The black hole in the bullpen and the prospective "committee"

I should be thrilled being able to actually reflect on baseball, but outside of the whole ownership fiasco, it hasn't been pretty on the field, either. Yesterday's game saw Andre Ethier sit out, saw Juan Uribe get hurt (probably not seriously), and Jonathan Broxton get shut down.

A healthy and effective closer (and bullpen as a whole) are one of the big keys this year, and it's not looking good. Broxton's second-half slide was one of the things that changed the dodgers from contenders to cannon fodder after the all-star break, and one of the gambles this year was that Broxton would return to form.

Hasn't happened. He's only blown one save so far, but his ERA is 5.68 and his velocity on his fastball is way down. At his best, he looks and pitches like that bouncer in a bar who would have no problem human-helicoptering you our of a bar if you pissed him off. Now he looks tentative, and he doesn't scare anyone except Dodger fans. His last example was walking two guys on eight pitches in his last appearance.

Scary thing is, there is no obvious solution in the bullpen. While the Dodgers smartly revamped their bullpen this year, it has been inconsistent in getting the game to a closer and second, has no real candidates to close. Don Mattingly is talking about a "closer by committee" which is baseball talk for "I don't have an answer".

The good, the bad and the ugly on the rest of the bullpen:

Blake Hawksworth- As good as advertised so far. Looked a little rough against the Cubs last time out, but has not walked anyone yet this year, and his 1.09 WHIP says he's not giving up alot of hits either. Not a big K guy, but throws strikes and has been effective. Capable of joining the committee, but better as a RH setup man.

Matt Guerrier- One of the keys to the revamped bullpen, and the highest profile bullpen signee. Take out a truly ugly outing on April 23 against the Cubs and a poor showing against the Padres a week later, and he has been decent. A few too many hits and walks, but he has not been a problem. He is one of the guys, whether in his lefty setup role or as part of "the committee" who needs to kick up his game.

Kenley Jansen- Being built up as "the closer in waiting", he is not there yet. While is 7.43 ERA is decieveing (two bad outings, a couple of mediocre ones). The fireballer has his share of K's (22 in 13 IP), but also his share of hits and walks. Sent down to work on some pitches to go with his fastball, he will certainly be back up if Broxton's elbow injury is serious. Not ready for prime time, but worth a longer look as part of "the committee".

Hong-Chih Kuo- This guy has a closer mentality. he stares down batters and his not afraid to go at them. Problem is, he hasn't been right yet this year, and while he is off the DL, he looks to still be working himself back into form. He has always had durability issues, but if he is healthy and Broxton is either on the DL or no longer closer, he would be the first guy I'd look at, if I were Mattingly.

Mike MacDougal- A cagey ex-closer picked up off the scrap heap this year by the Dodgers. He has given up only 1 ER in 13 innings, and his 1.26 WHIP tells about a guy who hasn't given up alot of hits, but walks a few too many. Add him to "the committee"

Vicente Padilla- For all intents and purposes the "sixth starter" he is in the bullpen working his way back to form, and while the other five guys are all healthy and for the most part, effective. Has looked good since his return, but the Dodgers are treading carefully. When he gets right, and if he doesn't find himself in the rotation, he is worth a look in "the committee".

You take away Broxton, prodigal son Ramon Troncoso, and to-this-point generally awful-looking Lance Cormier, the bullpen hasn't been that bad. It needs to be better though. The starting pitching, while not awful, is not handing them air-tight leads every night, and is making them work harder. The offense, aside from basically Ethier and Matt Kemp isn't giving them alot of runs, and with injuries, looks more and more like an Isotopes lineup, not a Dodger ones. Guerrier and Hawksworth need to be the big horses and Kuo needs to get healthy, and the brass needs to figure out a closer solution that is not readily available.