Passing of the Torch
I am sure Doc will not say it, but Kenley is no longer the closer, however, he s not off the team. There won t be an official closer it will be a committee. Jansen will again be on the team next year and maybe Bazooka will be ready to close sometime next year but he s not right now.
I am very bored quarantining at home and it has just started (this is my 3rd day), so I thought I would weigh in on the game last night, where we might have seen a passing of the torch for the closer role, but to who?
Josh Hader had a higher ERA than Kenley Jansen this year, and Aroldis Chapman was only slightly better than Jansen with a 3.09 ERA (3.33 for Jansen). Many of the comments yesterday are just knee-jerk reactions to an epic melt-down by Kenley. I am sure Doc will not say it, but Kenley is no longer the closer, however, he’s not off the team. There won’t be an “official” closer – it will be a committee. Jansen will again be on the team next year and maybe Bazooka will be ready to close sometime next year… but he’s not right now.
Let’s not forget that on September 4th, Kenley had a 1.06 ERA, then he got shelled in back-to-back outings and his ERA soared to 4.42. In his last six regular season performances, he did not give up an earned run. However, his ERA for the playoffs is 7.71 – that won’t work for a closer. He seems to be on or off, but from here forward, Dave Roberts will use him differently.
Joe Kelly was rusty, but he has the experience and he was not a Wild Man last night – he frequently missed by “that much.” However, he was not “Machine Gun Kelly” either. Joe Kelly got the Dodgers out of a huge jam and I am sure he will be utilized more, as will Floro and McGee. The next time Trienen is used it will be in the 8th and 9th and Beaz will take the place of Trienen in the 7th or 8th inning.
Just like Cole and Verlander, Clayton is going to give up some Home Runs because he pounds the zone, but his playoff ERa is 1.93 this year with a 0.71 WHIP. Gerritt Cole gave up 14 HR this year to Claytons 8. I am not worried about Clayton – he hit 94 MPH a couple of times last night. It was not his sharpest game, but it was dang good.
The bottom line is that they won against the team that many experts believe is the 2nd best team in the playoffs. Tatis and Machado are locked in and these young bucks are hungry. Machado did not do a bat flip when he hit a HR – it was a “bat throw,” That’s OK, but when Graterol shows some excitement, Manny goes off the rails? If you can do it Manny, the Dodgers can do it – You lost! Shut up and play!
Seager, Betts, Muncy and Barnes were the offensive heroes and Cody was my Player-of-the-Game for his HR and THE CATCH! Wow – We will be seeing that for a long time.
Maybe with another winter with Driveline, Kenly can recapture some magic…. maybe he can’t. I hear that he is fat. I don’t think so – he’s a big guy, but I would not say he is “fat.” Over the winter, the Dodgers need to decide on a closer – maybe he is on the staff – maybe he isn’t, but right about now, if I had 2 lefties to face in the 9th, I would still bring in Kenley – LH hitters only OPS .518 against him. That’s where I would use him… but it would not be in a 1-run game.
Doc brought him in in a 3-run game. I was fine with that – In the past, Kenley has earned the right to close with his body of work – he lost it last night. Unfortunately, a closer judged by his most recent performances and we have seen this too much recently. It’s not yet the end of the line, but it could be close. Now, Roberts has to re-shuffle the pen.
The bottom line is that the Dodgers are ahead 2-0 in this series against the 2nd best team in the NL. That’s something! What happens today? I would start Dylan Floro and try and get one or two innings out of him. Then I would go to Julio Urias and see if he could go 5 or 6 innings. I don’t know if that is anyone’s plan but mine, but I like that idea. Julio has playoff experience… not a great record, but experience counts.
2021
This has been a crazy year in so many ways, but here we are on the cusp of another NLCS where the Dodgers will likely play the Braves. The Braves are dangerous offensively, but lack the pitching depth. I think the Dodgers could add another pitcher for the NLCS.
