The Dodgers' Final Day of Kemp-ocalype

It's hard to believe that a little over 2 weeks ago, the Dodgers were "playing over their heads" and the bubble was "inevitably going to burst" when Matt Kemp's nagging hamstring issue (that caused his batting average to drop below .400) forced him on to the 15 day DL. What happened next is even HARDER to believe. "Dem Bums" decided to stage their own 2 week rendition of Major League, by going 9-4 and extending their lead in the division to 7.5 games. All along doing so with a half dozen nobodies. The best record in Major League Baseball isn't news any more. Neither is having the largest divisional lead in the MLB. But you know what is news? Tomorrow is the last day of the "Kemp-ocalypse". Assuming Kemp's 2-game rehab stint in Albuquerque goes as planned, May 28th will be the last day the Dodgers (32-15) don't have the best player in the NL at their disposal. The last day Los Angeles wont have have their biggest cheer leader in Dodger Stadium. And most importantly, Monday will (hopefully) be the last game for a while that Don Mattingly is forced to create some sort of Kemp-less game plan with a slew of rookie call ups and career backups.

For the last two weeks, it felt like we couldn't turn on our TV's, computers or phones without hearing about the Dodgers when it came to sports news. Regardless of the heliocentric east coast sports world focusing on the AL East and NL East, the Dodgers' band of under appreciated misfits refused to relinquish the title of "MLB-best". Every night it was another "nobody" taking a turn at hitting the clutch button and getting their 30 seconds of fame on Sportscenter. But now the Dodger bench players are wrapping up their Risky Business moment. It feels as if Matt Kemp left the team with a couple hundred bucks on the counter and a list of food in the fridge on May 14th. And now "Mom and Dad are almost home". Time for the kids like Jerry Sands, Scott Van Slyke, Ivan DeJesus and Elian Herrera to clean the house, take out the trash and restock the liquor cabinet. One more game without the best player in baseball (and Juan Rivera) means one more night for a few rookies to preserve the team's positive momentum until the big boy's get their jobs back.

The club's position in the standings is much better at the end of Matt's absence than we previously expected. Which is only good news now that names like Hairston, Rivera, and Kemp are trickling back into the Dodgers clubhouse. The last time the Dodgers faced the Milwaukee Brewers (19-28) was in the midst of their head turning, hot start to the season. But when Los Angeles dropped two of three at Miller Park, it caused most to question the validity of the Blue Crew's record. But now we're approaching the end of May and it's the BREW crew that is definitively having a poor first-half (5th in the NL Central, 8 games back). While the reigning NL-MVP (in question), Ryan Braun comes to town on Monday, the Dodgers just have to shore up their outfield for one more day. A day that will feel like an eternity ago on Tuesday. Serendipitously the final day of the Kemp-less Dodgers will have "One Dollar Dodger Dogs" at Dodger Stadium. So maybe even the fringe fans might be compelled to come back to Dodger Stadium prior to Matt Kemp doing so. But one thing is for certain, Dodger Stadium should be packed and rockin' on Tuesday night. That is, if we survive the final day of Kemp-ocalypse. Make sure you have the first aid kit, the ramen noodles and a flash light with fresh batteries.

Dodgers Refuse to Lose

Well... Somebody had to get to 30 wins first, and at this point, the Los Angeles Dodgers seem to be a team of destiny in 2012. They were destined for new ownership and landed the "dream team". And coming off of their hot finish in 2011, it looked as if the Dodgers were destined to get off to a much stronger start in Don Mattingly's sophomore season as manager. But 30-13 (best record in MLB) and a 7 game division lead (biggest in MLB)? I'm not sure anybody saw this coming. And for the very select (and/or crazy) few who predicted the Dodgers would be the class of Major League Baseball through the first 43 games of 2012, none of them would have predicted the Dodgers would be doing so with out the help of one of the league's best all around players.

