This is a Bad Day for Kershaw

But for Dodger fans, this is a great thing. Great pitchers always have off days. No one is always perfect, but a sign of a good pitcher is what he does with a bad day. Last year Kershaw had a bad day and did not last more than 2 innings. This year Kershaw has a bad day and he goes 6 innings giving up just 5 hits and 1 walk (and that one walk was an intentional one). That is just scary. In a park where many pitchers meet the agony of defeat, Kershaw can find something to be proud of.

The problem that most people have with the park is with their breaking balls. I am not all too familiar with the physics of why it is, but curve balls just do not break as much. But this was not Kershaw’s problem today. It seemed as though he could not find his release point. At times he had some wicked pitches, but his problem was with accuracy. Fast balls and curve balls would sail out of the zone, and more often than he would like that fast ball would sail right over the heart of the plate. He was hit hard many times, and Tony Gwynn Jr. saved his bacon with a great play off the wall that with most outfielders would have meant a double. This is why defense is so vital. Instead of a double to lead off the inning, Kershaw has an out.

So Dodger fans, let your hearts not be dismayed. Even the best have some bad days, but revel in the fact that Kershaw is only 23 years old and that a quality start with 8 strikeouts is a disappointing day for him.

As for the rest of the team, Ethier continues to hit well, Tony Gwynn Jr. continues to make the case that he should be starting over Marcus Thames, and Uribe looks like the rookie Kemp flailing away at those outside pitches (but he sure looks like he can handle the hot corner pretty well).