February 23rd, 2019 at 8:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka Pardon my crudeness, but as a very dear late friend of mine often used to say: “You can polish a turd, but it’s still a turd.”
By all appearances, the Dodgers might be polishing a turd.
On Wednesday afternoon it was being widely reported that Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw, whom the Dodgers re-signed to a lofty three-year / $93 million contract extension on November 2, 2018 that will take him through the 2021 season, experienced “some frustration” with his bullpen session earlier in the day; his third of the spring and first since throwing live batting practice on Monday morning. As a result, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts gave the 30-year-old Dallas, Texas native and future Hall of Famer Thursday off.
“He didn’t feel his best and we knew it was going to rain today so I told him to just go home,” Roberts told reporters on Thursday morning. “He’s a little down, so I just said go home. He just didn’t feel right.
“I don’t want to overplay it, because I’m going to give him some days off this spring anyway,” added Roberts. “He didn’t say he was hurt, just that it didn’t feel as good as he wanted to feel. Just some frustration. He worked really hard this off-season. I know it’s vague, but right now there’s nothing more to it than that.”
Pass me that polish, would you?
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)
But upon returning to the Dodgers spring training facility at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona on Friday, the three-time Cy Young award winner, seven-time All-Star, former Triple Crown winner, former MLB MVP, five-time ERA champion, former MLB Player of the Year, and Gold Glove winner met with reporters after having not picked up a baseball all day and instead spent his morning in the weight room … and meeting with trainers. Here’s what Kershaw told reporters after his workout:
“I’m just taking a few days to reset and go from there. I’m not going to be super specific right now. I should be playing catch in the next few days. This is super early and just want to make sure things are right. If not by this weekend, then the first of next week and go from there.”
If this doesn’t make you a bit anxious, what Roberts said on Friday probably will:
“Not fatigue. Not back. Just arm kind of thing. He did great work this winter. It’s more of, you don’t feel right, get back in the weight room and just reset.
“No, I’m pretty good at reading players, reading Clayton and listening to the training staff. There’s no … no one’s alarmed or worried by it. There’s plenty of time for him to get his ‘pens in and build up. He holds himself to a high standard. He really wasn’t pleased with how he felt. It’s sort of a day-to-day thing.
“I don’t want to go out there and say that’s what it is, but when I listen to Clayton and the training staff, this is the right way to go about it, and potentially it could be something like that. We’re looking at the calendar, just to push things back is prudent, and that’s what we’re doing right now.
“To say when he’s going to pitch his next ‘pen, I can’t say right now. We’re leaving that to him and the trainers on when that is. Right now, to step away and give him a couple days is what we want to do.”
Let the polishing begin.
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Posted in 
https://t.co/LP9QvgEi5Z
Yup-I’m scared https://t.co/kgeZBTOp9J
I don’t feel too optimistic because things like this have a way of getting worse. But here’s hoping that I’m wrong.
Of course there’s concern, but too early to panic. Remember, this is Kersh.
“. . .it didn’t feel as good as he wanted to feel.” Other pitchers could describe the same thing as “That was a great bullpen!”
We just have to wait and see.
Roberts always plays down injuries because he’s overly optimistic by nature. As a result, I don’t believe him at all. This could be nothing series. But, Kershaw has been injured and gotten worse each year for the last 3 years. He also hasn’t pitched 200 innings during the regular season in each of those years. I wish the guy would go see the surgeon and get his back fixed. I’m not sure if his arm, shoulder or bicep issues are related to back or something else.
Per Alana: Kersh on meds. Do you know anything about that?
Nothing new Roberts talks and says nothing.
Is there a middle ground between “alarmed” and “worried”? It’s very early, after all.
It is said that throwing overhand is an unnatural motion and Kershaw has been increasingly fragile. Maybe he is running out of bullets but… turd… that’s pretty offensive.
You obviously don’t understand the old saying. And if that offends you, you probably should find another site.
No. I understand the saying, but if you are effectively saying Kershaw is/has become a shitty player, that is extremely offensive considering all he’s done for the Dodgers and that he’s a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer.
It’s the start of spring training and “he doesn’t feel right” and you grossly over-react. Might I suggest you take a pill or something.
How about: You can polish Mario Mendoza, but he’ll still bat .200.
I might have found it offensive too, but the context was plenty clear. Calm down, I really doubt we’ll ever see the day that Ron calls Kersh a turd. Now Bummer. . . .that’s a different story entirely.
BTW – It was reported on Saturday that the Dodgers are NOT going to schedule an MRI for Kershaw. What is that telling us?
Either they’re not concerned or they give up? I’ll go with not concerned.
You have the Ace ( at least for now ) who threw on Monday and said he still didn´t feel right and still no MRI?.
You took the words right off my keyboard. I do not understand the thinking that avoids a non-invasive test.
Maybe, in a secret surgery, they replaced one or more of the bones in his left arm with steel and they can’t do an MRI;)