Dodgers by the numbers

I haven't done this in awhile, but it's always fun to look at exactly where the boys in blue rank in certain categories.  Today I'll focus on the bullpen, which has been a huge part of turning things around.

ERA: 3.57 (15th best)
Saves: 34 (7th)
Save %: 68 (19th - still feeling the effects of Brandon League)
Walks: 122 (22nd)
BAA: .244 (15th)
OPS: .669 (7th)
Total Bases: 451 (25th)
K/9: 8.29 (12th)

Trust me, these numbers listed above were not pretty back in April, May, and June.  The League experiment as closer was a colossal flop, which mercifully ended after four blown saves and a 6.00 ERA in early June.  Then Kenley Jansen was inserted as closer, and after blowing his first save in Pittsburgh, has gone 14-15 since.

With that in mind, let's take a look at the numbers for the boys in the 'pen right now:

Kenley Jansen: 58 1/3 IP, 4-3, 17 SV, 16 HLD, 2.01 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, 84 K
J.P. Howell: 48 1/3 IP, 2-0, 10 HLD, 2.05 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 42 K
Paco Rodriguez: 42 IP, 2-2, 2 SV, 14 HLD, 2.14 ERA, 0.74 WHIP, 45 K
Chris Withrow: 18 1/3 IP, 1-0, 3 HLD, 2.45 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 21 K
Ronald Belisario: 51 1/3 IP, 5-6, 1 SV, 13 HLD, 3.33 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, 41 K
Carlos Marmol: 7 IP, 0-0, 5.14 ERA, 2.14 WHIP, 4 K
Brandon League: 42 2/3, 6-3, 14 SV, 1 HLD, 5.27 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 22 K

The top four in that list are as good as it gets.  Jansen's success in the closer's role has made everything else fall into place.  Howell and Rodriguez are fantastic from the left side, and Withrow has forced the Dodgers to keep him with the big club.  They get big outs whenever necessary.

Belisario is his typical streaky self, but he's been on a hot one the last couple of months.  He had an 8.31 ERA in June, lowered it all the way to 1.42 in July, and hasn't surrendered a run in August.  When he's on, he's tough to catch up to.  The Dodgers will ride this hot streak as long as they can.

The numbers for Marmol and League obviously aren't pretty, but there is a silver lining for both.  League has put up blanks in nine of last 12 appearances since the beginning of July, lowering his ERA by over a run.  Marmol doesn't have a large sample size, but is scoreless in his last five trips to the mound.

Keep in mind that Brian Wilson will soon be coming, as his rehab is just about done.  Don't be surprised to see him move right into a setup role.  He's been scoreless in three innings of work, and if reports are true that he's more than recovered from Tommy John surgery last year, then look out.  He's another big chip to be added to this great team in the postseason push.