Last week, I said that unless Clayton could recover 3-5 MPH on his fastball, he could not be more than an “opener” and that we could not count on him to help carry the team. Well, last night he recovered at least 1 MPH on his fastball. His fastest pitch was 89.7 MPH. This leads me to believe that he could gain another 1-2 MPH in the next ten days. Now, I admit that assumption is not based upon any inside information. We don’t know what is wrong with Clayton’s shoulder… or even if the shoulder is the only problem.
All I am basing that assumption on is the fact that his velocity has trended up, even if it was just one MPH! That is the right direction. Clayton pitches best when he can hit 93 with the fastball and throw the slider at 86 or 87 MPH. That makes the slider deadly. Throw in “Public Enemy Number One,” and you might still have an Ace. I am not naive enough to believe that he can get back to 93 MPH this season, but 91 is POSSIBLE! If he can hit 91 with the fastball and 85 with the slider, that is good enough if he has his control, and he did last night.
Clayton “Freaking” Kershaw is 13-4 this season with a 2.42 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP! I think he will get some Cy Young votes, and he is doing it with his shoulder and elbow dangling by a couple of tendons and ligaments. He has always pitched well against the Giants, and he continued to do so last night. It’s appropriate that he passed Don Drysdale last night. He now has 210 wins, and if he decides to have surgery and rebuild his shoulder and arm, he could pass Don Sutton and have at least 234 wins for the Dodgers Top Spot! That would mean missing the 2024 season and coming back at 37 to pitch in 2025.
Does he want to do that? I have no clue! It appears they have the back issue under control, but Clayton will have to decide this in the off-season. He truly can’t allow himself to think about it now. He has to “Bloom where he is Planted!” That means he has to pitch with whatever is wrong and figure out how to circumvent it. He still has to regain some speed if he wants to be effective in the playoffs.
Wouldn’t it be something if he was “lights out” in the playoffs in his diminished state? If anyone can do it, he can. After 2,700 innings and 210 wins, who else has ever had a career ERA of 2.48 and a WHIP of 1.00? Absolutely no freaking body! Some say they want Koufax for game seven of the World Series, but no one has been better… longer than Clayton “Freaking” Kershaw! If there’s a way, he will do it because he has the will!
- Michael Grove belongs in the bullpen.
- This bullpen ain’t no BULL!
- I believe in this team! Most importantly, THEY BELIEVE!
- I would love to see Lance Lynn go six shutout innings today.
- JDM and Freddie are two and four RBIs (respectively) away from 100 – that would give the Dodgers four 100 RBI hitters.
- It would be awesome if Freddie could hit four more HRs and three more doubles so that he could become the first player with 30 HR and 60 doubles. Three more stolen bases and he will have 25.
- James Outman needs to get hot before the playoffs.
- It looks like Yency Almonte is out at least until the NLCS… and then… why?
Down on the Farm
The OKC Dodgers lost to the Isotopes again, 6-4, as Vargas was 0-5 and Busch was 1-2 with 3 BB. Ryan Ward (who will likely be lost in Rule 5) hit his 21st HR. Ricky Vanasco (watch him) pitched an inning and struck out two. He has pitched across three levels this year. The Dodgers traded Luis Valdez to Texas for Vanasco. He has a fastball that tops out at 97 MPH with extreme ride. He has a curve and a changeup that are marginal, and it looks like they are working on teaching him a slider. He had TJ in 2020, so I would look for them to put him on the roster after the season.
Discussion (23)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Weather in Denver Tues through Thurs. Mid to high 80’s, no rain in the forecast.
Smith is sinking like a stone. Can he recover for playoffs? I think Barnes is outhitting him in September!
Aah….
Always gratifying to beat the Giants.
And Chris Taylor, perhaps a surprise starter, delivered the game-winner.
Peralta usually starts, and Taylor sits, against a northpaw. But Peralta’s been struggling lately, and Taylor has swung the bat well, so Roberts’ lineup card was a bit unusual.
Not only did Taylor start instead of Peralta, but for the second straight game Outman was moved toward the middle of the lineup, this time in the sixth spot, right behind JDM. Usually Roberts would place Peralta there. The move paid off when Outman hit his 22nd HR.
The “optionality” that Roberts loves also factored into this game.
After Peralta pinch hit for Rojas, Taylor moved to SS and Peralta took over in LF.
I used to prefer to have players fixed at certain positions, with perhaps only a single platoon in a lineup. But Roberts is leveraging the flexibility of a squad that has five players play SS: Rojas, Betts, Rosario, Kike and Taylor. And Wong could play SS too.
In so many ways, these Dodgers are better than the Dodgers who won 111 games.
