Bellhorn back in baseball.

[Soxfan#1]

The Dodgers have signed veteran IF Mark Bellhorn to a minor league deal. Tony Jackson from Inside the Dodgers says this happened a few weeks ago, but was well under the radar. After some extended spring training, Bellhorn has reported to AA, where he will simply fill a roster spot. He is not expected to help the major league team this year.

-MLBTR

7 quick injuries and Bellhorn is starting at 2nd in the majors.

[Jayhawk Bill]

Originally Posted by Soxfan#1

-MLBTR

7 quick injuries and Bellhorn is starting at 2nd in the majors.

I count three "quick injuries":

1) Jeff Kent is immobile at second base and is batting .236/.279/.394. An OBP of .279 in the NL is indicative of real problems.

2) Chin-Lung Hu is a superb defensive shortstop out of position at second base. He's batting .200/.279/.218, and that .218 SLG isn't entirely unexpected.

3) Delwyn Young is hitting well. He's also an outfielder capable of playing second base, not an infielder.

***

Mark Bellhorn didn't have a .200 batting average or a .300 OBP at any of his three MLB stops after leaving Boston, but he can play second base and his IsoD (OBP-BA) is .110 for his career and .095 or better at EVERY MLB stop. The AA stats will tell if Bellhorn can still contribute--if he can still bat .200 in the NL, he might help the Dodgers.

[The Dustball]

Haha the Dodgers love to take pieces from the Red Sox-Yankee rivalry don't they? Well I'm sure Bellhorn will provide them plenty of strikeouts and remind them why he's been out of baseball.

[Thumper]

Goddamn, they get Garciaparra, Lowe, Mueller, now Bellhorn.

Who's next?

[Yaz'sTripleCrown]

Gagne, Hull, Drew, Lugo, Cora, Roberts

[Soxfan#1]

He's got a point. It's a two way street.

[Thumper]

Originally Posted by Soxfan#1

He's got a point. It's a two way street.

Seems like niether side gained anything though.

[The Dustball]

Originally Posted by Thumper

Seems like niether side gained anything though.

Without Dave Roberts we most likely don't win the 2004 World Series.

[Soxfan#1]

<3 Cora

[Thumper]

Originally Posted by The Dustball

Without Dave Roberts we most likely don't win the 2004 World Series.

Okay the steal, yes. And God bless him for it. But other than that, we really haven't gotten much from any of them. The only exception I'd say woudl be Cora because like Soxfan, I love they guy, he's got amazing defense and has hitting the ball lately.

[Coco's Disciples]

...JD Drew?

[Yaz'sTripleCrown]

I liked Cora, as well as Roberts. Cora and Izturis were the best SS & 2B combo I have ever seen.

[Thumper]

Originally Posted by Coco's Disciples

...JD Drew?

Sorry, I'm sure TheKilo will crucify me, but I just don't like Drew... at all. He's barely at .300. .296 is respectable. But 3 home runs and 14 RBI..? It's late May, don't you think for what he brought in his last year in LA should have atleast started to show by now in Boston? He had last year to do well, and he did towards the end, but I still don't like him.

[The Dustball]

Originally Posted by Thumper

Sorry, I'm sure TheKilo will crucify me, but I just don't like Drew... at all. He's barely at .300. .296 is respectable. But 3 home runs and 14 RBI..? It's late May, don't you think for what he brought in his last year in LA should have atleast started to show by now in Boston? He had last year to do well, and he did towards the end, but I still don't like him.

Drew actually has 18 RBI. He may not be putting up the power he did with LAD but at least for the not-so-great season that he had last year, he made up for it in the playoffs. Not to mention that the man's biggest knock against him was his inability to stay healthy and so far he's done a good job staying in field. I think by season's end, JD Drew will have respectable numbers and hopefully help us in the playoffs again (if we get there )

[Jayhawk Bill]

The NL is an easier league than the AL.

BP PECOTA projected Drew to hit .285/.392/.476 with 15 HR and 61 RBI in 2007. He actually hit .270/.373/.423 with 11 HR and 64 RBI, despite playing through May when he was so badly injured that he should've been on the DL. (His May batting line was .171/.315/.237 with 0 HR and 9 RBI; without that month his batting line would've been .290/.385/.459, almost exactly the PECOTA projection.) BP projected Drew to hit .268/.368/.422 this year, and he's batting .281/.389/.405 as I type this morning. JD Drew is hitting almost exactly as well as should have been expected given his 2004-2006 NL stats.

But this is a Mark Bellhorn thread. Let's segue.

Look, Bellhorn washed out with the Red Sox, the Yankees, the Padres and the Reds, in that order. But let's conceptualize:

1) His time with the Yankees and the Reds were tiny sample sizes, combining for only 31 at bats. Frankly, they don't count.

2) PETCO severely depresses batting stats. Even so, Bellhorn hit .200/.297/.385 when starting for the Padres. Bellhorn doesn't do well as a pinch-hitter, and he hit .151/.237/.189 in games he didn't start, and that depressed his stats.

3) The Red Sox let Bellhorn go only after acquiring Graffanino, clearly a better hitter, in trade. Bellhorn was actually doing OK--not great, just OK--for the first half of 2005 (.221/.332/.360 with good defense). The media got to Bellhorn in July and he folded, and Theo cut him loose. Maybe Bellhorn isn't well-suited for the intense Boston/New York/Philadelphia media, but LA is far more laid-back.

4) Bellhorn hit .255/.382/.436 last year in AAA, with a Range Factor at second base above his career MiLB norm. A very rough MLE from AAA (IL) to MLB is 10% less--that would be .230/.344/.392. I posted earlier what the other Dodgers second basemen are hitting, and a competent fielder who can post a .344 OBP with medium power beats the heck out of what they're getting now.

And wrapping up the post...

Our memories of Mark Bellhorn in 2005 are misleading us. All but the last month of his time with us was pretty respectable. He would have done even better with an NL team. The Dodgers have made a good move in giving Mark Bellhorn a chance. I hope that it works out for him.