I had some questions around Tuesday night’s Dodgers loss in Philadelphia.

Here's my question; if a closer doesn't have it, why can't the manager bring in someone else? For every other reliever they do it. Why is the closer the only untouchable pitcher in the game? — Tim Rogers *?? Dodgers Nation/Dodgers 2080 (@SDDodger) July 17, 2019

One characteristic of both the Astros and Red Sox in the last two World Series was that they were willing to use other pitchers in the closing role despite having established closers. Their management basically said, “Mr. Closer, you are not doing your job and your ego is not as important as taking this opportunity to win.”

The times that a team has a a chance to win a World Series are not often. The Dodgers blew the 2017 World Series for various reasons and seem to have a great chance again in 2019. It seems the management of the Dodgers have a certain rigidity about the “closer” role, which could be contrary to actually winning.

The Way The Dodgers Seem To View The Closer Role

It seems to me, based on game evidence, that the Dodgers will win or lose with Kenley Jansen in the closer role no matter how he’s doing. He can clearly not have his best stuff and they rarely even get another reliever up in the bullpen. After the Dodgers lost to the Phillies on Tuesday night, Dave Roberts was asked by Alanna Rizzo what he saw of Kenley and this was the response (and my response to him):

Doc talking about Kenley not having his best stuff tonight. WHY DIDN’T YOU PULL HIM THEN? — Tim Rogers *?? Dodgers Nation/Dodgers 2080 (@SDDodger) July 17, 2019

He, literally said that Kenley didn’t have his best stuff. Now, why didn’t they get someone else warming up? I think it is obvious that the closer role on the Dodgers is based on total faith in one person. No other pitcher on the Dodgers is given that much trust. Now, Jansen used to be one of the most elite closers in the game and that trust was warranted. Is it now?

#Dodgers Kenley Jansen Pitch Quality Decline 2017 (5.50 QOPA) (1.32 ERA)

2018 (4.63 QOPA) (3.01 ERA)

2019 (4.35 QOPA) (3.72 ERA) pic.twitter.com/NFq4kzSSGe — MLB Quality of Pitch (@qopbaseball) July 17, 2019

I do believe that it does take a special mentality to close out a baseball game, especially the post-season. However, it also takes the right pitches to get the desired results.

What I’d Like To See

The closer role needs to be not so rigid. Why should it be automatic that Jansen is used for the final three outs of the ninth inning? What if a different pitcher has better numbers against the next three batters? Or what if Jansen has better numbers against someone in the 8th inning? Or what happens when Jansen doesn’t have it? In the post-season, every out matters. I don’t want to hear anyone in Dodgers’ management saying that Kenley will get the last 6 outs. That type of blind faith in a pitcher who isn’t “automatic” is a recipe for losing.

In the current bullpen, I don’t blame Roberts for not trusting some members of the bullpen. I believe the bullpen needs two extra arms to go with Jansen, Julio Urías, Pedro Baez, Joe Kelly, Kenta Maeda and Ross Stripling. This assumes that Rich Hill is the 4th starter. Pitchers like Dylan Floro and Yimi Garcia have also had some big moments so they could factor in also. The inconsistency of many of the relievers has been frustrating and Doc must not have easy decisions sometimes.

For me, the frustrating part about Kenley is we see flashes of his old self and velocity, like Sunday night. Then, two days later he’s back down and missing his spots. When he’s down they say “mechanics”. OK, if the mechanics are inconsistent then the pitcher will be inconsistent — Tim Rogers *?? Dodgers Nation/Dodgers 2080 (@SDDodger) July 17, 2019

The bottom line is, nobody in this bullpen has earned the right to be the unquestionable closer. This means that nobody should be exempt from being pulled from a game. It also means that the 9th inning save situation isn’t for just one pitcher. The Dodgers use matchups for the whole game on offense and defense so why does that stop with who pitches in the 9th inning? Why not use every reliever in a matchup that give the team the best chance to succeed? For such an advanced management team, it is mind-boggling that they are so rigid about the closer role. The reality is that Julio Urías should close some games in the playoffs, especially since Jansen struggles when he throws in too many games.

The “Sum Of All Fears”

Many Dodger fans have those flashbacks of the second game of the 2017 World Series. In my opinion the Dodgers blew through their bullpen in that game and then expected Kenley to get six outs without any real backup. He’d thrown 14 pitches the day before. In my opinion, he was over used and over exposed.

Eighth inning of game 2 of the 2017 World Series. — Tim Rogers *?? Dodgers Nation/Dodgers 2080 (@SDDodger) July 17, 2019

This game is one that changed the World Series for the worse and the fans are afraid of a repeat. Now that Kenley is not as dominant as he once was it is not fair to anybody to automatically put him in spots just because he so-called earned it or is paid a lot of money. Again, in some cases Julio Urías is probably better in some cases for closing a game.

Final Thoughts

Articles like this are tough to write, as I have such great respect for Jansen and Dave Roberts. However, I do not want to see a continued repeat of history where we see the bullpen blow a huge World Series game again. The bullpen failures of the 2017 and 2018 World Series teams are staring us right in the face and we easily can envision it happening again in 2019. The starting rotation and the offense are in very good shape but the bullpen is not close to being World Series worthy. Along with getting two more pieces, an adjustment to the roles of the closer is needed.

I wish they’d stop using Urías in a multi-inning way and let him pitch more frequently in high leverage situations. He started doing it for post-season last year. Let’s see it again. — Tim Rogers *?? Dodgers Nation/Dodgers 2080 (@SDDodger) July 17, 2019

There is no reason to not have a game plan that includes Jansen as the 9th inning pitcher. However, there is also no rational reason to not adjust that role as the game plays out. Put every pitcher into the best matchup possible. There should be no more automatic roles. Winning the World Series is more important than having a designated closer. It’s tough to imaging the Dodgers winning the World Series if they continue using the same bullpen formula that has failed in the last two years.

I just ask this one last question: is it more important to have an undisputed closer who has their undisputed role or is it making the bullpen work in the most optimal way? Kenley Jansen holding that World Series trophy in 2019 could depend on how the Dodgers answer that question.