Matt Kemp

Matt Kemp is coming off the best year of his very young career and the Dodgers higher ups are unsure of whether to offer a multi-year contract.  This makes no sense to anyone who follows the Dodgers. 

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an leadership” or “people who know how to play the game”, which basically says to Matt Kemp and James Loney, “We know that you lead the team in homeruns and RBI respectively, but if there is someone over 30, who can play half as well as you can, he’ll probably take away your playing time because while he may get half as many hits/homeruns/RBI, he does that like a professional. When he strikes out, he takes it to a 2-2 count FIRST, and then strikes out like a gamer. When he is thrown out at home, or trying to stretch a single to a double, or is picked off, he does it like a professional. So to summarize my points, we just traded you for Jack Wilson and Ruben Sierra. Pack your bags.” Torre and Colletti spend their entire time openly coddling the veteran players by making excuses for their poor play, while bashing the younger players for not doing that much worse, or in some cases better, than their veteran counterparts. Would Andy LaRoche be worse than Mark Sweeny in the pinch hitting role? It is statistically impossible for that to happen. So too bad LaRoche, your 59 at bats (in 27 games mind you) and .200 average is back to AAA because you couldn’t hang up here because we let you get one at bat every 4 days. Meanwhile, Mark Sweeny, and his crappy play stays because he’s a veteran.

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Either that, or until he’s packaged with Matt Kemp and shipped off for that big bat the Dodgers need so badly. Like Batman. He’s such a big bat that he’s actually a man. Yeah.

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ve when you step in something of solid and liquid form) struck out 3 times in 4 at-bats and was the Matt Kemp/Andruw Jones of the game. Russel Martin played the Russell Martin roll, coincidentally, but seemed to play it as if he was amped up on something, with the defensive abilities of a superman out there. It was so noticeable that Tim McCarver and Joe Buck spent a good 20 min “Alyssa Milano-ing” him (verbally of course). The prowess of Russell Martin on his knees was extolled by them for all to hear. I also worry that he was pumped to actually play with good players, and this gave him a taste of what it is like to play with players who are actually quite awesome. Unfortunately, there was nobody old or crotchety, enough to play the Jeff Kent roll, but you take comparisons where you can get them.

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Negotiations went from CC Sabathia for Matt Kemp. No wait, CC Sabathia for Juan Pierre. No wait, CC Sabathia AND Casey Blake for Juan Pierre. No wait, CC Sabathia and Casey Blake for Juan Rodriguez (gardner). No wait, CC Sabathia, Casey Blake AND Jamey Carroll for Juan Rodriguez and Kim Ng (Dodger’s Assistant GM). No Wait, CC Sabathia, Casey Blake and Jamey Carroll for some of the warm CA sun. No wait, CC Sabathia, Casey Blake and Jamey Carroll for some warm Siberian sun.

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The C.C. Sabathia deal is dead. The proposed deal that would have seen the Dodgers send Matt Kemp, James Loney, Andy LaRoche, Andre Ethier, Chad Billingsley, Clayton Kershw, Vladamir Guerrero, the letter “L”’ from the Hollywood sign (the one on the left, not the one on the right), Kobe Bryant, and DJ Mbenga to the Indians for C.C. and Casey Blake is no more. The Brewers, in a possible drunken haze traded four minor leaguers (including the perpetually well traveled “player to be named later”) in what appears to be a great move for the Brew Crew. They have no interest in keeping C.C. outside of this year if it is going to cost them a lot (and it likely will) so they will be able to pick up a couple of draft picks from the next team that signs him, and get to use the skills of a man in a contract year who is trying to make a good impression on any team that’s courting him. Smart move by the Brewers that is pretty much win, win. The Indians got a good package, but one has to wonder what they could have fleeced from the Dodgers if their deal went through. My exaggeration from the top is probably not too far off.

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A scheme by Matt Kemp and James Loney to take over the team? We can only hope.

In more optimistic news, the Dodgers have since won 3 straight games and Andruw Jones and Nomar are coming back to stink up the line-up. At least I can use all the fat jokes that I couldn’t use with the hot dog eating contest when talking about Andruw now.