The Dodgers were off to a hot first month, and as the calendar turned to the month of May, they began to face some adversity and attrition. Opening day starters Juan Rivera, Matt Kemp, and Juan Uribe were all on the disabled list when the defending world champs came to Dodger Stadium last weekend. Don Mattingly started to write lineup cards that looked so bad, I was forced to coin the phrase "Kemp-ocalypse". Even one of the Dodgers most reliable players in 2B Mark Ellis experienced a freak injury that almost cost him his leg (literally). The thought was that the Dodgers would HAVE to regress with the call ups of Van Slyke, Sands, Hererra, DeJesus, and Sellers combined with the miniature benchings of James Loney and Dee Gordon . But in the last week, all six have made considerable (even heroic) contributions to the club's current 6-game winning streak. Between Scott Van Slyke's 7th inning 3-run home run at Dodger stadium on Sunday to complete the sweep of the Cardinals, and Tuesday night's 2RBI double by Ivan DeJesus while trailing a run with 2 outs in the 9th inning in Arizona, the Dodgers continue to get help from various lesser known players on a daily basis.

Los Angeles has a chance to complete their second consecutive series sweep and what would be their 6th of the season. The idea of this ball club getting one of the league's best everyday players back in CF (Kemp in a week), and one of the league's best utility players in back on the bench (Hairston in a few days), makes it hard to believe that the Dodgers can't build upon their lead in the standings before the All-Star break. Somebody had to get to 30 wins first, and with the four biggest payrolls in the sport (Angels, Phillies, Yankees, Red Sox) struggling just to stay in contention, it only makes sense that a team full of triple-A regulars would help an injury riddled club storm to 17 games over .500. Everyday someone else is taking their turn being the hero. The 2012 season was set up to be a season of destiny.... so far, so good. OH, soooo good.

15 Days of Kemp-ocalypse

Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp picked up in 2012 where he left off in the final months of his 2011 MVP campaign. He broke out of the gates by leading the majors in almost every single meaningful statistical category. But then something happened... Wrigley Field happened. A ballpark that is mostly known for its century plus curse which breaks the heart of Cub's fans annually, is now Matt Kemp's house of horrors. Not only were the cold whipping winds of Chicago's north side refusing to let each of Matty's hits get past the warning track, but the infamous infield, so poorly manicured that you can count the dirt clods on your living room TV,  was loose enough for Kemp to take a wrong step and trigger a hammy issue. An issue that he bravely battled for nearly a week before the Dodgers were forced to place him on the 15-day disabled list.

The reality has set in since Monday night, when the Dodgers weren't able to slip the ailing Kemp into the 2nd game of the Arizona series for a pinch hit appearance. His league leading consecutive games played streak ended at an impressive 399, while the new leader is a slugger who also cashed in this last off season, Prince Fielder. Despite Matt's absence, the Dodgers were able to ride the team's momentum to take the series with a game 2 win. Unfortunately that momentum came to a screeching halt on Tuesday as we were all exposed to this team's complexion without our shining star. And it went something like this

1. Dee Gordon (who unfortunately hasn't blossomed in his first chance to have a full MLB season as a starter... hitting around .200)
2. Mark Ellis (actually had a great night going 3 for 4 with a HR, but with out any production on either side)
3. Scott Van Slyke (making his "starting" MLB debut, and for all his minor league success, this is MATT KEMP's slot for gosh sakes)
4. Andre Ethier (who made what might be his ONLY career start in CF...)
5. AJ Ellis (the team's anchor all season at the 8th spot, was in the spot light at 5 and stunk)
6. Jerry Sands (you might remember him from last season, but he had JUST gotten to called up that day)
7. James Loney (who seems to be losing his job by the day as he had another sad 0-4)
8. Justin Sellers (last guy to make the opening day roster... enough said)
9. Pitchers spot

 Soooo... the Dodgers started 4 rookies and managed 1 run. Sounds about right.

