Dodgers Dugout: Appreciate Kenley Jansen while you still can

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell, wondering who is this Greinke guy who pitched for Arizona on Monday. The Dodgers should look into acquiring him.

Underrated

I want to spend most of this newsletter focusing on a person who I think is among the most underrated players in baseball: Kenley Jansen.

Jansen was signed by the Dodgers in 2005 — as a catcher. He played for the Netherlands in the 2009 World Baseball Classic — as their starting catcher. He never really hit well enough, but his arm was exceptionally strong, so the Dodgers decided to convert him to pitching in 2009. In the minors in 2010, Jansen went 5-1 with a 1.60 earned run average and 78 strikeouts in 45 innings, so the Dodgers brought him up to the big club in May. All he did was go 1-0 with a 0.67 ERA and four saves in 27 innings.

In 2011, he was the setup man for closer Javy Guerra, going 2-1 with a 2.85 ERA and five saves, striking out an amazing 96 and giving up 30 hits in only 53 and 2/3 innings.

Jansen became the closer in 2012, but was sidelined near the end of the season because of an irregular heartbeat and lost the closer job to Brandon League.

League started the 2013 season horribly, and Jansen took over as closer again. Except for a small stretch of games, Jansen has been the Dodgers’ closer since 2012. He has been brilliant in the role, going 15-12 with a 2.27 ERA and 152 saves. In 285 2/3 innings, he has struck out 421 and walked only 71.

Yet when I watch national baseball broadcasts, rarely do I hear his name mentioned when the conversation turns to best closers. Which shows how out of touch a lot of national baseball TV commentators are. Let’s take a look at how Jansen ranks among the 21 pitchers who have saved at least 75 games since 2012.

Saves: 152 (fourth; leader — Craig Kimbrel, 193)

ERA: 2.28 (fourth; leader — Kimbrel, 1.63)

Fielding independent pitching (FIP): 2.08 (third; leader — Aroldis Chapman, 1.69)

K/9: 13.26 (third; leader — Aroldis Chapman, 15.89)

WHIP: 0.896 (second; leader — Kimbrel, 0.859)

IRS%: 30% (10th; leader — Francisco Rodriguez, 2.78%)

That’s pretty impressive.

This is Jansen’s final year before free agency, and it seems unlikely that Andrew Friedman is the kind of guy who will give a long contract or a lot of money to a closer and you just know some team out there will. So, whenever you see the Dodgers on TV (which is rarely for most of us) or go to a game, take a minute to appreciate Jansen, because it might be your last chance to see him in a Dodgers uniform. By the way, with his save Wednesday, Jansen tied Eric Gagne for most career saves by a Dodger with 161.

Where there’s a Will, there’s a way

I was inundated with emails after the Dodgers signed Will Venable on Tuesday, with most of them saying a variation of: “The Giants are trying to trade for Ryan Braun, and here we get Will Venable.”

Relax. The Dodgers aren’t expecting a guy like Venable to solve the offensive problems. What he does provide is more flexibility in the outfield and a left-handed bat on the bench. When Yasiel Puig comes back this month, Venable will probably be the one sacrificed to make room on the roster.

Venable is OK. A career .250 hitter who hit a career high 22 home runs for San Diego in 2013. He has hit only 20 since then, however. Hey, at least he’s not Chris Heisey.

What’s wrong with Kershaw?

In Wednesday’s 3-2 win over Arizona, he gave up two runs and walked one as his ERA ballooned to 1.58. A couple more outings like that and a trip to the minors might be in order.

Ask Ross Porter

Former Dodgers announcer Ross Porter will be answering select reader questions for the rest of the season. Email me a question for Ross, and I will pass it on. His latest response:

Dennis Morris asks: Ross, I was surprised to learn from you a few weeks ago that Koufax and Drysdale averaged 150 pitches a game for the Dodgers in some seasons. What are some of the notable iron-man pitching performances and how do you feel about pitch count limits?

Ross: Leon Cadore pitched all 26 innings for Brooklyn in a 1920 game, the longest major league game ever. It ended in a tie. Cadore threw 345 pitches.

Nolan Ryan used 259 pitches in a 12-inning game for the Angels in 1974.

Tom Cheney holds the big league record for strikeouts in one game with 21 in a 16-inning marathon he and the Washington Senators won, 2-1. Cheney fired 228 pitches.

In 1904, Jack Chesbro of the Yankees pitched 48 complete games.

Since 2000, only one pitcher has led major league baseball with more than nine complete games. James Shields hurled 11 for the Rays in 2011.

Estimated career pitches

Cy Young 107,000

Nolan Ryan 90,000

Walter Johnson 87,000

Phil Niekro 85,000

Steve Carlton 83,000

Gaylord Perry 82,000

Don Sutton 81,000

Roger Clemens 80,000

Dennis, the most recent comprehensive studies have shown that the pitch count limits for today’s pitchers have not resulted in meaningful reduction in injuries. In fact, pitchers are hurt more now than ever before.

Researcher Steve Treder found that the best pitchers in the 1970’s threw well over 1,000 more pitches a year than today’s aces and suffered fewer injuries. He says current pitchers have not been trained to throw as many pitches, so they don’t and they work less.

Hall of Famer Don Sutton told me he had games where he had to work harder throwing 80 pitches than he did when he needed 110. Sutton is not in favor of a pitch count limit.

What Vin Scully means to me

I asked you to tell me your best Vin Scully memories, and I got a lot of responses. I will publish selected ones in each newsletter. And keep emailing them to me.

Mal Citron: Before you read my story, you should know I am a lifelong, intense, almost fanatic, Giants fan, 86 years old, and can tell you that Vin Scully is the best I’ve ever heard.

This day, way back when, I was watching a major golf event, being covered for TV by Scully. Even in golf, Scully had a unique feel for the game and an outstanding ability to bring golf into my living room.

There were two of golf’s brightest stars playing this afternoon. One was Arnold Palmer, the other was Jack Nicklaus. Here they were walking together between tees, and they needed few words by the announcer to enhance this scene. Vinny kept quiet and the camera stayed with them as long as they were together. It was an emotional scene and Scully knew enough to stay out of it.

I felt this was one of the greatest bits of announcing I’d ever witnessed. Not a word from Scully. Just Jack and Arnie. Nothing else was needed. It was a great few moments in TV broadcasting, and one I’ll never forget.

The TV situation

If you would like to complain about the Dodgers’ TV situation, you have three options: The Dodgers, Time Warner Cable and whatever local cable or satellite provider you have that doesn’t carry the Dodgers. Here’s who to contact:

For the Dodgers, click here or call (866) DODGERS ([866] 363-4377). (I hope you like form letters).

For Time Warner, click here.

For DirecTV, call (800) 531-5000 or click here.

For your local cable or satellite provider, consult your bill for the customer service number and for the website.

And finally

What’s going on with Andre Ethier as he rehabs his broken leg? It’s not good. Read all about it here.

Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me and follow me on Twitter: @latimeshouston