Dodgers Can Finally Hit the Reset Button
WASHINGTON - The best pitcher in baseball waited more than six weeks for Tuesday, and he was not shy about showing his frustration. Clayton Kershaw, the two-time National League Cy Young Award winner, would throw a baseball against the outer wall of his manager's office, every thump a reminder of how much he hated the disabled list.
Don Mattingly, the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, said he did not mind.
'He's just grumpy,' Mattingly said. 'He just wants to pitch.'
Kershaw got his wish at Nationals Park, making his first start since winning the opening game of the baseball season on March 22 in Australia. The Dodgers won both games in that series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, but winning may have come at a cost.
Kershaw, whose new seven-year, $215 million contract is a record for a pitcher, went on the disabled list for the first time in his career with a strained teres major muscle behind his left shoulder. Hyun-Jin Ryu, who won the other game in Australia, was placed on the disabled list last week with shoulder inflammation.
The Diamondbacks, meanwhile, have the National League's worst record, at 11-24 through Monday. The Dodgers were in third place in the N.L. West, at 18-15 before Tuesday's game. The trip may have helped build baseball in a largely untapped market, but it is hard to ignore the rough start by the good-will ambassadors.
'It's not worth it at all,' said Kenley Jansen, the Dodgers' closer. 'It's kind of scary when you go through something like that with Kershaw. We might think we're ready, but our body's not there yet. Only 15 games into spring training and then go play regular season - that's not smart at all. It went wrong for both of us, for us and Arizona, I feel like.'
Jansen added: 'I'm not trying to criticize it. I enjoyed it, don't get me wrong; it was the best trip, we played great games and it was fun for the fans. But I feel like, teamwise, guys weren't ready yet.'
Major league officials have hinted that there could soon be regular-season games in Europe, and Commissioner Bud Selig said in Denver last week that baseball would play games internationally in a 'surprise' location next season. The Dodgers, presumably, have done their part for the cause.
'It's one of those areas it doesn't do any good to talk about it, really,' Mattingly said. 'You just go forward and get ready to go. But so many pitchers are going down, no matter what, and some of those guys didn't go.'
That is a valid point for a season with a rash of leaguewide pitcher injuries, and it should be noted that some teams have started a season in Japan and gone deep into the playoffs, including the 2000 Mets, the 2004 Yankees and the 2008 Boston Red Sox.
In any case, the Dodgers cannot change it now, and they hoped Kershaw's presence could get them going. They trail the surprising Colorado Rockies and the first-place San Francisco Giants for a division crown they won last season.
The Dodgers took an unusual path to the playoffs then, going 30-42 through June 21 before winning 42 of their next 50 games through mid-August.
'There's no guarantees that this team will go 42-8 at one time,' said reliever Jamey Wright, who played for the Dodgers in 2012 and returned after a season with Tampa Bay. 'Do we have the talent to do it? Absolutely. But you've got to expect to win every time you walk through the door, and I think they had that last year. We're looking for it now, looking for that same spark.'
Last year, the Dodgers' rise coincided roughly with the arrival of outfielder Yasiel Puig and the installation of Jansen as the closer. Jansen has 11 saves in 13 chances now, and Puig has been dynamic as ever, even amid reports of his dangerous escape from Cuba in 2012.
Puig was out of the lineup Tuesday for the second game in a row, after crashing into the right-field wall in Miami on Sunday while trying for a game-saving catch in the bottom of the ninth inning. It was reckless, perhaps, but with two outs in a tie game, it was an all-out effort that encapsulated Puig's approach.
'That's why I think people gravitate toward Yasiel, because of the passion and how hard he goes,' Mattingly said. 'Do I want him to get hurt? No. I don't want him to run aimlessly into a wall. But when guys play the game, they want to make a great play. That's what they do.'
Mattingly would gladly take more routine plays from the Dodgers, who led the majors in errors through Monday and ranked 24th in team defense, according to Fangraphs.
'I'm concerned about our defense; that's one area I'm not afraid to talk about,' Mattingly said. 'I feel like we'll hit. Defensively, we've been inconsistent, so it concerns me - we've been consistently not very good. It's not like we've made a few errors and had a little stretch. We've consistently been not very good defensively. We've got to get better.'
Kershaw, who led the majors in strikeouts from 2011 through 2013, can help the defense simply by being himself. The Dodgers, and Kershaw, are ready for it.
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