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Dodgers: Latest criticism of Clayton Kershaw is mind-numbing

ByThomas Carannante|
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - OCTOBER 15: Clayton Kershaw #22 of the Los Angeles Dodgers is taken out of the game against the Atlanta Braves during the sixth inning in Game Four of the National League Championship Series at Globe Life Field on October 15, 2020 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - OCTOBER 15: Clayton Kershaw #22 of the Los Angeles Dodgers is taken out of the game against the Atlanta Braves during the sixth inning in Game Four of the National League Championship Series at Globe Life Field on October 15, 2020 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

Apparently Clayton Kershaw leading the Dodgers to a win in Game 1 of the World Series wasn’t enough for some people.

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw gets endless hate when it comes to his postseason track record. Every time he falters is another opportunity for a talking head to marginalize his case for the Hall of Fame or delegitimize his greatness.

So you’d think after he got his team out to a 1-0 lead in the World Series against the Tampa Bay Rays, all that criticism would put all that on hold, right? Well, it did for the most part, but as you can imagine, there are people out there who are still finding a way to discredit the left-hander.

Now the conversation has shifted to … this.

This is a Major League Baseball lineup that has made it to the World Series. The Rays took down the New York Yankees and Houston Astros on the way here. While Tampa is lacking in many offensive categories, they led all postseason teams with 25 home runs heading into the Fall Classic and they’ve easily been playing the best defense.

So just because this isn’t the top-ranked Atlanta Braves offense or the incessantly deep Yankees lineup, we’re not going to tip our hat to Kershaw, who pitched six innings of one-run ball, allowing only two hits and a walk on 78 pitches? He allowed one baserunner and one homer from innings 2-6! That’s really good!

But, of course, it’s not good enough for some people.

The fact of the matter is that the narrative won’t change until Kershaw and the Dodgers win a World Series. But guess what? Even if that happens in 2020, you can bet there will be people saying it’s not a “real” championship due to the current circumstances of no fans and no travel.

Those people can enjoy themselves in whatever alternate reality they exist in. Clayton Kershaw won a World Series game and defeated the second-best regular-season team in Major League Baseball. That’s a win. It’s in the history books. And it doesn’t matter if the opposing offense wasn’t “good enough” to convince you of Kershaw’s ability to perform on the big stage.

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