Clayton Kershaw

Clayton Kershaw isn't receiving as many reporters at his locker as he did a spring ago. "I guess there's a little less hype," Kershaw said. The novelty of being the can't-miss-kid in the Dodgers' clubhouse has subsided, the anticipation of the heights he might reach replaced by the reality that a 21-year-old will be leaned on to be the club's fourth starter. "That's great," Kershaw said. "It helps me focus on what I have to do."

Never mind that Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw was in the middle of facing the opposing pitcher. Manager Joe Torre had seen enough. With the bases full and a 2-0 count on San Diego Padres starter Kevin Correia, Torre lifted the 21-year-old Kershaw after the left-hander already had struggled through 83 pitches in 2 2/3 innings Wednesday. Reliever Jeff Weaver restored order by striking out Correia.

Larry Bowa is shaking his head in disgust and now he's yelling at me: "You've gone soft." The Dodgers are so concerned about this they are going to start Jason Schmidt on Monday. They know if I can't find some way to really let Schmidt have it and get my groove back, next thing you know I'll be having tea with the Screaming Meanie and complimenting Mrs. McCourt on her choice of finger food.

What a game it was. And what a long game it was. The four-hour and 53-minute, 15-inning marathon included eight shutout innings by ace-in-the-making Clayton Kershaw. Casey Blake avoided a tag from Yadier Molina by the slimmest of margins to score the first run of the game. Manny Ramirez made a rare leaping catch at the wall to save a couple of runs but was later nailed at the plate trying to score from second. Jonathan Broxton blew a lead in the ninth. Ramon Troncoso blew another in the 11th.

Ronnie Belliard started at second base in place of Orlando Hudson tonight for the third consecutive game, as Manager Joe Torre said he intended to continue to "ride the hot hand." "We'll ride it as long as we can and see what happens," Torre said. Torre said he spoke about playing time to Hudson, whom he described as understanding. "I told him without him we wouldn't be in the situation we are to win something, but Belliard's hot right now," Torre said. ""I told him this time of year we need to get something done and we're just going to ride the hot hand.

The St. Louis Cardinals have a couple of Cy Young Award candidates in Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright. The Philadelphia Phillies have Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels, the New York Yankees have CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, the Boston Red Sox have Jon Lester and Josh Beckett and the Angels have John Lackey and Jered Weaver. The Dodgers? None of their pitchers won 13 games. Their only 12-game winner, Chad Billingsley, earned his last victory seven weeks ago. Starting for them tonight in the first game of their National League division series against the St. Louis Cardinals is Randy Wolf, a crafty 33-year-old left-hander who has never pitched in the postseason and, by his own admission, doesn't have "ace stuff."

The silence in the Dodgers' dressing quarters was pierced by an expletive. For the second consecutive night, the Dodgers fell to the Atlanta Braves in extra innings at Dodger Stadium, this time by a 2-1 score in 10 innings. The Dodgers, who were nine games up in the National League West as recently as July 25, had their lead over the second-place San Francisco Giants reduced to 5 1/2 games after their ninth loss in 14 games. The last time the Dodgers led by as few games was on May 14. There was more.

Having led the Dodgers to their most important victory of the regular season, Clayton Kershaw now gets the chance to notch his team's biggest win of the playoffs. The 21-year-old left-hander will start Game 1 of the National League Championship Series today at Dodger Stadium against the Philadelphia Phillies. Kershaw said Manager Joe Torre informed him of his decision Tuesday during a phone call from Arizona, where Torre was watching Hiroki Kuroda pitch in a simulated game.

The Dodgers are receiving a visit from the team psychologist at a time when their hold of the National League West is looking increasingly unstable. Toronto-based Dana Sinclair , who is in her second season working with the Dodgers, will be with the club through its three-game series against San Diego that ends today. Not everyone has a use for Sinclair, who consults teams in every major sport. She visits the Dodgers every couple of months. "The most we've talked is like a few minutes," James Loney said.

Casey Blake is out of the lineup tonight for the second consecutive game because of tightness in his left hamstring. "It's not as bad as last time," Blake said of the nagging problem. Blake felt his leg tighten as he ran out of the batter's box upon hitting a home run on Tuesday, something he blamed on not being properly hydrated. Asked if he was drinking more water, Blake said, "Oh yeah." Blake DeWitt will start at third base tonight in place on Blake and Ronnie Belliard is playing second instead of Orlando Hudson , who fell as he ran through first base on Wednesday night.