The Inconsistent Clayshaw

Clayton Kershaw has pitched exactly as expected so far this year; he has been brilliant at times and painful to watch during others. Twice he has gone seven innings, but those two starts were against the weak-hitting Giants and Padres. He got rocked against Houston and Colorado, giving up a combined 15 runs in 9 innings. The other two starts he went 5 innings while giving up a run each time, and he was unable to go deeper in the games because of an elevated pitch count. So what should we expect from Clayton the rest of the year? I don't think we will see many starts like the ones he had in both Houston and Colorado. But I do think there will be a handful of starts where he can't go past five innings due to his inability to put away hitters. It's funny, Kershaw doesn't give up very many hits (27 hits in 33 innings) and he averages more than a strikeout an inning, yet hitters constantly go deep into counts and foul off pitches which results in an elevated pitch total. It reminds me of when Chad Billingsley first came up as a 21-year-old in 2006. Bills had electric stuff, but couldn't go deep into games. He had inconsistent command at times, but was never really wild. Same goes for Kershaw. His control is fine, his command is okay, but hitters tend to foul off so many pitches. So what is my point in this post? I would say the point is to stay patient. There will be frustrating times during the learning curve. He will have great moments too. But the kid is barely old enough to buy a beer. Remember that when evaluating him and keep in mind that his future is as bright as any other pitcher in baseball. Time will tell if he develops into his potential, but if I was a betting man my money would be on Clayshaw becoming great.