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Not the best start for the Dodgers bullpen

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Getting a little nervous about that bullpen?

Maybe you should be. Maybe the Dodgers should be.

Matt Guerrier is looking good. Mike MacDougal is one solo home run away from matching Guerrier’s 0.00 ERA.

And that just about covers your early bullpen highlights. Jonathan Broxton is a perfect 5-for-5 in save situations but hasn’t exactly been wowing the masses with his one strikeout and 4.15 ERA.

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Everybody else, even Hong-Chih Kuo, is still looking for their 2011 mojo. Guess the assumption there is they’ll find it.

Kenley Jansen, last year’s surprise sensation, pitched one scoreless inning Tuesday to lower his ERA to 7.11, a number Lance Cormier (9.00 ERA) would kill for. Kuo hasn’t been terrible, but neither has he looked like the untouchable left-hander from last season.

It’s still hard to get a firm grasp on Blake Hawksworth, who has looked pretty good at times and not so good on others. He did not look so good Tuesday when he gave up a triple off the wall to the Giants’ Aaron Rowand that would have been a home run in most parks. Or when he then threw a wild pitch to allow Rowand to score the winning run.

Last year’s bullpen was a major disappointment, which made it just one of several major disappointments. It was revamped in the offseason and, with Vicente Padilla injured, currently has four new members from a year ago.

The Dodgers have built this year’s team around pitching, and if that naturally begins with the starters, it has to end with the bullpen. Which right now is a little too close to nervous time for the Dodgers’ liking.

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-- Steve Dilbeck

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