WASHINGTON _ His discomfort manifests in the form of a bashful grin. The moment will occur once or twice in almost every postgame interview with Clayton Kershaw.
Someone will float a theory about his outing, disagree with his assessment of the day, or, worst-case scenario, ask him to find the right words to praise his pitching.
Kershaw will mumble a response, smile, shrug, point his eyes toward the ground and nod, waiting for the moment to pass.
"It's an uncomfortable thing to talk about myself, in general," Kershaw said one day last week, adding, "evaluating performance or talking about things like that is really uncomfortable for me."
On Friday afternoon, Kershaw will climb atop the mound at Nationals Park for Game 1 of the National League division series, aiming to brush aside the Washington lineup, usher his team a game closer to its first World Series berth since 1988, and tweak his own October legacy.
A day before that, during a news conference on the ground floor of the ballpark, he will confront a task he has yet to master after nine seasons in the majors: How to talk about himself.
He is a modest man, so a description of his talent after victory forces him to de-emphasize his dominance. He is a prideful man, so a dissection of his mistakes in defeat activates his honor.
The result veers from genial combativeness to droll comedy. Kershaw rarely barks at his interlocutors. He conveys displeasure in the brevity of his answers, but he usually maintains a smile.
Kershaw is courteous with his time but protective of his privacy. He can wax poetic about the attributes of every member of his team's roster except for one.
On Thursday afternoon, Kershaw will be forced to respond to questions that he can only answer on Friday. How will his back respond after missing 75 days with a herniated disk? Can he pitch on short rest in Game 4? Can he avoid the pitfalls of previous October stumbles? It's a recipe for an awkward encounter.
"He can be very blunt, so I can imagine how it goes," third baseman Justin Turner said with a grin. "And I've heard some of the questions you guys ask."
With that in mind, here is a step-by-step guide in how to properly attempt to interview the best pitcher in baseball.