I guess it’s a positive when Lance Lynn only gives up one HR, so there was that too. And the bullpen delivered four more shutout innings. Nice.
And the defense was pretty terrific.
Will Mookie get the gold glove for UT player? If not, why not?
JUST got home from the game. STILL feels weird to see Joc in Giants uniform. He’s put on some weight too. Oh well.
When Lynn gave up the HR I wondered how soon before he gave up another. Very glad he didn’t though he had enough time to.
GO DODGERS!
CT3!
Here we go…
Hernandez pinchhitting for Outman. Big lol Doc.
Phil, in addition to the losses of May, Gonsolin and “Dumbass,” don’t forget the loss of Dumbass #2, Trevor Bauer, a former Cy Young award winner!
Lance Lynn can be relied on to give up a HR (or more) in every game.
Braves sweating now with Morton to 15 day IL.
Fried’s already on it.
Wright’s not the same after layoff.
This may be an all-time down n dirty playoffs. Bring it!
* Great to see CK go 5 strong on only 2 hits. Some may freak out that he tops out at 88-89, but I watched Jaime Moyer get guys out for years and he couldn’t break an egg. I would like to see Kersh throw that change up more, especially when he’s struggling to land the curveball.
* Thank you Mike Esterbrook who has a strike zone as big as the great outdoors. CK deserves a HOF strike zone ever now and again.
*It’s been such and interesting season. On one hand it’s easy to think what could have been for this team had May, Gonsolin and Dumb Ass had their expected years in the starting rotation. But I’m not one to labor over what might have been.
* This is my favorite Dodger team ever. we got so see plenty of opportunities for the rookies to show their stuff, in this transitional year. What nice find in Outman, Miller, Pepiot, Sheehan, Grove and even Stone to some extent. We know way more now about the Future Dodgers then we did 6 months ago. We may win 100 games when I predicted 85 to 90. Freddie and Mookie each have a case for the MVP. And Doc should be Manager of the Year for what he’s done.
* Regardless of what happens in the post season, this was a super enjoyable ride and a team I won’t ever forget.
It’s nearly impossible to compare eras. I don’t believe there would be piles of no hitters today if they raised the mound. Batters would adjust. The hitting approach from batters was very different when Sandy played. The number of strikeouts per year has doubled since the 1960s. That’s in part to the increase in average fastball velocity but also due in part to players simply not caring as much about striking out. If the mound was to be raised again I would think that batters would make big adjustments. If Bazooka had those extra inches on the mound batters would have to sacrifice hard contact for just contact. Home runs would go down but so would strikeouts. And players like Muncy and Schwarber would probably not be in the league. The 3 outcome approach would be no more. They’d be replaced with smaller, quicker batters who could catch up to the increased velocity. More contact hitters would be playing. We’d go back to the days when shortstops were a super quick defensive first player who didn’t have any power but made frequent contact. Like SSs were for much of history of the game. Alfredo Griffin might be back!
For me it’s somewhat pointless to speculate about how players would perform in different eras. I’ve heard 1000x that Babe Ruth would be terrible in todays game. I would agree if one took a Time Machine and brought back THAT Babe from the past and stuck him in the 4 spot. But had Ruth been born 25 years ago, he would have had the same top notch conditioning, nutrition and coaching that modern MLB players have benefited from. He wouldn’t have been washing down his T-bone steak every night with half a dozen beers. His only workout equipment wouldn’t be a medicine ball and a couple dumbbells. He’d have an additional 30lbs of lean muscle mass and likely would have no issue catching up to a 98 mph heater.
Same with Koufax. Had he pitched in this era he would have had the Benefit of modern medicine, surgical techniques and a team mentality that didn’t have him throwing 120+ pitches per night. Even something as simple as ibuprofen could have made a huge difference. Sandy played in incredible pain his last two years. And yet his team had him throw 54 complete games in those two years. That’s laughably negligent by todays standards. He might have pitched 5 or 6 more years had he played in the same timeframe as Kersh. Who knows?
Different eras, different circumstances. Both Kersh and Sandy put up some numbers that are unparalleled in the game. Kersh’s career ERA isn’t the best of all time. But if you look at the career leaders in ERA for starting pitchers, he’s the only one where there exists a color photo from the players playing days. The next is Jacob Degrom, 6 or 7 places behind. The other surefire HOF pitchers that are near the end of their career today have career ERAs nearly at least 1/2 run to 1 full run higher than Kersh. It’s not even close. DeGrom is the closest s, but injuries have left his HOF chances diminished
I’m not sure who the greatest Dodger pitcher was. But it’s either Kersh or Sandy. You could make damn good arguments for both. I’m just glad I’ve had the pleasure of watching Kersh his entire career.
