Kenley Jansen – Page 5 – Dodger Thoughts

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By Jon Weisman

I didn’t know Juan Pierre, but he always seemed like a wonderful guy, regardless of the debate that surrounded him. He was a symbol of the divide between Old School and New School thoughts about value in baseball: lots of hits but low OBP, lots of steals but a mediocre success rate, lots of joy in the clubhouse but questions about how much that translated into wins.

His third year as a Dodger, in 2009, was his most interesting one. Beginning the season on the bench behind the burgeoning talents of Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier and the massive presence of Manny Ramirez, he surged back into relevance once Ramirez was suspended, with a .365 OBP, and by the time the summer dust had settled, numerous people argued he was the team’s most valuable player, keeping them alive for what ended up being a run to the National League Championship Series.

A look back at that year through Fangraphs shows that even playing 41 more games than Ramirez, Pierre trailed him and five other Dodger position players in Wins Above Replacement for the season, retroactive evidence for those of us who felt thankful for the way Pierre had stepped up but didn’t quite see him as the MVP. But saying that he was overvalued doesn’t mean that he shouldn’t have been valued at all. Those are two different concepts, that I like to think we have a better understanding of today.

Pierre had four seasons in his career of more than 200 hits, and at one point was a legitimate candidate to get 3,000, at a not-so-long-ago time when 3,000 hits was a Hall of Fame guarantee. As it is, he retires today with 2,217 hits — no small feat — and 614 career steals, which is 18th in MLB history. He also leaves with a reputation as one of the nicest guys in the game … and with his sense of humor intact.

I do have one regret I finished with 18 homeruns really wanted to get 20 so if any team wants to sign me for 3yrs that should be enough time

— Juan Pierre (@JPBeastMode) February 28, 2015

Not too shabby. Best wishes to him.

Elsewhere in Dodgeropolis., here’s what’s happening …

In case you missed it: Shiny happy people laughing

By Jon Weisman

On February 23, 2015

In Health/injuries, In case you missed it

For more images from today, visit LA Photog Blog.

By Jon Weisman

Share a Spring Training smile with Yasiel Puig and Davey Lopes, then head on down to tonight’s links …

The circumstances surrounding Kenley Jansen’s foot surgery are detailed by Ken Gurnick of MLB.com.
The effort of David Aardsma (pictured at right with Orel Hershiser) to reinvent his mechanics is the subject of a lengthy feature by Gurnick.
The newest newest Dodger, Dustin McGowan, is discussed in this Eric Stephen piece at True Blue L.A.
Stephen also offers some perspective on Andre Ethier, who reported to camp today.
Mark Saxon delved into the topic of Dodger players and social media at ESPN Los Angeles, including an interview with our old friend Josh Tucker. Brandon McCarthy, Brett Anderson and David Huff also had interesting things to say to Saxon.
J.P. Hoornstra of the Daily News explores the Dodgers’ process of determining Julio Urias’ workload in 2015.
It’s not out of the question that MLB could revert to a 154-game season, according to new MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, though don’t look for it anytime soon.
What is your opinion of Dave Kingman’s performance? As Will Leitch writes at Sports on Earth, it might deserve to change, given the current era of strikeouts.
Farhan Zaidi won the Dodger front-office Oscar pool by picking 20 out of 24 winners.

Meanwhile in Los Angeles…42 days until #OpeningDayLA.

A post shared by Los Angeles Dodgers (@dodgers) on Feb 23, 2015 at 11:09am PST

Kenley Jansen expected to miss 8-12 weeks after foot surgery

By Jon Weisman

On February 17, 2015

In Health/injuries

By Jon Weisman

In the “Better now than in six months” category comes the following announcement from the Dodgers’ public relations department:

This morning at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, Dodger pitcher Kenley Jansen underwent surgery to remove a growth from a bone in his left foot. This was discovered when Kenley reported discomfort while running last week. A subsequent X-Ray, MRI and CT scan showed the problem in the 5^th metatarsal of his left foot. The surgery was performed by Drs. Earl Brien and David Thordarson under the direction of Dr. Neal ElAttrache.