In the off-season, the Dodgers should try and lock up Seager and Bellinger, but that may not be possible. On the other hand, it could be possible given baseball’s current financial climate. Like Betts, they will not take a “Hometown Discount.” Both will command around $300 million deals. Joc and Kike will be gone next year and I do not see any big Free Agent Signings. McKinstry and Reks or Raley will find a spot on the team and I have heard that they have big hopes for Cody Thomas.
Justin Turner will be 36 next month and will be the DH – I think he will get about $9 Million a year over 2 years and that might be high! Who is going to give him more? Choices will have to be made in the bullpen. Who to sign, who to let walk? Friedman will look for more salvage projects like McGee. He may return at the right price, but let’s not forget that David Price will be back and Josiah Gary will have another years’ experience. If it were up to me, I would make Dustin May the closer for a year, while I groomed Bazooka! Just my two cents!
Front page photo credit: Harry How/Getty Images
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Discussion (159)
Disagree, not disagreeable
I do not understand Joc starting against a left hander. I do not understand May pitching one inning. I do not understand if this is a bull pen game. Why not start Gonsolin or Urias?
Doc said last night the double steal was the players decision.
Again, I do not understand Doc.
At least we have Urias now who is good against both sides of the plate and can go multiple innings. But why May was taken out and Kolarek inserted is beyond me.
And where is Gonsolin?
Fucking inventions from Roberts. It seems that what it is about is to give life to the padres. He is thinking in a fourth game?????
Does anyone have a clue as to what Roberts is doing?
I do not understand Doc.
What is this? A bullpen game in a clincher.
We have 5 good starting pitchers and we’re docking around with a bullpen game?
Why was May taken out of the game? And why Kolarek?
Why would you put Pederson in the lineup against a left handed or anybody really? So pathetic but predictable!!
Horrible base running by Smith! Does any young player know how to run the bases!!!
I am getting it free on my computer on a streaming service.
Bear
Have thought to sign up for a free trial of YouTube.tv? They have mlb.network.
I can see every game here…
Further on the “window closing” silliness or it’s relativeness.
From Gammons, who’s about a zillion times more credible than Dontrelle WIllis!
The Dodgers have finished first eight straight years, and in the last three years have lost to the eventual world champions — in 2017 and ’18 to the Astros and Red Sox, respectively, and in 2019 to the Nationals in the Division Series.
As per one Dodger official. “… of what essentially has been a building process the last five years, and the current team has been built by a collaborative organization group. We have gone out and traded for Yu Darvish and Manny Machado to try to win it all; it didn’t happen to work. We have been building the depth of our team through drafts and trades (four of the five starting pitchers from the best rotation in baseball are 26 or younger and self-developed).
“To judge the entire season on whether or not you win the World Series,” says the official, “is to not pay attention to the process. The process is building a really good team for the long and short terms, and to develop enough talent to be able to make deals like the one with Boston.”
The Dodgers’ pitching has been the best in the National League, with Kershaw their only starter over 26 years old. Kershaw is one of four pitchers — along with Kenley Jansen, Pedro Báez and Julio Urías — who were in the organization when Friedman took over the Dodgers in October 2014. Of the position players, Justin Turner and Joc Pederson were the only ones currently on the 40-man roster who were already there.
“The thing that is so important about the Dodgers is that they are built on collaboration,” says Will Rhymes, who is the team’s director of player development. “The scouting and development departments always work together, which isn’t always the case; sometimes they clash when there are disagreements on why a player isn’t performing as expected. Josh Byrnes oversees both, and he’s a genius as well as a tremendous person to work with. What he, Billy Gasparino and the scouting staff do in the draft is tremendous. Look at Dustin May in the third round. Tony Gonsolin in the ninth round. Look at the international scouting, Urías and Victor González.
Gonsolin is a classic example. At St. Mary’s University, he was an outfielder/pitcher. He wasn’t drafted as a junior. The next year, after a four-year career and a 7-13, 4.06 ERA season, the Dodgers took him in the ninth round. Now, he’s up to 97 mph with an unhittable changeup/split, and in the postseason may be their rover, used in any situation required.
