We Feel For You, Clayton!
I feel somewhat incredulous about the responses regarding Clayton Kershaw yesterday. I am not going to quote what many said word-for-word, but I am going to say that I don’t buy it. Many of you are talking like Clayton is just finished, and we should just accept that. To make…
I feel somewhat incredulous about the responses regarding Clayton Kershaw yesterday. I am not going to quote what many said word-for-word, but I am going to say that I don’t buy it. Many of you are talking like Clayton is just finished, and we should just accept that. To make that assumption, you simply have to ignore the facts, so I am going to serve them up for your consideration. Clayton Kershaw started 24 games this season and went 13-5 with a 2.46 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. He allowed 100 hits in 132 IP. The league hit .209 against him. He also struck out 137 batters. He was 2nd in ERA in the NL to Blake Snell.. He was an All-Star. Does that sound like a pitcher who is done?
“But he hurt his shoulder and was not the same when he came back!” I knew you would say that! Just like I knew a certain someone would stick up for his boy, James Outman, at the expense of the facts. I will discuss that later. Yes, Clayton missed a couple of months with an undisclosed shoulder injury, but in his last seven games, he was 3-1 with a 2.30 ERA (1.18 WHIP). He allowed 21 hits in 31 IP while striking out 28. He did walk 16 batters, which was a concern, but in his last start against San Francisco on September 30th, he pitched five innings, allowing two runs, and struck out five.
A month earlier, he also faced the Diamondbacks and also went five innings, allowing three hits and one earned run. Yes, he was not the same pitcher he was earlier in the season. The Dodgers were not counting on him to be any more than a “glorified opener,” going two, three, or four innings. He has shown that he is capable of that, and that was all they were asking, but he couldn’t deliver.
It wasn’t his velocity. In the eight games since he came back from the IL, his fastball was in the 86-89 MPH range. On Saturday, his fastball was in the 89-91 MPH range – he was actually throwing harder. It was his slider at 86-87 MPH (not enough separation from the fastball) and curve that was killing him. I think the problem was that Clayton was trying to be the Clayton of old instead of staying within himself and pitching as he did since his IL stint! He was trying to do too much.
Now, back to the Outman thing. Let me make it clear that I am in no way blaming James Outman for the loss. However, he had two balls that could have been caught with a high degree of difficulty. The one ball he did touch, and he even said that he should have caught it. He did not touch the other one, but he also said he was nervous and did not get a good jump on it. To think that it is a “reach” is beyond silly. If he had caught the ball that hit his glove, Clayton would have had double the outs that he did. He would have likely felt a little less “pressure” in knowing that his teammates had his back. Of course, it made a difference. Again, I know that James Outman is not a great centerfielder… probably not even the best one on the team, but this is not about “blame” – it is just about reality, and the reality is, “Even Ray Charles can see that!”
The Game 1 loss was a team loss because no one picked Clayton up. The Dodgers did not hit, pitch, or field, and Clayton bears the brunt of it, but tonight, they can right the ship. Last year, they won the first game and then got swept! Clayton will likely start Game 4, and even two innings will be great. Yes, he is not the pitcher he once was, and I believe that he needs shoulder and TJ surgery, but this is the hand he is given. Hopefully, the next start, he will not try and do too much.
Is Bobby Miller Ready to be the Ace?
He better be… We shall see!
Hopefully, Will Smith can stay hot!
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Discussion (107)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Yes, the warts on this year’s team are well-documented. We know they’re flawed, ..but come on!….
For the second straight year, the whole vibe of this team in the playoffs… is soft.
Unquestionably, there is something fundamentally wrong with the Dodgers approach to “playoff baseball.”
Y’all can speculate on what it is.
Same look as last year against the Padres. Absolutely no fight, no scrap, no growling. Plain and simple, poodles not junkyard dogs. It’s beginning to be a waste of time watching these guys in the post season.
What channel does the weather channel come on ?
Oh come on . Two wins and it’s up for grabs. Like the Dodgers couldn’t win two in a row ? I can’t believe the defeatism.
Interesting that after two comprehensive defeats, where we’ve been totally outplayed on both sides of the ball, not a single comment acknowledging that we’ve been beaten by the better team.
This is what happens in sport. It’s about execution when the lights are brightest.
So far as a team we haven’t performed where as the D’Backs have.
They are unbeaten in 4 Post Season games (as are Texas). Maybe time to give them some credit no?
Next topic Rants and Raves ?
It won’t be easy, but I agree with Vengeur. Anything could happen as most of us have seen through the years. Dodgers may lose again, but it ain’t over till it’s over. Three in a row is entirely possible. I haven’t given up hope.
I knew jumping into that pool was a bad idea…
So far it’s on Kershaw and Bobby Miller, and the offense as a whole except Martinez.
As for the bullpen, the first game the bullpen didn’t matter. It was over from the get-go. Today my only gripe is using Kelly instead of Shelby Miller. Kelly’s result doesn’t matter because in a pretty much must win game only three of the four best (DOMINANT in the regular season)relievers were used. Shelby Miller was missing.
Don’t blame Roberts. This is a veteran team, with playoff experience. They KNOW what to do
Fly in Gibson to Arizona! I’d rather have him hit thuan Mookie! Plaschke spot on again!
This is going to be a fantastic story to tell when we come back from an 0-2 hole and beat AZ.
We will feel right at home at Dodger stadium East. We win game 3 and momentum shifts to us for game 4. Win game 4 than back to Dodger stadium in an anything can happen game 5.
Keep the faith we are winning this series.
Was it over when Germans Bombed Pearl Harbor??? Was it over at Globe Life Field when we were down 3-1 to mighty ATL???
Just a thought. Wonder how much Clayton getting rudely jerked out of very near perfect game in Minnesota got into his head? As a fan and attendee at Dodger games since 1969, I found it fundamentally un-American, insulting to the fans. The fans and Clayton deserved that moment. Oh yes………Clayton will tell ya it was “ok” by him. At only 80 pitches and six more outs?! Yeah right. Another demoralization wrought by the “Metric Nerds” and their minion “yes man,” Dave Roberts. I fully believe we would have seen history made that day. Clayton deserved the opportunity, and in my schooling on leadership, should have rebelliously walked back out there to mound in eighth. “You ain’t takin my moment from me.” The fans and Clayton deserved it.
Just a thought. Wonder how much Clayton getting rudely jerked out of very near perfect game in Minnesota got into his head? As a fan and attendee at Dodger games since 1969, I found it fundamentally un-American, insulting to the fans. The fans and Clayton deserved that moment. Oh yes………Clayton will tell ya it was “ok” by him. At only 80 pitches? Yeah right. Another demoralization wrought by the “Metric Nerds” and their minion “yes man,” Dave Roberts. I fully believe we would have seen history made that day. Clayton deserved the opportunity, and in my schooling on leadership, should have rebelliously walked back out there to mound in eighth. “You ain’t takin my moment from me.” The fans and Clayton deserved it.