The Dodgers' shiny record and first-place status obscure the fact that they've had some problems in the ninth inning. Closer to date Javy Guerra has blown three saves on the young season and is lugging around an ERA of 5.84. And so Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times reports that Guerra is out as closer and Kenley Jansen is in.
Jansen on the season has a 2.70 ERA in 16.2 innings, and he's whiffed 27 batters against six unintentional walks. To say that Jansen has "swing and miss" stuff is an understatement: in 97.1 career innings at the highest level, the 24-year-old Jansen has 164 (!) strikeouts, thanks in large part to a wipeout cutter that's often unhittable. The control could use some work, but there's no doubting his arsenal and ability to miss bats.
Long-term, this figures to be a wise move by Don Mattingly and the Dodgers.
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