Kershaw, part dos

Tall order for the young Phenom...

He goes 7 innings, 6 hits, 8 Ks, 1 earned run, 1 unearned run, 2 walks, we lose 3-2.

That sucks.

He goes 7 innings, 2 hits, 10 Ks, Zero runs, Zero walks, we win 8-0.

Much better! GO BLUE!

clayton kershaw is the most exciting dodger to come along since mike piazza, the most exciting pitcher since pedro martinez. i know that's awfully premature to say after one start and six innings, but he, and he alone, actually makes me want to watch the dodgers. hey, once in five days is a start right? even more than his velocity and his movement and that roundhouse curve that should be illegal it's so unfair what impressed me was his composure. he got in a little trouble in the first inning and rather than let it become a big inning for the cardinals, he kept it together and got out of it. making your major league debut is a big deal in and of itself. to have to face albert pujols and come away fairly unscathed was impressive. and he's only 20 years old! this kid is a keeper. i remember thinking the same thing the night i saw jered weaver's debut. he has the same mound presence, arms and legs and odd angles. he and billingsley and martin should be the foundation of this team as they go forward. if better players, and young pitchers can be had for the likes of la roche, loney and others, it's time for the dodgers to man up and commit to winning and not just to inexpensive kids. pitching, defense and timely hitting are the keys to winning consistently and at present time, the dodgers have some of the first, little of the second and none of the third. but this kid could be the start of something better.
~cmh

yes, that's how it works. young players are good but young pitching is better. if you want to get better, you build a foundation of good young pitching. you compliment that with good defense. if the dodgers had made a trade over the off-season for either eric bedardm danny haren or johan santana, derek lowe would be expendable right now. brad penny wouldn't be as big of a disappointment. look at the consistently contending teams in baseball they all have young pitching as their foundation; red sox, angels, d-backs, rays. the dodgers don't need any more middle infielders or corner infielders, they need more billingsleys, kershaws and broxtons. given the front office penchant for signing aging free agents to short term contracts (schmidt = 3 yrs., jones = 2 yrs) rather than invest five or six years in a franchise player, the dodgers will probably pass (once again) this year on a sabbathia or sheets . maybe they'll surpise me with all that money they've generated from higher parking fees and beer prices but i'm not holding my breath. if not, then the only way to upgrade the roster as is, is to make a deal or two. nobody is suggesting to give away the farm, but really do the dodgers really need both a la roche and de witt. having a surplus of young talent means you don't and won't need them all and if they have confidence in their farm system, their scouting, coaching and ability to draft well there should be every reason to expect more good players to come along in the future, which reinforces my original point that surplus talent only adds value if it enables you to acquire that which you do not have.
~cmh

I accept Kershaw for what he is, a very young, very talented pitcher, long on talent, and short on experience and maturity.

Last night's performance was the product of a pitcher who has still not developed consistent command. He had outings like that in the minor leagues, both this year and last year. This is a kid who just turned 20. Exactly what should we expect? A polished veteran strike throwing machine, or a youngster still in the process of refining his game? There is no doubt that the stuff is there, including a paralyzing curve, and a low to upper 90's fastball with good life. And given continued health, I would expect his fastball to add a few ticks as he gains experience and continues to mature.

Outings like last night are magnified just because Kershaw is pitching on the big stage, rather than in the obscurity of the minor leagues, where such performances would be just another learning experience, far from our sight.

And what I said about Kershaw is just as relevant for our other young players. Young players all don't develop at the same rate. It takes longer for some than others. Russell Martin took command early after he came up to the big leagues, and maybe he spoiled us to the point that we expect the same of all of our young players. But Martin is a little older than Kemp and Loney, and he's had more consistent playing time that either of them or Andre Ethier.

I have no problem with adding a piece of two via a trade or free agency, and I would trade any player if the deal made sense. But little of what's been suggested makes sense to me (although I am fully aware of the subjectivity of what defines "sense").

I like the core of young players the Dodgers currently have on the team, which includes young pitchers like Kershaw, Billingsley and Broxton. And we still have young pitchers in the minors who may make contirbutions in the near and long term. These include James McDonald, Jonathan Meloan, Scott Elbert, Greg Miller, Chris Withrow, and others.

Pitching and defense are certainly the foundations of a good team . But so is an offense that scores enough runs to support those aspects of the game. I believe that for the most part, that offense is in place. This team has not yet hit for much power, but I am still convinced that Loney, Kemp, Ethier and Martin have latent power, and that it will be realized, hopefully sooner than later. DeWitt also appears to have some power, and hopefully he will continue to develop.

I know "hopefully" doesn't rouse much confidence in some people, but I would suggest that we look at the standings, and realize that this team is still ony 2.5 games out of first place in what is shaping up to be only a two team race . If our kids do indeed improve as the year progresses, then I am confident that this team will be successful.