When Dodgers manager Dave Roberts elected not to have Dodgers ace and future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw start on Opening Day for only the fifth time in his soon-to-be 15-year MLB career, it set into motion a series of events, most of which Roberts and Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman had complete control over. But the one thing that they – nor any mortal human being – have control over is the weather.

When Kershaw did not start Game-1 of the 2022 season – or Game-2, or Game-3 – against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field in Denver, most savvy baseball writers (and savvy Dodgers fans) thought for sure that Roberts and Friedman had a well-devised plan to have the 34-year-old Dallas, TX native and three-time Cy Young Award winner be the team’s starting pitcher for the much-celebrated Home Opener at Dodger Stadium on Thursday, April 14, 2022, against the Cincinnati Reds.

Wrong.

According to the Dodgers list of probable starting pitchers, Kershaw is scheduled to make his 2022 season debut on Wednesday, April 13, 2022, at 10:10 AM (PDT) against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field in downtown Minneapolis.

That’s the good news.

…sort of.

Instead of making his first start of what may very well be Kershaw’s final season at presumably dryer and considerably warmer Dodger Stadium on Thursday evening, the eight-time All-Star is slated to pitch on Wednesday at Target Field, where the daytime high is forecast to be 47 degrees with a 20 percent chance of rain.

Keep in mind that Kershaw is on the mend from “left forearm discomfort,” which caused him to miss the 2021 postseason and for which he received a PRP (platelet-rich plasma) injection, with no plan (or intention) of having the dreaded Tommy John surgery. (Hence that ‘may very well be Kershaw’s final season‘ thing).

All of this said, and despite a 20 percent chance that Kershaw will not be making his season debut on Wednesday, there is an eighty percent chance that he will … Creedance Clearwater Revival‘s famous song lyrics notwithstanding:

“Hope you got your things together
Hope you are quite prepared to die
Looks like we’re in for nasty weather
One eye is taken for an eye”

Play Ball!

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