Dodgers could really go with only one left-hander in their bullpen

Not the way you’re supposed to do it, of course. Goes against the unofficial manager’s handbook.

Teams like to have at least two lefties in their bullpen. One to possibly go through the order, one who may be mostly situational.

Alas, the Dodgers have a pretty full bullpen with only one left-hander -- Hong-Chih Kuo.

Dodgers General Manager Ned Colletti has said he’d like to add a second lefty, but pitchers and catchers report to spring training in a month. And the possibility grows that Kuo might be the lonely left-hander.

"Could be," said Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly.

Mattingly made it clear, however, that he has zero interest in adding a second left-hander just for the sake of it.

"We’ll find the best arms, left or right," he said. "You hear about the lefties, and it’s nice to have that second lefty out there. It would be nice to have three [as] your best arms. But I’m looking for the best arms."

Mattingly said he’s witnessed teams having bullpen success without the traditional second lefty.

"We played against the Angels for years and [Angels Manager Mike] Scioscia hardly ever had a lefty," Mattingly said. "He kept righties who had good stuff. I want the guys with the best stuff, and the best chance of getting outs. Sometimes it’s lefties, sometimes it’s right."

Last season the Dodgers had Kuo and George Sherrill, or at least a facsimile of George Sherrill (2-2, 6.69 earned-run average).

The lone lefty could prove a greater concern this season should Jonathan Broxton not rebound and be able to close. If the Dodgers have to return to Kuo as their closer, that could potentially leave no middle-innings lefty available.

And, of course, there is always the fear that Kuo’s bionic elbow could break down for a fifth time.

Currently in the bullpen are Broxton, Kuo, Kenley Jensen, Ronald Belisario, Vicente Padilla, Matt Guerrier and Blake Hawksworth. That’s a full seven.

The main in-house candidate to break in as a second lefty is Scott Elbert, whom Mattingly coached in the Arizona Fall League. Mattingly says Elbert has a shot at making the team.

"I think he does," Mattingly said. "He’s been up and down, on that yo-yo, back and forth, and never quite put it together. To me, his stuff plays. There’s no doubt about it. He has a power arm. He gets righties and lefties out. Seems durable and he’s not afraid. I like him."

Elbert missed much of last season, however, leaving his triple-A Albuquerque team for undisclosed personal reasons shortly after a quick stint with the Dodgers.

There’s something of a left-leaning aspect to the Dodgers this season. They have a left-handed-hitting-heavy lineup, no left fielder and no second left-hander in the bullpen.

-- Steve Dilbeck

Comments

[Guess Again]

These Dodgers are a joke right now.

[OldBrooklynFan]

I really wish they had another lefty besides Kuo but since they feel it isn't absolutely necessary I have confidence that Donnie & Ned are experienced enough to know what their doing.

[bob cuomo]

Of course it would benefit the Dodgers to have at least one other left-hander besides Kuo, but it isn't an absolute must. As Mattingly said, the Angels' rarely had a left-hander in their bullpen and it worked for them. That said, the Dodgers' bullpen may not be as good as those of the Angels, so we'll just have to see what happens.

[Darren]

Is he out of options?

Personally I think Elbert could really benefit from a year in the majors as a middle reliever regardless. Have him as a situational lefty to get his confidence up and then turn him loose on righties and see him mow them down too! He has great stuff and I'd hate to see another Greg Miller on our hands. Bellisario and Jansen both have options so I think throwing support to Elbert would be a smart move.

[dzzrtRatt]

To the guy who said "the Dodgers are a joke right now." Take a look at the roster. You take that starting staff and bullpen -- very strong, and then assume you get a more typical offensive year from Ethier, and a more mature Kemp with a better manager, a full season from Raffy -- iffy I know -- and this team could be back where they were in '09 and '08. It's more of a pitching-first team, but in the NL West, pitching is the key.

[BlueinAZ]

>>> The lone lefty could prove a greater concern this season should Jonathan Broxton not rebound and be able to close. If the Dodgers have to return to Kuo as their closer, that could potentially leave no middle-innings lefty available.

If Broxton can't close, I'd like to see them give Padilla a shot at closing. He's got the temperament for it, much moreso than Brox, sort of a killer instinct type of thing, no fear -- and it might actually be easier on his arm than piling up the innings that a starter has to do. Eckersley made the transition, and it extended his career by years. I love Kuo, but I'd hate to see him injured through too many days in a row closing games. And if he's the only lefty relief, we're gonna need him to be flexible.

[WBB]

Very strong? Kershaw and Billingsley have stuff but both are question marks as #1 and #2. Lilly has to have a career year to justify being a #3 and Ely might not even make it out of spring training. And is anyone comfortable with Broxton in the back of the bullpen waiting to do the full Mota?

[Labeldude]

The pitching looks to be adequate, maybe better than average, but with a line-up that made no significant upgrades I see it still scoring 2 runs or less in a third of its games, and 3 runs or less in close to half. Pitching was very good 2nd half of last year, but with no run support it didn't translate into wins. I don't see how anyone can expect any better results this year. Too many low OBP guys mean there'll be no one on base to knock in, so even if Uribe, Kemp and Dre get 25 knocks apiece, it won't mean many runs. That's an awful lot of pressure on your starters and bully all year.

[N.P.Krohn]

Last years pen was ruined when we broke camp without Bellesario and Kuo and counted on significant inn. from the Ortiz'. As a result Troncoso and Broxton got there arms torched after each pitched in close to 30 of the first 50gms. We went from the best pen in all of baseball to one of the worst. Kuo shouldn't even be counted on as sit. lefty because of limitations on when he can be used. Soscia's pen has lost him quite a few games the last couple of years. Our bullpen has the pieces to be just as dominant as in '09 but we need to break from camp with LHP who can get an out nearly everyday. Kuo can be his dominant self one out of three. Hawksworth shouldn't even be in the conversation he has options and would rather see him starting in AAA, Padilla is the swing man. Saw how the Rox signed Stults for nothing. He would've worked well with Kuo and been another emergency start option.

[N.P.Krohn]

Make no mistake, the only way the Dodgers win this year is if the staff takes us there and it doesn't matter how many times the rotation goes 7 strong if the pen can't be relied on to do there work with the same consistancy. Roles have to be clearly defined and objectives easily achieved if success is to be had. This non-chalance that we're hearing about the pen is very troubling in what I consider to be an otherwise solid off-season.

[RunsWithScissors]

Mattingly is making a huge mistake if he thinks the Dodgers can duplicate the Angels right hand dominated bullpen. The Angels got away with it because they had 3 righties (K-Rod, Shields, and Donnelly) who were as tough or tougher (in the case of Shields) against left-handed hitters than against righties.

Plus, the Angels had durable starting rotation, typically with 3 starters pitching over 200 innings. They play in a DH league. Both translate into a smaller load on the bullpen.

Certainly there are right handed pitchers that can dominate left handed batters like Mariano Rivera, but unfortunately none are on the Dodgers.

The Dodgers need another lefty in the bullpen to protect Kuo, who is the most important reliever we have. If he goes down, the bullpen will be dust.