Which is a key to building conviction. Rhymes also notes one word in particular that is a cornerstone of the Friedman organization: “congeniality.”
Joc has been slow playing lefties all year to get to the playoffs and rake! Brilliant! And then Jansen is going to start game 4 if needed and just pitch through the eighth inning. Because we all know what happens in the 9th
Why no Barnes as DH?
1, Betts RF
2. Seager SS
3. Turner 3B
4. Muncy 1B
5. Smith C
6. Bellinger C
7. Pollock LF
8. PERERSON DH (WHAT?)
9. CT3 2B
May – P
I hope Doc knows something we don’t – on the surface, it make little sense.
It doesn’t matter if your better against one side or the other. With the 3 batter rule you’re gonna face both sides most of the time. I wonder about Baez. Haven’t even seen him warm up yet. Looks like Doc trusts Grateral,Treinen, and Gonzales the most right now
I don’t know what Doc’s plan is for a possible game 4 or 5 with our starting pitching, but I would go for the kill today. All hands on deck. The Padres are good, I wouldn’t give them any breathing room. End them now. Worry about game 4 and/or 5 later.
Here’s the thing with our bullpen. We’ve got a lot of guys with lopsided splits who are good against one side of the plate and bad against the other side and a few who are dominate against one side and bad against the other side and it’s tough to put our bullpen guys in the best situation to succeed considering the 3 batter minimum rule. Then we got Kelly who just overall sucks and Jansen who is declining.
Off topic, this offseason Friedman needs to clean up the bullpen by finding and adding relievers that are good/dominate against BOTH SIDES OF THE PLATE.
It is my opinion FROM A PITCHING POINT OF VIEW that the keys to our 2 wins against the Brewers and the first win against the Padres was first of all Kershaw’s gem in game 2 against the Brewers and Doc using regular season starting pitchers Urias and May OPENING AN INNING in relief and going multiple innings in the other 2 games, therefore avoiding the regular bullpen guys as much as possible. I would have liked to seen May go 1 or 2 more innings more than he did, but it all worked out in the end.
These are the guys that I would put my trust in when it comes to the pitching staff and the reason why:
Buehler for obvious reasons.
Kershaw for obvious reasons.
May as a starter mostly but also if needed in relief.
Gonsolin is dominate against both sides of the plate.
Gonzalez is dominate against both sides of the plate. The only thing I worry about is inexperience.
Urias is good, not dominate against both sides of the plate.
Graterol is dominate against the right side of the plate. Only use him against the right side of the plate.
Treinen is dominate against the right side of the plate. Only use him against the right side of the plate.
McGee is dominate against the right side of the plate. Only use him against the right side of the plate.
Kolarek is dominate against the left side of the plate. Only use him against the left side of the plate.
Baez is dominate against the left side of the plate. Only use him against the left side of the plate.
If a name wasn’t mentioned above, I would avoid using them. And I would lean on the guys that are good/dominate against both sides of the plate more so than the other names mentioned above.
Tonight May is starting. I would watch for signs that May is running out of gas, and then I would go with either Gonsolin or Urias TO OPEN AN INNING in relief and let him go multiple innings as long as he is effective. Then if needed go with Gonzalez. Then if needed I would use any of the rest of the names I listed above against the appropriate side of the plate. Obviously the game can go in different directions that would interfere with that plan, but that would be my plan.
I said my peace, now I will move on.
I am still at Dodger Stadium somewhere in the Loge. I am wearing a Dodger hat and blue shirt I have a goofy picture and red hair.
Yeah DBM, that “murders row” on the front row of Dodger Stadium is all different. No Mary Hart, Burt Sugarman, their son, Dennis Gilbert, Larry King. Lots of “unusual faces”.
It would be cool if they moved those cutouts to Texas. I’ve continued to look for you in the crowd but I’m at a disadvantage since I don’t know what you look like.
