World Series: Clayton Kershaw, the Dodgers find themselves again in the fifth match; was it his last match for L.A.

LOS ANGELES – The feeling is a little surreal, but we might have really witnessed the early days of Clayton Kershaw's Dodgers. Given the contrast of his career between the regular season and the playoffs, even if the narrative of "choking" is completely unfair, I guess it's quite normal that he gave up three rounds in the fifth game as his team arrive in the World Series for the second year in a row.

Before continuing, there are a few things to note:

1. Kershaw is not "choked". It's not what it had a few years ago and the Red Sox are awesome.
2. If you want to blame the loss of the Dodgers in this series, point the pathetic offense. Even while honoring the staff of the Red Sox pitchers, this series was on the whole only a miserable spectacle by the hitters of the Dodgers.

I have it? Well!

The story of Clayton Kershaw's career with the Dodgers is so far complicated. It's definitely double, though.

There is Kershaw regular season. Three-time winner of Cy Young, he also finished second twice, third and fifth time. He even won an MVP. He has led the league five times in the ERA. He has been widely regarded as the best launcher on the planet for about seven years. He led the league three times over battles and exceeded 300 times. His 2.39 career era is the best among active starting pitchers. This is a star player seven times. He won a gold glove. Hell, he even won a Roberto Clemente Award for his humanitarian work. He has never had any problems and he is a really nice guy. He is responsible when things do not go according to plan.

Kershaw is like the type of player type player facing the franchise.

There is also Kershaw in the playoffs, though. We could do all the mental gymnastics of the world here, but the reality is that its number in the playoffs is much worse than in the regular season. Things happen. There is a context at the beginning. There are circumstances, for example when he takes the ball on a short rest and that he is well started. The playoff teams are on average better than a full regular season. Overall, however, it was just worse.

This is not even a small sample. Kershaw has now worked 152 innings in playoffs. He allowed 78 points, 74 of which were earned. Although he has thrown at least 200 innings at least five times in his career and more than 170 times on eight occasions, he has never been able, in one season, to get 78 points or win 74 points. Four times in the regular season, he has passed 225 innings. His highest total of points in those years was 64.

Looking side by side, it was obvious that he was different.

In the current state of things, a great pitcher in history who plays in the playoffs six years in a row without leaving with a World Series ring seems a little incomplete, right? We have already seen excellent pitchers – who were certainly worse than Kershaw – have already put their team on the back at the World Series. Kershaw never did it. Part of that was not his fault. Maybe that was not largely due to his fault, but I do not think we can absolve him completely.

My impression is that there is a segment of the Dodgers fan base that will still consider Kershaw, in the end, in a negative way. No matter how many times he spent in the regular season and the playoffs – not to mention the fact that they do not have all those playoff games without him – the taste at the end is bitter with zero ring. That's how fan bases go.

You can not blame them. They had six consecutive years in the playoffs and did not get the ultimate benefit from the fans. Dropping the best player, especially when he has failed in key places from time to time, will definitely arrive in every fan base. I am not 100% other than Kershaw in the failure of the Dodgers to win the title and it is unfair for anyone to do it. You know what, though, life is not fair. Being the man in a top professional sport has an attachment that goes with it. If you fail in the championship round, you will blame many people.

That's why, as I said earlier, I think there will be a segment of the Dodgers nation that will be keen on Kershaw – even if it is deeply anchored – until the Dodgers win. a title with him.

And now, there is an opt-out clause in Kershaw's contract. He is two years old and has $ 70.2 million left on the transaction. It will not have an average annual value of more than $ 35 million elsewhere, but it will surely get a contract with more years and more dollars in total, so we assume it's going to took of.

Maybe a divorce here would be better anyway? Walker Buehler seems ready to be the ace and the Dodgers have plenty of spin options and money to spare.

If so, Kershaw leaves behind an incredible legacy – though complex and probably incomplete – at Dodger Stadium.