It has been more than two months since the Los Angeles Dodgers suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Houston Astros in Game 7 of the World Series, but the sting for those within the organization still lingers.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was the first to say that he is unsure if he will ever get over the loss, and his statements were echoed by Alex Wood, who said he had not re-watched the epic series as he instead is focused on moving forward.
Kenley Jansen expressed a similar feeling as his manager and teammate on falling short in the World Series, explaining in a recent interview with Alanna Rizzo of SportsNet LA, that he needed to take three weeks away to get over the anger:
“To be honest with you, I came back a week or week-and-a-half after, and I was a little pissed off. Then I told Brandon (McDaniel, strength and conditioning coach), that I was going to go home for three weeks to take my mind off it. Once I went home and came back, that’s when I was back into it.”
The loss was especially tough for Jansen, who has been a big part of the Dodgers last five postseason runs but is still searching for his first World Series title. His home run allowed in Game 2 allowed the Astros to fall into a significant hole.
Jansen did everything he could for the Dodgers in 2017, saving 41 games in the regular season while yielding a 1.32 ERA, 1.31 FIP and 0.75 WHIP with 107 strikeouts and just seven walks. He then allowed just three runs over 16.2 innings (1.62 ERA) in the postseason while striking out 20 and walking three.
The 85 combined innings between the regular and postseason were a career-high for the 30-year-old. Although he has been back at Dodger Stadium working out, Roberts plans to ease Jansen into things a bit this spring so he can be fresh in the second half of the season, which the power closer is on board with.