Jansen will be on crutches for about 10 days and then a boot for 3-4 weeks. How he progresses during the rehab process will determine his return to competition, but it is expected to be approximately 8-12 weeks.

If Jansen were to return in 10 weeks, that would put him back in action in the last week of April.

With Jansen sidelined, the Dodgers’ Opening Day bullpen will have no more than three relievers that were in the 2014 Opening Day bullpen. J.P. Howell, Brandon League and Paco Rodriguez are the only other current members of the 40-man roster that were in the bullpen when the 2014 season began.

The 27-year-old Jansen allowed 74 baserunners in 65 1/3 innings while striking out 101 in 2014. In 287 2/3 career innings, Jansen has allowed 287 baserunners while striking out 448.

In case you missed it: Yasiel Puig asks, ‘Did you see?’

By Jon Weisman

On January 17, 2015

In In case you missed it

Do you see ? He was safe because he hit the cutoff men haha #baseball #mlb #littleleaguer #niceday #goodtime

A post shared by @yasielpuig (@yasielpuig) on Jan 15, 2015 at 7:57pm PST

By Jon Weisman

The Dodgers avoided salary arbitration hearings this year, making deals with A.J. Ellis, Chris Heisey, Kenley Jansen, Juan Nicasio and Justin Turner. The team hasn’t had a salary-arbitration hearing since Joe Beimel’s in 2007 and hasn’t lost one since Terry Adams in 2001.

Elsewhere …

Dodgers sign Barney, retain rights to other arbitration-eligible players

By Jon Weisman

On December 2, 2014

In Transactions

By Jon Weisman

As the 9 p.m. deadline approached tonight to retain the rights to the players eligible for salary arbitration or cut bait, the Dodgers had eight players on the docket — including outfielder Chris Heisey, acquired hours earlier.

Shortly after the deadline, the Dodgers announced they were keeping all eight on board, signing Darwin Barney to a one-year deal and tendering contracts to catchers A.J. Ellis and Drew Butera, infielders Dee Gordon and Justin Turner, pitchers Kenley Jansen and Juan Nicasio, and Heisey.

In theory, all of the players besides Barney could go to salary arbitration, though few if any will.

Kenley Jansen: The quiet storm

By Jon Weisman

On December 2, 2014

In Bullpen, Profiles

Kenley Jansen ranked second behind Aroldis Chapman among NL relievers in Wins Above Replacement, according to Baseball Prospectus. (Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)

In 2014, Kenley Jansen ranked second (behind Aroldis Chapman) among NL relievers in Wins Above Replacement, according to Baseball Prospectus. (Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)

Over at Dodger Insider HQ, we don’t think Kenley Jansen gets the national respect he deserves. In the October issue of the print magazine, Cary Osborne delved into what makes Jansen so great — and yet relatively anonymous. Click each image below to enlarge the page.

— Jon Weisman

So you wanna build a bullpen …

By Jon Weisman

On October 15, 2014

In Analysis, Bullpen

Kenley Jansen is one of 10 MLB relievers to rank in the top 50 in WAR for the past three years. (Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)

By Jon Weisman

After being exposed in the 2014 National League Division Series, the Dodger bullpen has a bull’s-eye on it.

But revamping the relief corps is not only going to require some dexterity, scouting and analysis from Team Andrew Friedman, it’s also going to require a fair amount of luck.

Using Fangraphs, I pulled together lists of the top 125 relievers ranked by Wins Above Replacement from the 2012, 2013 and 2014 seasons. (To see the entire chart in an Excel file, click here, or look at the end of this post.) This cutoff point is fairly arbitrary, but it tells a story: Nearly half of the top 125 from 2013 failed to make the same list in 2014.

How rare is it to find, let alone acquire, a durable elite reliever? Only 10 relievers, including the Dodgers’ oft-underappreciated Kenley Jansen, have finished in the WAR top 50 for three consecutive years. Only one of those 10 pitchers, 37-year-old Seattle closer Fernando Rodney (last seen at Dodger Stadium blowing a 6-3, ninth-inning lead for the Rays in August 2013) has changed organizations since 2011.

