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Kuo. Three letters that have, at least when they begin (or fully make) the last name of a fireballing lefty for the Dodgers, served the franchise well. While this current version doesn’t have the mystique of his predecessor (okay, it’s a stretch, but play along) he is pitching with the same type of dominance, making Hong-Chih Kuo a vital cog in the LA machine.

After some very promising moments in 2006, last season was a lost one for the oft-injured hurler, to the point that his best highlight was the coolest bat flip I’d ever seen after a homer against the Mets. (Other Dodger fans must have also been impressed because it won the top moment in 2007 in a True Blue LA poll). Concerns about Kuo abounded this spring as he entered this season coming off another injury which resulted in his third surgery since turning pro, two of which were of the Tommy John variety. It has been a tough battle for Kuo, but he has been up to it and his perseverance is paying off for himself and the Dodgers.

Big Jonathon Broxton gets the fans excited, but Kuo has been the scene stealer in the Dodger bullpen. After spotty use early in the year, bouncing between the starting rotation and the bullpen as Joe Torre had trouble figuring out how best to use him, Kuo has built up a reservoir of relief situation faith in his manager by mowing down hitter after hitter. Now Torre uses him in high leverage situations, almost like a Blue Billy Wagner.

Left handed hitters are completely helpless against Kuo, with right handed hitters not much better off. He has struck out 37 of the 81 (45%) left handed batters he’s faced this year while walking only one. Overall, he’s holding hitters to a paltry .197 batting average, and those hits haven’t amounted to much, judging by an opponents slugging percentage below .300.

The Dodger bullpen has been one of the best in baseball this season, virtually impregnable with Kuo representing the moat around the castle. Earlier in the year when Takashi Saito was healthy, Kuo was called upon 14 times to pitch two innings or more and excelled in these situations, easing the transition to the Broxton/Saito deadly combo. With Saito gone, Kuo has now taken up the setup role of Broxton and continues to flourish.  On an offensive challenged team like the Dodgers,  shut down relief pitchers are a must. Normally, middle relievers don’t get the headlines, but they’re an important cog for any team with postseason aspirations.

With that in mind, you can argue that Hong-Chi Kuo has been the MVP of the staff.

PG

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