Dodger fans undoubtedly remember this short video clip from the 1964 Academy Award winning film Mary Poppins staring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke. But for those who attended Dodgers manager Don Mattingly’s post-game media conference after Monday night’s 8-3 pounding at the hands of the Washington Nationals, the same feeling that Bert (Van Dyke) had in the classic Disney film permeated the Dodger Stadium interview room as well.

“We’re talking in there. Farhan’s in there talking, so we’ll probably make a decision later,” said Mattingly when asked if changes were in the works for his struggling team that has lost for straight games for the first time in nearly two years.

The “Farhan,” of course, is Dodgers general manager Farhan Zaidi and the “in there” was Mattingly’s private office within the Dodgers clubhouse. As for what the Dodgers general and field managers are talking about, the answer is painfully obvious – the near complete meltdown of the Dodgers bullpen.

The once MLB-leading Dodgers bullpen is currently 25th in all of baseball with it’s lackluster 4.16 ERA and their 21 losses are the seventh-most. They also rank 21st in the majors with their .249 Batting Average Against and have given up 35 home runs – 12th most. The good news, if you can call it that, is that the Dodgers bullpen has won 23 games, second only to the Chicago Cubs’ 25 games, so there’s that.

To be fair, not all of the seven current Dodgers relievers are bad. In fact, four of them are actually doing very well – right-handers Juan Nicasio, Pedro Baez and closer Kenley Jansen and left-hander J.P. Howell. Nicasio is 1-3 with a 3.06 ERA; Jansen 2-1 with a 2.76 ERA and 21 saves in 22 opportunities; Baez 4-2 with a 2.34 ERA; and Howell 4-1 with a team-best 1.35 ERA. The Dodgers bullpen also has a combined 361 strikeouts – third most in the MLB and second most in the National League behind only the Phillies’ 369 Ks.

The guy who receives the least amount of credit but has basically carried the Dodgers bullpen all season long is right-hander Juan Nicasio. (Photo credit – Jon SooHoo)

Where the problem lies is with the other three current Dodgers relievers – right-handers Joel Peralta and Jim Johnson and left-hander Luis Avilan, with the latter two having been acquired at the July 31 trade deadline from the Atlanta Braves. The 39-year-old Peralta is 2-1 with a 5.40 ERA and trails only Howell (10) for the team lead in walks with eight (tied with Baez). Additionally, he trails only Jansen (5) with his four home runs allowed and is third among all current Dodgers relievers in allowing five inherited runners to score behind Howell (7), Baez (6) and newcomer Luis Avilan (6).

Although Avilan isn’t that bad (o-o with a 3.00 ERA in his three innings pitched thus far with the Dodgers), he has walked three of the 15 batters he has faced while striking out four. The good news is that he has yet to allow a home run as a Dodger.

Where things get bad – really bad –  is with newcomer Jim Johnson, who is 0-2 and has allowed (brace yourself) 12 earned runs in his 3.2 innings pitched as a Dodger for an atrocious 29.45 ERA. The eight earned runs he allowed in Sunday’s 13-6 shellacking by the Pittsburgh Pirates were the most allowed by a Dodger reliever in one inning or less since Fred Heimach in 1933.

Once again to be fair, there have been a lot of relievers who have come and gone this season who are every bit as (and in some cases even more) responsible for the Dodgers bullpen shortcomings as the seven current relievers on the Dodgers 25-man roster – guys like Chris Hatcher (1-4, 6.38 ERA); Chin-hui Tsao (1-1, 10.29 ERA); Daniel Coulombe (0-0, 7,56 ERA); Josh Ravin (2-1, 6.75 ERA) – to name a few. But the bottom line is that the moves that Andrew Friedman and Farhan Zaidi have made in an attempt to overcome the disastrous bullpen shortcomings that cost the Dodgers a shot at last year’s World Series title have thus far turned out to be a bust.

…but apparently “something is brewin’.”