Padres today:
Grisham
Tatis
Manny
Hosmer
Pham
Moreland
Myers
Cronenworth
Jason Castro
Bobby, yes we are in the stands cheering for Oakland, but my heart is in Texas rooting for the Dodgers as I am sure yours is. Did you notice Mary Hart and some of the cutouts behind home plate are not there? I wondered if they might have been moved to Texas as I thought I saw her cutout just above the Dodger’s dugout.
They squeaked out a win in the end last night even though it made my hair less red, my nails shorter and I think I lost a few pounds, sweating it out. Now I hope they can win today and get some time off, maybe. Cody made the “play of the “year”. Awesome.
Bear, MLB network is actually free right now if you sign up. If that doesn’t work, I’ll give you the 411. Email me at fresnostate@hotmail.com
STB, I like your Buehler idea, except he won’t be able to go back to back days since he’s not used to it. However, for a big moment? Hell yes I want him out there!
William, I love your writing skills. But I disagree with your overall negative assessments. Our window to run away with the NL West might be closing, but our window to continue winning 95+ games isn’t and our window to make the postseason isn’t, and isn’t by a lot. If SD wins 100 and we win 97, so be it, but we’ll still be playing October. With the Machado and Hosmer contracts, they will very soon be cashed out. We have just as good a farm as them, and we have triple the cash. I think we’re just fine. Out window to compete for the World Series has been open for the last 8 years, and will continue to be open for the foreseeable future. Except for Kersh, our starting staff is 26 and under. We have a lot of young bullpen arms, and numerous young and in their prime star players. If we want Trevor Bauer this fall, we have a better chance at getting him than SD does.
Yes, the Padres are here. But so are we. Please don’t forget that part.
DBM, I love how our cutout selves are booing the Astros this week!
Mark, feel better!
* Yup, I’m old school in many ways including my dislike for the way the Padres play the game. Way too much hot-doggin for me. But they love to get under opponent’s skin with celebration. They want to poke the Bear. We can’t take the bait. I just want to quietly kick their ass and move on.”
That was my comment before the series started with these bush-leagers. Nothing I’d like more than to see 99+ to Tattis or Machado’s ribs BUT not now. We don’t need suspensions, we don’t need brawls. Just stay calm and advance.
* I didn’t love Graterol’s actions but he did nothing that the hot-dog squad hasn’t done. The line of what’s acceptable and not showing up your opponent has moved so far that nobody knows where the line is anymore.
* I can add anything to the great observation made last night and today. dodgerpatch20’s posting of Perdo Moura’s “Athletic” article says it all.
*I stated yesterday that Doc had perfectly managed the bullpen in Game 1. Well, that certainly was washed out last night. Kelly? Really? He should be on the roster let alone put in a super high leverage situation.
* We has 2 so-so starts from our Aces and a bullpen malfunction and we’re up 2-0. Thanks you position players.
* I would have both Barners and Smith in the line, either one as DH. I would pick Barrnes. He hits lefties like Morejon. Please keep Joc on the bench.
* CT3 quietly does great things defensively and is seamless from position to position. Do you know how hard that is to do? One inning he’s picking ground balls, making nice throw and performing unusual coverages at 2nd with the shifts. The next inning he’s running down a deep fly on the warning track.
* I actually thought for a few moments that Belli was deeking the catch over the wall. He never showed the ball. You could finally see the ball in the webbing while he was running in. That would have been the world’s best week. Instead it was the world’s best catch.
* Buck Showalter yesterday talked about getting into a manager’s “Circle of Trust” as a player. Very interesting term. I’m wondering how Kelly got into Doc’s Circle of Trust last night. If he trusted him in high leverage situations before, he was keeping it a secret until last night.
* If KJ is still in Doc’s “Circle of Trust” it better now be as a low leverage, middle inning guy to face lefties only.
I like May tonight but I’m good with Gonsolin as well. I like Urias out of the pen.