Kershaw tries to solve postseason enigma
With fresh outlook, lefty no longer feels need to carry L.A.
WASHINGTON — It is one of baseball’s enduring mysteries in recent years and will be front-and-center in Game 1 of the NL Divi sion Series between the Dodgers and Nationals that begins today:
Why is L.A. lefty Clayton Kershaw so masterful during the regular season and so mediocre in the playoffs?
While a player such as Washington slugger Bryce Harper talks about thriving when the stage is biggest, the lights brightest, the TV audience broadest, Kershaw seems to spend early October dealing with questions about happens to him at this time of year. He goes from being a three-time Cy Young Award winner (with a pair of other top-three finishes in voting) who wins two out of every three decisions (126-60 career record) and owns a 2.37 ERA to just a guy: 2-6, 4.59 ERA.
“The bad ones stand out more,” he said Thursday, “for sure.”
He offered one possible explanation for the disparity, and a hopeful-sounding view of why things could be different this time around, beginning when he faces Max Scherzer and the rest of the NL East champions.
In years gone by, Kershaw said, he thought he was supposed to carry the Dodgers.
But he missed more than t wo months with a back injury in 2016 and thought it took some time to get comfortable when he returned for five starts in September.
“In the past, I’ve definitely felt that pressure more. But this year’s been a little bit different for me, just as far as having to watch on the sidelines. … It’s really kind of hit home for me a little bit, as I’ve come back, that I can definitely be a part of this and definitely help and definitely be a factor in winning,” Kershaw said. “But I don’t have to be the factor.”
Another difference: He recently picked up somewhat of a sidearm delivery for the occasional 95 mph fastball, something he got from Game 2 starter Rich Hill.
Neither Dodgers rookie manager Dave Roberts nor Kershaw himself has spent time going over video of past playoff performances to try to glean anything that could be improved or changed.
“I don’t read too much into it and haven’t looked back on it,” Roberts said.
S o me p l a y e r s e l e v a t e themselves when the stakes and scrutiny are the greatest.
Harper, who slugged .882 with three homers in Washington’s 2014 NLDS loss to San Francisco, describes himself as someone who enjoys “playing in front of millions of people” and adds: “My heart doesn’t really race or anything like that. I’m super-calm.”