Saito still has his closing job
Takashi Saito pitched so poorly in Game 2 of the National League division series Thursday that when he looked ahead at the remainder of his postseason, he started by saying, "If they let me pitch again . . . "
But Dodgers Manager Joe Torre said Friday that Saito would remain his closer, even though he was charged with two runs and three hits and failed to get an out in his ninth-inning nightmare.
"I think it could've been the score," Torre said of how Saito entered the game with a 10-1 lead. "I haven't had any report back that this is any physical problem. That's what's important for me."
Saito said Torre spoke to him after the game.
"He asked me if I was OK," Saito said. Laughing, he added, "I couldn't say I wasn't OK, could I?"
Saito said he took some solace in that he had the backing of Torre and pitching coach Rick Honeycutt, who told him he probably would pitch tonight.
"When the team is playing as well as it is," Saito said, "you hate to be the only one who's doing poorly."
Saito said he had balance problems and that he would try to fix that by pitching exclusively out of the stretch, even when the bases are empty.
Kershaw in the 'pen
Clayton Kershaw didn't make it into Game 2 on Thursday, but he came close, having been asked to warm up in the ninth inning.
Pitching in relief is alien to the 20-year-old left-hander, which is why he was happy to get the chance to do so in the Dodgers' regular-season finale in San Francisco. His only previous experience pitching out of the bullpen consisted of two appearances in double-A Jacksonville this year and two more in rookie ball in 2006.
"I'm glad I got the first one under my belt," Kershaw said of the scoreless inning he pitched in San Francisco. "It was different. One time really taught me a lot."
Warming up wasn't the problem.
"When you start a game, there's a different atmosphere," he said. "You control the tempo. When you come in in the middle of a game, there's already a tempo that's established. But I'll know what to expect next time."
No WBC for Ethier?
Andre Ethier said he was asked by Vinny Castilla about the possibility of representing his mother's native country of Mexico in the World Baseball Classic next year. Castilla is expected to manage the team.
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