2009 October 14 « Mike Scioscia's tragic illness

Wait, What?!

October 14, 2009 at 3:25 pm | Posted in 2009 NLCS vs. Phillies, Randy Wolf, Vicente Padilla | 10 Comments

An update to “Kershaw starts Game 1” from earlier, also from the official blog: (actually, it was from the official Facebook page – hey, MSTI has a Facebook page, hint hint)

UPDATE:

Rotation will be Kershaw, Padilla, Kuroda, Wolf

Wow. It doesn’t surprise me in the least that Hiroki Kuroda takes Chad Billingsley’s spot, and that’s an argument for another day. But Vicente Padilla in Game 2? Randy Wolf bumped all the way down to Game 4?! What is that about?

I’m sure there’s a perfectly good reason for that; I just can’t think of what it might be. With all of the issues the Phillies have against left-handed starters, why wouldn’t you want to use Kershaw and Wolf in Games 1, 2, 5, and 6?

Plus, I get how good Padilla’s been as a Dodger. I do, and I have no problem with him getting a start. But is he really our second best pitcher? I can’t wait to see what Torre’s reasons are behind this.

Hey, No Pressure, Kid

October 14, 2009 at 2:27 pm | Posted in 2009 NLCS vs. Phillies, Clayton Kershaw, Randy Wolf | 1 Comment

87toppsclaytonkershaw From the official blog:

Kershaw to start Game 1
He’ll take the mound tomorrow to open up. Game 2 starter still TBA.

Well, then. I guess there’s no more screwing around about who our “ace” is, eh? Very interesting decision, though. Not only does it put a ton of pressure on Kershaw – which honestly, doesn’t bother me all that much – but it does set him up to pitch Game 5 in Philadelphia, rather than Game 6 in Los Angeles. Kershaw’s been more effective at keeping runs off the board at home this year (1.83 ERA vs 3.81 ERA), though I suppose the underlying thought is that you don’t want to chance losing a series without having your best pitcher throw twice. The home/road split isn’t really as bad as it looks, either – his WHIP, K/9, and BB/9 rates are almost identical.

I think the real question, though, is the “Game 2 starter still TBA” line. How could that possibly not be Randy Wolf? Are you really going to go with Vicente Padilla or Hiroki Kuroda? No chance.