The #1 Bullpen in Baseball

JoJo Gray with 5 innings for the Nats yesterday giving up just one run in his debut there, Keibert still not with them .

Pages has been a house on fire lately.

Giants find ways to win games every way possible just as the Dodgers find a thousand ways to lose. Difference in the standings . 3.5 back now. Have to empark on a winning streak soon.

Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!

Interesting, Mark.

I’m having a difficult time forgetting the three blown saves by Kenley in one week, two against the Giants in an important series, basically the difference in being where we are and not in first place. But yes, the bullpen overall has been good.

The Giants keep winning and the Dodgers have managed to find a way to lose games they should win, the errant throw in San Francisco, the inability to get a runner home from third with no outs or one out, the poor record in extra inning games —- more games are lost than won.

At this point I’m not sure what to think. I expected the Giants to fade in July, but that hasn’t happened. There are some cracks in their starting rotation, teams getting to some of their top starters, still, somehow they seem to be able to overcome it. Will it last? It’s getting later with each passing day and they seem to be hanging on. Maybe it’s their year. Unless, of course, the Dodgers go on a couple of runs, extended winning streaks. Certainly capable.

As to Trevor Bauer, I’ve moved on. Not sure if his return would be a good thing or a huge distraction and media circus.

At this point, when will Clayton Kershaw return? That’s the biggest question. If the Dodgers make the playoffs and can get past the wild card or win the division outright, I have no doubt LA can win another World Series. Best team moving forward.

At this stage, not a lot of faith in Jansen. Hope for the best, but he struggles at times with control. Walks are one of the biggest factors in late rallies in MLB.

If the Dodgers make the playoffs and if Kershaw’s healthy see Urias as a key option in the bullpen. Duffy could become a starter or a long reliever in the final month.

Hey, pretty good effort by Jo Jo Gray in his first Washington start last night.

Yankees Cole to Covid IL. Shea Spitzbarth, who was in the Dodger system his entire career until 2020, called up by the Pirates. Angels called up #1 prospect Joe Adell. Tauchman outrighted to the minors. Josh Hader on Covid IL> TM, the Giants did win over the D-Backs last night, but it was not easy. D-Backs put up 8 and lost in extra’s. 11-8. Giants starters are starting to show some cracks, they got to Desclafani for 5 runs in 4.1 innings and scored 3 more off of the pen. D-Backs pen is atrocious, so losing in 10 was no surprise. But at least they put up a fight and made the Giant pen pitch 5.2 innings. Lakers signed 4 guys who played for them before, Howard, Ariza, Bazemore and Ellington, none of whom is under 30. Only Lebron, Westbrook, Davis and Gasol were on the roster after the trade and all of their free agents. Caruso has already left on a 4 year deal to the Bulls.

I got a question I can’t immediately find an answer for – how many bullpen games have we used this year and what’s our record in them?

I thought at the beginning of the year our bullpen could be historic. Of course, it had Gonsolin, Price, Knebel Alexander and Nelson in it then.

Kershaw is behind schedule and nobody is saying much about it. What they are saying about Duffy is September. How many more bullpen games will be needed this year? Picking up Scherzer is obviously huge, but with the loss of May and Bauer, the uncertainty about Kershaw and Gonsolin and Duffy not coming back until September, this team is still short starting pitching. White and Pepiot? Ok. That’s kinda scary, but, ok.

I think we are going to have to score more runs going forward.

Based on my reading on the vaccines, and the ongoing, but improving reluctance from a large group of, have to be careful here, stubborn Americans the vaccinated numbers are slowly going up. The effect on athletes is questionable but those questions have to be asked. Probably won’t be answered anytime soon but if there is a correlation all teams should suffer equally. Maybe those teams from stubborn areas could be more likely effected but I doubt we get any solid information on that before October. One day at a time, one week at a time.

For what’s it worth I spoke with my sister-in-law, a Stanford Med School graduate on the front lines in Oregon and when I asked if we are headed toward a third booster she said “yes”, it looks likely. And why? We know why.

That was a very entertaining write-up, Mark. Maybe you can write about about the value of getting Belli going as opposed to having him sit on the bench next.

It’s hard to evaluate the bullpen just based on stats. Some will complain about ERA because a reliever’s body of work for a season can be ruined by a single bad outing. Some will look to into inherited base runners scored as metric, but not all inherited base runners are equal. One team could have a higher number of baserunners inherited on 3rd base whereas another team could have a higher number on baserunners on first. There’s just no great way to really quantify a bullpen without a lot of work, possibly making it a full time job.

