The Los Angeles Dodgers are 1-1 after their first two games, during which starters Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke pitched. Neither earned a win and the team will need that to change if they plan on making the playoffs in 2015.
There's an argument to be made that the Dodgers actually got worse after the team's new management overhauled the roster during the offseason. While that won't be clear until much later in the year, it can at least be said Los Angeles clearly has some holes and concerns, with most of them of the pitching variety.
Kershaw surrendered three runs on six hits and two walks over six innings against the San Diego Padres on Opening Day and the Dodgers needed four late runs in the seventh and eighth innings to avoid losing. On Tuesday night, Greinke was lights-out and tossed six innings while giving up only one earned run, two hits and one walk. However, the bullpen blew the 2-1 lead and Los Angeles fell 7-3.
It doesn't get too much more comforting after Kershaw and Greinke.
The Dodgers' No. 3 starter, Hyun-Jin Ryu, is sidelined with a shoulder injury and it's unknown if he'll be able to perform at the highest level for the duration of the season once he returns. Brandon McCarthy is the team's No. 4 starter, but his first 200-inning season in his nine-year career came in 2014, during which he logged a 10-15 record with a 4.05 ERA and 1.275 WHIP with the Arizona Diamondbacks and New York Yankees. Their fifth starter, Brett Anderson, has made a total of 32 starts since 2011 because of countless injuries.
Did the Dodgers put themselves in a bad spot, especially since their bullpen was one of the worst in the MLB last season and perhaps is even worse right now?
Closer Kenley Jansen is sidelined with a broken foot; Brandon League was shut down due to shoulder problems; Chris Withrow is recovering from Tommy John surgery; the team cut Brian Wilson; Juan Nicasio has mostly been a starter throughout his career; and the team took another flyer on pitcher Brandon Beachy, who is recovering from his second Tommy John surgery and could return as a starter or reliever.
This isn't the greatest news for a bullpen that finished 22nd in ERA (3.80), 25th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.25) and 20th in WHIP (1.31) last season. If the starting rotation has question marks beyond the first two pitchers, then how can the Dodgers expect to succeed with a potentially faulty bullpen that gave up six runs on nine hits and one walk in just the second game of the season?
Even Dylan Hernandez and Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times seem pretty skeptical of the team's pitching staff.
"But these aren't normal circumstances, as the team's new front office has gambled the fortunes of a $270-million roster on a rotation that could be under constant threat of breaking down," writes Hernandez, who was referring to Greinke's health because the right-hander received a lubricating injection in his elbow this offseason and his longevity has been put into question.
Dilbeck added to the potential mess in his "Ten things guaranteed to happen during Dodgers' 2015 season" and wrote:
"3. At least three-fifths of the Dodgers' rotation will end up on the disabled list for long stretches (cheating, I know, Hyun-Jin Ryu opens on the DL).
9. Kenley Jansen will return in early May, which will be a very good thing because the Dodgers still won't have identified an interim closer."
Oh yeah, he then predicted the Dodgers will miss the playoffs after an 88-win season.
So yes, while Los Angeles has the best pitcher in all the land, they still have a lot to worry about for the 2015 season and beyond. It showed in their first two games, and since the front office is privy to making trades, they're going to need to upgrade the bullpen as soon as possible in case the starting rotation begins to break down.
