News
Kershaw's acceleration a marvel
Southpaw has allowed just three runs in past 42 2/3 innings
By David Ely / MLB.com
07/23/09 10:30 PM ET
LOS ANGELES -- Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw sat back in a leather chair on Monday afternoon, eyes fixated on a small laptop.On the screen was footage of the Marlins from a game earlier this season against the Giants' Barry Zito. Kershaw chose this clip because he's curious to know how the Marlins stacked their lineup against a fellow southpaw and where the hitters stood in the batter's box.
Any bit of information would help him prepare for his Friday start against the Marlins, and Kershaw digested each sequence with youthful ease.
You see, everything with Kershaw moves fast. No need to rewind, no need to waste time. Five minutes, more or less, should do the job.
"Short and sweet," Kershaw said.
One second Zito goes into his windup on a 3-2 count, and the next thing you know it's popped up and falls to rest in a fielder's mitt. It's chaos to the untrained eye, but within a second Kershaw internalized how Zito had the confidence to throw a breaking ball in that situation.
But what else would you expect from a 21-year-old to whom everything occurs at an accelerated rate?
His fastball is one of the liveliest in the National League. His call to the Majors came when he was just 20. And now he's on the cusp of putting it all together during his first full-season with the Dodgers.
In his last seven starts dating back to June 16, Kershaw (8-5) has allowed only three runs in 42 2/3 innings, dropping his ERA from 4.50 to 2.95.
Dodgers manager Joe Torre said that the key for Kershaw of late has been that, "the changeup has been a better pitch for him."
Getting that pitch to hit the strike zone on a consistent basis frees up Kershaw's fastball and a curveball that Torre calls Koufax-like. Plus the changeup adds another dimension to a pitcher who last season would just try to power through all of his problems on the diamond.
"That's been a big part of it for me," Kershaw said. "Last year when I got into trouble I wanted to throw hard, hard and harder, and just get out of the inning. I've kind of found out that when I do get into trouble, that when I do have people on base, sometimes the best thing is to throw a little bit more off-speed, back off a little bit."
That evolved mindset is all a part of the maturation process that every young pitcher endures in order to be successful in the Majors.
Part of that process is as simple as just gaining more time on the mound. Each start offers a new challenge and a new opportunity to learn how to attack big league hitters.
And the more a pitcher goes out and does it with success, the more confidence he has the next time he takes the mound.
"He's been throwing really well lately," fellow starter Chad Billingsley said. "It seems like he's coming along great."
"He's only allowed like three runs in his past seven starts. He's throwing well."
And as Kershaw takes an expected path toward a spot among the elite pitchers in baseball, there's another thing that Torre brings up when talking about his young hurler: pitching to contact.
Torre describes it as taking "your foot off the accelerator" and to try "to get people to swing at stuff."
Catcher Russell Martin said that, "It's not trying to just blow by people all the time."
But bring up the term to Kershaw, and he reacts as if one just uttered baseball blasphemy.
"Yeah, I don't like that phrase," Kershaw said. "I'm not trying to let them hit it, obviously. I'm not trying to strike everybody out. All I really try to do is whatever hitter gets in there, I just try to get him out in as few pitches as possible.
"A line drive to the warning track on one pitch, I'll take that over a strikeout any day."
Efficiency on the mound is something that the Dodgers hope to see more of as the season progresses. Too many of Kershaw's outings have ended early because of long innings plagued by walked batters. The current stretch of seven starts with only three combined runs allowed, also features 21 total walks -- averaging three per game.
Because of the Dodgers' hesitancy to let him run up his pitch count (112 on May 17 is his season-high), those walks keep Kershaw from consistently lasting deep into games.
Not that Torre is lamenting about lost innings. He's content with staying the course with Kershaw to make sure that his arm isn't burnt out come postseason play.
"We still have to keep in mind whatever we save now is going to help us in October if we're lucky enough to get there," Torre said. "I think last year he threw about 170-something innings. Sure, we want him to increase that, but we don't want him to increase it by a great deal at this point."
And the Dodgers have good cause to protect Kershaw's left arm, considering how delicately it's intertwined into the Dodgers' World Series hopes.
After all, this is a player deemed untouchable in trade discussions for Toronto ace Roy Halladay.
Acquiring Halladay would give Los Angeles the type of front-line starter that could lead a team to the World Series. But the prospect of losing Kershaw appears to be too much for the Dodgers.
"It's a compliment," said Kershaw about the trade rumors. "I'm glad that another team wants me to begin with, and I'm glad this team cares enough about me to protect me."
This isn't the first time Kershaw says that his name has appeared in trade talks. It's been an annual occurrence for him since becoming part of the organization in 2006.
But at the rate in which Kershaw is evolving on the mound, there's a decent chance that this year could be the last time his name pops up in trade talks with the Dodgers.
He isn't going anywhere.
David Ely is an associate reporter for MLB.com This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
