Kershaw Inspires Greatness Around Him

Remember that old cliché that offenses don’t need to try as hard when their ace is on the mound?  I seem to recall this being spouted a lot when Roger Clemens pitched.  The theory was that somehow his teammates, professional baseball players, were so in awe of his awesomeness that they just coasted on the idea that they’d win 1-0.  This, of course, is completely absurd.  But let’s pretend that this phenomenon is true for a second, because if it were then Clayton Kershaw is single-handedly destroying that myth.  The Dodgers have scored him 4.28 runs per game in 2011.  The National League average is 4.15 runs per game this season.  This means that somehow the Dodgers actually become a better than average offense when Kershaw is on the mound.  

                Meanwhile, the Dodgers have managed just 2.93 runs per game for hard luck Hiroki Kuroda, and their overall season average is just 3.63, better than only the Giants in the senior circuit.  What does all this mean?  Well, nothing really.  But interesting facts nonetheless.  If anything it just increases our desire to see Clayton Kershaw cloned nine or ten times. 

                Oh, and Kershaw pitched today.  He went 8 innings, allowed zero runs, struck out 6 and walked none.  And the Dodgers scored 5 runs in their 5-1 victory over the Brewers, after only scoring two runs in the previous three games combined.   Barajas contributed a solo homerun, Carroll, Miles and Rivera all contributed RBI hits, and Kemp (despite striking out three times) added to his (longshot) MVP credentials by singling, stealing second (his 33^rd) and scoring a run. 

                The real story though is Kershaw.  We all had high hopes for him as soon as he was drafted.  He hasn’t disappointed in the slightest, and seems to get better with every start he makes.  His one Achilles Heel was his high walk rate, and he’s cut that down drastically (2.4 walks per 9). 

                Jon Weisman of Dodger Thoughts breaks down his chances at the Cy Young Award this season.  As Jon says, Halladay is probably the favorite, but the award is hardly out of reach for Clayton.  And if not this year, I think it’s fairly safe to say he should be in the running for years to come. 

What we learned from Tuesday's game (8/2/11)

Kuroda in 1914, the last time the Dodgers provided him with any run support.

Overview: Hiroki Kuroda learns what it takes to get a win.  Kemp does more great stuff.  Dodgers win, 1-0.

Pros: Fun fact- five of Hiroki Kuroda's seven wins have come via shutout.  Look, I think we were all a little disappointed when Kuroda invoked his no trade clause prior to the trade deadline, especially when it came out that the horrifying deadline trade of Trayvon Robinson (he's wearing a Tacoma Rainiers jersey in that link, which I guess means that whole thing wasn't a nightmare I had while laid up with a strained ligament and hopped up on my mother-in-law's arthritis meds) was kind of his fault.  But it's hard to be angry with him when he's pitching shutouts.  Matt Kemp shockingly provided the only offense for the Dodgers by knocking in Dee Gordon in the fourth inning.  Javy Guerra nailed down his ninth save- and yes, saves are overrated, and yes, Javy Guerra is probably not a great choice to be our closer long term, but dammit, he's a rookie who's been a bright spot this season, and I'm happy for his success.

Cons:  Outside of Gordon (2 for 4! get ready for your Profile in Courage, Dee!) and Kemp, no Dodger reached base more than once.  Also, they didn't work a single walk.  Mat Latos is a solid pitcher, but damn.  That's kind of embarrassing.  Good thing our new hitting coach has fixed everything.

What we learned:  Same story, different day.  If teams ever learn how to pitch around Matt Kemp, the Dodgers are screwed.  One interesting thing to note- Andre Ethier sat, with Rivera getting the start in RF.  Mattingly said he was frustrated after a tough game Monday and needed a breather.  But it certainly sounds like the frustration runs a little deeper than that- Roberto Baly of Vin Scully is My Homeboy had some first hand contact with just how frustrated Ethier is/was.  Sounds like those of us hoping to lock up Ethier long term might be out of luck...

You thought things were going to get better?

