The Dodger’s Closer is Kenley Jansen

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1. Mitch White and Joe Kelly have been held out of workouts due to soreness. Keibert Ruiz has not reported to camp due to visa problems. Taijuan Walker signs with the Mets, Keone Kela signs with the Pirates.

   1. Kela signs with SD

      1. My bad, I meant to type Padres…can I claim dyslexia as an excuse????

         1. Another knucklehead for that team, he would be a perfect fit.
            Don’t say that, it’s hard to name that team of clowns, no problem Bear!

         2. Did you hear about the dyslexic, agnostic, insomniac?

            1. Is that the dyslexic atheist that didn’t believe in DOG?

            2. He laid up late at night wondering whether there really was a DOG.

2. I know many are very excited to see David Price back in camp. Has anyone considered, is Price going to be effective after having a year of rest or is he going to struggle due to lack of pitching for a year? That has always been a question in the major sports, does a years rest (later in one’s career) help more or hurt more? Obviously we can only speculate on such issues, but we will soon know that answer when it comes to Price. IMO, Price has had an up and down career, at times very good, at other times, uh, just another arm. Price was sort of one of those throw in players to complete a big trade, so someone must have thought he was expendable or too expensive for what he had left in his tank. We shall see, we shall see.

   Left Field is another question mark, can Pollack stay healthy for a 162 game season, I don’t think he has done that so far in his career (I’m sure one of the stat geeks will tell me if I am mistaken). I would welcome a game in, game out player rather than a platoon for LF. I think that one of the reasons that the Dodgers finally made it over the top last season was due to the fact that many of the positions became set and the dreaded platoon was minimized, I’m hoping that the Brass noticed that as well.

   Kenly Jansen gives me an ulcer, he is like watching the tight-rope walker walking between two skyscrapers and suddenly a high wind comes up. Point out whatever stats you want on him but you have to admit, he does not inspire confidence but rather a stomach ache when he is on the bump. If I had to make a prediction, Jansen will not be the closer by the end of the season and definitely not the go to guy during the playoffs.

   Is it true that triple masking is required of fans at Camel Back Ranch this spring?

   1. Kelley as closer, yes. On back to back days, time will tell how he does.

   2. Pollock played in 157 games in 2015. Most other than that was 137 in 2013.

   3. Truth Hurts, here are the latest rules at Camelback Ranch:
      Tickets will be sold in pods of 2, 4 and 6. I have no clue how they will handle game-day singles. But you’ll need to sit in your assigned seat and not move around with the sun as many do
      *Masks – Appropriate masks will be required for all fans aged two (2) and over unless actively eating or drinking in their ticketed seats. Neck gaiters, bandanas and masks with valves are not considered appropriate masks.
      *Practice fields will be closed to all fans
      *No bags will be permitted except for those that are carried for medical reasons or manufactured diaper bags that accompany infants and young children
      *No outside food or drink will be permitted except for one (1) unopened bottle of water per person, sized one (1) liter or smaller.
      *Strict social distancing will be enforced at all times
      *No autographs will be signed

      1. No single tickets will be sold, only the 2 4 6.

      2. Phil, you left out the rules on farting and belching at Camel Back

3. No issue at closer. I see Treinen as next man up.

4. Kenley is the closer until September. No question control is the central issue.

   After that, who knows? Lots of options or combinations.

   Wearing triple masks at Camelback? You wouldn’t be able to breathe when the heat hits in March. Can’t imagine anything other than normal masking. Will a limited number of fans be able to roam around, watching batting practice, bullpens? What makes spring training fun. I’ll probably pass this year, plan on next.

   The Dodgers have put together an impressive team — some are calling it a super team. Ready for spring training games, all will be on the Dodger channel. I think there is an interview with Andrew Friedman tonight.

   Good write-up, Mark. Hey, you could be right about Ryan Pepiot. I find Brandon Morrow interesting. If he’s injury free might make an impact. When healthy, which isn’t often, the guy can bring it.

5. Kenley is still effective unless he pitches back to back days. He can’t anymore. That will just need to be managed and planned for. But the Dodgers have options.

   I think a couple of years ago managers were starting to rethink the idea of the closer. Why do teams need a “closer” whose only job is to pitch the 9th inning? What if the 9th inning is the bottom of the opposing team’s lineup, but the 7th inning of a tie game had the opposing team’s meat of the order due up – with a man in scoring position? The 7th inning is the higher leverage scenario. Doesn’t that demand your best reliever?

   I think the popularity of the Save stat has created a weird entrenched tradition of having the very best and highest priced reliever pitch the 9th inning exclusively. I think the SV stat is one of the more contrived and useless stats in baseball, and really only serves to create a market for relievers who accumulate a lot of them, which then dictates that high priced relievers be used in a very specific way. The whole notion of “closer” is kind of dumb.

