I happen to think he can… However, the league will not sustain it. If anyone can pull this off, it is Clayton Kershaw! But the league is always lookiung for a chink in the armor or an advantage. First of all, what can he continue to do? He can keep pitching well and getting outs, but sooner or later, with a fastball between 87 and 89 MPH (He did throw two 90 MPH fastballs to Farmer) and a slider between 84 and 87 MPH, the league is going to figure it out (I think). Look, I’m a big Clayton Kershaw fan, but I don’t think the way he’s pitching is sustainable – and I hope I’m wrong.
But, damn, did he look good today… and in Colorado to boot! He is now 4-0 with a 3.03 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. This is a great story, and I wish he could keep it up. He is three strikeouts from 3,000, which he should get in his next start, but with his diminished velocity, he has no margin for error. If he can put the ball exactly where he wants every time, he will be nails… but he can’t – He’s human! I will root for myself to be wrong and root for Clayton to win every game. We shall see.
Dodger News & Notes
- The Rumor Mill is saying that Walker Buehler might come back to LA in a trade. I’ll believe it when I see it. The Dodgers already have too many starters!
- Wednesday, Elijah Hainline was playing 2B, 3B, and SS for Rancho Cucamonga, and last night he was playing SS for OKC. He’s 22 years old and was signed by the Dodgers about eleven months ago. WOW! He did get a hit!
- Noah Miller (switch hitter) is much improved this season and is hitting .291 at Tulsa. He’s about the only position player there doing OK.
- Eduardo Quintero is tearing it up at RC (.329 BA/.439 OB%, 1.027 OPS)
Discussion (18)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Dodgers don’t need a starter… and yet another rumor has them “wanting” Alcantara.
If that’s true, perhaps Prior thinks he can get Alcantara back into Cy form.
We’re just past mid-season now, and the Dodgers again have the best record in the majors, on pace for about 102 wins.
And yet there’s this nagging feeling that the team should be even better….
–When will Mookie start hitting like Mookie?
–When will Shohei get fully stretched?
–When will Snell and Glasnow come back?
–Will AF swing a deal or make some other move to perfect the lineup?
It’s good to root for the Dodgers.
dustin is painful to watch. eating innings is one thing. 2 feet off the plate is another. bloopers every where for KC tonight. But a magnificent stretch by freddie saves the day!
Kike (.200) and Freddie (.300) Approaching these targets going in wrong direction
He needs to fuck off. If several years haven’t helped, let alone two weeks. Rather than watching the same thing over and over again, I’d rather see Casparius take that turn on the mound.
Dustin seems to be worse each game. he needs a week or 2 off to get his act together
I swear that after Muncy’s HR I thought about saying not to get excited because the Royals will come up with 3 runs, but I didn’t want to upset anyone, I only said it here at home, where by the way I did upset someone!
But still, the Dodgers will win this game!
Teoscar being lazy cost them two runs. Inexcusable. Always on the outfielders I coach about going back hard and not drifting. It won’t go in the scorebook that way but two of those runs should be unearned.
And again…. Another typical May game!
Glasnow starting for AAA Oklahoma City tonight.
So Roberts has said Kim has earned more playing time, yet once again today he is not in the lineup. May as well send him to AAA so he can continue to develop. But hey, what do I know.
8:10 PM ET
Dodgers (51-31)
Royals (38-43)
SP Dustin May R
4-5 4.46 ERA
SP Noah Cameron L
2-3 2.08 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
DH S. Ohtani L
SS Mookie Betts R
RF T. Hernandez R
1B F. Freeman L
C Will Smith R
CF Andy Pages R
2B Tommy Edman S
3B Max Muncy L
LF E. Hernandez R
86° Wind 7 mph Out
Jamie Moyer pitched until he was 49 with stuff much slower than what Kersh is dealing. He was a starting pitcher in 639 of his 696 appearances. He won 269 games. I do not think Kersh plans on pitching that long. But Moyer won 16 games when he was 45. Kersh can continue to fool hitters who are coming up there used to facing guys throwing 95 plus. It is location, not velocity that induces swings and misses. He has become a pitcher, not just a thrower.
