In a performance in which he displayed all the poise of a savvy veteran, Clayton Kershaw showed the national stage that he is one of the top left handers in the game today. Giant bats where thoroughly flustered as he managed to mix his breaking balls in with his fastball, recording 8 strikeouts in the first 4 innings in this opening day start.
Matching former Cy Young award winner Tim Lincecum pitch for pitch, Kershaw completed a seven inning stint, leaving the game with a 1-0 lead, in a game eventually won by the Dodgers 2-1.
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| Duane Kuiper and Mik Krukow, part of the Giant Broadcasting Team |
Reaction from the Giant Broadcasting Crew
Not a lot was said amongst Giant broadcasters about the Giant foibles last night. In a sloppy defensive game, the questionable weaknesses of the Giants were exposed. Tejada at shortstop is a risky venture and he cost his club a run with a throw into right field on a force play. Burrell in left is also a defensive liability and he failed to field a clean single while a hustling Gwynn arrived a second after taking advantage of the bobble.
Nary a word on the defensive gaffes was discussed amongst the broadcast team with the exception of the Posey error in an effort to catch a “napping” Matt Kemp. The consensus among the group was that his throw to third was a good idea, just poor execution. The Burrell gaffe wasn’t discussed and one of the announcer’s (Dave Fleming, I believe) selected him as the “player of the game.”
Taking the extra base
There were obvious changes in the Dodger approach to running the bases yesterday. It appears that Davey Lopes’ mark on the team is appraent. Tony Gwynn Jr. took advantage of the Burrell error. Uribe attempted to stretch a single to a double unsuccessfully. Kemp, easily stole a base, forced an error (Tejada’s throw) by going all out on a routine grounder, and scored on the error where his head was down (but in reality he was a step from the bag when the head was down).
Speaking of Kemp, his day was a promising start. 1 for 1 with three walks. His patience at the plate was very refreshing to see.
All in all, it was a very tough day for hitters. The two aces pitching combined with the shadows at twilight was cause for a very difficult afternoon/evening for the bats.
Giant post game "call-in" show
Former Major Leaguer and Bay Area native/ lifetime Giant fan, Eric Byrnes, fielded post game calls on the Giant flagship station. Any Dodger fan that called in he removed from the show with the sound effect of a toilet flushing. The show concluded with the “Dodgers suck!” chant. Real classy, but Byrnes gets it. Bashing the Dodgers is popular sport in these parts. I predict that his show will be very successful if he continues to conduct it in that fashion. Last years host, T.J. Simer’s whipping boy, F.P. Santangelo, (who has since moved to be a commentator for the Wahington Natonals), ran the same show in the same manner and they loved him here.
Eric Karros was this morning’s Dodger related interview on the Giant station morning show
So this morning’s Murph and Mac Show interviewed Eric Karros. Innitially they exchanged pleasantries and spoke of his brief time with the Oakland A’s at the end of his career. Brian Murphy asked Karros if the Dodger fans are “pissed off” (his words) over the Giant success.
Karros: “Last night’s crowd definitely had a hum to it. They are playing the World Champions. There has always been an intensity when they play the San Francisco, but it has been heightened by the Giants success.
Murphy: "So tell us about the Dodgers, how good are they?"
Karros: “They have holes. Six or seven key holes. They can win it, but thereoare deficiencies and question marks that need to be answer. Is Furcal healthy? Will Kemp come back to the player he was two years ago? Loney’s power? Can Kershaw raise to elite status? Can Broxton return to form? If all those things turn out positively, they can win it. I just see the Dodgers with more question marks than the Giants. The Giants have the fewest question marks with two or three, and then Rockies, then followed by the Dodgers.
Murphy: “Let’s talk about the Giants, how will they do?”
Karros: “It all depends on their ability to catch the ball. There are questions about the shortstop position, the most important defensive position. Tejada, he needs to be seviceable, not less than average, like last night. He’s getting up there in age. For the Giants, you dont want to give everyone ammunition. Last night was not a good start.”
“I think Brian Wilson will be fine. What will you get out of Sandoval? The bottom line is that he still swings at everything. Pitchers don’t throw him anything close. He needs plate discipline, not FOOD plate discipline, something he has done very well with this off-season. We are talking about home plate discipline. This is a big deal to his success. Is he the player from two years ago or the guy we saw last night?”
Murphy: “What do you think of (their new firstbaseman) Brandon Belt? I believe the stat line I saw last night showed that he was in the box for 39 of the 125 pitches thrown last night by the Dodgers”
Karros: “I spoke to J.T. Snow many times about him last year and he raved about the kid and what he’s capable of doing. I’m not surprised he’s on the roster and it is well deserved, based on his spring training. The only thing going against him is Buster Posey. Posey’s seamless transition to adjusting to the Major Leagues has made his expectations too high. Posey is a special player. It’s not that easy. If he (Belt) hits 15-20 homers and shows good plate discipline, he’ll be fine.”
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The morning show concluded this morning by announcing the news of an “unprovoked attack” by Dodger fans that beat a Giant fan into unconsciousness in the Dodger Parking lot. They report that a Giant fan is in critical condition at a Los Angeles hospital. This story is leading off the top and bottom of the hour news updates. Very sad news indeed.
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