I agree that you might as well use ERA, it’s the gold standard for pitcher effectiveness and the brass tax for any pitcher is to prevent runs. As you mentioned, the Dodgers are top 5 right now on the year in bullpen ERA. That’s pretty damn good. Now, let’s look at some of those guys that contributed to that ERA who are definitely not going to be on this team come playoff time.

Jame Sherfey 4.15

Andy Burns 18.00

JoJo Gray 6.75

Nate Jones 8.31

Mike Kickham 13.50

Dennis Santana 6.00

Edwin Uceta 7.64

That’s a lot of junk in the trunk and none of those guys will see a post-season inning on the Dodgers.

I’d would also like to point to a more qualitative approach. Surely, any bullpen that has to choose between Tony Gonsolin and Brusdar Grateral as the final piece has to be full of talent. After all Graterol, as we all know is a fire-breather who seems to throw 100+ without giving it much effort at all. He pitched 8.2 innings to a tune of 3.12 in last year’s postseason with a save to boot, in his rookie season no less. Let’s look how this bullpen shapes up with a few words on each piece.

Gonsolin – With the sore shoulder, I’m betting Graterol beats him out. But, his lifetime ERA of 2.65 is nothing to take lightly. He’s dirty and has a trick pitch that no one is familiar with.

Duffy (L) – He was one of the best left handed starters in the AL this year before he went down. He could serve in that multi inning lefty reliever role and he likes pitching in the pen. His 95-96 MPH sinker and 4 pitch mix will play in the pen.

Nelson – We’ve seen him a little shaky, but once he got going, he was unhittable mostly due to the nasty curveball. His fastball has enough heat to blow it by hitters when they have to respect that hook.

Knebel – He’s been a dominant closer in the past and looked like he was picking up his past form before the lat injury throwing zeros in his last 6 games after a slow start in his first two games.

Treinen – He had possibly the best year as a closer ever, just 4 years ago. He’s sporting a 2.22 ERA this year even after giving up all those cheap shift hits and he cranks that sinker up to 99 with a heartbreaking slider.

Price (L) – He’s touching 95 after getting the cyst removed from his hand and he’s a former Cy Young winner.

Bickford – He’s a former first rounder (18 overall) and he’s sporting a nifty 3.03 ERA is what is essentially his rookie season.

Gonzalez (L) – Dirtiest lefty reliever on the team with a 2.70 ERA in last year’s playoffs and a true lefty killer with a career .175 BAA vs lefty hitters.

Jansen – Box of Chocolates Jansen. You never know what you’re gonna get. When on he’s unhittable and when he’s off, forgetaboutit.

But wait, there’s more…

As I posted yesterday, there’s still some potential surprises in the Dodgers system they can dip into in case of injury. Guys like Quakenbush and Feliz have had great seasons in the past and the Dodgers have a track record for getting guys back to their peak form. Morrow and Kahnle still exist, so you never know what can happen. Guys like Vesia, Cleavinger, White, and Nunez all have great stuff and are coming along. You never know what progress they’ll make over the remainder of the season.

There’s a ton of choices here and all of them are potentially better than what was available at the deadline sans Kimbrel and maybe Hudson. Would you really bump one of these guys for Tony Watson?

I knew Mark’s list seemed like it was missing someone. Curiously omitted is our own legend, El Mariachi, Joe Kelly.

Maybe Mark has him serving a suspension for the rest of the year after planting some darts on some cheaters or Padres or Giants. The bullpen is very good and very deep indeed. Some might call this kind of depth “Historic”. Let’s see how this shakes out.

Regarding the pitcher who shall not be named. Until he’s suspended for the season, there’s going to be a chance that he comes back. Talk about game over! I was beginning to resolve myself to the possibility that we would not see the nameless one until next year. That was until Starlin Castro received just 30 games for his second offense for allegedly beating his wife. A reasonable person would think that getting rough with a hooker is a lesser offense than beating your wife, for a second time. But, we all know that MLB doesn’t necessarily hand out suspensions fairly. I mean, Kelly got suspended 6 games for not hitting a dirty, stinking, cheating Astro and Urias served time because his drunk girlfriend caused a scene and tripped herself. Adding that Manfred and the nameless one are definitely not good friends and you can see this isn’t something that can be reasonably predicted. But, there is a chance, and what a winning lottery ticket that would be.

Here’ a bullpen stat worth noting. The Dodgers pen leads the league in holds!

I’m a fast reader and sometimes I miss things, but did you mention anything or any numbers regarding “blown saves?”

