[ad_1]
LOS ANGELES – Whenever Clayton Kershaw crosses the mound the rest of this month – whatever the reason he ends up – the same question will remain in the background:
Is this this?
Kershaw may terminate his contract at the end of the season and has not yet made a decision. If he withdraws, he will become a free agent for the first time in his career. And if that ends up being the case, he could – could – finds its way into a Dodgers organization led by a group of extremely pragmatic leaders.
Five hours and fifteen minutes into the fourth game of the NLCS series, outfielder Dodgers finally made the decisive blow, while L.A. established ties with Milwaukee.
The ace of the Dodgers, Clayton Kershaw, is perhaps the biggest start of his life, and the Astros are turning to Charlie Morton, who has not played for two weeks.
From the Wild Cards round to the World Series, we'll be covering the 2018 playoffs.
2 related
This idea may seem implausible, but it was realistic enough for Kershaw to hear the round of questions on Tuesday afternoon, 24 hours before winning the critical match in the fifth game of the National League series against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Kershaw was asked what the Dodgers franchise – the one that earned him the seventh pick in 2006 – had represented him.
"I am incredibly grateful," said Kershaw. "I'm just grateful to be here for so long, I 've been writing at 18, I' ve arrived at 20. From 20 to 30 years old, it's been a lot of years of growth. " We are married, had two children, played a lot of baseball and really grew up in this city. The only word that comes to my mind is simply grateful. I really am. It's an excellent race. And whatever happens, I'm sure I will be grateful for that. Always. "
Kershaw thinks especially on Wednesday at 17:05. AND at the first step, when he faces the Brewers again, this time with the series tied 2-2. The Dodgers won Tuesday night a five-hour 13-round win over a Cody Bellinger single and must win again on Wednesday to avoid having to play two games in a row in Milwaukee to qualify for the World Series.
Teams with no field advantage who lost 3-2 in a best-of-seven series won only 25% of the time, while those with 3-2 won the series in 59% cases.
Kershaw shot brilliantly in the second game of the NL Division series against the Atlanta Braves, and in the NLCS 'first game, going from eight shutouts on 85 shots to nine outs – and five points – on 74 shots.
It's life on the barrel.
Kershaw's fast speed is at the bottom of the 90s, a result of persistent back problems and an astronomical workload. He scored a 2.73 ERA in the regular season. But his percentage of shots on goal (23) dropped by almost 10 points from just three years and his exit rate (8.6) was the lowest since his rookie season in 2008. Kershaw withdrew five combined batters in both of his playoffs, which means a lot of balls at play – and a lot left to chance.
"It's not like I was trying to start more contacts, "said Kershaw. It's just happening. "
According to Kershaw, what counts in the end is "the efficiency to get outs"
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts believes Kershaw can still dominate despite contact shots.
"There is a ball component in the game," admitted Roberts, "but I also think that there is a quality of contact. … He's expecting it to be there." If you run the right path, and when you're running, there's punch in. Probably not as much as in the past, but there's moderate contact. And these are outs, in So, when he's right, he's always going to log out – and it's the # 1 goal I know he wants – to get outs. "
Kershaw has recorded outs in such a way that few, if any, Dodgers.
Of those who have recorded at least 1,500 innings, he is in second place behind Jeff Pfeffer – a man who launched before the Great Depression – with a 2.39 ERA. He finished seventh with 153 wins and 12th with 2 096 1/3 of the heat, while forming seven All-Star teams, winning three Cy Young awards and claiming the title of MVP.
Now he has ventured into another stage of his career, with fewer fastballs and more throws on the outside edges of the strike zone.
"That's why players stay good – because they change, they evolve, they adapt," said Craig Counsell, director of the Brewers. "And the real sign of a major league that lasts and excels is that you have to be able to adapt because the physical skills change, the league adapts." to you, you must be able to make adjustments and learn on the fly. "
The only problem on Kershaw 's record is a big problem: its success, or lack thereof, at this time of year.
Kershaw's playoff squad is 4.26 in 133 innings, a significant decline from its previous six-month mark. There were some nice outings (4th match of the LNDS against New York Mets in 2015, second game of the NLCS against the Chicago Cubs in 2016, first game of the World Series against the Houston Astros in 2017). But there were at least as many bad players (6th NLCS game against the St. Louis Cardinals in 2013, 1 st NLDS game against the Cardinals in 2014, the fifth World Series game against the Astros in 2017 ).
The Dodgers have been crowned division champions for the sixth season in a row and are part of the NLCS for the third straight month, but the franchise is still looking for its first world series title since 1988.
Kershaw has heard a lot about it.
"We're fed up," he said, "and it's up to us to do something about it."
This could be his last chance.
"At each post-season and without winning a world series, I think you have to bet a little more on the pressure, a little more urgent to win, especially when you are in the market where we are, when you are team we are, "said Kershaw. "I think the pressure is getting a little stronger, just because we have such a good team, and it's been a long time since we've won one."
Source link