Ow.  Ow.  Ow.

2012 just got a lot scarier.  Rubby De La Rosa, one of the most exciting (read: only) pleasant surprises of the year, has a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow and is done for the season, if not longer.  If he does have to undergo Tommy John surgery, which is expected at this point, we won't see him back in the rotation until September of next year at the earliest, but it's more likely 2013 would be the target at this point.  There's a small chance that he won't have to undergo the procedure, but we don't recommend holding your breath.  John Ely has been called up to take his place for the foreseeable future while a course of action is determined.

This is a huge blow, on a lot of different levels.  Rubby was outperforming pretty much everyone's expectations of him this season-  he was averaging a strikeout per inning in the majors, and opponents were hitting just .244 against him.  Sure, his control wasn't perfect, but for a 23 year old that throws 100mph, you can't expect pinpoint control.  Of course, those shiny 100mph fastballs have their price, and it looks like the bill just came due.

What does this all mean?  Well, if Tommy John surgery is necessary, the team's rotation- one of the only areas where it seemed fairly well-off going into next year- becomes a big question mark.  Assuming he's gone, next year's rotation now reads as Kershaw/Billingsley/Lilly/Ely/?. It certainly helps the odds of Hiroki Kuroda returning to the team, if he decides to stay in the US.  And with a strong spring training, you could easily see the team rolling the dice on Zach Lee or Nate Eovaldi sneaking on in place of Ely.  With all the holes in the lineup next year, and all the uncertainty with the team's payroll and financial obligations (not to mention the weak FA pitching market), crossing our fingers for the next batch of prospects to mature may be the best bet we have to replace RDLR's quality innings next season.

That said, with a healthy RDLR back and ready to go, 2013's rotation is STACKED.  Kershaw/Bills/RDLR/Z. Lee/Lilly is pretty filthy, and hopefully by that point one of our other pitchers will have developed enough to push Lilly out entirely.  Proven Veteran Leaders- always looking on the bright side of things.

Hiroki Kuroda says the East Coast can F off, will remain a Dodger for remainder of season.

Kuroda, preparing to show Ned Colletti just how strong his pimp hand is.

Broken simultaneously on twitter by Ken Gurnick and Dylan Hernandez a few minutes ago: Hiroki Kuroda has reportedly informed the Dodgers that he will NOT approve a trade, and will remain with the team for the rest of the season.  We love Hiroki, but damn.  There goes the (admittedly faint) hopes of spinning the ONE legit trade piece on the Dodgers for a top flight prospect.  While this certainly bodes well for his possible return this offseason, it would have been nice to add some 3B/C/1B prospects to the farm system.  Ah, well.

Things we learned from last night's game (7/27)

Overview:  Still no run support for Mr. Kuroda.  Rockies 3 Dodgers 1.

Pros:  For the 142nd time this season,Hiroki Kuroda tossed a quality start, going six innings, allowing one run while striking out 6 and walking 3.  That he still got the loss is hardly a surprise anymore.  Other positives from last night?  Well, Kemp had two hits, including a double.  Furcal had two hits as well and actually seems to be heating up (.808 OPS over his last eight games), though he did get caught stealing as well.  The Dodgers, had 8 hits total and still managed just one run on a solo homerun by Rod Barajas in the 9th (what contender needs a catcher with some pop?).  Also, Scott Elbert pitched 2/3 of an inning and struck out one and allowed no runs.  Not really all  that exciting but we're grasping at straws here.

Cons:  The Dodgers were 0-4 with runners in scoring position, once again showing their remarkable ineptitude at driving in runs.  Hawksworth and Macdougal each gave up a run in their innings of  relief (Macdougal actually pitched 1 and 1/3).  Ethier went hitless which should not come as a surprise at this point.  He's been pretty awful in July, posting just a .664 OPS.  Really, there are so many cons here that it gets tiresome to list them.  On the bright side, the four game winning streak is over so hopefully that means nobody at all is convinced that the Dodgers can go on a run.

