The End of the Line
It was a great run! Clayton Kershaw will finish his age 35 (and last) season as a lifetime Dodger with a 12-4 record and a 2.61 ERA. I saw him in 2006 and every year since he hit the Majors in 2008. In his sixteen-year MLB career, he went 209-91 with a 2.48 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP…
It was a great run! Clayton Kershaw will finish his age 35 (and last) season as a lifetime Dodger with a 12-4 record and a 2.61 ERA. I saw him in 2006 and every year since he hit the Majors in 2008. In his sixteen-year MLB career, he went 209-91 with a 2.48 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. Nobody did it better, and he is the LA Dodgers (probably the Brooklyn Dodgers) G.O.A.T. You Koufax lovers have no argument!
All good things have to come to an end, and this is the end. Clayton has probably needed Tommy John for a few years, but his shoulder has effectively ended his career. He knows how to pitch, and he struggled through five innings last night, but you can see the look in his eye. He is resigned. He is at peace with it. Clayton is done! He never had a pitch that hit 90 MPH last night! But, what a ride!
That picture with Clayton and my son (Stephen) was taken in 2009 when he was 10 years old. Clayton was at Wrigley Field, and as you can see, I was standing on the field taking this picture. Clayton had just run to LF to get a ball and then ran to the dugout to get a pen to sign the ball. I still have the ball, but plan to give it to Stephen today. It is his, as he is now 24 years old.
Clayton is done, but one door closes, and another door opens. What the hell are the Dodgers going to do? NEXT MAN UP! I loved everything about Clayton’s career, but now it is time for new blood. The Dodgers were flat last night – they knew it was “Clayton Kershaw’s Swan Song.” You never know when it is “officially over,” but last night feels like that for Clayton. Now it is “Next Man Up.”
The Dodgers have plenty of internal options. We have talked about them: Sheehan, Grove, Stone, et al. If the playoffs started today, this would be the rotation: Bobby Miller, Lance Lynn, Ryan Pepiot, and whoever else steps up. I am good with that. We all come to the end of the line.
At 70 years old, I am still useful, but I know that my time is near. My son has taken over the day-to-day operations of US Water Systems, although I now have a home office and work 40-50 hours a week. Someday, I will be irrelevant (and I understand that). However, it is not today. My stepdaughter, who is our Marketing Coordinator, was tasked with writing bios for every key person in the company. I have never tried to be her dad because she has a great dad, but our relationship has been “tenuous.” This is the bio she wrote for me:
“Meet Mark, the esteemed Master Water Specialist, recognized by the Water Quality Association as the most experienced individual in the field. With nearly 50 years of hands-on experience, Mark possesses unrivaled expertise in all things related to water. Mark’s vision for US Water Systems materialized during the early 2000s, a time when the internet was still unexplored territory. Today, his visionary leadership continues to drive our team, inspiring us to constantly strive for excellence. Guided by unwavering integrity and fearless determination, Mark sets the standard for our organization.“
When I read it, it made me cry.
Last week, my son was talking to an attorney, and I happened to overhear a conversation where he responded, “My dad is a junkyard dog. You will never beat him until he is dead. Are you prepared for that?”
Like Clayton, I am past my prime. My legacy just might be “He was a Junkyard Dog!” So was Clayton! He was the Dodgers G.O.A.T. But he was a lot more than a Junkyard Dog.
He was Clayton Freaking Kershaw!
UPDATE:
Vargas, Barbary, and bench coach Chris Gutierrez were all ejected. Gutierrez was ejected in the 6th inning, arguing a balk. The OKC Dodgers were shut out for the first time in 2023. JDM was 0-4.
At Rancho Cucamonga, the Quakes were rocking. Kendall George was 2-4 with a walk, 2 RBI, and a run scored {.387 BA/.938 OPS). Thayron Liranzo was 1-2 (a 2-run HR – his 23rd) to go with 3 BB. He also scored 4 times. Jake Gelof was 3-5 with a grand slam and Christian Romero went to 8-2 with 5 shutout (2-hi) innings. He walked 0 and struck out 6.
At Great Lakes, Dalton Rushing hit his 14th and Damon Keith hit his 11th to account for both runs in a 2-1 win. Peter Huebeck got the win (5 IP. 1 ER) while Jared Karros pitched 4 shutout innings (1 hit).
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Discussion (87)
Disagree, not disagreeable
The Sky is not falling.
There is no doom and gloom.
There is reality, and that reality is that Clayton threw 84 pitches with great effort last night. He hit 89 MPH twice. His fastball sat at 84-88 MPH most of the time. His slider is 84-85 MPH. His velocity is down from 92-93 to 88-87. That’s 5 MPH since the beginning of the season. There is not enough differentiation between his fastball and slider.
