Did players let slip Clayton Kershaw to start playoff opener?

Those Dodgers -- pretty sure the organization must live in some secret bunker where they send private messages to staff members in Morse code, but only when absolutely necessary.

The Mets announced their playoff rotation prior to their last regular season game Sunday. The Dodgers finished theirs later that day and afterward still wouldn’t announce who would start Game 1.

The most Manager Don Mattingly would say was he knew who his first two starters would be, which is not exactly a mystery up there with Donald Trump’s hair.

Mattingly has two National League Cy Young candidates in Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke, and whether he doesn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings or just believes there is some furtive advantage in withholding information from the public for as long as possible, he has refused to name the starter for Friday’s opener.

Which doesn’t mean he hasn’t told the players, who might have let the secret to this covert operation slip out after Sunday’s season finale.

Catcher A.J. Ellis was talking about Kershaw’s work ethic and strict routine between starts Sunday when he said:

“We were already joking around, talking today about how everyone gets an off day (Monday) and he has to come in and work out. He knows it’s part of his job and part of his routine. He’ll be here running the foul pole to foul pole and lifting weights in the weight room and getting ready for a Friday start.”

And then there was shortstop Jimmy Rollins, Sunday’s acting manager, discussing his interaction with Kershaw when he went to the mound to take him out of the game:

“When I went to go get him, he was still asking me, ‘Can I just get this one more hitter out?’ And I said, ‘No, Clayton, you’re done. Get ready for Friday. We have another game. You’re done.’ He gave me a little punch in the chest before he walked off the mound and we’ve been good ever since.”

Seems like the players know who will be on the mound Friday.

Mattingly has also said they are leaning toward a four-man rotation in the first round, but that’s the same thing he said last season and then brought Kershaw back on short rest for Game 4. If the Dodgers are down two games to one, look for Kershaw again in the fourth game.

The super-secret Dodgers’ tentative rotation appears to be Kershaw, Greinke, Brett Anderson and Alex Wood. Would love to confirm all this, but do not have the proper clearance level.