   Watching Urias pitch multiple innings to close out those WS and playoff games last year was a revelation, too. What if you have pitcher who is truly exceptional at coming into a game and pitching 2-3 innings. Couldn’t you close with him for the last three innings of a game, and have situational pitchers handle high leverage situations in innings 4,5,6 after you have a starting pitcher going through the opposing order once for the first 3-4 innings?

   I think the fact that the Dodger have about 8 starting pitchers makes this split scenario doable in more games. We saw it can be effective if you start with May and finish with Urias, but right now the Dodgers almost have too many starting pitchers than they know what to do with.

   I think with the pitching corps the Dodgers have you don’t necessarily have to have traditional roles. They have three pitchers with closer experience who can be inserted in any game scenario in any inning. AF has also stated publicly that they’ve been curating pitchers who each show a different look, have a different pitch specialty or a different delivery. All of this is to keep the opposing lineup off balance, which is the essence of pitching.

   1. Good points you made there about pitching.

6. Has MLB purchased vaccines privately?

   Has the MLBPA?

   1. I can find no evidence of that. Not saying it didn’t happen… just no evidence!

   2. They can have mine, I’m not going to be using it.

7. Don’t sleep on Jimmy Nelson this year. He could end up being a big piece this year even in the bullpen

8. I’m still surprised when I see Amaya’s hit tool being ranked on a similar level to Busch & Vargas.

9. Turner signing is official. Caleb Ferguson moved to 60 day IL as anticipated.

10. I will say this for the umpteenth time, you simply can not have enough quality starting pitching. Gone are the days when pitchers lasted a whole year without an injury or needed rest. Tell me the last time any club had the same starting 5 at the end of the year as they did at the start? I dont think there was one club in the 60 game season last year that did not have a starter miss time due to injury. The game is evolving in a way that many starters dont go past the 3rd time through the batting order.
    All I know is that it is a good “problem” to have for the Dodgers. And I know that it is a “problem” every other team would love to have as well.
    As for Jansen only time will tell how it goes this year. I think if his innings and game action is managed he can stay rested enough for the end of the year hopefully. I think having dual closers is the optimal thing.

11. Caution: reading early reports from camp may cause temporary euphoria. This team is loaded.

    Our second unit could maybe compete for the wild card!

    1. You really have to be a Dodger Lover to make that statement!

12. Fans to be allowed at NCAA men’s basketball tourney games

    Fans will be permitted for all games in this year’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, the Indianapolis-based NCAA announced Friday morning.

    The NCAA said Friday that up to 25% venue capacity will be permitted at the 67 games, following weeks of discussion with the Marion County Public Health Department and other health officials, who had the final say on how many people can gather for sporting events during the pandemic.

    Most of the games will be played at a handful of venues in Indianapolis, while remaining games will be played in West Lafayette and Bloomington.

    “This year’s tournament will be like no other, and while we know it won’t be the same for anyone, we are looking forward to providing a memorable experience for the student-athletes, coaches and fans at a once-in-a-lifetime tournament,” said Dan Gavitt, NCAA senior vice president of basketball. “After the cancellation of the 2020 tournament, we are happy to welcome some fans back to all rounds of the Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament.”

    Each team will be limited to a travel party of 34 people, with each allowed to distribute up to six tickets to family members—for a total of up to 204 spectators who will be included in the 25% capacity limit. Those family members will not be permitted to interact with the participants throughout their tournament.

    The 25% limit will mean the venues may have up to the following number of spectators:

    — Bankers Life Fieldhouse: 4,480;
    — Hinkle Fieldhouse: 2,275;
    — Indiana Farmers Coliseum, 1,625;
    — Lucas Oil Stadium, 17,500 (may differ because of two-court setup);
    — Mackey Arena (West Lafayette), 3,700;
    — Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (Bloomington): 4,305.

    However, Indiana University said it will limit attendance at Assembly Hall to just 500 fans. The venue is scheduled to host First Four and first-round games March 18-20.

    Spectators at all venues will be required to socially distance throughout their time in the venues, the NCAA said. Masks also are required.

13. Not meant to be political but I found the following articles interesting

    MLB reports 13 positive COVID-19 tests at start of spring training

    By Zac Wassink | Last updated 2/19/21

    MLB and the MLB Players Association have released results from the first round of COVID-19 testing for the start of spring training sessions, and the news is relatively good for the outlook of the upcoming season.

    In total, nine positive results were among players, while an additional four positives came from staff members. 0.3% of the 4,336 samples collected and tested returned positive results, and 11 of the 30 teams had at least one positive test.

    Following the intake screening of personnel upon arrivals to spring training sites, none of the 2,298 monitoring test samples returned any new positive results.

    Cleveland Indians ace right-hander and reigning American League Cy Young award winner Shane Bieber recently tested positive for the coronavirus and missed the start of camp. Cleveland president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti told reporters on Thursday that Bieber has “very, very mild symptoms” of the virus and could rejoin the team early next week.

    To compare across leagues, 48 of 546 NBA players tested upon arrivals to club markets for training camp in early December returned positive COVID-19 results.

