Much like those old EF Hutton commercials back in the day: “When [Clayton Kershaw] speaks, people listen.”

Clayton Kershaw spoke, and people listened – or at least should have.

The irony is that what the 34-year-old Dallas, TX native, and Dodgers first-round draft pick in 2006 out of Highland Park High School in University Park, TX said, we pretty much already knew – or at least should have; that the greatest Dodgers left-hander since Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax was hurt, this despite evasive comments by Kershaw himself and by Dodgers manager Dave Roberts.

“Arm’s good; back is getting there,” Kershaw told SportsNet LA’s Kirsten Watson on Thursday afternoon. “You know, I think initially, I didn’t want to kind of admit that I was hurt, and so we tried to just get going, and I just needed some time, so I didn’t throw for a few days, and I’ve been throwing now for the last three or four days.

“And today I threw up to 90 feet and feel better, and it’s getting there. It’s just a matter of kind of getting over that hurdle, getting back on a mound, and getting going again,” he added.

That arm thing continues to be called “shoulder soreness,” and the back thing is confirmed as “right SI joint inflammation,” which, according to Mayo Clinic:

‘Is an inflammation of one or both of your sacroiliac joints – situated where your lower spine and pelvis connect. Sacroiliitis can cause pain in your buttocks or lower back, and can extend down one or both legs. Prolonged standing or stair climbing can worsen the pain.‘

What some may have considered intentional evasiveness by Kershaw and Roberts may have actually been a little intentional gamesmanship. Why let opposing teams know that the future first-ballot Hall of Famer might be on the shelf for an extended period of time when keeping them guessing as to when he might return would – or could – directly affect their respective gameplans, right? That said, Kershaw was placed on the Dodgers’ 15-day Injured List on May 13, which, as of this writing, was exactly 14 days ago, with no indication that he will be activated anytime soon.

The veteran left-hander also acknowledged that he has had a number of epidural injections during his (now) 15-year career – all with the Dodgers – but this time it didn’t work.

“The epidural usually works pretty good for me. Unfortunately, I’ve had a lot of experience with those,” Kershaw explained. “Usually, it’s a pretty quick fix. This time it didn’t take like I had hoped it would, so sometimes the only thing to do is rest, which is hard. But hopefully, I gave it enough of that and now I can kind of start progressing and getting better from here.”

Hopefully indeed.

Play Ball!

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