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quo; eight hits went for extra bases, including hit a pair of Jeff Kent RBI doubles and a triple by Matt Kemp. Andre Ethier finished a triple shy of the cycle, recording his eighth homer. Luis Maza also executed a perfect suicide squeeze in the fourth inning to bring home Blake DeWitt, picking up the first RBI for a Dodger shortstop since… June 5.

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uw Jones and then Juan Pierre has meant more playing time for their young hotshots Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp, something Torre was either unwilling or unable to do, perhaps because he was stuck by the same “play the most who you pay the most” philosophy that has plagued the Mariners.

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ommitting two errors in the fifth inning that led to the game’s only run, which was unearned. Matt Kemp hit a dribbler up the first-base line that spun out of Weaver’s glove for an error, and Kemp stole second and advanced to third when the throw from catcher Jeff Mathis sailed into center field. Blake DeWitt then brought Kemp home with a sacrifice fly to right field. It was ultimately a tough night for Weaver, who was tagged for the loss and was pulled for a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning despite having a no-hitter going.

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sell Martin knocking back-to-back two-out doubles for the first of six runs of Aaron Harang (3-10). Matt Kemp showed more of his immense talent and tantalizing promise with a homer, double and three RBIs, and James Loney went 3-for-4 to raise his average to .307, one point higher than Russell Martin’s.  Andre Ethier showed resilience, Blake DeWitt added grit, and Juan Pierre and Angel Berroa managed not to get in the way. And Mark Sweeney struck out as a pinch hitter, so I guess there was some bad, though not unexpected, news.

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Considering that Matt Kemp was a star basketball player in high school, is it honestly too late to draft the guy? Because seriously, he would probably play better perimeter defense than ANY of the Lakers, who honestly call this their profession. I mean they get paid to play like this. PAID. MILLIONS. TO PLAY LIKE THIS.  

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That leaves us with the biggest disappointment this season: one Matt Kemp. While not looking terrible, he sure as hell doesn’t look great. Striking out once every 4 at bats is dangerously close to Andrew Jones territory (and let’s not get started on that one). There is constant talk about potential and while he still is young, the Dodgers seem to be only talk potential, and the “maybe next year” talk is already starting. They are only one game ahead of the Padres and the Giants who were both written off weeks ago.

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of futility, it was more than enough for Colorado.

The biggest hit any Dodger delivered was from Matt Kemp, who got into it with Rockies catcher Yorvit Torrealba after they collided following Kemp's eighth-inning strikeout. This seemed to be a result of both sides' mounting frustration: For the Dodgers, it was their offensive ineptitude, culminating in Kemp's 0-for-4 night. For the Rockies, it was their eight-game losing streak, 13-game road losing streak and return to fourth in the competitively futile NL West following the pennant last season. A bench-clearing brawl ensued, and thankfully the bullpen pitchers jogged in from the outfield to mull around as Kemp and Torrealba were ejected.

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 Their young guys seem to be developing well and Matt Kemp, James Loney, and Russell Martin look like future stars.

 However, the veterans that are being paid to make plays simply are not doing that.  The Dodgers five highest paid position players are Andrew Jones, Jeff Kent, Rafael Furcal, Juan Pierre, and Nomar Garciaparra.  Furcal was having a great year before being sidelined with an injury and his return should spark the Dodgers some.  However Andrew Jones just went on the DL, but before going there he was batting .167 with 2 homeruns, not the type of power the Dodgers wanted from him.  Nomar has barely played the last couple years, and is chronically injured.  Kent is batting .234 with 4 homeruns, not what you want from your middle of the order bats.  Juan Pierre is doing what he normally does, but he is not the big bat the Dodgers need.  

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rospects who are expected to revitalize the offense lead by first baseman James Loney, rightfielder Matt Kemp and third baseman Andy Laroche. However, without any of these players having played an entire Major League season, it is unknown if they’ll be able to generate consistent offense over 162 games.

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