Then there was day 2 of what I'm affectionately describing as the "Kemp-ocalypse". This is what life would look like without Matt, and if this Dodgers lineup was a person's face, it would be the before picture in all of those pro-active acne ads. OK maybe its not that terrible, but my gosh, this team feels 200% more beatable without the 1-2 punch of Matt and 'Dre. Then Mattingly gave us this little gem:

1. Tony Gwynn (it was nice seeing an actual CFer starting in CF but its tough not seeing Dee's speed somewhere in the lineup)
2. Elian Herrera (his 2nd day as a Major Leaguer and he got to spell Mark Ellis with a 1st inning double)
3. Bobby Abreu (aquired to be a bat off the bench, he had a token basehit in the 9th)
4. Andre Ethier (order was restored with Andre being back in RF, and after his RBI in the first, he didnt do much)
5. Jerry Sands (day 2 with the 2012 club and he also gets another start, this time giving Loney the day off at 1B)
6. Justin Sellers (this time Sellers took his steady glove over to SS, but predictably did nothing with his bat)
7. Adam Kennedy (only thing worse than this guy's non production, is that blank look he always has)
8. Matt Traenor (it was AJ Ellis' day off, and Matt did have a double but who can replace Aj's OBP.... sadly no one)
9. Pitchers spot 

Soooo... The Dodgers start 3 rookies and 4 backups... 2 run loss to the NL's worst team? Sounds about right.

And now we dig in for the third day of the Kemp-ocalypse. We'll surely see another lineup that we all dislike in Thursday night's wrap up of the mini 2-game series at Petco Park. And as hard as it is having to just make sense of these lineups, its even harder for Don Mattingly  to frantically piece together the Kemp-less, Uribe-less, and Rivera-less puzzle on a daily basis. Injuries are a part of all sports, and the art of overcoming such attrition is why baseball managers get paid so much money. But the 15-day managerial purgatory that Mattingly has been faced with during the absence of his best player, is a challenge that no one would ever desire. Fortunately for the Dodgers and their 0-2 record of Kemp-ocalypse, is the fact that the next closest team in the NL West standing (SF Giants) have lost on consecutive nights as well. Meaning the lead is still at 6 games, and Dodger Nation can take a collective breath of relief. 

I hope you all have put together your Kemp-ocalypse Survival Kits. I have included large amounts of gauze to wrap my head, considering the next 12 days will include a lot of banging my head against the wall. For now, we have to cross our fingers and weather the storm (and hope the new Dodger ownership notices how this team feels with out Kemp). See you all on May 29th, I'll be giving out high fives, hugs and hand shakes.

Dodgers sweep Rockies, Have Most Wins in Baseball

It seems as if the Dodgers plan on making the most of their long stretch of inter divisional games in the month of May. The boys in blue have taken 5 of their last 6 over the Giants and Rockies after returning home from a dismal 2-4 road trip. Not only have the last few games helped the Dodgers return to having the best record in baseball with 23 wins, But Los Angeles also owns the best home record in baseball at 15-3 and the largest division lead at 6 games. So much has happened since we last spoke...

The Dodgers had 3 players home run in the series opener on Friday night. They had three very similar swings result all in fly outs at the center field warning track on Saturday night.  But the Dodgers were able to win both games As the embattled Dodgers 3rd baseman Juan Uribe got off of the proverbial shneid on Friday night as he hit his first home run in almost an entire year and then had an important RBI single in a low-scoring 2-1 affair in which the Dodgers won on Saturday.

While last years bunch of Dodgers quickly learned that the only way they could win games was in pain stakingly low scoring affairs, this years club has proven that they can win in all types of ways. Through the first month of the season, it was the RBI machine of Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier doing all the work while their supporting cast was helpful yet relatively quiet. But as the month turned to May and Matt Kemp with his nagging hamstring issues has gone cold, its been time for everyone else's close up. This most recent home stand has seen extra base hits and RBI's from Mark Ellis, James Loney, AJ Ellis, Tony Gwynn Jr, Bobby Abreu, and Juan Uribe.

