[chaddurbin]

didn't feel good about kershaw going into game 1, but feeling better about today's start. his stuff has really gone down this year, not sure if it's the injuries or just age. he's still getting used to the art of pitching to (soft) contact. some days he looks like maddux but other days it could be estaban loaiza.

watching both series it feels like the nl is the JV to the AL. don't think either team here has a chance against bos or houston. i love analytics, but dodgers is just making a mockery of it with the lineup shuffles, positioning, pitching matchups, launch angles/exit velocities. they don't want ground balls so they try to uppercut everything or ends up striking out. the small edges is great when it works out for your team, but i wouldn't call it a pleasant fan experience watching 5 hours of that.

edit: i loved the manny trade when it happened but yea i'll be glad to get seager back next year...unlike manny 1.0 this manny just doesn't feel like one of "us". good thing we got ss and 3b locked up so the fo won't have to think about bringing machado back next year.