The Los Angeles Dodgers have their fingers crossed that they will not lose another important piece of their bullpen after Ronald Belisario was arrested on Saturday morning on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.
Belisario was released later in the day and returned to Chavez Ravine the afternoon after pitching a scoreless inning against Seattle - at the moment he has not been told whether he will face sanctions, either by the authorities or the Dodgers themselves.
The setback is the latest in a long line of troubles to hit the team's pen, already without Hong-Chih Kuo and Will Ohman, and lacking also the strong arm of Cory Wade, who was sent down to Triple-A last week to sort out his own issues.
Belisario and Ramon Troncoso have proved to be a strong bridge between the starting staff and ace closer Jonathan Broxton so far this season, but manager Joe Torre has admitted to being worried about the amount of times he has been forced to use his top line relievers.
The Venezuelan import has probably been the biggest surprise of the Dodgers' season so far, with his ERA of 2.01 leading the team as we come towards the All-Star Break. And giving up only 33 hits in his 44 2/3 innings has proven him as a fine addition to the squad after failing to make it with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
A fair baseball bet suggests that losing him now would be a huge hole to fill, and not one the Dodgers could probably manage without a trade of some kind.
Of the pitchers ready to step in, only Wade and Jason Vargas would be bullpen types, and Vargas is far more suited to long relief and garbage time - he may not even offer as much as youngsters James McDonald and Travis Schlichting.
So, Dodger fans, pray that Belisario is innocent or at least doesn't face too heavy sanctions, or all the good work the team has done so far this season could start coming apart at the seams.
By Andy Morris – Baseball betting analyst
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