Saturday, May 24, 2008

The phenom has arrived

For the Dodgers, the future is NOW.

Clayton Kershaw has officially been called up and is set to make his Major League debut on Sunday against the St. Louis Cardinals. The 20-year-old is the best pitching prospect in the Dodgers' organization, and arguably in baseball as a whole.

The original report called for him to start the next time the Dodgers needed a 5th starter, which would have been Tuesday in Chicago. But, they decided that may not have been the best time to throw him in there, so Sunday it is. It's a good decision, even if it means I won't get to see him pitch when I'm at the Mets-Dodgers game on June 1. Oh well.

The move also means a bunch of other moves. To start with, Chad Billingsley and Hiroki Kuroda will now be pitching on Monday and Tuesday, respectively, against the Cubs. That's a good thing considering how well the Cubs have been playing. It also means that I'll see Kuroda against the Mets... vs. Johan Santana! Ugh...

For Esteban Loaiza, the move also means quite possibly the end of his Dodgers' career. He was designated for assignment, and he'll probably be given his outright release in 10 days. The team tried to make it work, but it just hasn't. He'll argue that he was never given consistent starts, which is true, but that's something that needs to be earned, and I can't say he's done that. Too many injuries along the way certainly didn't help his cause.

Yhency Brazoban will also be sent back down to Triple-A Las Vegas. He's only been in 2 games since being recalled on May 9, so getting him more appearances will be key. He'll be back.

I for one am really excited about tomorrow's game. It's a dream day for us Laker/Dodger fans - Kershaw's debut first, then Lakers going up 3-0 on San Antonio later. And a day off Monday!

Life, indeed, is perfect.

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