It seems to me we have had more than our share of them, especially in the 9th inning, and especially when Jansen is pitching.

So, my one thought is simply this, like you said, while our bullpen as a whole may be doing fine, one Kenley Jansen has the power and could keep us from winning our second WS if he is allowed to continue to close games in the playoffs.

This is why I hope Bauer is back, so that we can move Urias back to the pen to close behind the big 4: Buehler, Bauer, Scherzer, Kershaw.

I realize Urias has the most wins of all our starting pitchers but no one can deny the fact that his bullpen performances made the difference for us in winning last year. Unlike Jansen, He throws strikes and is drama free.

In conclusion: I’m afraid to say this, but one guy could spoil it all and if Doc does continue to throw out KJ like he did recently, causing us to lose 3 very important games in a row, I hope he gets relieved of his duties too. The thought of Doc calling on Jansen to close out that one game winner move on playoff game against SD with us leading 4-3 is very very scary to me. I don’t want that moment to be in my dreams during the entire off-season.

I too think the pen is better than some might think. I am not however counting on Catman until we find out exactly what is wrong with his shoulder. One thing Andrew has proved to be a master at is manipulating the roster. He will find slots for the players he feel he needs to win. TM is excited to see Trea Turner as I think all here are. Nice debut for the Nats by Gray. Wish him much success against everyone but LA. I echo what Mark says. I do this for my love of the game and the Dodgers. I am not as knowledgeable about some facets of the game that maybe I should be. But at 73, this ol Bear is just a little long in the tooth to want to spend the time understanding analytics and some of the more complex ways of player evaluation. I spent a lot of time yesterday arguing with a friend about Bellinger. In my mind, he lost…..I hate to lose. One last thing, I talked with my sis the other day, she is a nurse at Harbor General in Carson. And as such see’s everyday the effects of Covid. She encouraged me to get vaccinated back at the beginning of the year when I was dead set against it. But it was offered in the building I live in. So I read all of the info I could on the vaccine they were using, Pfizer, and went ahead and got both of the shots. Only side effect either time was a sore arm for about 2 days. For a 73 year old, I am in pretty decent health other than the normal aches and pains from age, and arthritis that rears it’s ugly head once in a while. It was a choice I am glad I made. But that is me. Follow your own conscience and what ever advice your doctor gives you. I shall keep writing as much as I can when I find a Dodger subject I think you will enjoy. Have a great day guys, GO DODGERS!! Beat the cheaters!!!

The bullpen has the pieces to get it done if healthy. If he don’t ruin Bickford down the stretch Robert’s could call on him for big outs in certain matchups. Doc seems to really have confidence in him. Please no Alexander.

Mitch white should take the current starting nod created by the Gonsolin injury. I like AF pushing Pepiot and Jackson to triple a. At least now you have some starting pitching options to bring up. Mb Kahnel is a possibility in September. Gonsolin is a quality pitcher but not with shoulder issues. For good reason he has no command. I don’t expect him back but hopefully.

If tb is back how can he be built up to starter status? Ridiculous that Castro can be given 30 days quickly and move on by Mlb. Mlb should make a decision and move on. Mlb should just rule on their end and let the court do what they are going to do.

I believe currently the Giants are just better than us in all areas: starters, bullpen, defense, slug. Once scherzer and kershaw are back that could change. In July our era was better but they have a full healthy rotation. Their bullpen just are not giving away games. If you look position by position we are not clearly better at any position. Normally cf would b but bellinger. U say Muncy but wade and ruf have put up incredible numbers. U say 3rd well Bryant/Flores give very good production. Second base mb but who is our second baseman if turner ever plays clear advantage dodgers. Pollock in left but now the giants have Bryant to move around that is close. Mookie in rf mb but not currently.

Our pitching could save us in the end if if if happens. But will we run out of time?

Dodgers: Andy Pages Named to the MiLB Prospect Team of the Week

by Brook Smith

The Dodgers prospect list got a major shake-up this week at the trade deadline. With several big pieces moving out of the Top 30, there have been opportunities for guys to move up in the system and get a new opportunity. Andy Pages made the jump up to number 6 on the Dodgers prospect list.

08/02/21 Los Angeles Dodgers optioned RHP Yefry Ramirez to Oklahoma City Dodgers. If Knebel is activated off the 60 Day IL ,someone will have to be DFA or someone on the 10 Day IL will have to be transferred to the 60 Day IL..

Who might that be? The 26 man roster stands at 25 as of today.