How rare is it to find a reliever that’s reliably decent? Only 36 relievers, barely one per MLB team, finished in the WAR top 125 for three consecutive years.

How about just banking on a good reliever from last year? Out of the top 125 relievers in 2013, 65 (barely half) repeated in 2014. The Dodgers had two of those players in Jansen and Howell, which puts them at par for the course, though certainly not at the head of the class. Baltimore and Oakland each had five.

A late-season slump helped lower J.P. Howell’s performance relative to 2013. (Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)

A bit of the fluctuation results from relievers switching to or from the starting rotation. But there’s no escaping the level of inconsistency to be found in MLB bullpens — which makes sense, since nearly every reliever in existence would be a starting pitcher if he had a more dependable or varied arsenal.

Even though a reliever’s past credentials do count, there’s much to be said for making low-rent bets that maximize flexibility. In trading for a reliever, you risk giving away talent in exchange for a player whose quality, for the reasons outlined above, has an expiration date. Also worth noting is that 40 of this year’s top 125 haven’t changed teams since they were signed as amateurs. As Che Guevara of “Evita” said, “Get them while they’re young.”

Despite the calls for the Dodgers to improve the bullpen this past summer before the trading deadline arrived, it’s rare for quality relievers to change teams after the season begins. Only six of the top 125 relievers in 2014 were traded midseason, with three others available as free agents or on waivers.

So really, most of the work there is to be done on the Dodger bullpen — keeping in mind who’s already under contract for 2015 — has to be done before Opening Day. And it has to be done with a combination of risk-taking and restraint.

And then you hope for good luck.

Click to enlarge any of the files below.

Baseball’s Yeti: The multi-inning save

By Jon Weisman

On October 5, 2014

In Bullpen, Managing

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For images from Saturday, visit LA Photog Blog.

By Jon Weisman

Dodger closer Steve Howe got the save in the final game of the 1981 World Series, but it was a save you have to rub your eyes and gawk at today.

The star-crossed lefty pitched the last 3 2/3 innings of the Dodgers’ 9-2 Game 6 victory over the Yankees. He threw 54 pitches, three nights after throwing 33 pitches in the final three innings of the Dodgers’ 8-7 Game 4 victory.

How Howe came to my mind today was simple: The Dodgers have a bonafide reliever supreme in Kenley Jansen, but he pitches in an era when it’s rare to see a closer get even four outs. Jansen hasn’t gone past that barrier since he pitched the final two innings of a 14-inning Dodger victory nearly 15 months ago, on July 10, 2013. He has pitched two innings 11 times in his career — never more than that, and none was a save opportunity.

Howlin’ Howe pitched at least two innings 11 times in the 1981 regular season alone, twice going three innings. Sometimes, he was rested, but in a week from May 9-15, for example, he pitched in five games, including a pair of two-inning saves in a three-day span.

However, Howe didn’t spend the entire ’81 postseason rattling off three-inning blitzes. He pitched exactly an inning four times in the first two rounds of the playoffs, then allowed two runs in a third of an inning in Game 2 of the 1981 World Series. The Dodgers basically cut loose on Howe when they knew there were few tomorrows remaining in the season.

Holistically, Howe represents not one but two aspects of a bygone era. One, of course, is the utter inattention to pitch counts. But another that’s more subtle but also extremely relevant is this: Perfection was not expected.

Kenley Jansen closes out fouling Cardinals

By Jon Weisman

On October 5, 2014

In Bullpen

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By Jon Weisman

It’s not that Kenley Jansen wasn’t dominant finishing off Saturday’s National League Division Series victory over St. Louis. It’s that the Cardinals almost seemed to ignore his dominance.

Jansen threw between 93 and 98 miles per hour on all but one of his 20 pitches, with good movement, but Yadier Molina and Kolten Wong combined to foul off six of the first 14 of them, while swinging and missing at only one pitch apiece. But Jansen did set each down, one on a nothing grounder to Juan Uribe, the other on a whiff.

Randal Grichuk, who homered in his first at-bat of the NLDS off Clayton Kershaw, was the last out but also the easiest, lasting five pitches but also swinging and missing at three of them, including the game’s finale.

