Dodgers: Dave Roberts Explains Max Muncy’s Recent Struggles
Max Muncy has been having himself another great season at the plate. He was selected to his first All-Star team and has even been mentioned in the MVP conversation. The Dodgers would not bee as close in the division race if it weren’t for his production in the lineup.
Yet, all players suffer from ups and downs during a long season, and Muncy is going through one right now. He went from being a guy teams fear to an easy out. It’s been a little painful and worrying to watch. Manager Dave Roberts recently spoke up about what what has been different during his skid.
“Number 1 is he’s chasing more, it’s very clear. I think that he has the elite ability to look over a baseball and stay in the strike zone. The last 30 days he’s chased. He’s run into some homers which has been great but I think he’s more than a one dimensional home run hitter. He’s an on base guy and uses the whole field … We got to get him back in the strike zone. That’s when he’s his best.”
Over his last 30 games, Muncy has hit a pedestrian .187 batting average with 35 strikeouts. He’s also managed to squeeze in some home runs like Doc mentioned, but he’s capable of so much more than just that. Muncy can create damage to opposing teams with the long ball, but he can also draw walks when needed, or simply knock in runs with a base hit.
Muncy usually commands the strike zone pretty well but his increased chase rate has been his downfall. Doc went on to explain what has led to that.
“Take what the pitcher gives you and he’s gotten away from that. We’ve talked about that and hopefully not getting a start today and with tomorrow off, he can reset and get back to doing what makes him great.”
While the Dodgers have been able to still put up runs for the most part, getting Muncy right before the postseason would be ideal. His prolonged slump has created a hole in the Dodgers’ lineup despite his power still being there. The team needs him to be able to once again take command of the zone and strike against opposing teams in the many ways he can.
NEXT: Has Gavin Lux Turned the Corner in His Career?
Every player struggles . Max will get back on track . Dave Roberts said it best , now Max will fix it .
Perhaps move him down to fifth in the lineup . It looks a though batting second started this slump. Either way , he will get back on top of it .
Dave Roberts has screwed the team! Muncy batting second? Seriously? The guy is raking and you move him from cleanup to second?!
Seager, who is a doubles machine is now hitting 5th or 6th?! And who has hit second the past four years?
Betts and Trea hitting 1 and 3? Spread that speed out!!
And JT, who was hitting .304 a month ago while batting third, is now hitting .250-ish and batting cleanup?!
Roberts is an idiot who, without Zaidi, does NOT know how to manage a lineup.
Roberts will in part eventually cost this team come October with his clueless moves and lineup decisions IMHO but again
That’s Roberts for ya.
This so TRUE roberts hasn’t any clue on how to manage or make out a lineup!
This is so FALSE! Doc is leading this team back to the playoffs and another World Series.
If they get to the series, it will be in spite of Roberts. The only reason they won the series last year was because the manager for the other team screwed up first and took out a pitcher who had the Dodgers shut down. I can not remember it was the last game or an earlier game that he took Kershaw out because he had said before the game that Kershaw would face 21 batters. Kershaw had a low pitch count, thrown 2 pitches in the inning and had 2 outs. Roberts is probably the only manager in baseball history that removed a probable Hall of Famer under those conditons.
John Higelin – Dodger nation non related playoff question can someone please help me with this.
Suppose the Dodgers are the wild card and win and then go on to play the Giants and win. ? WOULD THEY NOW GET HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP 2ND ROUND AND WORLD SERIES SINCE THEY WOULD HAVE THE BEST RECORD AGAINST ALL OTHER OPPONENTS? CAN’T FIND THAT OUT. REASON IS, I’M BUYING TICKETS FOR 2ND ROUND AND NEED TO FACTOR IN THE HOME GAMES DAY AND DATE. THANKS!
If the Giants win the division and the Dodgers win the wild card, the Giants would play Atlanta or Philadelphia, and the Dodgers would play Milwaukee, in the NLDS. Home field is all about best record these days, they most likely would have it against Milwaukee. If they get past the Brewers, they would most likely play the Giants in the NLCS with the Gs having home field. If the East somehow beats the Giants, the Ds would have home field in the NLCS. In the World Series, either the Dodgers or Giants would have home field. That is if rankings remain as they are today, which is pretty much a lock.
OOOps. Strike that, I had it wrong.. I wish I could edit comments here. The wild card winner does play the Giants. The home field is still the best record, but not for the wild card teams, which cannot have home field unless they get to the world series. So if the Dodgers win the division, they will have home field throughout. If they are the wild card, they have home field only in the World series.
This is so screwy. That means the NLCS could be the Dodgers and Braves, with the Braves having home field even though the Dodgers won 20 more games in the regular season. What kind of idiots created this plan?
yes
Bellinger must be jealous that he is hitting .187 in the last 30 games! He can’t understand the issue.
It’s not helping when umpires are calling strikes on pitches outside the strike zone. So of course he will tend to swing if they will be called strikes.
I have faith in Muncy, unlike Bellinger.