Brett Anderson, Clayton Kershaw, Brandon McCarthy and A.J. Ellis at Camelback Ranch in February.
Brandon McCarthy made a guest-writing appearance on Buster Olney’s ESPN Insider column today and provided great stuff on Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw. Here’s a small sample:
Kershaw is an extreme perfectionist. He’s fanatical about his routine. It’s set in stone and everything that needs to be done to prepare for his next start will be done on time with maximal effort. Once he’s at the field there is no one easier to find than Clayton. You don’t have to see him to know exactly where he is at any given time, you just have to know his routine.
Finding Greinke however, is like trying to find the wind. He’s found only when he makes himself discoverable. He describes his routine as being based on feel. Some days that means he needs to do eight sets of squats. Other days it means using a foam roller for an hour in a far corner of the weight room while reading a magazine. He disappears for hours at a time. He wanders around carrying a plate of food like he’s at an outdoor cocktail party. He’ll watch video when a certain player happens to be on his mind. A “routine” like this is usually a major red flag about a player. The best players in the game typically are known to live and die by their routine, but nobody knows what Zack needs better than Zack, so his anti-routine is never called into question.
— Jon Weisman
Mark Hagerstrom
I imagine that this carries over to the mound. The batters have a pretty good idea what Clayton is bringing (and good luck to them!). Zach is more of a mystery.