In 11 days since September 23, Jansen has pitched in two games, throwing eight pitches on September 28 and the 20 Saturday. He’ll have another day off today, then be on call to go Monday and Tuesday in St. Louis. The chances that he’ll work more than an inning in a game have only risen.

Clayton Kershaw’ll be taking these Huggies and whatever cash ya got

By Jon Weisman

On August 27, 2014

In Health/injuries, Postgame

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By Jon Weisman

Avenging Arizona.

Clayton Kershaw returned to the scene of the biggest crime of his 2014 season and .. walked the first batter he faced on four pitches.

In the third inning, with one out, he pitched with the bases loaded for the first time all year.

In the fourth, he allowed a double and a single (with an error) to the first two batters he faced, leading to the first unearned run he’s allowed in the regular season since September 13.

In the fifth, the leadoff hitter hit a triple, the first triple off Kershaw since the May 17 disaster start.

But in the end, Kershaw was Kershaw.

Retiring 12 of the final 13 hitters he faced and striking out seven of them, Kershaw carried the Dodgers to a 3-1 victory at Arizona.

His 2014 ERA is now 1.73, its lowest mark since his second start of the season. He struck out 10 batters, giving him three consecutive games with at least 10 strikeouts for the first time since June 20-July 2, 2011.

His record since May 17: 139 innings, 85 hits, 20 walks, 166 strikeouts, 1.29 ERA.

In his past 750 innings, the 26-year-old left-hander has a 1.99 ERA.

Kenley Jansen struck out two in a perfect ninth for his 100th career save.

The down note for the Dodgers, who took the lead for good on Matt Kemp’s two-run double in the third inning, was an ankle injury to Scott Van Slyke. Van Slyke, who continued to destroy Arizona starter Wade Miley with a third-inning homer, his fourth (to go with three doubles) in 11 at-bats against the lefty this year, rolled his right ankle while making the aforementioned error, on a ricochet of the ball off Yasiel Puig, and had to leave the game. He is day to day.

From the magazine: The quirks that work

By Jon Weisman

On August 21, 2014

In Pitching

Wanted to share this fun feature by Cary Osborne from the August edition of Dodger Insider magazine that looks at the oddities in the pitching motions for such Dodgers as Clayton Kershaw and J.P. Howell. Click on each image below to enlarge the pages.

— Jon Weisman

Victory march: What comes after four?

By Jon Weisman

On July 30, 2014

In Pregame

Early bunting practice for @flashGJr: Three strikes and watch out! https://t.co/Xsb700QCo1

— Dodger Insider (@DodgerInsider) July 30, 2014

Braves at Dodgers, 7:10 p.m.
Dee Gordon, 2B
Yasiel Puig, CF
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Hanley Ramirez, SS
Matt Kemp, RF
Scott Van Slyke, LF
Juan Uribe, 3B
A.J. Ellis, C
Zack Greinke, P

By Jon Weisman

So now that the Dodgers have won four games in a row, I’m guessing the next thing you want is five. You fans, you’re so incorrigible.

Well, the last time the Dodgers won five games in a row, they won six. That was from August 28 to September 3, completing the team’s bold 53-13 run from 30-42 (and 9 1/2 games out of first place in the National League West) to 83-55.

This year’s Dodgers — whom, it should be noted, haven’t been below .500 all season — are 28-16 (.636) since falling 9 1/2 games behind San Francisco. Earlier today, the Giants ended their six-game losing streak by rallying to defeat Pittsburgh, 7-5.

Elsewhere …

Trivia: Who are the three Dodgers this year with more triples than home runs? Answer below.
Don Mattingly told reporters today that after Zack Greinke pitches today and Clayton Kershaw on Thursday, he plans to start Dan Haren on Friday — Haren’s first start since July 23. Hyun-Jin Ryu on Saturday will pitch on five days’ rest.
A well-timed article by Daniel Brim of Dodgers Digest before Tuesday’s game: “Matt Kemp’s Offense Is Not the Problem.”
Brim also looked at Kenley Jansen’s increased and effective use of the slider.
How dominant is Clayton Kershaw? Answer No. 4,123,259: Kershaw has a higher on-base percentage while batting than he has allowed while pitching.
Answer No. 4,123,260: “I’ve never been around anyone who is as consistent as Clayton,” A.J. Ellis told John Perrotto of Sports on Earth. “He would be a great character actor, because he would never come out of character.”
Here’s a close inspection of Yasiel Puig’s three triples Friday, from Steven Silverman at Beyond the Box Score.
Trivia answer: Dee Gordon (10 triples, two homers), Andre Ethier (five triples, four homers), Miguel Olivo (one triple, zero homers).

