Dodgers: This Clayton Kershaw playoff shortcoming was different

It was another playoff shortcoming for Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers although this was not the typical one for Kershaw.

The 2019 postseason ended in familiar fashion for the Dodgers and Clayton Kershaw.  Clayton sat subdued and faced the music from reporters after another October letdown.  Kershaw said what people say about him and his postseason shortcomings are true, something that there is no debate about anymore.

Still, despite the familiar ending for the Dodgers and their fans, this ending was different.  This wasn’t about the greatest pitcher of our generation “choking” in October yet again.  This was more about the current skill level of Kershaw and he was beat.  In 2016 he came out of the bullpen against the Nationals at a time when he still threw 94-95 miles per hour with a sharp breaking slider.

This time he came out of the bullpen a slightly declined version of himself.  The slider that Anthony Rendon took him deep on was not in a bad spot, it was actually closer to Rendon’s ankles than it was to his knees.  But for a pitcher whose fastball and slider are now just several ticks apart on the radar gun, it was a much more hittable pitch than it would’ve been the last time he came out of the pen to face the Nationals.

His slider to Juan Soto was a different case. It was simply a hanging slider and these days there is not much wiggle room for mistakes from Clayton.  Soto did what great hitters do and he made Kershaw pay, smashing a no-doubt home run into the pavilions and put the finishing touches on another October nightmare for Clayton Kershaw.

Clayton’s one start in the NLDS was also more of a reflection on his 2019 talent level than it was an average start and a let down by Kershaw’s lofty standards.  Kershaw went six innings and allowed three earned runs.  On most nights like it was in the regular season, it would have been enough to give the Dodgers a win after another “quality start”.

With the Dodger offense going against a dominant Stephen Strasburg it was not enough this time.  The Dodgers had their shot in the ninth inning but just as Kershaw has done many times in October, they too came up short and now Andrew Friedman has to ponder if this offense can be trusted in another postseason.

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But back to Kershaw and why this playoff shortcoming was different.  This wasn’t Kershaw blowing multiple leads as he did during his prime in the 2017 World Series or one of the many times before that.  This was Kershaw pitching to his current skill level and he was simply beat rather than another “choke”.

Scott Boras talked about Hyun-Jin Ryu turning 33 before next season and how his arm is more like the arm of a 27-year-old pitcher in terms of wear and tear.  Clayton Kershaw will turn 32 next spring although after carrying the Dodgers’ rotation on his back for more than a decade, his body is more like that of a much older starting pitcher.

Debates will rage on about if he should have been in the game after retiring Adam Eaton, which is always easily argued in hindsight.  He probably shouldn’t have pitched to Rendon and Soto although he did and now the Dodgers are left wondering why they are sitting at home and watching the Washington Nationals cruise to the World Series.

Barring some unforeseen disaster in 2020, the Dodgers should cruise to another NL West tile next year and have a chance to make amends for what went wrong in 2019.  When they get there hopefully they remember that Kershaw is an aging starting pitcher and they don’t try to bring him out of the bullpen once again.