ESPN Buster Olney Blog

During Joe Torre's last seven seasons with the Yankees, he left in his wake a bunch of right-handed relievers who were broken down from pitching a whole lot of innings -- Steve Karsay, Paul Quantrill, Tom Gordon, Tanyon Sturtze, Scott Proctor, etc. The Dodgers have an enormous lead in the NL West, and that's a good thing, because L.A.'s middle relief corps is racking up a huge number of innings and appearances.

Two of the top six in the majors in innings pitched belong to the Dodgers: Ramon Troncoso and Ronald Belisario. Combined, they are on pace to throw almost 200 innings. It will be interesting to see how the L.A. bullpen holds up down the stretch; there is talk that GM Ned Colletti is searching for pitching.

In Part II of the bullpen-abuse checkup, here are the numbers for the NL West contenders:

Los Angeles Dodgers

Good thing Colletti has time to find a reliever or two, because Troncoso, Belisario and Jonathan Broxton have put in a ton of work early this season -- and some relievers and pitching coaches will tell you that it is very difficult to bounce back from heavy use early in the season. We'll see whether they hold up.

Key: For every pitcher below, three numbers are listed for games and innings pitched. The first category is current total, the second is projected total and the third is career high total.

Jonathan Broxton
Games: 30 | 71 | 83
Innings: 33 | 79 | 82
Work on consecutive days: 10.

Ramon Troncoso
Games: 30 | 71 | 55 (minors and majors combined)
Innings: 43 | 102 | 68.1 (minors and majors combined)
Work on consecutive days: 7

Ronald Belisario
Games: 35 | 83 | 38 (minor leagues)
Innings: 40.1 | 95 | 59 (minor leagues)
Work on consecutive days: 11

Guillermo Mota
Games: 27 | 64 | 78
Innings: 29 | 69 | 105
Work on consecutive days: 6

San Francisco Giants

The Giants worked quickly on the free-agent market last fall, locking down Jeremy Affeldt and Bob Howry early, and while there was debate within the industry then about whether San Francisco overpaid, the Giants do have depth in their bullpen.

Brian Wilson
Games: 30 | 74 | 63
Innings: 30.2 | 74 | 62.1
Work on consecutive days: 7

Brandon Medders
Games: 29| 71 | 60
Innings: 30.1 | 74 | 71.2
Work on consecutive days: 6

Bob Howry
Games: 26 | 64 | 84
Innings: 24.1 | 59 | 81.1
Work on consecutive days: 4

Jeremy Affeldt
Games: 32| 79 | 75
Innings: 27.1 | 66 | 78.1
Work on consecutive days: 7

Colorado Rockies

Huston Street is having an excellent season, and while Joel Peralta is not listed below, he has quietly established himself as a force in the seventh and eighth innings for the Rockies. Manny Corpas is probably headed to the DL because of bone chips.

Huston Street
Games: 31 | 75 | 69
Innings: 29 | 70 | 78.1
Work on consecutive days: 11

Manny Corpas
Games: 33 | 80 | 78
Innings: 31.2 | 75 | 79.2
Work on consecutive days: 11

Alan Embree
Games: 27 | 65 | 73
Innings: 18.2 | 44 | 68
Work on consecutive days: 5

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