Oof. 8-2. Dodgers fall to the Cards. Now 2 back of San Francisco. And the Giants are tied in the 7th as I write this.
Actually, maybe I can exhale now since the Dodgers had been on a winning streak since I began posting. That's quite a bit to carry on one's shoulders. (I'm kidding. Please tell me you knew that.)
This gives me a chance to talk about losses. No loss is easy, and with every win there is indeed a loss.
It's just easier when it's the other team that loses.
I want to discuss Kershaw. Today he's charged with 8 runs. That is one run shy of the most he's given up in a game: 9. Wow. When he sat in the dugout after being pulled with two outs in the 6th, he looked dejected. He looked like that kid who had dreamed of making it to the big leagues all his life and now there's this.
Yes, boys have feelings, too. Sometimes I think they are more sensitive than girls like to admit.
Here's the deal with Kershaw:
He's still a kid. He's 24. He has time. He may not be pitching like the Cy Young winner that he is, but that doesn't mean he's lost it. There is a difference between weird growing pains and not having chemistry with your team (see earlier blog entry where I talk about Zsa Zsa Zsu).
Clayton has the chemistry. He's a great pitcher. And he's young. He's just going through some... stuff.
We all do.
This is what I meant in my first entry earlier this week about remaining true and loyal to your team. Loyalty applies to the individual players as well. If they are in a slump, don't you dare walk away from them. Feel free to shower them with a bit of "tough love" and call them out on their mistakes, but do not under any circumstances turn on them.
I was taught baseball by my Grandpa. He taught me to love the Dodgers. I took that with me into adulthood.
He also taught my cousin- a boy- to love the Dodgers. Grandpa took him to games. He taught him to root for the Dodgers and to despise the Yankees. Then when my cousin grew up, he started to root for the Yankees. I asked him why on earth would he do such a thing. His answer: "I got tired of rooting for a losing team. I wanted to root for a winner."
Wow.
I could never turn on my team just like I could never turn on my friends or family. I can't even turn on that cousin (although I can't promise anything if he ever starts rooting for the "California" Angels- wait- where do they play again?)
But there is a difference between defining a slump and identifying lack of chemistry. Again, Clayton isn't washed up. He had a bad day. He's actually having a weird season. While he hasn't been showing the best stuff he has so far this season, I honestly feel it can be chalked up to growing pains. He is still a Dodger, and deserves Dodger fan love. He's going to be just fine. This is instinct. Pure instinct on my part. And I dare say I have been known to own some when it comes to baseball and the Dodgers. Just ask the Broxton fans who unfriended me on Facebook.
Lindblom came in for a rescue in the bottom of the 6th. He allowed 2 runs to score, which were both charged to Kershaw.
I like Lindblom. In my mind, he wasn't expecting to be called up in the 6th. After all, we had Kershaw on the mound. But Josh is young, too. He's 25. He just needs to be groomed a bit more. He most likely needs to work on the focus it takes to be ready at any given moment. Warm up fast- whether it's the 4th or the 6th or the 9th.
If only Rick Honeycutt would stop spending SO much time on a few select relievers and balance out the opportunities a bit more, maybe Lindblom would see a few more times on the mound... and thus get used to it (oh look- an opinion. Shocker).
To be certain, the Boys in Blue had their moments today:
L.A. struck first when Rivera hit a double to drive in Ethier which allowed the Dodgers to take a 1-0 lead. Then Luis Cruz continued his RBI streak. His single drove in Loney (see? Cruz. Kim's instinct).
The Dodgers had a good winning streak before today. They swept the Mets in the last series. And the team as a whole pulls together when they need to. But the pitching needs some... some pizzazz. Starting as well as relief.
Just like we do sometimes, Girls. Sometimes we need some pizzazz in our lives. Sometimes we need to be responsible for it ourselves- it's our own happiness that we are capable of finding. We - just like the Dodgers- are perfectly capable of standing on our own two feet.
But with a little help from our friends or team mates, finding that sweet spot is so much more satisfying.
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