02-28-08 - I See Glimpses of Koufax in Kershaw
The “over-the-top” delivery, the movement on the pitches, the way the ball simply “explodes” as it approaches the plate and even the way he moves, almost fluidly. While he doesn’t have quite the bend in his right knee as Koufax did, the resemblence is obvious. All of that leads me to comparisons with Sandy Koufax when I watch Clayton Kershaw. Of course, Sandy Koufax had no where near this good of control when he was just 19 or 20! Not that Kershaw is a control freak - he walks more than his share, but he has a good idea of where his pitches are going. At that age, Koufax had no clue. Clayton Kershaw is a freak and I believe there is a very good chance he will be in the rotation by Summer! According to Ken Gurnick of Dodgers.com, “The most impressive of all the pitchers at Holman Stadium on Wednesday was 19-year-old left-hander Clayton Kershaw, who struck out two in one dazzling inning.” I am not surprised - I have seen Clayton Kershaw and he is special! There was no need to trade for Johann Santana when we may already have him (or better). I am so glad that deal didn’t go down.
“When people ask what it is about him that makes him special, all you can say is, ‘Wait ’till you see him,’” said pitching coach Rick Honeycutt. “It’s an explosion coming out of that arm. Some guys just set themselves apart. Some people are from this planet, and some are from another planet.”
Watch this guy. It’s going to be a lot of fun seeing him become major league ready. He’ll be our Ace as soon as nexy year! Torre, Colletti and White have all said they won’t hesitate to call upon him. He’ll start at AA (possibly AAA, but I doubt it) and move quickly to AAA if he can repeat last season’s success. Being in major league camp this year will only accelerate his maturity. Enjoy this “once-in-a-lifetime” player - they only come along “once-in-a-lifetime” … Twice if you are lucky - I have seen Koufax and now it’s Kershaw!
Joe Torre’s Lineup Today Against the Braves:
- Pierre, LF
- Furcal, SS
- Martin, C
- Kent, 2B
- Jones, CF
- Loney, 1B
- Nomar, 3B
- Kemp, RF
- J. Johnson, P
It’s obvious that Joe ignores my advice as to the batting order. (Wink!)
Dodger Notes:
- Set your TIVO’s to record the Game verses the Braves on ESPN HD Friday.
- While I think Chad Billingsley is a very good pitcher, I am somewhat concerned about injuries with him, due to his body type and sheer mass. It may not bode well for hos career.
- Everyone thinks Nomar has the inside track at 3B. It could be and if he wins it, it simply means that we will be stronger. Just don’t count out Andy LaRovche yet. Whichever player has the best spring should get the job.
- Derek Lowe thinks Brad Penny should be the opening day starter - he will!
- Juan Piwerre is hitting leadoff today. I can see merits to having him hit #1 and Furcal #2. I can also see merits to having Furcal #1, Martin #2 and Either hitting #6 or #7 instead of Juan Pierre - There is no RIGHT answer!
- TONY JACKSON ON JASON SCHMIDT AND 3B
- Dylan Hernandez of the Times discuss 5 Questions we all want answers for.
- Eric Karabel of ESPN.com give his Fantasy take on the Dodgers, for what it’s worth.
Kershaw will be brought along slowly. No need to rush him here. It might be that he gets his sip this year, but, he still has some things to work on. Unless two starters go down, we don’t really need him yet.
That lineup just might be the opening day lineup. Wouldn’t surprise me at all. We still have 4 starting outfielders, which works well on movers slow pitch team, but it won’t wash here. Somfin gonna give. We also have some young guns that might have to sit the bench, Abreu, Young, LaRoche and Repko. Do we need all of them? Seems a shame that they won’t be everday players. Oh well, good problem to have I suppose. Not for them, but for us.
I still think there will be a trade with the loser of LF going to another team in about 3 to 4 weeks.
… and I don’t think they can hold Kershaw back anymore so that they held Fernando back.
Of course, Fernando was 37 when he reached the Dodgers…
Kershaw started 25 games last year, pitched 122 innings for less than 5 IP per start. Since he blew everybody away, I am assuming he was on a pitch count.
I would think the plan will be to start him at AA and get him up to 6 IP per start to build his stamina. He will only be 20, barely, when the season starts. No need to rush this guy, let him build some stamina and get him here if one of our starters goes down.
But then what do I know.
http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?n=Clayton%2bKershaw&pos=P&sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=477132
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Agree about our lf situation. As much as I want to see Ethier in the lineup everyday, if Pierre and Furcal are both sound, I really like that speed at the top of our lineup. I am sure Torre feels the same way. You can’t coach speed, and those two guys are going drive pitchers and catchers nuts, and create a lot of RBI situatios for our 3-5 guys.
Things is looking up.