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Dodgers News: Roberts Talks Bullpen Woes

It feels like the bullpen woes for the Los Angeles Dodgers have been talked about ad nauseam because, well, they sort of have been. It’s understandable why all the talk of the bullpen’s troubles has been making the rounds, after all they have been pretty darn bad since the series in San Francisco.

Over the last five games, the bullpen has, for lack of a better phrase, been a dumpster fire. But that doesn’t mean the front office and management staff has gone crazy and begun to jump ship on them just yet. After all, it is a long season. All you have to do is ask manager Dave Roberts about that.



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From Jeff Miller, staff columnist for the Orange County Register:

“It’s a long season,” said Dave Roberts, the Dodgers’ rookie manager who, after only eight games, might already be aging by the pitch. “There are going to be ups and downs. Guys are going to struggle. These guys aren’t throwing the ball as well as they’d like to or as well as we’d like them to, but they’d be the first to say that.”

First off, this is kind of what Roberts has to say from the beginning since you can’t openly lose faith in your bullpen after the first week of the season. It’d be the worst look imaginable. Secondly, the guys are struggling and they would be the first ones to say that. They won’t pitch like this all season, that’s for certain.

For anyone who does think the bullpen will have these results all season, it must be pointed out that bullpens rarely, if ever, post ERA’s north of 6.00. The Dodgers currently sit at 6.65 in 21.2 innings. The ERA will dip, and there will be great moments. The fans, just like the coaching staff, must preach patience.

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12 Comments

  1. Any reliever that has a whip over 1.5 doesn’t belong in the majors.  The team is asking you to come into the game and get three outs, that’s it that is the job requirement.  If you can’t do that without giving up a run then you probably aren’t a very good pitcher, that’s right there are a lot of not very good pitchers in the league right now.  I would rather have a reliever that was a former starter than a failed starter.  The biggest problems with the Dodger’s pen are BB and HRs.  I would suggest that the HRs might be a product of being behind in the count.  What is frustrating is that they have had all spring to work on command and the suggestion is to be patient as it is a long season.  They have had since mid February to sharpen up.  If Hatcher can’t pull his head out then let him work out his issues riding a bus in OKC.  It might be the end of the road for Howell, would that surprise anyone?  He has been living on a 86mph fastball for two years now.

  2. The games we lose in April cannot be re-won later when the bull-pen supposedly gets better. This is not just a problem that has popped up this season. It has been going on for a few years. Lots of quality relievers were available during the off season and Firedman and Farty did not get one of them. Instead they invested money on washed up, broken down starters. This is not Tampa. This is LA. Get it together front office or get out of town!!!!

  3. Jagman63  There are about 10-12 relievers that are worth anything for more than a couple year burst.  You want to go out and spend money on a crap shoot?  They tried for Chapman but the thug couldn’t keep his hands off his wife, just ask a Kings fan how fun that is to watch a key piece of your team languish in suspension.

  4. It looks like Roberts is going to have to get that 7th inning from his starters instead of going to the bullpen, maybe even start using Jansen in some 6 out save situations. At this rate if the bridge between the starters and the closer doesn’t hold then this will be the only option to lock up some of these close games. Friedman/Zaidi have had 3 years to fix the bullpen, instead they continue to trot out Garcia/Hatcher/Howell/Baez; and who do they bring in to help out? Joe Blanton? My god.

  5. West Coast Ram Jagman63  Yes I do. You think spending all that money on McCarthy, Anderson, Beachy is money well spent????? That money could have been used for a couple of good relievers.

  6. The Dodger starting pitching ERA is currently (as of April 12th game) is 2.57 but the bullpen ERA is 6.87. Remember last year’s Dodger bullpen? No matter how good the starter performed the bullpen many times lost games for the Dodgers. This includes Hatcher and Baez etc.. The General manager this winter said there is no problem with the Dodger bullpen. What a moron. The Giant bullpen is currently at 1.83. The Dodgers bullpen better improve or the Dodgers will not even make the wildcard. I still think the Dodger management responsible for trading Dee Gordon should be fired.

  7. Dee Gordon was a terrible loss. Of course you have to give up good players in order to pick up good players. Each season has unique pitching dilemmas but there are plenty of indications that not much has changed.

  8. It continues to amaze me that players (and I mean pitchers now) don’t seem to work on developing themselves in the offseason. Add a new pitch or develop a perceived weak pitch, stuff like that. Today’s players are way too “specialized” and can’t seem to excel at multiple tasks. An interesting stat might be how much money does each pitch cost the club in terms of yearly salary when weighed against how many pitches each pitcher throws in a season.

  9. Oh boy, if I refuted this article point by point it would take up a volume of work.  The Dodgers have not had decent middle relief for years now.  They manage to get a good or at least a decent closer but their setup men stink and have for about the last decade.
    And during much of the time the Dodgers were throwing away millions on hurt starters that ended up giving the team only a few innings before having to retire due to health reasons and one starter a cripple from the Giants they dumped so many millions on and got
    0 innings out of him period.  The Dodgers are spending tons of money on many players but during the offseason they should have
    used money or some of their minor leaguers to trade for at least a pair of good middle relief pitchers.  As of now it will be same as 
    it ever was.  The Dodgers will end up having an above average or  great starters while keeping a bullpen of plain old lousy pitchers and that will be their downfall again this year.  The starters will keep them into the game and then the middle relief will more times
    than not, blow it.  Out of the playoffs in the divisional round *again*.  I of course wish that the bullpen would suddenly awake and
    realize that they are supposed to be *relief* pitchers and then act accordingly,

  10. Jagman63 West Coast Ram Instead of shopping in the quality section, this FO buys from the discount aisle. You are so right. One would think that they’re working on a Semi Pro budget.

  11. Come on Justin. You and the front office are always speaking of a quality farm system, and that Dodger Nation should stay cool and everything will be fine. The bullpen #s will even out. I would maybe go for that had not I heard that sermon last year. Tell me how many studs in the farm system are the two stooges responsible for. They love metrics, as if they have won even one Championship with that garbage. Baseball has done pretty good before they came in with thsee geeky #s. I my be considered foolish, but I believe more in the eye test. Tell me that my lying eyes are deceiving me when I see their bullpen metrics flying over the wall. I do believe in patients, but I also believe in common sense. Their intentions are, i’m sure good, but their results stink.

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