Just in case any of you were comfortable with Vicente Padilla as the Dodgers' closer, think again. Padilla was placed on the 15-day DL with a sore right forearm. He joins a list of relievers including Jonathan Broxton, Blake Hawksworth, and Hong-Chih Kuo of the walking wounded.
Padilla took over the closer's role when Broxton was sidelined on May 4 with a bone spur in his right elbow. He appeared in three save situations and converted two of them, with the other becoming a hold when he was pulled after getting two outs. Overall, he has three saves and five holds for a 4.15 ERA.
The mess of a bullpen will get even cloudier now with a fourth arm sidelined. Expect to see Matt Guerrier and Kenley Jansen get the chance to close, with Mike MacDougal also getting key outs. After that it's a crapshoot with guys like Scott Elbert, Ramon Troncoso, Lance Cormier, and Javy Guerra. Ouch.
Needless to say, the Dodgers are in some trouble here. They have an offense that stinks and a bullpen that is leakier than my basement in all of this New York rain. If they want to win, the starting rotation will have to carry them even further now. It won't be easy.
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