Monday, July 27

Welcome back to the Dodgers Beat newsletter! Bill Ladson is filling in for this edition.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts noticed that two-way star Shohei Ohtani isn’t "squaring the baseball up” lately. In fact, during the recent nine-game road trip, Ohtani went 7-for-38 (.184) with three RBIs and 10 strikeouts.

“The quality of contact since the All-Star break has gone down considerably, " Roberts said. “I wouldn’t say it’s chasing. I just think there are a lot of balls that are just mishit. I don’t know the reason behind it. I see some aggressive swings. It’s not a bat speed thing. I just think he is missing the ball. I don’t have an answer.” 

Roberts doesn’t think Ohtani’s lingering left knee injury is the reason for the slump. Don’t expect Ohtani to take time off as a designated hitter.

“From his words, the hitting, the running as he has done [the last few days] doesn’t affect him,” the skipper said. “I can only go by what he and the training staff are telling me. Unless I hear otherwise that hitting compromises his health, then I’m going to keep putting him in the lineup.”

The knee ailment forced Ohtani to postpone a bullpen session this past Saturday. Ohtani felt uncomfortable throwing a 30-pitch ‘pen on Wednesday in Philadelphia.

“We are not going to move forward [as far as throwing off a mound] until he feels 100 percent confident and we feel 100 percent confident that we should do it,” Roberts said. “He just doesn’t feel 100 percent. I think the last ‘pen that he had, there was a little bit of regression. We want to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”

Despite the setback, Roberts said the Dodgers are not concerned. Ohtani took time off during the All-Star break before resuming his progression with Wednesday’s bullpen. Roberts said Ohtani’s knee is better compared to before the All-Star break. 

“You feel you can take the break. You come back and throw your ‘pen and you [feel you] can still build up,” Roberts said. “It wasn’t scheduled, but the thought was he would throw one [on Wednesday] and throw another one [this past Saturday]. But it wasn’t to be.”

As a pitcher, Ohtani has been dealing this season, going 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA in 85 2/3 innings. Offensively, he entered Monday with a slash line of .282/.387/.520 with 22 homers and 61 RBIs. 

“Not having him make these last two starts is a bummer for everyone – for him, especially,” Roberts said. “Offensively, he has been really good. I think he could be better, but he is still an MVP.”

In a recent sit-down with MLB.com at Citi Field, Max Muncy answered a wide range of topics -- from his love for baseball to his nine years with the Dodgers.

MLB.com: When you signed that Minor League contract with the Dodgers in 2017, what were your expectations?

Max Muncy: I just wanted another opportunity in baseball. I was pretty set on retiring. Ultimately, I wanted to give it one more chance to play the game of baseball. The Dodgers are the only team that gave me that chance.

MLB.com: You talked about retirement. What were you going to do?

Muncy: I probably would have gone into coaching. I have a love for baseball and a knowledge in baseball where I couldn’t see myself doing anything else. When I was having those conversations with myself, maybe I wasn’t going to play anymore, but I was going to be involved in it somehow.

MLB.com: Did you think you would be one of the best home run hitters in Los Angeles Dodgers history?

Muncy: I never would have thought that. I was just hoping for another chance to play and see where it took me. I had no expectations other than to keep having fun.

MLB.com: What was the turning point in your career where you said, "I’m going to have a great time in Los Angeles"?

Muncy: The biggest thing was to have a different mindset about approaching baseball and what I wanted to get out of it. Changing all those things mentally changed my career.

MLB.com: As far as your mindset goes, what changed?

Muncy: I had to stop worrying about the results. I just wanted to have fun playing baseball and have an opportunity to play the game that I grew up loving. Before I was so worried about what was going on, things I couldn’t control. I took a total 180 on my mindset. It allowed me to play stress free.

MLB.com: Could you name a person who made that possible?

Muncy: It was my dad. He taught everything I knew about baseball. He taught me the love for the game. Sitting down and having my conversations with him, made me realize I didn’t want to retire. It’s really thanks to him.

MLB.com: A lot of people believe this is your best year as a hitter. Why?

Muncy: I don’t feel like I’m where I should be as a hitter, honestly. But the biggest thing this year is that I’m healthy. The last couple of years, I felt like I played really well, but I dealt with a lot of injuries. This year, I’ve been healthy. I feel that has been the biggest difference and being able to be out on the field more than where I was in the past.

MLB.com: What is your best moment as a Dodger?

Muncy: Winning any of the World Series. That’s one of the reasons I play this game – to win and compete. I don’t care about my personal accolades. I care about being able to win as a team. We’ve done that three times.

MLB.com: What goes unnoticed is that your defense has been above-average. According to the Fielding Bible, you are fourth among Major League third basemen in defensive runs saved with eight.

Muncy: That’s what I’m most proud about this year. I’m finally playing defense at a level I always felt like I was able to do. It has been a lot of hard work and learning how to get over the fear of making mistakes. That’s a tough thing to do. That’s what I’ve been able to accomplish this year.

MLB.com: What does Dave Roberts mean to you?

Muncy: He means everything. He is like a father to me. I have played for him for nine years now. He has seen me at my highest and at my lowest. He knows pretty much everything about me at this point. I don’t have enough good words to say about him. He means everything to me.

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