7:10 PM ET ESPN GAME
Giants (77-78)
Dodgers (95-59)
SP Alex Wood L
5-5 4.60 ERA PRIM
SP Lance Lynn R
12-11 5.92 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
2B Mookie Betts R
1B F. Freeman L
C Will Smith R
3B Max Muncy L
DH J. Martinez R
CF James Outman L
LF Chris Taylor R
RF J. Heyward L
SS Miguel Rojas R
77° Wind 11 mph Out
Remember Sandy did not pitch in the minors before coming to the Dodgers. As a “Bonus Baby” he had to be kept on the ML roster. He had to develop in the majors. His overall numbers are lower because of this. Once he had figured it out, he was in a class with very few members.
Hell Assrod cheated! Look what it got him . Millions of dollars doing pregame shows. Something rotten in Denmark! Praying Cora gets fired. The Tigers won’t fire Hinch, he’s a baseball genius! They issued rubber maid cans in Detroit!
Mark how much difference does the lower mound effect Kershaw versus Koufax? I’m glad I’m at the age that I was able to watch both pitch though I was 9 when Koufax retired.
Grove was impressive in the pen. I agree, keep him there, please.
Outman has not been hot for quite some time. It seems like the most he does is one hit in a game. (Often, that one hit is a HR.). Very rarely do I see 2 or more hits in a game. I’m thinking his final numbers may be the following:
230 BA
22 HR
65 RBI
.760 OPS
That is actually not bad for a rookie. He should improve next year, but I don’t think he will do much in the playoffs against very good pitchers. No fluff to kick around in the playoffs.
Great performance by Kershaw!
We are so lucky to get to watch him perform for the Dodgers.
Amazing that his ERA is actually lower since he returned from the layoff at 2.03, even though he is clearly impaired.
His 2023 overall era of 2.42 is the second best in the MLB, slightly behind Blake Snell. Even though pitching while injured, Kershaw is still one of the top pitchers in baseball.
In the playoffs, the Dodgers likely approach will be to get 4-5 innings from the starter and turn the game over to the bullpen for the rest of the game. If Clayton can go 4 or 5 innings, that is all they can expect in the playoffs. The bullpen has enough solid pitchers to close out games after the 4th inning with Phillips, Graterol, Miller, Brasier, Yarbrough, Ferguson, Kelly, Grove and Sheehan. The offense is very productive and one of the best in Dodger history. While the Braves are the current favorite to win the WS at 2.5:1, the Dodgers at 4:1 are right there as the clear second choice. If both the Braves and Dodgers advance to the NLCS, it will be an epic showdown. It has been a fantastic regular season, and hopefully the playoffs will be even better.
If my life depended on it I would go with Sandy in a do or die game.
I take peak Sandy over peak Clayton.
Sandys stuff and demeanor on the mound are superior. He had something about him that struck fear into the opposing hitters.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sandy game 7? Probably, but how could you go wrong with tClayton? Now I’m not going to compare eras , but in my opinion batters today are bigger and stronger than ever. I believe either could pitch when the other guy did and be great! Clayton would have had a lot more complete games then and Sandy a lot less now. That’s just how it was and is. Sandy is the greatest left handed pitcher ever! Clayton is Sandy without the complete games . 1A and 1B. I would not be disappointed with either! My son told me this morning that my grandson sleeps with Clayton’s card on his pillow. I told not to bend it, it will be priceless someday!
Isn’t it great that we have two pitchers who are far and away the greatest in Dodger history. Clayton has for quite awhile been the dominant star of the staff. Sandy’s last five years are without question the greatest run ever. Different era and different rules of engagement make trying to bestow a #1 status difficult. Today if a pitcher goes 200 innings its a big deal. Koufax used to throw 300 plus. I am very glad that both wear Dodger blue. I will say without reservation that I would have Sandy pitch game seven. Not even close.
It’s time for Dodger championships…………
I don’t often give Bill Plaschke any props, but he nailed his piece on Clayton Kershaw today:
https://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/story/2023-09-24/clayton-kershaw-dodgers-career
“Many fans think Koufax’ 0.95 in four series makes him the greatest Dodger pitcher of all time, especially since Kershaw’s postseason ERA is 4.22 in 21 series. You won’t win that argument here. Kershaw is the greatest Dodger pitcher because he has mowed down more hitters much longer than anyone else.”
Just curious, but you keep talking about Clayton’s elbow, but LA beat writers talk only about the shoulder and back. That is also what Kershaw describes when asked about his injury. Roberts doesn’t talk about the elbow, mostly focuses on his recovery from the balky shoulder.
Do you have some incite about the elbow or is this just an assumption?