He can still drop the Hammer Curve Ball, but unless he can find some lost velocity, he is done. He might be able to wile out 2 or 3 innings, but that is it. The problem is that when you throw with “great effort” you also lose accuracy. It is wishful thinking to think he can pitch effectively at this velocity.
A bit off topic Mark. A while back you shared a video involving the development of a mobile purifying water system. What was the outcome?
Sadly, I think Mark is right about CK.
The drop in velo over the last couple starts is alarming to say the least. Never reached 90 all nigh long. A few weeks ago he revved it up to even 93 on occasion.
I think he will gut this out as long as he can and retire after the season is over.
Koufax and Kershaw. Double K. The best there ever was. Clayton the better regular season option but I would chose Sandy every day in a do or die game.
For me Sandy is 1A and Clayton 1B.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
After a hot streak and great team wins we are struggling. Losing 4 of the last 5 with the starting pitching taking blows is not what we hoped to see. The Braves took us to the woodshed. And Urias being a dumb-ass adds to the distractions.
But this team’s core hasn’t changed. This is a confident, resilient club and if any team can regroup from all the adversity, it’s this team. There are always peaks and valleys but this team has had more peaks than I certainly predicted. I said we’d win 85 to 90 games coming out of spring training, which seems like a lifetime ago. I never saw the success coming, that we’ve had. Doc should be skipper of the year. This team has great synergy and gamers that I think will get hot again entering the playoffs.
I think Urias’ subtraction could actually be a blessing for AF and Doc. He was fat and flat. He’s been ineffective and a problem in the making come playoff time. Can anybody say they have any confidence in him facing the Braves, Phillies or any playoff team, for that matter? I don’t. So he has taken the burden off from making hard decisions about his role. I’ll take our young guys especially Miller and Pepiot now and be happy about it. It’s great opportunity and this team knows the bats have to get going to support these kids.
Our LHRPs are not good. Vesia, V-Gon, and now Yarborough don’t inspire much confidence. And Fergie is a word from Yogi is “you-never-know”. Maybe Kershaw should move to the bullpen to be more effective for his 2 or 3 possible innings.
It’s going to be interesting with plenty of adversity to overcome. I kinda like the challenge. Nobody said this was going to be easy but I’m not yet ready just yet to piss on the campfire and call in the dogs.
Just wondering why my comments do not get posted.
Kersh is one of the greatest competitors I’ve ever had the pleasure to watch. My son and I watched every pitch of his no hitter. He had no hit stuff at several points this season. But he’s always found a way to be a stellar pitcher even when his stuff was flat. You could see on his face that he was digging deep yesterday to do that again.
But I agree with Mark, in that he looked very tired and very frustrated. But he wasn’t going to give up. And I don’t think he will this season. He will keep pitching until his arm falls off or his doctors insist. But Kersh has earned the right to choose his own path.
If he does need TJ or shoulder surgery, I agree that he will retire. Having major surgery at 20 isn’t the same as having major surgery in your mid 30s.
I had an interesting conversation 7 or 8 years ago with a retired NFL running back. I won’t mention his name as he was well known and was named to several pro bowls. By pure coincidence he married my friend’s cousin. We met at holiday BBQ. He retired at 29. Walking away from a good amount remaining in the guaranteed portion of his contract. Somebody in our group brought that up. He was pretty clear in his response. He said something to the effect that he may have been 29, but his body felt like he was 59. And the surgery his Drs recommended would be major joint reconstruction and would require a year of painful rehab and constant conditioning training if he was to attempt a return. And there was zero guarantee he could return as the player he once was. On the flip side, if he never played again he wouldn’t need any surgery at all and the injury wouldn’t cause him problems in his day to day life. In fact, he was told that the surgery could potentially cause more problems for him later in life than doing nothing at all. But if he wanted to play football, he needed to fix the problem. He chose to retire. Walking away from a lot of money. But he already had a lot of money and he said he knew it was time to hang ‘em up and be a father.
I’m not sure Kersh is there. But I do think he’s close. But he will do everything he can to help the Dodgers this season as long as his arm is still attached to his body. That I am certain. I’d just hope we somehow get one last time to see Kersh lift that trophy. We did win in 88 with the help of our star player who could barely walk. You never know.
