FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I FUCKING KNEW JANSEN WOULD SHIT THE BED AGAIN!!!!!!!!
Currently working on my third bottle of sam adams
:facepalm
:cosby
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FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I FUCKING KNEW JANSEN WOULD SHIT THE BED AGAIN!!!!!!!!
Currently working on my third bottle of sam adams
:facepalm
:cosby
We got to this moment thanks to an unfortunate discussion during a late 2016 wedding.
Kenley Jansen was getting married. His good friend and teammate Justin Turner was there. Both men were free agents.
Jansen had a lucrative offer on the table from the Washington Nationals. Turner's agent was taking lots of calls. Both men had taken unusual paths to get to where they were.
Turner had somehow angered a Mets executive during his tenure there, so that executive took revenge in late 2013 by both releasing him and leaking out the (incorrect) word that Turner didn't hustle and was a clubhouse cancer. This made the reserve utilityman unsignable, and his career was over. By sheer coincidence, Turner had the same alma mater as Dodgers coach Tim Wallach, who saw him hitting at a winter alumni game at Cal State Fullerton. Wallach thought Turner looked excellent, and told him he'd suggest the Dodgers sign him. The Dodgers gave him a minor league deal, and the rest is history. His career would have been over, if not for Wallach and the Dodgers.
Jansen was a catcher with a cannon for an arm, but couldn't even hit minor league pitching. Had they simply released him, he would never have seen a single Major League game. Instead, the Dodgers got creative in 2009 and convinced 21-year-old Kenley to convert to pitching. He flourished in that role, and became one of the best closers in the game.
Back to the December 2016 wedding. Jansen told Turner they probably wouldn't be teammates anymore, as he was about to call his agent and accept the Nationals' offer. Turner sat him down and gave him a final speech to perhaps change his mind.
Turner reminded Jansen that the Dodgers were his only team, and that the Dodgers' idea to convert him saved his career. He told Jansen again of his own story -- that the Dodgers were the only team willing to ignore those rumors from the Mets and take a shot with him. Both men were completely defined by their time with the Dodgers. He told Jansen that the Dodgers had offered him 4 years, $64 million, and he was going to accept. He simply didn't want to leave, even if he could get more money elsewhere. They were going to get heaps of money no matter what, Turner explained. Shouldn't they stay together, and play for a team for which they feel is truly theirs?
Jansen was moved by the story, and instructed his agent to hold off the Nationals. Two weeks later, Turner accepted that 4 year, $64 million offer -- averaging $16 million per year. Three weeks after that, Jansen accepted almost an identical offer, with an extra year tacked on -- 5 years, $80 million. At the time, this was a touching story of two friends and big stars foregoing extra money in order to stay together on a team which had been so instrumental in their careers.
Turner ended up being worth it. He was 9th in MVP voting in 2017, 8th in 2018, 14th in 2019, and even after his age started showing a bit in 2020, he had a solid year with a .860 OPS, and had some nice postseason moments both offensively and defensively. He also became the opposite of the clubhouse cancer the Mets claimed he was, and has long been seen as the clubhouse and team leader. He's also known to be a nice, non-controversial guy who gets involved in good causes for the Los Angeles community.
Jansen... well, he immediately started to lose velocity on his pitches, and also had an arrogance problem. He thought he was too good to make any major adjustments, or even to spend time rehabbing in the minors after injury. Jansen just wanted the ball every time, stats be damned. Despite that overconfidence, he seemed to especially struggle in the postseason, and eventually Dodgers fans went from being confident to seeing him enter to screaming at their TVs.
Benjamin was with me during that fateful 9th inning. When he saw Jansen was on the mound, he said, "Seriously? They are making so many bad decisions today!" (When Baez served up the 3-run HR and they left him in the following inning, I told Benjamin that was also a mistake.)
Yes, Jansen wasn't the one who bobbled the ball in center, nor was he the catcher who took his eye off the ball. However, he was also the guy who gave up 2 hits and a walk that inning, and also didn't back up that catcher who let the ball get by.
The problem is that the Dodgers just can't accept that Kenley Jansen isn't the Kenley Jansen of the first half of the 2010s. They have another $20 million they owe him for 2021. They don't want to accept that he's not the same guy anymore.
It seemed for a moment they accepted that, as they thankfully let a sharp-pitching Urias finish game 7 of the NLCS. Had they gone with Jansen, I have a feeling we'd be talking about the Braves and Rays in this thread.
In any case, it's very unfortunate that Turner had that sit-down talk with Jansen 4 years ago.
Well, it's a 3-game series now. Maybe they've finally learned.
Roberts is the one who keeps trotting him out there in the 9th. Sadly, I’m not convinced he’s learned his lesson. The Dodgers got a false sense of security due to the short season. They had new guys in the bullpen who pitched well, but they played the same teams over and over. If they’d played 162, they could have bought an arm or two down the stretch. With so many teams making the playoffs this year, evaluating and trading for an arm was problematic. Of course, Tampa could have bought at bat or two was well.
Replay booth umps suck
Basepath umps suck too
Kershaw gets 2 out in 2 pitches and Robert’s brings in the big red home run machine....
If this doesn’t work out, Robert’s should just quit.
After the game tonight the White Sox will announce Roberts as their 2021 manager
In an interview with Barry M. Bloom of Sportico, Manfred claims baseball's 30 teams have amassed $8.3 billion in debt and will post between $2.8 million and $3 million in combined losses with fans unable to attend games for the vast majority of the 2020 season due to COVID-19.
Rays manager pulls Snell...hmm...Dodgers immediately take the lead.
If they even show Jansen warming up...I’m driving to Dallas and hitting Dave Roberts with a urine bomb.
*
Hot-dog-on-a-stick and pepsi time
Turner yanked for Covid...didn’t see that coming.
NOT A LEGITIMATE SEASON
NOT A WORLD SERIES WIN
Her’s was really fake. She wouldn’t have even medaled. The whole eastern bloc stayed home. An American woman had never even won an individual medal.
I mean this is fake, but not a fake as hers. Like the sprinters would have won anyway. Those are real golds. We’ll call this like a silver medal World Series.
2020 WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS!!!!!!!!!!! YEAH BABY!!!!!
:yes
:kermit
:clap
:):):):):)