Time to Panic?

In a word… NO! What we see over the past few games is how the Baseball Gods even things up in their own due time. Dodger pitching was so far ahead of all the other teams in ERA that it wasn’t even close. It wasn’t until yesterday that the Dodgers fell out of the Team ERA lead to the #2 position in all of baseball. You give up 21 runs in two games and that is what happens.

Striker Buehler had an off game, but let me remind you that his ERA is still 2.81! He is learning to be a different type of pitcher than he was. He is trying to evolve to a pitcher who does not rely on power to blow hitters away. Buehler is not a big guy and if he wants to achieve longevity, he cannot be a “max effort” pitcher all the time. You are going to see Walker sit at 95 to 96 with his fastball, and just like Orel said last night (Orel talks to these guys every day) Walker is trying to pitch deeper into games and not use up all his pitches on strikeouts. In the past, Walker was determined to beat you with his best stuff. Now he is trying to pitch to the hitters’ weakness. I think that is a sound plan… but he won’t perfect that overnight.

The implosion of the bullpen the past few games is more concerning. Let’s look at what is happening there:

• Blake Treinen is on the IL, and for all we know, he may be gone for the year. That puts the biggest strain on the bullpen.
• Brusdar Graterol might be better served by not throwing a 101 MPH straight arrow fastball. Instead, how about a 4-seamer with movement and a cutter? He only needs two pitches and maybe he needs to go back to AAA to learn that. You know what insanity is. He does not miss enough bats to pitch at the end of the game. It’s time for a drastic overhaul of his repertoire.
• I am worried about Alex Vesia. His fastball is 2 or 3 MPH off of last year. It just is. He is not as effective there.
• Tommy Kahnle is getting his sea legs back, but it might be another month before he returns to form – If Treinen is out for the season, Tommy could settle into his role.
• I think Phillips and Bickford are fine and will have ERAs in the high 2.00s. It’s a long season.
• We don’t know yet, but Yency Almonte looked to be very useful as could Carson Fulmer.
• Then, there is David Price, Mitch White, Reyes Moronta, Daniel Hudson, and Justin Bruihl.
• Danny Duffy and Dustin May should return in the next couple of months.
• Garrett Cleavinger and Caleb Ferguson are at the ready, but it is impossible to predict what they will do right about now.
• Andre Jackson has the stuff to be a reliever, as does Ryan Pepiot, and there are a bunch of other live arms at AA and AAA – you just have to see who can and who can’t get the job done.

Andrew Heaney should be back in early June, but there are no guarantees. Remember the reason the Dodgers bought them cheap and stacked them deep is that relief pitchers are a fickle bunch. You never know what you might get year-over-year. Now, the Dodgers have to sort out the pretenders from the contenders in the bullpen.

It seems likely that Clayton Kershaw will miss the minimum of time. I am sure he is already on anti-inflammatories (which won’t hurt his arm, shoulder, and back as well). He should be locked and loaded at the end of the mandatory IL stint.

The Knee-Jerk reaction of fans is to run around like your hair is on fire, spewing doom and gloom. Feel free to do so, but I will just yawn and say “This too shall pass.” The underpinings are there for the Dodgers to have an excellent bullpen. You just have to kiss a lot of frogs to find the princes. Feel free to think about trades, etc., but I think we have plenty in house to be the best pitching team in baseball. I refuse to panic!

Also, some fans are going to rag on Bellinger and Muncy after last night’s game, but the last I saw, they did not pitch. I remain hopeful!

Dodger Minor League Highlights

• OKC DODGERS
  • OKC won 6-5
  • Miguel Vargas was 2-4 and is now batting .307.
  • Caleb Ferguson pitched 1 inning and struck out 2 with a hit and a BB. He is getting closer.
  • Justin Bruihl pitched 2 innings, allowing just 1 hit.
  • Justin Hagenman pitched a perfect inning, striking out the side.
  • Carson Fulmer got the save (1.98 ERA).
• TULSA DRILLERS
  • Tulsa lost 8-6.
  • Mike Busch was 2-5 with a double (.301/1.088).
  • Jacob Amaya was 2-5 with his 8th HR (.322/1.169).
  • Kody Hoese was 2-4 and is starting to act like he might hit.
  • Landon Knack’s line: 3 IP/4 H/3 ER/2 BB/5 K
  • Andy Pages is still struggling with AA pitching (.217 BA).
• GREAT LAKES LOONS
  • The Loons lost 4-3
  • Jorbit Vivas was 2-4 (BA up to .200).
  • Cole Percival pitched four strong innings, allowing 1 ER run on 4 hits.
• RANCHO CUCAMONGA QUAKES
  • The Quakes won 11-10.
  • Jake Vogel was 2-5 with 2 RBI (.212 BA/651 OPS)
  • Luis Rodriguez was 2-5 with 3 RBI (.289 BA/.856 OPS)
  • Carlos De Los Santos pitched the final inning and got the win to go to 2-0.