Such a contribution could not have been timed any better, as Sunday's final game of the series with the Rockies saw Colorado jump out to the 3 run lead before the Dodgers had even recorded an out.  After Dodgers staert Ted Lilly had settled down and the Dodgers had cut into said lead with runs in the 1st and 2nd, Matt Kemp left the game at the end of the 3rd inning with a re-aggravated sore hammy. Right fielder Andre Ethier and Manager Don Mattingly were soon to follow after receiving consecutive ejections in the 5th inning. Despite those subtractions, the Dodgers were able to over come a 4-2 deficit, with a bases clearing 3-rbi double by Bobby Abrea batting in Kemp's slot. Another 3 runs were plated by a 3-run AJ Ellis home run to the left field pavilion. After the eventful 6 run frame, the Dodgers never looked back.

Some observations that I had to make:

• Andre Ethier gets ejected on his own themed "Tote-Bag" giveaway day because of a strikeout pitch that looked like a pretty good pitch. Even more ironic than his promotional toss out, was that it came with his mother in attendance for the mothers day festivities. He had some good words and quality expletives with the home plate umpire. Which begs the question, "does he kiss his mother with that mouth?"

• Matt Kemp's hamstring issue has been classified as sore, which was exactly what scratched him from the lineup in Chicago. I have a feeling that subliminally, Mattingly has been trying to keep Matt Kemp's games played streak (best in majors) alive for Matt's sake. It was clear how angry he was when he was asked to leave the game, after Donny spoke with the training staff. I say the Dodgers just shut him down for a few days and get him fully right, so he can get back to being the best hitter in the sport.

• AJ Ellis had his career high in RBI's on Sunday after having been moved into the 6th spot in the lineup. Mattingly says he's comfortable with AJ's bat in his more traditional 8 hole, but the guy is 3rd in all of baseball in on-base percentage. I'm thinking that everyone benefits from AJ batting 6 or 7. His numbers can hang with any catcher in baseball at this point, and while his career might not jump off the page as Mr. Sexy, he has quietly helped this club reach the best record in baseball through 34 games. He currently holds a streak of 23 games where he has reached base safely. I say good for him, the 31 year old has definitely earned it.

• Juan Rivera's ruptured hammy has led to a week of firsts for Dodgers rookie Scotty Van Slyke. In his first game appearance on Wednesday night, Scott had his first RBI in his first at-bat. On Sunday afternoon, he saw his first MLB defensive experience after Ethier's ejection. After that, he went up to the plate and got two RBI's out of his first extra base hit (double to the LC gap). I've never been a fan of platoons, but with the way Tony Gwynn has played (both his bat and glove), and the way Van Slyke has flashed his swing and arm in the last few days, I could see these two being starters based on the lefty/righty match ups.

TDB: Odds and Ends

The Dodgers wrapped up their first 2012 series with the San Francisco Giants last night by pulling away from Tim Lincecum and Company. Tony Gwynn Jr.'s pinch hit triple cleared the bases and made the chances of the Dodgers losing another low scoring, 2-1 type game disappear. Not to often are you going to see the Dodgers beat a two-time Cy Young winner when their own starter has thrown 85 pitches through 4 innings. But last night was the exception to the rule, as the clutch pinch hit, combined with Jamey Wright's solid 2 innings of relief shut down the Giants offense. Which allowed manager Don Mattingly to avoid digging deep into his bullpen.

Speaking of Mattingly... Only a few hours after I was tearing his decisions from Tuesday night apart on my podcast, he looked like a pure genius by having TGJr. bat in Chad Billingsley's spot in the bottom of the fourth. The game was heading in the direction of a loss as the Dodgers righthander had been fighting his stuff from the jump, and Timmy was dealing. So when the bases were loaded with one out in the 4th, Donny obviously felt it could potentially be his team's only chance to jump all over the Giants. Mattingly took his shot, and Chad was not thrilled. After he was called back from the on-deck circle, he immediately smacked his bat on the ground of the dugout before sitting down and cooling his jets. Fortunately for Chad he was off the hook of a loss after the pinch hit. Unfortunately for Chad he had not reached the five inning minimum to be in line for the win. Considering how badly he was missing locations, he can call it a wash.