6:40 PM ET
Dodgers (84-53)
Marlins (71-67)
SP Lance Lynn R
10-10 5.81 ERA
SP Bryan Hoeing R
2-2 3.95 ERA PRIM
Confirmed Lineup
2B Mookie Betts R
1B F. Freeman L
C Will Smith R
3B Max Muncy L
LF D. Peralta L
RF J. Heyward L
CF James Outman L
SS Miguel Rojas R
DH Kolten Wong L
In Domed Stadium
Triple-A: J.D. Martinez joined Oklahoma City on a rehab assignment in Sugar Land. Tuesday was his first game for Oklahoma City in almost exactly 11 years. A 24-year-old Martinez hit .233/.263/.300 with six doubles in 23 games in Triple-A as an Astros minor leaguer in 2012, with his last game for OKC on September 3 that season.
Martinez was hitless in four at-bats against Sugar Land. He had two hard-hit balls, though the hardest (101.7 mph) was a groundout in the ninth inning.
Tuesday scores
Sugar Land 6, Oklahoma City 0
Springfield 9, Tulsa 1
Great Lakes 2, West Michigan 1
Rancho Cucamonga 11, Visalia 0
Wednesday schedule
3:35 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Justin Wrobleski) at West Michigan (Dylan Smith)
4:35 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Robbie Erlin) at Sugar Land (Ronel Blanco)
4:35 p.m.: Tulsa (Orlando Ortiz-Mayr) at Springfield (Tink Hence)
6:30 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Chris Campos) vs. Visalia (Casey Anderson)
If I had a dollar for every time you put a fork in Kershaw Timmons I could retire again! He will reinvent himself and I predict will be on the staff in 2024. He will get his 3000th strikeout in May of next year. Put it down, and book it.
My playoff rotation is
Kershaw/Buhler piggyback
Miller
Lynn
Pepiot/Yar
In LCS no Lynn, replaced by Sheenan. Book it
Marlins put Alcantara and Soler on the IL today. Muncy back in the lineup. I checked back because I thought I saw that when the Braves took the Dodgers to seven games in 2020 that their starting pitchers were pretty young and talented like ours are now. I was right. Fried was the old man at 26. The other three starters were 24-year-old Kyle Wright, and two 22-year-olds, Ian Anderson and Bryse Wilson. One game, a bullpen game, was started by Greg Minter. There is no reason we can’t ride our young arms to a game seven in the NLCS. I would be fine with that. Just think of the valuable experience going forward.
Breaking news, MLB just placed Julio Urias on Admin leave. As of right now, he is not on the 28 man roster. Pepiot is with the team and will be activated to make the start tomorrow.
Roberts today:
– The Dodgers could expect Joe Kelly and Michael Grove to come off the IL during the next homestand. They’re viewing Grove as a reliever going forward.
– J.D. Martinez is expected to be activated on Friday in DC.
– Austin Barnes cleared concussion protocol. Has a contusion on the side of his head but could catch tomorrow, Dave Roberts said.
– Pepiot can start/take down bulk innings for Thursday, which would have been Urías’ start day.
I dont know if Kersh can rebound from these last two outings. But 88 mph ‘fastball’ and 5 walks in a game won’t cut it.
Of course we don’t know his real condition. But this version won’t work
Bats and Bullpen are going to have to pull us to the ultimate goal in my opinion. Love Bobby Miller and Ryan Pepiot but no postseason experience is going to be a huge factor.
Can’t wait till they pair Stephen Nelson and Jessica Mendoza together! What a broadcast team ! Who shuts up first?
Wow. Does Lynn ever have homeritis.
Lance Lynn laid a turd tonight. Could probably stand to lose about 30 lbs. so his stamina is better.
I’m now officially very concerned about our SP for the post season. Lynn shows me little his last two starts.
Dodgers collapse
On second thought, I choose to be pessimistic about Lynn.
in the 6 starts before this one, since Lynn was traded to the Dodgers he had pitched 35 innings and given up 9 HR. after today it’s 40 innings and 12 HR. that’s just untenable. on the season, it’s 40 HR in 160 innings.
Been watching batting the practice/HR derby today in Miami. Between these bad guy, long balls and the miscues at third, I can be an advocate of getting the funk out all at once! I think the brain trust is going to realize that a pinch of Walker (hopefully) and the youth movement is our hope for starting pitching this fall. I for one will not whine a peep if the brain trust decides to go with the kids this fall while lighting a candle in the church.
Forget about Lynn. This offense sucks right now!
In my best Captain Obvious statement of all time………Angel Hernandez has to be the absolute worst ball and strike umpire in the MLB. Just retire you POS.
Damn Marlins putting on a hitting clinic.
Now this is “being taken to the woodshed”. Yikes. Yeah I know Mark you said there would be another losing streak or ugly stretch.