    As noted by the Associated Press (h/t ESPN), MLB postponed 45 regular-season games during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season due to coronavirus-related issues and concerns. If the NBA and NHL campaigns offer any indication of what is to come, MLB will inevitably run into schedule disruptions caused by the virus not long after Opening Day on April 1.

    And;

    Dodgers hoping to host fans on opening day against Nationals
    By Erin Walsh | Last updated 2/19/21
    The Los Angeles Dodgers home opener isn’t until April 9 against the Washington Nationals, and the franchise is hoping that gives them enough time to work out a plan to get fans in attendance.
    The Dodgers are working with the governor’s office and public health officials on a plan to allow Dodger Stadium to operate at a limited capacity at the start of the season, team president Stan Kasten said in a video sent Friday to season-ticket holders, according to Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.
    “I hope, by opening day, we are finally going to have some fans in the park,” Kasten said. “I don’t think it will be a full stadium just yet. But I do believe sometime during this season, the way things are looking, we will have a full stadium again.”
    It’s unclear how many fans will be allowed to attend games. If 20% capacity is approved, the Dodgers could allow 11,200 fans. At 25% capacity, they could allow 14,000 people, Shaiken says.
    The desire to bring spectators in for the season opener stems from the fact the team wants to celebrate their World Series title with the fan base.
    Major League Baseball’s health and safety protocols mandate socially-distanced seating and masks. It does not require a negative COVID-19 test or temperature checks.
    And’

    Dr. Fauci thinks fans could return to ballparks for 2021 MLB season
    By Zac Wassink | Last updated 2/19/21

    National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci is no stranger to Major League Baseball, but he might want to socially distance himself from future ceremonial first pitches.

    Fauci spoke with ESPN’s Buster Olney on the “Baseball Tonight Podcast” about the upcoming season held amid the COVID-19 pandemic and seemed optimistic that at least some fans will be able to watch their favorite teams in-person inside ballparks.
    “We could have a pretty good chance of having a baseball season that’s a full season,” Fauci explained. “That we could have people in the stands, maybe not right next to each other; there are going to be public health restrictions like mask-wearing and things like that.”
    Spring training facilities and parks will welcome fans at limited capacities in Arizona and Florida, and the Los Angeles Dodgers and Miami Marlins are among clubs planning to permit paying spectators to attend regular-season games in April.
    Fauci added that 75 to 80 percent of the population may have to be vaccinated for ballparks to fill to full capacities. Pro Football Hall of Fame president David Baker recently said he’s hopeful the Hall of Fame Game scheduled for Aug. 5 will be played in a full stadium, but it’s unknown if leagues such as the NFL and MLB will require fans to prove they’re vaccinated to attend official events.

14. I know starting pitching is where the money is made as far as pitching goes. And I know Julio Urias deserves to be a starter, but you gotta look at what is best for the team.

    We know Buehler, Kershaw, Bauer, and Price are locks in the starting rotation. That leaves only 1 spot open.

    With the threat the Padres are in the national league west division, the Dodgers are going to need to fight to win the division, unlike recent years where they kinda cruised to the national league west division title.

    It is my opinion only, that the last spot in the starting rotation should go to Dustin May. The reason being is that among Dustin May, Julio Urias, and Tony Gonsolin, the only one of those 3 that has trouble against a certain side of the plate is Dustin May. He has an .814 career OPS against the left side of the plate. I would rather him try to figure out LHB early in games as opposed to late in games. On top of that reason I think Doc is going to need BOTH Gonsolin and Urias in the bullpen, because most of the other guys in the bullpen also have problems against a certain side of the plate, just like Dustin May.

    This is going to be a fun year to watch the Dodgers because I believe this is one of, if not the best Dodger team in recent memory. If the starting pitching turns out to be good, the bullpen will be good because the bullpen will have Gonsolin most likely in it and possibly Urias to go along with Victor Gonzalez, whom all 3 of those names are very good relievers. Then add a young still learning with a lot of potential Brusdar Graterol.

    Again, if the starting pitching turns out to be good, the bullpen will be good.

    1. I hear what your saying and injuries are the big wild card but what’s the harm in starting the year with Urias starting and moving to the pen later.

       With normal rest we need four SPs tops in the postseason. Buehler, kershaw, Bauer, Price is pretty dope.

       So many options. Hell. Vesia could be a guy.

15. I have no problem with Kenley as the closer to begin with. But I would never use him in back to back games again. I really am hoping that Morrow is healthy and pitching well simply because he has that closer mentality. Graterol is a little young for that, and he needs to add a pitch. My gut is telling me that May is going to start the year at AAA. I believe Urias will be the #5 starter, and Gonsolin or Nelson if he is healthy will end up being the long man out of the pen.

16. By the end of the year Urias will not only be a playoff pitcher but he will get Cy Young votes. He and Buehler will be co aces for years to come!

    1. Urias and Buehler are studs. I believe May can be one of those guys too. All he needs is some more seasoning, and another pitch in his repertoire.

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