3 of the best offensive players in the game.   Not exactly the same.   The goal is to be strong 1-9.   Can we survive with Mullins batting 9 and being a zero on offense? Probably.  Can we survive if Mateo becomes a zero on offense too?  Probably, but the goal isn’t to survive it’s to win the division and put the best team possible on the field.

Edited May 11 by RZNJ

[Fiver6565]

3 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

The Dodgers have Betts and Ohtani and Freeman.  Maybe 3 of the best offensive players in the game.   Not exactly the same.   The goal is to be strong 1-9.   Can we survive with Mullins batting 9 and being a zero on offense? Probably.  Can we survive if Mateo becomes a zero on offense too?  Probably, but the goal isn’t to survive it’s to win the division and put the best team possible on the field.

We have one of the best lineups in baseball with Mullins and Mateo. Our top 5 has the highest cumulative OPS of any lineup in baseball, other than the Dodgers. We are one of the highest scoring teams in the league. That’s hardly just ‘surviving’ with Mullins and Mateo.
 

Who are you proposing is a better ALL AROUND option than Mullins?  This idea that we need a .750+ OPS (or whatever number you want to settle on) at every spot 1-9 is overblown and stupid. Mullins has a track record as a productive offensive player and his defense is unquestionably good. No team in the league is benching a player like that because he looks bad for a few weeks at the plate. NO TEAM. Especially when there are ZERO attractive options to replace him. You move him down in the lineup, which has been done, and you wait it out. 
 

If you had Bradfield tearing it up in AAA, this MIGHT be a different conversation. But he’s not there, and neither is anyone else. 
 

We have people clamoring for Hays to get back now after all the whining about his hitting. The lack of patience amongst the otherwise highly educated and knowledgeable fan base here is astounding. 

[Fiver6565]

1 hour ago, Mooreisbetter27 said:

He's batted 9th 3 times.  I believe all of which were against left handed pitchers.  Most often he's batted 6th (16 times) or 7th (11 times).  

And I’m pretty sure those 9th in the lineup have all been recently. That is how you react to a veteran player struggling for a bit. NOT benching him when you have no one ready to take his spot anyway. 

[Fiver6565]

And I see Cowser is in CF today. Can’t wait for him to not get to a ball Ced would have and have everyone beside themselves in the game thread about it. 

[RZNJ]

1 minute ago, Fiver6565 said:

We have one of the best lineups in baseball with Mullins and Mateo. Our top 5 has the highest cumulative OPS of any lineup in baseball, other than the Dodgers. We are one of the highest scoring teams in the league. That’s hardly just ‘surviving’ with Mullins and Mateo.
 

Who are you proposing is a better ALL AROUND option than Mullins?  This idea that we need a .750+ OPS (or whatever number you want to settle on) at every spot 1-9 is overblown and stupid. Mullins has a track record as a productive offensive player and his defense is unquestionably good. No team in the league is benching a player like that because he looks bad for a few weeks at the plate. NO TEAM. Especially when there are ZERO attractive options to replace him. You move him down in the lineup, which has been done, and you wait it out. 
 

If you had Bradfield tearing it up in AAA, this MIGHT be a different conversation. But he’s not there, and neither is anyone else. 
 

We have people clamoring for Hays to get back now after all the whining about his hitting. The lack of patience amongst the otherwise highly educated and knowledgeable fan base here is astounding. 

I didn’t say Mullins should be replaced.  He should be platooned for now.  If he continues this terrible slump he should lose time against RHP like is happening today.   Let’s see how Cowser and Kjerstad look defensively before I answer the first part.  It’s an intriguing alignment today.

[Malike]

2 minutes ago, Fiver6565 said:

And I see Cowser is in CF today. Can’t wait for him to not get to a ball Ced would have and have everyone beside themselves in the game thread about it. 

Or Kjerstad flubbing it in LF and people complaining Cowser would have gotten to it. It should be fun to read.

[RZNJ]

3 minutes ago, Fiver6565 said:

And I see Cowser is in CF today. Can’t wait for him to not get to a ball Ced would have and have everyone beside themselves in the game thread about it. 

It’s not necessary to speculate.  We can just wait and see what happens.  

[OnlyOneOriole]

I would do the full George Constanza opposite and try Mullins back at lead off.

If everything up to this point you have done is wrong, the opposite must be right!

It will be a Cedric Mullins Festivus for the Rest of Us.

[George Zuverink]

22 minutes ago, Fiver6565 said:

And I see Cowser is in CF today. Can’t wait for him to not get to a ball Ced would have and have everyone beside themselves in the game thread about it. 

 

“Can’t wait” for a failure, preferably one that costs us a game, so everyone will know I was right?

[Malike]

1 minute ago, George Zuverink said:

 

“Can’t wait” for a failure, preferably one that costs us a game, so everyone will know I was right?

I mean, I hope that's not the case. But he's not wrong in what would happen around here if that does happen. I want Kjerstad to look great in LF and hit 2 HRs tonight, I want them all to succeed, usually, that rarely happens.

[gtman55]

Mullins is starting to look a lot like a flailing Jackson Holliday at the plate. He's not only not getting hits, he looks overmatched every at bat. Something's not right.

Now sure he's a very good centerfielder and makes some spectacular catches. But, if I'm not sipping the orange Koolaid, he has a below average arm and he will misplay a ball here and there.

[Moose Milligan]

1 hour ago, Malike said:

He was squaring them up a month ago. I don't think the ability is gone for good. His timing looks off and he's under almost every fastball resulting in popups.

No, I don’t mean to sound like I think it’s gone for good but he just looks really bad. About as bad as I’ve ever seen him look. I’m confident he will get it ironed out. 

[Fiver6565]

Just now, RZNJ said:

I didn’t say Mullins should be replaced.  He should be platooned for now.  If he continues this terrible slump he should lose time against RHP like is happening today.   Let’s see how Cowser and Kjerstad look defensively before I answer the first part.  It’s an intriguing alignment today.

 

58 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

It’s not necessary to speculate.  We can just wait and see what happens.  

LOL yes no one ever speculates on the Hangout. OK. 

[Fiver6565]

38 minutes ago, George Zuverink said:

 

“Can’t wait” for a failure, preferably one that costs us a game, so everyone will know I was right?

Don’t put words in my mouth chief. Not at all what I said. 

[Rbiggs2525]

I personally can’t stand the pop ups with a player like him. I’d like to see an oppo ground ball approach with 2 strikes.