sportsjabber.net

Clayton Kershaw and the Giants have a chicken-and-the-egg thing going. Kershaw is making a strong case for the Cy Young this year. The Giants are making a strong case to be one of the league’s weakest offenses in years, if not decades. Kershaw has made almost 20 percent of his starts this season against the Giants.

So is Kershaw that good? Are the Giants that bad?

The answer, of course, is yes. It’s not a mutually exclusive proposition. Kershaw has been amazing. The Giants have been … equally amazing, in their own way. And when they get together, there usually aren’t any surprises. Entering Tuesday night, Kershaw had thrown 34-2/3 innings against the Giants this year, allowing four earned runs (1.04 ERA). He allowed one earned run against the Giants in 7-2/3 innings on Tuesday. His season ERA against them went up.

The corollary to the Kershaw dominance is that Tim Lincecum has also had a fine season. In another season, in front of another offense, it might have been a Cy Young season. And the Dodgers‘ offense, while not quite as bad as the Giants’, is certainly feckless in its own right. Coming into Tuesday night, Lincecum had thrown 27-1/3 innings against the Dodgers this year, allowing five earned runs (1.65 ERA). He allowed two earned runs against the Dodgers in seven innings on Tuesday. His season ERA against them went up.

http://mlb.sbnation.com/2011/9/21/2439637/san-francisco-giants-los-angeles-dodgers-kershaw-cy-young