Thursday, March 28, 2024
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Numberfire Breaks Down Clayton Kershaw’s Incredible Start

Clayton Kershaw

It is truly a shame that the Dodgers are wasting Clayton Kershaw’s unique talent and another epic campaign by surrounding him with the mediocrity that they have placed around him. Kershaw is having another magnificent season and this may be his greatest one yet.

He’s struck out 10 or more batters in six consecutive starts. So far he has whiffed 88 and walked only 4 while posting an incredible 1.67 ERA over 70 innings pitched. Not only is he striking guys out at a record pace, but he is not walking anyone. When opposing hitters do make contact, it’s weak contact. Kershaw has allowed 5.8 hits per nine innings.

Our friends over at Numberfire.com recently took an in depth look behind the numbers at Kershaw’s incredible start to the 2016 season. Austan Kas uses a variety of advanced metrics to compare Kershaw to some of the greatest pitching performances over the last 20 years. Not surprisingly Kershaw ranks at the top.

It’s hard to believe that Kershaw could be getting even better than he already is. It is very possible if not likely that he could bring home his fourth Cy Young award this season. It’s too bad he doesn’t have any help behind him.

Scott Andes

Scott Andes: Longtime writer and Dodger fanatic

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Scott Andes
Scott Andes: Longtime writer and Dodger fanatic
https://ladodgerreport.com

21 thoughts on “Numberfire Breaks Down Clayton Kershaw’s Incredible Start

  1. Wonder how the players on the field feel when they see Hatcher come in to the game? Has to be demoralizing to feel that confident that he will give away the lead pretty quickly

  2. I am informed that the players have too much class to criticize a teammate. So I guess they are suffering quietly.

    1. Hopefully the players are not frustrated cause we learned this on the last blog…………………….’ Frustration is not a good characteristic and should be eliminated from one’s self.’

      So tell them to set their bar lower so that frustration does not set in. If they expect the lead to be given up than they will be extremely happy when it’s not. I think eliminating high expectations is the answer for all. Quite expecting Puig to hit .300. Don’t expect Pederson to ever hit .260. Grandal .260. See, everyone is performing as expected. We all should be happy now.

      1. Below is from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-power-prime/201012/sports-the-power-emotions

        Here is to learning something Chili.

        At the top of the Prime Sport Pyramid sits emotions. It’s closest to the top of the pyramid (above motivation, confidence, intensity, and focus) because emotions will ultimately dictate how you perform throughout a competition. Emotions during a competition can cover the spectrum from excitement and elation to frustration, anger, and disappointment. Emotions are often strong and, most troublesome, they can linger and hurt your performances long after you first experience them.

        Negative emotions can hurt performance both physically and mentally. They first cause you to lose your prime intensity. With frustration and anger, your intensity goes up and leads to muscle tension, breathing difficulties, and a loss of coordination. It also saps your energy and causes you to tire quickly. When you experience despair and helplessness, your intensity drops sharply and you no longer have the physical capabilities to perform well.

        Negative emotions can also hurt you mentally. Your emotions are telling you that, deep down, you’re not confident in your ability to perform well and achieve your competitive goals. Your confidence will decline and you will have negative thoughts to go along with your negative emotions. Also, since your negative emotions are so strong, you will likely have difficulty focusing on what will help you to perform well; the negative emotions draw your attention onto all of the negative aspects of your performance. Finally, negative emotions can hurt your motivation to perform because you just don’t feel good and it’s no longer fun.

        1. Nothing in the above suggests that lowering expectations is the path to controlling negative emotions. Sorry Chili.

          1. You didn’t teach me anything and at this point don’t think your can. Your post is common sense stuff. Maybe re-read your original post and tell me how it was meant towards an athlete and their performance. It wasn’t.

          2. Maybe you should have provided your insightful information to Joc and the Dodgers last year cause after the All-Star break I saw a frustrated, negative emotion player the second half of the season.

        2. Your original comment regarding frustration had nothing to do with competing. You made the statement towards bloggers. Talking about twisting everything around.

        1. Bum you know I was kidding right, but good answer. It is all right handed line up, to night, except Cory. Agone has never missed three games in a row, since he was on the Rangers.

          He is ok to play, but it sounds like he isn’t playing, because it is a leftie pitcher. I think the last time I checked, that Agone was hitting ok against lefties this year. We need to win, and we need Agone in the game to night.

          Kike is leading off, and playing leftfield. I think Kike, should be playing centerfield, not Thompson, because Thompson has had some defensive problems, in the field.

          And in centerfield, one has to cover more ground. Grandal is playing first to night.

  3. Thinking over the past year and a half — I was one of those who started this train of thought, or as some say, negative thinking.

    I said back in the winter of 2014-15 that I did not like the roster I saw developing. Then, during Spring Training and the season, I kept saying the same thing. And many of you jumped on me as a negative nellie. Like how dare you speak evil of the GM.

    Then I said it again over this past winter and Spring Training. And after 300 plus moves by the GM and the roster seems in worst shape ever — others share some of my feelings.

    But Mark will come in and give us his next lecture on how to be a real true Dodger fan.

    Badger understands the same things I do, but he is pointing to 2018 and beyond. With all of these minor leaguers finally breaking in the majors.

    So I, again, call on ownership — to get rid of these 3 GMs making many of these moves of players, just getting the team deep and deep into a black night of frustration. Hire a GM who looks at players and needs and not stat sheets for possible turn-a-rounds.

    The June draft is coming in a couple of weeks — make better choices than in the past. Please.

    1. All I’m going to say is that you are not drinking enough blue kool-aid and definitely have not been wearing your Dodger blue glasses. Find your glasses and start drinking! You will feel much better, oh around 2019!

  4. Yea but you need more than 1 SP.

    LAD – # of Innings – MLB Rankings out of 198 SPs so far
    1 – Kershaw
    66- Meada
    71 – Kazmire
    79 – Wood
    91 – Stripling

    SF – MLB Ranking re: Number of Innings
    3 – Cueto
    4 – Samardjia
    7 – Bumgartner
    71 – Cain
    109 – Peavy

    I think that I prefer the “DEPTH” at the top of the SF Rotation.

    1. Nobody wanted Cueto, remember? “Injury prone.” Anderson and McCarthy are the kind of workhorses this team needed. And then Kazmir hurts his hand swinging a bat…or is it Kazmire? Nice one, Bob.

  5. J.P. Hoornstra ?@jphoornstra · 8m8 minutes ago

    #Dodgers P Frankie Montas starts a rehab assignment in AA Tulsa tomorrow, per @DodgerInsider

    1. There was a very interesting story on LA Times. Com today, about Urias. Everyone should read the article.

      1. In this story they say that a veteran player has asked, when is Urias going to come up.

        And then this same veteran player, says that Urias is the only viable arm they have to be the eight inning guy, in the bullpen.

        I think this veteran is asking the LA Times sports writter this. And it does not sound like Urias will be coming up, until the September call ups.

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