Put the Blame Where it Belongs

People can be tricked into believing something. That does not make them stupid. What makes them stupid is if they keep believing what they were tricked about… and they let someone trick them repeatedly. Sometimes, when something good or bad happens, I have to process it, and it is instinctual for me to condense it into its simplest form. I read what others say, but I usually come up with my own explanation. History is best understood after the fact. Just 15 days ago, the Arizona Diamondbacks completed the sweep of the Dodgers in the NLDS. Just five days before that clinching game, the D-Backs beat Clayton Kershaw like a rented mule. They absolutely destroyed him.

Fans have heaped blame on Andrew Friedman and Dave Roberts and have even blamed Roberts for daring to start Clayton Kershaw because he was injured. By the way, That narrative is total fiction! Here’s why: In Clayton’s last start of the season against the Giants, he went 5.1 innings, allowed five hits and 2 ER while striking out five en route to winning his 13th game. In his start before that, he went five innings and allowed two hits and 0 runs while also striking out 5.

Go back to his previous start against the Mariners, and he went four shutout innings, allowed two hits, and also struck out 4. On September 5th against Miami, Clayton went five innings and allowed five hits and 3 ER. Finally, on August 29th, he faced Arizona and pitched five innings. He allowed 3 Hits and 1 ER to go with five strikeouts.

In the NLDS against the Diamondbacks, his velocity was up a couple of MPH, yet he got hammered. Fans want to say that “he was injured – he should not have pitched.” Are you freaking kidding me? How is it that he was dominant (albeit for 4 or 5 innings) in his previous five starts? How was it that his August ERA was 2.10 and his September ERA was 2.33, and then in the NLDS, on six days of rest, his ERA was 162.00? I’ll tell you why: It’s what Clayton Kershaw does – He’s the best pitcher of this generation… except in the playoffs where he sucks!

I used to make excuses for him, but I have come to grips with the fact that he is part of the Dodgers’ playoff problems. Yes, Doc should not have started him in the playoffs… not because he was injured, but because you can never count on him. He is a Hall-of-Fame Pitcher during the regular season. His ERA is one of the career lowest ever at 2.48. His WHIP is an insane 1.00. He is Superman during the regular season, but come playoff time, he is Clark Kent with a 4.49 ERA. During the regular season, he averages 0.7 HR per 9 IP, but during the playoffs, it is 1.4 HR per 9 IP. Thems the facts, and the facts are ugly!

This is not a small sampling – he’s 7th in Playoff Innings Pitched and has the worst ERA by far of any of the other top pitchers in playoff history. Hopefully, this was his last season. I am weary of all the excuses. He is the face of the Dodgers and has always choked in the playoffs… well, almost always. Mookie and Freddie are also the face of the Dodgers, and they also did ZIP!

Clayton Kershaw was my favorite Dodger, so it hurts to say this about him. He is a high-character person who is among the best people who have ever walked this earth. He is one great human being! There is one thing that Dave Roberts has always been able to count on since he was hired to manage the Dodgers, and that is “you cannot count on Clatyton Kershaw in the playoffs.” Oh, he has had some good games, but the guy who has been the leader of the team is more likely to lay an egg in a game than pitch a shutout. Clayton Kershaw has simply not been good in the playoffs, and now the team’s other two superstars – Mookie and Freddie- have joined him. This is the constant that Dave Roberts has had to deal with.

They say that Bruce Bochy “pushes all the right buttons.” I call bullshit! Look at these playoff stats:

• Seager – 1.127 OPS
• Garcia – 1.102 OPS
• Carter – .987 OPS
• Jung – .920 OPS
• Garver – .897 OPS

Did Bochy press the “hit button?” Now compare that to the Dodgers in the postseason:

• Smith – 1.084 OPS
• Martinez -.833 OPS
• Hernandez – .750 OPS
• Rojas – .666 OPS
• Peralta – .500 OPS

Mookie Betts had a .083 OPS, and Freddie Freeman had a .350 OPS. Roberts gets blamed for the Dodgers losing, and Bochy gets credit for the Rangers winning. Both narratives are dead wrong! Why do some fans insist on blaming the president of baseball operations and the manager when, clearly, the superstar players they put on the field were at fault? I call it like it is. The Dodger players have to get it done, and they have not done it in the playoffs. Get rid of the main culprit (Clayton Kershaw), and you might see a different outcome. Get rid of the leader of the pack of losers! These failures go way back and are legendary.

In 2019, Roberts tried to do what Bochy did with MadBum and brought his Ace in to face two hitters for the Nats. I had no problem with that. Your Ace has to handle that. Clayton, instead, coughed up two home runs, and the Dodgers had their hearts cut out again. Clayton has pitched huge, pressure-packed games during the regular season. He has stopped losing streaks and did some amazing things. But he can’t consistently win in the playoffs.

Of course, many of you have blinders on about this. Some of you won’t blame the great Clayton, and some of you have a deep, dark, unexplained hatred of Roberts and Friedman, so I am sure you won’t be confused by the facts as your minds are already made up.

The Dodgers need a new direction away from their former Ace. I hope he either retires or plays in Texas next year. Over his career, he has consistently been the best Dodger pitcher ever. The stats bear that out. But in the playoffs, his 4.49 ERA pales to the 0.97 ERA of the best playoff pitcher the Dodgers ever had – Sandy Koufax. When you describe his playoff accomplishments, there are no “buts” or excuses! He just got it done, and he pitched his last season, injured, and in great pain, so don’t make excuses for Clayton.

P.S. I look forward to the Statue of Clayton Kershaw at Dodgers Stadium someday.

AFL Notes

• Last night, Ben Casparius went three shutout innings, allowing one hit and struck out three while walking two.
• Ronan Kopp pitched a perfect 9th inning and struck out two.
• On Wednesday, Kendall Williams went three scoreless innings and allowed one hit and one walk while striking out 6. Sublette finished with 1.2 innings, one Hit, and three Ks.
• The pitchers are progressing nicely.