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Dodgers fans rallying behind Alex Vesia after World Series roster news

Eric Cole
Eric Cole

Dodgers Way

National League Championship Series - Milwaukee Brewers v Los Angeles Dodgers - Game Four / Sean M. Haffey/GettyImages

One of the more intriguing events left before the Los Angeles Dodgers take on the Blue Jays in the World Series is the announcement of the rosters for the series. While most of the players are pretty locked in, pitching staffs in particular can have some wrinkles thrown in that are tailored to dealing with specific match-ups. While one surprise has already revealed itself, it has absolutely nothing to do with gamesmanship or strategy.

The Dodgers' bullpen has outsized importance in this series. The rotation has been brilliant, but they have also thrown a lot of innings this year and at the first sign of trouble, the relief corps have to step up. Alex Vesia had done just that this postseason with a 3.86 ERA in seven appearances thus far.

Unfortunately, the Dodgers will be without Vesia in their bullpen at the start of the series as the team announced that he is away from the team dealing with a personal matter.

Dodgers to be without Alex Vesia for World Series as LA fans rally around him

It is moments like these where baseball seems so silly to even be thinking about. There is no word yet about exactly what issue Vesia is tending to, the team's statement used language like "with a heavy heart" and talked about his family. To miss the World Series, one has to think that the situation is very serious and good on the Dodgers being so supportive.

Thankfully, the response from fans has been (mostly) supportive in the immediate aftermath. Yes, there are some human toilets out there complaining, but most of the takes have reflected support and concern for the Vesia family.

There will be a time and a place for roster and bullpen speculation, but it is nice to see Dodgers fans rally around Vesia during what has to be an incredibly difficult time. LA will certainly miss him on the field, but there are more important things than baseball. Our thoughts are with the Vesia family during this trying time in their lives.

Eric Cole

Eric Cole

I started my career writing about baseball covering the Atlanta Braves for SB Nation's Talking Chop back in 2015 which has since been renamed Battery Power. After years of writing for those fine folks, I made the decision to take over as Site Expert at House That Hank Built before becoming a full-time MLB Staff Writer for FanSided in 2023. Along the way, I have been a guest on multiple ESPN radio affiliates as well as 680 The Fan and 92.9 The Game to discuss Braves baseball and especially Braves prospects and was a long-time host on the Battery Power podcast. These days, I continue to write about the Braves as well as covering the Astros, Padres, and Angels with particular expertise with minor league coverage, the MLB Draft, and bashing Anthony Rendon when possible. When I am not writing about or talking about baseball (which is seldom), I am an avid baseball card collector (Maddux and Soroka being my primary personal collections) and I also collect shark teeth. All other sports are mostly dead to me as my Bills have broken my heart too many times.