What we learned:  That once again, if your first or last name starts with a K, you're probably one of the bright spots of the 2011 Los Angeles Dodgers.  

Things we learned from Last Night's Game (7/22)

Hiroki Kuroda, considering a career move.



Overview: Time to trade Kuroda, if only because he deserves better. Nationals 7 Dodgers 2.

Pros: Despite a rough start to the game, including giving up a two-run homerun to Nationals pitcher John Lannan, Hiroki Kuroda put out yet another quality start. He pitched 6.1 innings and gave up three runs while striking out 7. He's putting together such a solid season that we genuinely feel bad for the guy that his record is 6-12. Hopefully the guy gets traded to a contender (and the Dodgers get back a useful player or two) and ends his season on a high note. We'll be genuinely sorry to see him go, but it's time. In other positives, Kenley Jansen faced 4 batters and struck out all of them. He continues to be a rising star on an otherwise disappointing team.

Cons: Where to start? Let's see, the offense was again abysmal. The Dodgers only scored their two runs because of bad Washington defense. Other than that, they made no real threat of getting back into the game. Even Matt Kemp has slumped lately. He is 3 for his last 19, with 10 strikeouts and no RBI's and 1 walk in that time. Hopefully he pulls out of this soon. Other than that, Guerrier gave up a grand slam in the 9th, the Dodgers managed just 3 hits, and Juan Uribe again went hitless.

What we've learned: It's tough to rag on a guy who's been so good all year, but Kemp's little mini slump just shows that without him hitting at a God-like level, the Dodgers are just as likely to solve the debt-ceiling crisis than score runs.

What to Expect When You're Expecting a Shutout

It's a fairly slow news day on the Dodgers front- yes, teams have been inquiring on Hiroki Kuroda, who has made it clear he's not interested in going to the east coast (sorry, Boston, New York & Detroit).  But until Colletti actually concedes that this team can't compete- which honestly may never happen- then it isn't worth spending too much time analyzing what team might give us the crappiest group of prospects, which is what Ned will find.

And yes, Frank McCourt filed more documents in court today which, among other things, calls the loan MLB is offering him "A deal with the devil".  But we're desperately trying to ignore anything attached to Frank McCourt in the hopes that if we pretend he isn't here, he'll go away.  It worked when we were children.   

But don't worry, because in approximately half an hour, the first pitch in our make-or-break last stand series against the Giants will be thrown, and we can watch All-Star (screw you, Bruce Bochy) Ryan Vogelsong throw a complete game shutout.

Things we learned from last night's game (7/16/11)

Hiroki Kuroda daydreams about what it would be like to have an offense
Photo credit: Getty Images

Overview: Kuroda solid, Kemp great, rest of team can't get it together. 3-2, Diamondbacks win.

Pros: Hiroki Kuroda overcame a rough couple of innings in the early going (even the outs the D'backs were hitting were hard in the first two innings) to put together another wasted quality start.  Tony Gwynn Jr. got on base three times in four at-bats, and continues to look pretty comfortable as the de facto leadoff hitter.  Scott Elbert came in and pitched two very strong scoreless innings.  Matt Kemp hits the baseball harder than anyone else on the planet.

Cons: Wow, the offense other than Kemp is awful.  Ethier is in a funk right now, hitting .167 in his last 10 games.  Furcal is 3 for 34 since coming off the DL (hat tip to @Joe_Block, who tweeted us in-game with that info).  Uribe was 0 for 3 before being pinch hit for in the 9th by James Loney.  Juan Rivera was 0 for 4, but that's not too surprising considering he was playing against an RHP.

What we learned: Same old story- if the other team can limit the damage Matt Kemp causes, they've got a good chance to win.  Furcal reduces whatever lingering trade value he has with every start, and Kuroda's record this season (now 6-11) has pretty much nothing to do with his ability.  This was a very winnable game that the Dodgers couldn't convert, and the kind of game that illustrates why the team needs to go back to the drawing board.