The Blame Game

I blame Eric Gagne. He spoiled me. I thought all Pitchers should be like him. Not gonna lie, for several years now, I've been an "average Girl." You know, the "What's their batting average?" kinda fan. Hitting was what intrigued me for awhile. Not that I didn't appreciate a good Pitchers' duel. Of course those are always fun. And I'll never tire of ten run leads- as long as the Dodgers are in the lead. But long gone were the days I thought of being brought close to tears by the swift motion of a Pitcher's arm. Tears of appreciation and oneness with the game- from the Fan's perspective. I still get chills when I hear "Welcome to the Jungle." (New Girls: they played that song every time Gagne came out of the bull pen.) I used to go to games hoping that we would win of course, but also hoping it would be a save situation just so I could see Gagne pitch. I didn't want a four or more run lead. I wanted to see Gagne pitch, so it had to be a save situation for him to come in. I love my Team as a whole, but Gagne was my favorite during his reign of GAME OVER!
So since then, I had comfortably settled into the routine of rooting for as many runs as possible. Dodger scored runs, of course. 
Enter Kershaw.
Now thanks to Kershaw, for the past few years, I'm back to being fascinated with the pitching: studying the thought process, communicating with the Catcher, watching the wind up, watching the release- swoosh! Right by the batter- STRIKE!  Granted the two are entirely different: Kershaw is our Ace starter present day. Gagne was our closer 2002-04. (He didn't start out that way- he actually began as a starting Pitcher, but that's another story.) Watching Gagne pitch could make me cry. Not kidding. (Ok ok,... so the "Girl" in me comes out- I cried. Moving on...) Seriously, he was absolute zen with the mound. He had complete control over that fast ball. He was a once in a lifetime sight. 
Enter Kershaw.
Watching the game today, I realized I was focused on Kershaw's pitching the same way I used to be focused on Gagne's. When our south paw Ace (New Girls: South Paw is a left handed Pitcher) is on, he's on. Today's game was a shut out: 2-0. Dodgers win. But it was a significant game for me, and I didn't realize it till I was driving home: I didn't care that not a lot of runs were scored one way or another. Yes, yes, it's always great to see the Dodgers pile on insurance runs, and thanks to Carl Crawford who scored the only two runs of the game with his two solo homers today, we got to stand and high five everywhere. But here's my personal point: for me, it was about being absorbed in the pitching because it was our Ace out there. His wind up is unique. He focuses. He reads himself. It's art. To me, what he does out there on the mound is art. Is he perfect? No. No one is. (Except maybe Koufax. I've seen tape.) He has his off-days, and who doesn't? But has Kershaw brought something to life on the Dodger mound that I hadn't seen since Gagne? For me he has. He becomes one with the pitching, and he never makes it about himself- he always makes it about the game. As a Pitcher, he has that certain something.  

And he's come a long way from his Dodger debut in 2008: he was good then, he is amazing now. I love our starting rotation, and think they are all extremely talented. But everyone has a favorite, don't you think? Just thought I would throw that out there today. Thanks, Eric Gagne, thanks for being the first Pitcher who I saw pitch live who really intrigued me and made me cry and fall in love with the sport all over again every time I watched you pitch. Thank you Clayton Kershaw for picking up where Gagne left off.