Clayton Kershaw's Quotes About Postseason Failure Are Killing Me

The narrative of Clayton Kershaw’s playoff failure was always something bigger and more intense than it had any logical right to be. It conveniently ignored key context of managerial decisions and bullpen strength, not to mention brushed aside the number of perfectly fine and even good postseason starts that he has made. But simply reciting the facts on their own is almost never enough to unravel a story like this once it’s taken hold—in the minds of media, fans, maybe even the player himself. Kershaw pitched four innings of scoreless relief last night on just two days’ rest. The Dodgers lost to the Astros anyway, unable to climb out of the hole they’d put themselves in before Kershaw ever took the mound. And here is what he told USA Today about it: “Maybe one of these days…