The Best is Yet to Come

2018 has been a season full of challenges and in no small part, the challenges were created initially by the decision the Dodgers made (and still denied by them) to not exceed the Luxury Tax Threshold (“LTT”).  Many fans don’t agree with the decision, but on every level, except my RFL (“Rabid Fan Level”), I agree with it.  I actually thought they would get below it in 2017, but it happened a year later than I expected.  And… here we are.  The Dodgers righted the ship after early struggles and even injuries to the pitching staff didn’t slow them down… until Kenley Jansen went on the DL.

Since that happened, the Dodgers’ bullpen has been saddled with three straight losses and and everyone is losing their minds because FAZ should have saw this coming and signed certain other unnamed relievers.  Some say that FAZ “doesn’t value relievers,” which is preposterous.  They valued Kenley Jansen and opened the vault for him. They just won’t overpay a reliever knowing full well that many are tremendously inconsistent.  There may be  an inverse correlation between what relievers are paid and their actual value.  Some of the best bullpens in recent times have been built without large expenditures.

The Dodgers bullpen has not been good and it is now overexposed without Kenley Jansen, but they have had their moments. All we know is that Jansen will be out until at least next Monday, when he will be re-examined by a cardiologist.  The pennant could be lost in that period, but I doubt it – help is on the way, in the form of Alex Wood, Hyun-Jin Ryu and Julio Urias. Wood and Ryu will be back this week, and by Wednesday, the bullpen will look vastly different.  I have been saying that this team is built for the playoffs and I still believe that – I also know that they have to get there first!

Losing Kenley Jansen was a shock and maybe the only player the Dodgers could not replace, but I saw something the past two days with John Axford that gave me pause.  He’s worth watching and I was surprised to see him almost hit triple digits… with a lot of movement. He has closers experience and maybe Honeycutt helped him find a few MPH and movement. I am not predicting Axford will be the closer, but after a horrid first game, he has literally been Light’s Out and Eye-Popping! Stranger things have happened.

At any rate, Kenta Maeda and Ross Stripling are headed to the bullpen as Wood and Ryu move back into the rotation.  There will likely be some bumps in the road as they get their mojo back. Moving Maeda and Stripling will immediately help, but this will be a process.  Machado and Kemp have been ice cold.  That will change, just like Pederson, Bellinger and Muncy heated up.  Kenley will likely be back and so will Julio Urias.  This is a team built for the Post-Season.

Starters:

1. Kershaw
2. Buehler
3. Hill
4. Ryu

Bullpen:

1. Ferguson
2. Urias
3. Axford
4. Floro
5. Alexander
6. Wood
7. Maeda
8. Stripling
9. Jansen

The Dodgers may or may not carry 13 pitchers in the Post-Season, but Baez, Vinditte, Chargois, Fileds, Cingrani, Rosscup, Liberatore and others likely won’t be a part of it.

My prediction is that the Dodgers will hang on and win the division in Sepetember – they could even be a few games behind by then, but Machado, Dozier, Kemp, Turner, Puig, Bellinger and Company will get it together.  It might be a bumpy ride – hide all sharp objects and stay out of high buildings.  The sky is not falling and it will be OK.  By the playoffs, the bullpen will be a Dodger strength.

By the way, there are two chances the Dodgers will DFA Matt Kemp: None and Never!  The guy is in a slump, but his OPS is still .808 and he is hitting .283 with 17 HR and 66 RBI.  Two on the NL’s best hitters went through even worse slumps.  Matt Carpenter and Paul Goldschmidt were even worse for a lot longer… until they figured it out.  I am sure that IF he were injured the Dodgers would give him a rest.  If not, he will be fine.

I do know this:  Dozier and Machado and Turner and Puig and Bellinger should only sit if they are tired.  Forget the matchups.  The good ones figure it out! Right about now, the key word is Don’t Panic!