Seems like a Sirota promotion to AA should be coming so they can promote Quintero
any updates on snell and glasnow? haven’t seen any lately. …. No matter what happens with Clayton, he’ll always be my favorite dodger! the magnitude of his smile yesterday says it all! he’s not simply hanging on, he’s showing the other pitchers what a true baseball player is all about. Dustin May should be taking notes! He may not be a 1,2,or even #3 in the playoffs. BUT, he’s #1 in heart. #1 in determination. #1 in integrity. And he’s the ultimate winner! Case closed! …… Pages looked like he might be over swinging a bit yesterday. Let’s hope he doesn’t start swinging for the fences every at bat………Time for May to take the next step as a complete pitcher. i know he’s coming off nearly 2 years of being inactive, but with his stuff he needs to make more competitive pitches. Missing 2 feet off the plate is not being competitive. it’s there. just pitch and quit the screaming and staring at the sky after a homer or a base on balls! Pitch!……. Yamamoto looked very good tuesday! hopefully it carries over to his next start………. And finally. Congratulations to Max and Andy for making thecut for the all star team. Max proved 98% of us wrong. Andy? what a great season so far! i can’t say he’s been a suprise, because he was a highly rated prospect. But with a little monitoring from Teo and some hard work, he’s living up to his potential! … Freddie is due for a breakthrough. No better time than today! “i pity the fool “ who doubts FREDDIE FREEMAN!…… Mookie is slowly getting back to being Mookie! ……. Just think. if all 9 started hitting together! Now that’s scary as hell for the rest of baseball!! …. Padres and Giants better get going. the taillights are starting to dim!
To the Kershaw question, I’d say no, he won’t sustain, but I play odds —- just like I don’t think the LAD will repeat ; it’s just an odds thing and it’s really friggin’ hard to go back-to-back. The Blue Crew could vacation until Labor Day and still will get 90+ wins and make the playoffs, but the target on their back and the fact that it’s REALLY difficult to repeat may be too much to overcome, along with the crapshoot nature of the end of season tourney.
Back to Kershaw: the speed disparity between his fastball and off-speed stuff just isn’t great enough. Wouldn’t mind being wrong here, but good hitting teams should come up with a plan and get to Kershaw with his depleted arsenal. But damn, that slider…it’s too bad he can’t get the heater up a few ticks, it’d make that slider even more lethal.
Shoutout to Freddie Freeman, man…I’m talking about the game 2 at-bat before the Muncy slam. Freeman’s fighting it right now, got behind in the count and battled by fouling off and taking a few before earning the walk. When Muncy is right, and it appears he’s leaning that way, there are few batters in the league a manager would want in the box with the bases jammed; at worst, he shows a keen eye and may work a BB. Muncy didn’t work the count this time as you’d expect, but when he’s on and making contact, he forces the pitcher to make a pitch and throw a strike. Down 0-2, the Rockies hurler hung that breaking pitch and Muncy didn’t miss. Get it in the air in Denver and it has a chance….good at bat by the oft-beleaguered Dodger third baseman, and kudos to Freeman for making it possible….
-Shoutouts to Dustin May; preemptive shoutout because he needs to be ready against a team that just scored ONE run in a three-game HOME sweep at the hands of the Rays; back to back shutouts the last two. KCR will be swinging the bats, guarantee that— that team has to be chomping at the bit right about now…
-shoutout to the Oklahoma City Thunder, champs at last…a letdown of a game 7 but it took care of business. Pacers fought but too much to overcome; get well soon, Halliburton…
-and last one to CHC/STL; good to see a time-honored rivalry get heated as we head into the summer….
Later, homes……
Yes Kersh can. In 22 and 23 his fastball was at an average about 90 and his era’s were 2:46 and 2.28. He still has 2 of the greatest pitches in baseball history in his curve and slider. And his change up has been effective against righties. Yes the key is command of his fastball. He can’t get away with mid-mid and mid-in any more but when healthy he’s still a stud regular season starter. If he continues producing I think you have to give him a spot in October. I’d love to see him and Ohtani piggy back in a game. Kersh for 5-6 and then Ohtani 3-4. The contrast would be tough on hitters.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts confirmed Thursday that Ohtani will start as a pitcher Saturday in Kansas City, Sonja Chen of MLB.com reports.
“This will be Ohtani’s third start of the campaign and follows his one-inning outing against Washington on Sunday. The two-way superstar has finished exactly one frame in each of his two starts so far, and it’s not yet clear if he will be allowed to pitch beyond that Saturday against the Royals. Ohtani has served as Los Angeles’ DH and batted leadoff in both games he’s pitched in so far, so his scheduled appearance on the mound shouldn’t impact his presence in the lineup as a hitter”.
Don’t want Buehler! He is NOT the pitcher he once was. AF will NEVER make a deal for him in trading prospects or taking on his salary. Move on!!!