So its the day off for 'Dem Bums (20-11) but The Dodger Blog never takes a day off, whether it be by blog, podcast, facebook, or twitter. So with that being said, lets dive into whats going around the Dodger Town:

• Scott Van Slyke made his Major League debut last night with an RBI, broken-bat single pinch hit in the late innings. I could give an entire diatribe about what Andy's son may or may not do for the Dodgers this season, but the reality is Mike Petriello over at the blog "Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness" already did so.
• Van Slyke is currently occupying Juan Rivera's spot on the roster while Rivera spends the time being on the disabled list with a strained or "sore" left hamstring. So far this season the "H-word" has been the fly in the ointment for the Dodgers' training staff. Iron man Matt Kemp, the owner of Major League Baseballs longest games played streak, missing a start last week in Chicago (he still looks a step slow as we speak), Jerry Hairston Jr. having the last few games off as he's trying to stay off the disabled list himself, and now Rivera is gone. The Dodgers are hoping that this hamstring fiasco follows the rule of bad things coming in three's, and that there won't be a fourth hammy issue before the end of may.
• The Dodger Blog got a little bit of a face lift today. Seeing as I'm in the plastic surgery capital of the country (Hollywood), it only seemed natural. Hopefully, the loyal few followers of TDB find the page a little easier on the eyes and the mouse pad. You no longer have to go constantly scrolling through past posts when looking for any previous pod casts. There's a little player just to your right hand side where you can find the latest audio from TDB.

The Dodgers still share the best record in the National League and we're over a month into the season. While I'm not completely sold that this team is the real deal quite yet, there is definitely an air of confidence and positivity in the Dodgers club house this year that seems to breeding success. Good evening to you, wherever you may be.

Dodgers v. Giants: The Rubber Match

In the last 10 years the series is quite literally as close as possible. The Dodgers have won 94 games and after last nights 2-1 final, the Giants have won 93. Now its on manager Don Mattingly to shake off last nights barrage of bunts and beat Bochy (was that quality alliteration? oh well, I try). The rubber match in the 3 game series is set for tonight at 7:10 PM PT. Chad Billingsley (2-2, 3.19 ERA) takes the mound at Dodger stadium, attempting to fend off on another ace in the form of Tim Lincecum (2-2, 5.68 ERA). His last showing at home against the Nationals and Stephen Strasburg was a gritty performance in which he allowed only one earned run and kept the Dodgers in the game until the opposing pitcher ran out of gas. Unfortunately the start that took place between then and now was a demoralizing loss to the lowly Chicago Cubs. Where they hung four earned runs on Chad in the early goings and the Dodgers could never recover. With Chad its always been the same story, which pitcher are we going to see, "Dr. Billz, or Mr. Chad". Los Angeles is hoping that they get the pleasant version this evening, the right handed version that showed signs in his young career of being a stud.  Not the guy who fights his stuff all evening and allows the opposition to see too many pitches.

Donny Baseball is going with a severe case of the left/right advantage, as he essentially has crammed as many left handed hitters he has into tonight's lineup that will face the righty Lincecum. Mark Ellis gets the day off and Juan Rivera is going to the DL (per Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times) as former-Angels Adam Kennedy and Bobby Abreu get the nod in their stead. I wont get into the bunting fiasco in print, seeing as I have already vented about it in my podcast this morning (included below). With that being said, tonight we better see a little more patience by the Dodgers at the plate, because there's no better way to force Donny into getting conservative and playing more small ball than some anxious early innings at-bats that allow Timmy to put some zeros on the board and make this a pitchers duel.

