So far the Dodgers have played seven post-season games this year. In three of those games, Clayton Kershaw did not appear -- the Dodgers lost those games by scores of 5-2, 8-3, and 8-4. In the other four games, Kershaw either started or closed -- the Dodgers won those games by scores of 4-3, 6-5, 4-3, and 1-0. Last night, Kershaw and closer Kenley Jansen put on a performance for the ages -- Kershaw shut them out for seven innings (allowing only two hits along the way), and then Jansen retired six Cubs in a row to end the game.
But it's unlikely that Kershaw will be at full strength until Game Six, which is scheduled for Saturday in Chicago. Furthermore, if the Cubs sweep all three games in Los Angeles, there won't be any Game Six. So in order to save their season, the Dodgers will need to find some way to beat the Cubs without using Kershaw. That will not be easy.
NATIONAL LEAGUE:
Chicago and Los Angeles are tied 1-1
AMERICAN LEAGUE:
Cleveland leads Toronto 2-0
Kershaw now has more Wins Above Replacement for L.A. than any other Dodger I can remember seeing. Here is the list of highest WAR Dodgers since I started watching baseball:
ReplyDelete1. Clayton Kershaw: 54
2. Don Sutton: 49
3. Ron Cey: 47
4. Orel Hershiser: 45
5. Fernando Valenzuela: 37
6. Steve Garvey: 36
That's an amazingly accurate list. WAR is the best stat ever.
Really?!? You would rate Sutton as more valuable than Hershiser or Valenzuela and Cey more valuable than Garvey? I'm not doubting you're correct; I'm just surprised.
DeleteYou have to remember that Sutton's career goes all the way back to the mid-1960's; we only saw the tail end. And even then, he was more dependable than Hershiser or Valenzuela, who tended to be streaky.
DeleteWhen I was 11 years old, I liked Garvey better than Cey. But I realize now that good-hitting third basemen are extremely rare and very valuable. The main reason that team was so successful was because it got so much offensive production from second, short, and third.
Here are the A's with the most WAR (for the A's) during my fandom:
ReplyDelete1. Rickey Henderson: 72
2. Sal Bando: 52
3. Bert Campaneris: 48
4. Reggie Jackson: 48
5. Mark McGwire: 42
6. Eric Chavez: 34
Henderson is absolutely No. 1, but my baseball-card sense of things was that Campaneris, Jackson, Vida Blue, Catfish Hunter, Rollie Fingers and maybe Joe Rudi were all more valuable than Bando.
DeleteAgain, Bando is doing his thing at third -- the gap between him and the typical third baseman was much bigger than the gap between, say, Vida Blue and the typical starting pitcher.
DeleteAnd here are the top 5 Nats:
ReplyDelete1. Ryan Zimmerman: 33
2. Bryce Harper: 21
3. Jordan Zimmermann: 21
4. Livan Hernandez: 20
5. Stephen Strasburg: 18
Hernandez's total includes some time he spent up in Montreal, so that really shouldn't count. The other four are clearly the four players who have done the most for the Nats.
Delete