Kershaw dominates Marlins

     Clayton Kershaw has been dominant this season, more-so than any other pitcher in the game (sorry Max Scherzer and Yu Darvish) by far. His 1.72 ERA and 0.86 WHIP lead the majors, and his 188 strikeouts lead the National League. The only pitcher in his dimension right now is Matt Harvey. 

     Kershaw is on his way to his second Cy Young award in three years and would be a lock for MVP if he had a few more wins. Expect Clayton Kershaw to be a Cy Young contender for a long time.

The Decline of Cole Hamels

     The Phillies' left hander Cole Hamels was at one point a perennial Cy Young candidate. Now he is just trying not to embarrass himself on the mound. Sitting with a record of 1 and 8 (or 1 and 9 depending on what happens in the game tonight as I am writing this) with a 4.86 ERA. This is coming off of two seasons in which Hamels averaged a 2.92 ERA and almost 16 wins.

     Sure, you can blame lack of run support, but the ERA above 4.50 just looks too ugly to go with even a few more wins.

     If Hamels had started the season even a modest 6 and 4, the Phils would actually be in the postseason race. They still have a chance, but I can't put them into the playoff picture until they can play  at least three, four, or five games above .500 baseball.