Here are tonight's starting lineups:

Dodgers                                  Giants 

Gordon SS                            Blanco CF

Kennedy 2B                            Burris 2B

Kemp CF                            Cabrera LF

Ethier RF                                  Posey C

Abreu LF                                    Belt 1B

Uribe 3B                          Schierholtz RF

Loney 1B                                 Arias 3B

Ellis C                                Crawford SS

Billingsley P                          Lincecum P

Here is the podcast about last night:

listen to ‘Today's podcast sounds off on Don #Mattingly's sac bunt party as the #Dodgers lost to the #SFGiants last night’ on Audioboo

Dodgers Happy to be Home, Rivalry Begins

After a week long, six-game road trip to Denver and Chicago, alot has changed. Matt Kemp is no longer blistering the baseball like he was in April (his average has finally dipped below .400). Clayton Kershaw can now say that he has allowed three home runs in a single game for the first time in his career (against Rockies). And  the Dodgers infield depth has taken some pretty big hits (Uribe's Wrist, Hairston Jr's Hammy). But despite all of this less-than-stellar news, the Dodgers (18-10) still boast a 4-game lead in the standings and a new addition to the bench in the form of veteran Bobby Abreu. The 38 year old former All-Star was released in late April after he had expressed some dissatisfaction with the role on the Angels to which he had been relegated.

The reality is that Abreu's bat is still strong enough to contribute somewhere in major league baseball but the franchise that he has called home for the last 4+ seasons just signed Albert Pujols and clearly wanted more youth in the outfield. The Dodgers have picked up Bobby for the veterans minimum, while the Angels will be responsible for the rest of his previous contract (9 million this year). He arrives in Dodger Stadium for the first time as a member of the home team, completely aware and more importantly at peace with his new role as a bat off the bench or an outfielder available for a spot start once a week. It isn't the big splash that new ownership has made clear is coming, but it does add legitimate left handed power to a Dodgers bench that had none.

The Dodgers now play 18 of their next 23 games at home where they hold a 10-2 record on the season. 13 of their next 16 games will be played against inter-divisional foes. An opportunity that everyone has had circled on the calendar for some time now, as the first real chance for the Dodgers to separate themselves from the pack. They're happy to be off the road, but can't take their foot off the pedal as this next stretch of games could very well define the momentum of the entire 2012 season. As new ownership has their first official day in their offices at Dodgers stadium. The entire affair will be under the watchful eyes of Magic Johnson and Stan Kasten.

Here are a few pod casts. The first is a recap of yesterday's heartbreaking loss and treacherous road trip, while the other discusses the Dodgers and Giants rivalry that resumes this evening.

listen to ‘The #Dodgers limp home from a 2-4 road trip. As they prepare for the #SFgiants at Chavez Ravine.’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘The rivalry between the #SFGiants and #Dodgers is renewed for 2012 as they begin a 3-game series at #DodgerStadium’ on Audioboo

Matt Kemp Has Crazy April, May Begins with New Dodgers Owner

Today's edition of TDB's podcast talks about the history that Matt Kemp and the Dodgers got off to in the first month of the 2012 season. The Guggenheim Baseball Management group were officially announced as the new owners of the Los Angeles Dodgers this morning, thus ending the Frank McCourt era. While his name is likely to be synonymous with baseball fodder for the rest of time, it's a pleasant realization that his circus of a life will no longer prevent the focus of media from being on the Dodgers as a team.

listen to ‘#Dodgers and @therealmattkemp had historical April, while May is the first month of new ownership in today's podcast.’ on Audioboo

Today's game with the Colorado Rockies is the second of a three-game series and six-game road trip with the Rockies and Cubs. The Dodgers look to make up for last night's 7th inning failure with the bases loaded and zero outs, and even the series in the hitter friendly confines of Coors field. Conversely the Dodgers hope that fly-ball-out veteran, Ted Lilly, can continue the fantastic start to his second season as as Dodgers starter. Mattingly has to be hoping that James Loney can start to tap into whatever has led to his career success at Colorado because another 2-run output by the Dodgers certainly won't win a game for a Lilly-led ball club.

Tonight's start is set for 5:40 PM PT.

Cheers.