Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth
But here's the thing. In a number of the games I saw where I felt he wilted under pressure, he was cruising along looking very much like his Cy Young dominant self, then just had a massive meltdown. I recall that twice, I believe, in the 7th inning against the Cardinals. Other games as well. So it's not like he just pitched poorly, it's more that he reached a point where he couldn't handle it.
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Or quite possibly, his manager managed him differently in the post season than in the regular season. We certainly see managers, especially today, manage their pitching staffs differently in the post season than in the regular season - because they are managing for five or seven games, not 162.
I can imagine that when you have a pitcher as dominant in the regular season as Kershaw, if he gets in a tight spot in the post-season, there may be a temptation to leave him in a bit longer and let him work through it. Not all pitchers, but one that got you this far. A manager/pitching coach looks down at the bullpen and asks himself - 'Who do I have that is better than Kershaw at this point?' Dance with who brung ya. If I'm a manager, I want my best pitchers throwing more innings in any postseason series.
I too had noticed the same thing with Clayton - great start to a game and then one bad inning. If it was the regular season, maybe he would have been pulled instead of staying out on the mound.