Dodger fans are a fickle bunch. If a player, especially a relief pitcher, goes through a rough spell, fans are immediately calling for his head – even after only nine games into the new season.

While Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez was being revered by fans for receiving MLB’s NL Player of the Week honors, many of those same fans wanted to see Dodgers right-handed reliever Chris Hatcher burned at the stake.

After allowing no runs, not hits, no walks and striking out one to pick up the save on Opening Day, Hatcher had back-to-back rough outings in which he allowed a combined five runs on six hits in 0.1 innings that saw his 0.00 ERA explode to 33.75 – which generated a witch hunt of the likes not seen since the Brian Wilson days.

But if baseball has taught us anything, it has taught us that relievers, especially those often called upon to close out games, must have a short-term memory – and Chris Hatcher has exactly that.

Since those two bad outings on April 7 and April 12, Hatcher has been perfect, allowing no runs, no hits, no walks with four strikeouts and has seen his ERA drop to 13.50 – still terribly high but headed in the right direction.

“His stuff hasn’t changed, we just talked about his mix,” said Dodgers manager Don Mattingly after Hatcher threw a perfect 1.1 innings on Tuesday night with two strikeouts. “We talked about that the other day with Rick [Honeycutt] – making sure that he’s using his mix, making sure he knows what he’s doing with what he wants to do with his pitches and making sure we’re knowing exactly how to use them. Combinations are important as a pitcher and he’s got good stuff and a lot of weapons, but if you don’t use them in the right combination then they kind of go away for you and they’re not as effective.”

In his last two outings, Hatcher has pitched a perfect 2.0 innings with four strikeouts.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

During those two rough outings, especially on April 12 against the Arizona Diamondbacks when he quickly turned a bottom of the ninth 7-0 Dodgers lead into a save situation for closer pro-tem Joel Peralta, Hatcher relied heavily on his four-seam fastball. In fact, of the 26 pitches that he made in his 0.1 inning on the Chase Field mound, 22 were fastballs (84.6%) and the other four sliders (15.4%) – his best pitch. One can certainly see why pitching coach Rick Honeycutt “…talked about that…” with Hatcher (and undoubtedly with Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal) about mixing up his pitches better.

Over his next two very effective outings, Hatcher made a total of 33 pitches of which 23 were fastballs (69.7% and 10 were sliders (30.3%). And while it is a pitcher’s fastball that sets up his other pitches, trying to constantly sneak a fastball past a fastball hitter is, as the great Vin Scully says, “Like trying to sneak a pork chop past a wolf.”

“I wouldn’t necessarily say that I’ve done anything [mechanically], my stuff’s always been there, it’s just how to use it,” said Hatcher after Tuesday night’s exciting come-from-behind 6-5 win over the Seattle Mariners. “A little more confident in it tonight. I didn’t go right after guys with the fastball, I mixed it up a little bit more. When you throw somewhat hard and you’re mixing your split [finger fastball] with your slider, it’s a different look. Everything was good tonight, I like the way it came out.”

With Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen still on the shelf for at least another four weeks, Hatcher’s success in the bullpen is extremely crucial to the team. But if the 30-year-old Kinston, NC native continues to pitch as well as he has in all but those two speed bumps on April 7 and 12, fickle Dodger fans will have to find someone else to burn at the stake.

…and they will.