Kenley Jansen forcing Braves fan to melt down is epic theatre for Dodgers fans
To be as honest as we possibly can be, before Craig Kimbrel changed his walkout music to “Let It Go,” Los Angeles Dodgers fans didn’t have a leg to stand on when it came to slandering Kenley Jansen, who departed the organization and signed with the Atlanta Braves in the offseason.
But now seven straight scoreless outings from Kimbrel have paved the way for some good laughs at the Braves’ expense. Dodgers fans have long been familiar with Jansen’s tight-rope act in the ninth, and Atlanta fans blowing a gasket over his volatility is just far too good.
On the year, Jansen leads the league with 45 games finished and 33 saves, but that’s not enough for the folks in Braves country, who completely lost their mind over the team losing for the second time in its last 12 games on Sunday.
Then again, Jansen’s been awful over the last two weeks and just destroyed a potential epic momentum swing on Sunday when he blew a save against the Seattle Mariners after the Braves staged an insane five-run comeback in the top of the ninth to steal a one-run lead.
Jansen gave up two homers — the game-tying to Julio Rodriguez and the game-winning to Eugenio Suarez — for his third blown game since Aug. 27.
Braves fans melting down over Kenley Jansen is hilarious for Dodgers fans
That was Jansen’s seventh blown save of the season, of course coming at the worst possible time because of the positive energy that he killed, but to go on this kind of a rant when your team has gone a ridiculous 64-26 (!!) since June 1, with Jansen being responsible for closing the door 22 times over that span (with two wins in there, too), is delusional behavior at its finest.
This guy wants Raisel Igelsias in there for save situations? The guy with hardly any meaningful high-leverage experience under his belt throughout his career? The guy who strikes out fewer batters, gives up more HR/9 and more BB/9? The guy who had a 4.04 ERA and a league-average ERA+ before taking on a less intense role with the Braves? What happens when that eventually goes south?
Jansen’s bad run of form for two weeks probably isn’t going to cost him his job, especially for someone who’s been succeeding even more since being removed from the closer role. Jansen has almost a decade of postseason experience, too, which is part of the reason the Braves made this move.
But Dodgers fans being all too familiar with Jansen’s shakiness and watching Braves fans, who are having insane mental breakdowns despite their team possessing the fourth-best record in baseball, certainly helps them feel a lot less lonely out there.