Dodgers Dugout: Could losing Clayton Kershaw be just what the Dodgers needed?

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell, and it looks like Clayton Kershaw was the one holding back the team all this time.

On a roll

If I may quote Kurt Russell from the movie “Miracle”: “Great moments are born from great opportunity. And that’s what you have here…. This is your time.”

And that is exactly what the Dodgers have now. Great opportunity. Losing Clayton Kershaw for a month is not a good thing and it seemed like everyone believed the Dodgers’ season was over when he went on the DL.

But it doesn’t look like anyone on the Dodgers believes that. They have won every game since he went on the DL. They swept the Rockies. They rallied to defeat the Orioles on Monday. And in those four games, they played like a team that wanted to prove to the world that they are more than just one man. Yasiel Puig is hitting .455 since Kershaw went on the DL. Corey Seager is hitting .412, Yasmani Grandal is hitting .375, Adrian Gonzalez is hitting .364. All the players that were slumping have come alive. They have closed within five games of the division-leading Giants, would qualify for the first wild-card spot if the season ended today and are on pace to win 91 games.

Could it just be coincidence? Sure. They might lose the next two to the Orioles. But it is also possible that they realize that Kershaw has carried them for four seasons and it’s time for them to carry him for a while.

Bye bye Julio?

If all goes as planned, Hyun-jin Ryu will be back with the Dodgers on Thursday. And unless they go with a six-man rotation, that means someone has to lose his starting job. The best bet is Julio Urias, who got roughed up by the Orioles on Monday. The team wanted to shut Urias down to conserve his innings anyway, and even if they didn’t, he has the worst numbers of anyone in the rotation right now.

How did that happen?

Brandon McCarthy and Bud Norris pitched like they thought they were Kershaw. In his last six starts, Norris is 5-1 with a 1.78 ERA, giving up only 23 hits and 9 walks while striking out 37 in 35 1/3 innings.

And don’t forget

Last year at this time, the Dodgers were 47-38. This year, even with all the complaining about losing Zack Greinke and the lengthy offensive slump, they are 48-37.

The magic number

Each week I will look at a uniform number a current Dodger is wearing and go through the history of that number with the Dodgers. When I was a kid and went to games, I was always curious who wore the number of my favorite players. Then again, I was a strange kid. For “best Dodgers to wear the number,” only the stats a player compiles while he was with the team and wearing that number count.

Next up is:

No. 28 (Bud Norris)

Best Dodgers to wear No. 28: Preacher Roe (1948-54), Wes Parker (1964-72), Mike Marshall (1974-76), Pedro Guerrero (1980-88).

Others to wear No. 28 with the Dodgers: Ray Benge (1933-35), Nick Tremark (1936), Eddie Wilson (1937), Art Parks (1937), Merv Shea (1938), Bert Haas (1938), Fred Sington (1939), Oris Hockett (1939), Tex Carleton (1940), Mace Brown (1941), Max Macon (1942-43), Hal Gregg (1943-47), Chuck Templeton (1955-56), Ralph Branca (1956), Bob Aspromonte (1960-61), Nick Willhite (1963), Jim Fairey (1973), Kal Daniels (1989-92), Rafael Bournigal (1992), Cory Snyder (1993-94), Todd Hollandsworth (1995-2000), Tom Goodwin (2000-01), Fred McGriff (2003), Jayson Werth (2004-05), Shea Hillenbrand (2007), Andy LaRoche (2007-08), Danny Ardoin (2008), Eric Milton (2009), Rod Barajas (2010-11), Jamey Wright (2012, 2014), Justin Sellers (2013), Chris Heisey (2015), Austin Barnes (2016).

What Vin Scully means to me

I asked you to tell me your best Vin Scully memory, and I got a lot of responses. I will publish selected ones in each newsletter. And keep emailing them to me.

Steve Kaye: I have been an L.A. Dodger fan for as long as they have been the L.A. Dodgers. And, like all fans, I have been spoiled by being able to have enjoyed the best baseball announcer in the history of the game. And while I have enjoyed countless memorable moments listening to Vin, perhaps my most memorable came on Sept. 9, 1965, the night Sandy Koufax pitched his perfect game.

My dad (another huge Dodger and Scully fan) and I were supposed to go the game that night and I can’t recall exactly why we couldn’t go. But we sat in the den of our Sherman Oaks home and listened to the broadcast. For us, listening to Vinny weave his stories and paint eloquent pictures of what was occurring on the field was better than anything TV could offer. Of course, we had no way of knowing what a magical night it would be for Sandy, Vinny, the Dodgers, their fans, and the baseball world.

Everyone, by now, has heard his call of that famous ninth inning. The perfect blend of information, silence, drama. We weren’t just waiting to know the next pitch as we were waiting to hear Vin call it. We were spellbound; trapped in this perfect web he was creating for us. He lured us in, pitch by pitch. “And the clock reads…” he would tell us. You were there. And it was a great memory that I was lucky enough to be able to share, together, with my dad.

And that is my favorite Vin Scully moment -- and Dodger games will never be the same once he has turned that mic off for the last time as their announcer.

The TV situation

If you would like to complain about the Dodgers’ TV situation, you have three options: The Dodgers, Time Warner Cable and whatever local cable or satellite provider you have that doesn’t carry the Dodgers. Here’s who to contact:

For the Dodgers, click here or call (866) DODGERS ([866] 363-4377). (I hope you like form letters).

For Time Warner, click here.

For DirecTV, call (800) 531-5000 or click here.

For your local cable or satellite provider, consult your bill for the customer service number and for the website.

And finally

Want to know how Andre Ethier is progressing in his return from a broken leg? Read all about it here.

Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me and follow me on Twitter: @latimeshouston

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