Clayton Kershaw blasts DH rule: ‘Baseball’s a two-sided game.’

Clayton Kershaw

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is a .153 hitter in 577 career plate appearances. (Keith Birmingham/Staff photographer)

Count Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw among the fans of National League baseball.

Speaking at a team function at Los Angeles City Hall on Friday, Kershaw said he’s pleased with commissioner Rob Manfred’s decision to table discussion of bringing the designated hitter rule to the NL.

“It’s just a better game. It really is,” Kershaw said. “Baseball’s a two-sided game. You’ve got to play offense, you’ve got to play defense. I know there’s a lot of great hitters that DH, I’m not trying to take anything away from them, but they all started somewhere. They all played first base, all played a position. They all still could do it if they had to. That’s the truer fun of baseball.

“Selfishly, I love taking batting practice. Hitting in the game is fun, too. I would miss that part of it for sure.”

Here’s video of Kershaw speaking today about losing pitcher Zack Greinke to the Arizona Diamondbacks and his off-season training:
Continue reading “Clayton Kershaw blasts DH rule: ‘Baseball’s a two-sided game.’” »

Assessing the Zack Greinke fallout, one day later.

Clatyon Kershaw Zack Greinke

Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw might not be BFFs anymore, but what does that really mean for the Dodgers going forward? (Associated Press photo)

One of the better Zack Greinke analogies I’ve read in the last 24 hours came from Jeff Sullivan at FanGraphs: “The Dodgers didn’t lose a war. They fell short in this particular battle.”

I’m not sure what kind of sentences were written after, say, Antietam. But there is a certain sense of shock and loss among fans who have taken time to chime in on Twitter and Facebook. For now hindsight is easy and foresight is difficult. We don’t know exactly where the Dodgers will go from here, only that the days of Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke at the top of the starting rotation are over. As of this writing, most fans are OK with that.

A few things to consider for perspective:
Continue reading “Assessing the Zack Greinke fallout, one day later.” »

Poll: Do you agree with the Dodgers’ decision to let Zack Greinke go?

Zack Greinke has signed a six-year contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks, reportedly worth $195 $206.5 million. Magic Johnson said that Greinke was the Dodgers’ number-one priority as recently as Tuesday, but the co-owner acknowledged that an “off the charts” offer could change things.

No baseball player has ever received a higher average annual value than the reported $32.5$34.42 million going to Greinke — the literal definition of “off the charts.”

Simple question: Do you agree with the decision to let Greinke walk?


Zack Greinke to sign with Arizona Diamondbacks.

Zack Greinke

Pitcher Zack Greinke will sign a six-year, $206.5 million contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks, once he passes a physical. (Hans Gutknecht/Staff photographer)

Pitcher Zack Greinke has a contract agreement with the Arizona Diamondbacks, pending a physical. The news was first reported by Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports.

According to multiple reports, Greinke will receive a six-year contract. Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that the contract will pay a total of $195 million, or $32.5 million per season, the highest ever for a baseball player. According to multiple reports, Greinke will receive $206.5 million total, for a record average value of $34.42 million per season.

Continue reading “Zack Greinke to sign with Arizona Diamondbacks.” »

Season in review about nothing: Zack Greinke, ‘The Reverse Peephole.’

Zack Greinke

Free agent pitcher Zack Greinke set a franchise record with his 225 ERA-plus for the Dodgers in 2015. (Hans Gutknecht/Staff photographer)

This is Part 18 of a series in which every member of the 2015 Dodgers has his season juxtaposed with an episode of the greatest sitcom of all-time. Don’t take it too seriously.

Zack Greinke, P.

Key stats: 19-3, 1.66 ERA (225 ERA+), 0.844 WHIP in 32 starts (222 ⅔ IP).

Seinfeld episode: “The Reverse Peephole” (season 9, episode 12).

Key quote: “Important things go in a case. You got a skull for your brain, a plastic sleeve for your comb, and a wallet for your money.”
Continue reading “Season in review about nothing: Zack Greinke, ‘The Reverse Peephole.’” »