Kuroda vs Kershaw Post-Mortem: Believe The Hype

Usually when the hottest starting pitchers in baseball match up, something gums up the works and the anticipated duel comes up a little shy of expectations. This was decidedly not the case on Wednesday night as the game went to script with former teammates Hiroki Kuroda and Clayton Kershaw throwing zeros at each other all night long.

It was a thing of beauty, until the Dodgers screwed up the top of the 9th resulting in a 3-0 Yankees win. Not that I'm complaining.

On the surface, the casual observer would look at each starter's 10-6 record and see the potential in the face-off. But beneath the surface, it's hard to find two better pitchers right now.

The Kuroda and Kershaw Win-Loss records do not reflect the betrayal from their bullpens or the complete non-support from their offenses. Sure enough they each got no-decisions again last night, mostly because they faced each other. They each gave up some line drives, but they were all hit right at hyper-engaged position players.

Kershaw's ERA dropped to a microscopic 1.87 (leading NL), while Kuroda's is now 2.38 (2nd in AL). In July, Kershaw has allowed just 7 runs in 6 starts for a 1.34 ERA. And Kuroda allowed just 2 runs in 5 starts for a 0.55 ERA.

In Kuroda's case, he is one of those rare cases where he pitches only once every 5 days, but carries the team. And when he struck out Skip Schumaker with two Dodgers on base to end the 7th, he showed the fire and passion of a veteran leader in any language.

Kuroda's 2.38 mark is currently the best by a Yankee starter since Ron Guidry's legendary 1978 season (25-3, 1.74), the best season by any starting pitcher in my lifetime.

Now if we can just get him some runs...

Backtime Redux: West Coast Wedding Edition

Occasionally I remember that I once wrote something that tangentially connects to the events of the day. So I throw a fancy intro on it, update a couple of the subjects and there it is: today's weblog.

Backtime may have found the smoking gun: Jason Collins, a grown man, smiling widely at a wedding. We should have known it then. At least I think the tooth whitener model is Jason (his twin brother Jaron was also a groomsman and I don't know them well enough to tell the difference).

Jared Stacy and Caitlin McGinty Stacy are happily married (I assume), though Jared shed the humble associate producer title long ago. He's bigger in the NBA now than either of the wedding's bookends.

And I continue to plod along in my career. Though I'm in a committed, long-term relationship with the ceremony's most beautiful attendee.

So in honor of Jason Collins, a fine NBA center, please enjoy this re-post.

June 15, 2009

Spent the past weekend out west. Attended a family wedding at the picturesque Montecito Country Club in the Santa Barbara hills, overlooking the Pacific.

The groom was my second cousin, Jared Stacy - known throughout my family as the west coast version of me (except that he's better looking, smarter, and younger). He followed me into the TV biz, working as an associate producer on Dodgers and Lakers games. Does he get two rings this weekend? Anyway, here he is with his parents at his last recorded moment of freedom:


This is an important moment since there was something from his lovely bride, Caitlin McGinty, in the wedding vows about an 80-year contract. That's going to be tough to renegotiate.

As for the sports angle, the groomsmen included a couple of NBA big men, Jaron and Jason Collins, who attended Stanford with the groom.

Legendary Dodgers' broadcaster Vin Scully was working and couldn't officiate the ceremony, but he lent Jared his cuff links for the occasion.

And there was an official announcement in the Dodgers' game notes. (I have to learn to photoshop)


Good nuance at the reception. The house red wine was Syrah. The Irish folk dancers were captivating (later emulated by the bride and her siblings). The cupcakes were the best ever.
As for me, with my bride stuck in the Savannah weather center due to a staff wedding down here (congrats to David & Jess by the way), I brought a younger woman.

No such weather issues on the California coast. This one stole the show on many occasions.

Except for my pregame Friday Night toast when I had to explain to her that at least for a few minutes that I was Paris Hilton and she was the chihuahua.

That's alright, take an 80-year contract with her any day.

Looking for a Hiro? Yanks Look Like They've Found One

That's Hiroki Kuroda, the Yankees starting pitcher, being congratulated by catcher Russell Martin after a complete game, 2-hit, 17-groundout, 109-pitch, 2-hour-and-35-minute shutout masterpiece. And he did it against the Texas Rangers, arguably the best offensive team in baseball.

After a solid, but not stellar career in Japan (103-89 in 10 seasons), Kuroda went to the Dodgers for 3 years. He had flashes of brilliance - a near perfect game against the Braves in 2008, but for the most part he's been a modest MLB starter.

2008    9-10, 3.73
2009     8-7, 3.76
2010   11-13, 3.39
2011   13-16, 3.07

Not too bad. He's an innings eater with a much better than average ERA, but the Yankees took a chance on him anyway as their #2 starter. It didn't look good at first. Through 9 starts, Kuroda was 3-6, 4.56. But the Yankees stuck by their investment and it has been a dream.

In his last 15 starts, he's 8-2 with a 2.30. And he's gone 7+ innings in 11 of the 15 starts in the heat of summer, and is one of the most dominant pitchers in the AL.

Now Kuroda's innings and presence are magnified with C.C. Sabathia headed to the DL for a second time this year. How do you say "ace" in Japanese?

Backtime Play By Play: West Coast Wedding Edition

Spent the past weekend out west. Attended a family wedding at the picturesque Montecito Country Club in the Santa Barbara hills, overlooking the Pacific.

The groom was my second cousin, Jared Stacy - known throughout my family as the west coast version of me (except that he's better looking, smarter, and younger). He followed me into the TV biz, working as an associate producer on Dodgers and Lakers games. Does he get two rings this weekend? Anyway, here he is with his parents at his last recorded moment of freedom:

This is an important moment since there was something from his lovely bride, Caitlin McGinty, in the wedding vows about an 80-year contract. That's going to be tough to renegotiate.

As for the sports angle, the groomsmen included a couple of NBA big men, Jaron and Jason Collins, who attended Stanford with the groom.

Legendary Dodgers' broadcaster Vin Scully was working and couldn't officiate the ceremony, but he lent Jared his cuff links for the occasion.

And there was an official announcement in the Dodgers' game notes. (I have to learn to photoshop)

Good nuance at the reception. The house red wine was Syrah. The Irish folk dancers were captivating (later emulated by the bride and her siblings). The cupcakes were the best ever.

As for me, with my bride stuck in the Savannah weather center due to a staff wedding down here (congrats to David & Jess by the way), I brought a younger woman.

No such weather issues on the California coast. This one stole the show on many occasions.

Except for my pregame Friday Night toast when I had to explain to her that at least for a few minutes that I was Paris Hilton and she was the chihuahua.

That's alright, take an 80-year contract with her any day.