In case you missed it: Things are looking up for Corey Seager

By Jon Weisman

On July 13, 2014

In Minor leagues, Transactions

Corey Seager at today’s Futures Game. (Ben Platt/MLB.com)

By Jon Weisman

A big moment for Corey Seager — his appearance at this year’s MLB Futures Game today — grew bigger with the news that he has been promoted to Double-A Chatanooga.

Bill Shaikin of the Times has more in an interview with Seager, who lined out to right and was hit by a pitch in the game. Seager is sticking around Minnesota to watch his brother Kyle, the Seattle infielder, play in Tuesday’s MLB All-Star Game.

Seager had a .411 on-base percentage and .633 slugging percentage with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga, after going .246/.320 in a late-season debut there last year. This year, he has 34 doubles and 18 homers in 80 games.

Meanwhile, Rancho teammate Julio Urias at 17 became the youngest player in Futures Game history. He pitched a perfect inning on 14 pitches, striking out one.

“The Dodgers’ lefty was 92 to 95 with an above-average curveball and great rhythm to his delivery,” wrote Keith Law of ESPN.com. “He rotates his hips well, both to hide the ball and to generate arm speed the safer way by using his lower half.”

Elsewhere …

So, Kenley Jansen has thrown eight pitches in July

By Jon Weisman

On July 10, 2014

In Pregame

Padres at Dodgers, 7:10 p.m.
Kershaw CXCVI: Kershawll About Eve
Dee Gordon, 2B
Hanley Ramirez, SS
Yasiel Puig, RF
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Matt Kemp, LF
Scott Van Slyke, CF
Juan Uribe, 3B
A.J. Ellis, C
Clayton Kershaw, P

By Jon Weisman

A closer’s workload can always fluctuate, and rarely can you see it illustrated better than the example of Kenley Jansen.

We’re on the 10th day of July, and Jansen has thrown all of eight pitches this month, retiring all three batters he faced July 3 at Colorado. The only other late-inning, small lead the Dodgers have had in July was when Cleveland scored three runs in the eighth inning July 2.

On 7/4, why No. 74, Kenley Jansen, has been way better than you realize

By Jon Weisman

On July 4, 2014

In Analysis, Bullpen, Pitching

By Jon Weisman

It’s July 4, so let’s take a look at the only active Major Leaguer to wear the patriotic number 74* – Curacao’s own Kenley Jansen. (We’ll pretend we don’t know that Jansen chose that number to match his house number in his homeland.)

Spoiler alert: What looks like the Dodger righty’s worst season might actually be his best.

Dodger Thoughts

Jon Weisman's outlet for dealing psychologically with the Los Angeles Dodgers, baseball and life

Tag: Kenley Jansen (Page 5 of 9)

In case you missed it: Juan Pierre retires

In case you missed it: Shiny happy people laughing

Kenley Jansen expected to miss 8-12 weeks after foot surgery

In case you missed it: Yasiel Puig asks, ‘Did you see?’

Dodgers sign Barney, retain rights to other arbitration-eligible players

Kenley Jansen: The quiet storm

So you wanna build a bullpen …

Baseball’s Yeti: The multi-inning save

Kenley Jansen closes out fouling Cardinals

Clayton Kershaw’ll be taking these Huggies and whatever cash ya got

From the magazine: The quirks that work

Victory march: What comes after four?

In case you missed it: Things are looking up for Corey Seager

So, Kenley Jansen has thrown eight pitches in July

On 7/4, why No. 74, Kenley Jansen, has been way better than you realize

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