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.

The "Walk" Off, What a Difference a Year Makes

The game was likely to be delayed, and then the rain stayed away. Once this one got underway it was about as odd a game you could ask for. In front of a weather induced "McCourt era" crowd, the Dodgers went up 4-0 and then 8-3. The newly acquired Aaron Harang and his 13 strikeouts were in line for a his first win as a Dodger, but then Kenley Jansen blew the bullpen's first save of the season, with a 2-1 meat ball to Chase Headley. Just like that Aaron Harang's career high strike outs and franchise record 9-straight K's was all for not. With the game becoming so back and forth, you could have assumed that the Dodgers would answer right back in the bottom of the 9th. What you wouldn't assume, was how the boys in blue would do so.

San Diego's fireballer Cashner came in and mixed a triple digit fast ball with a marginal curve ball to get within one out of giving his offense another chance to complete the comeback win. But instead the Dodger's used a pair of all-stars outfielders and a pair of right-side infielders to string 4 straight walks together for the win. When mark Ellis induced a walk that brought newly awarded Silver Slugger Matt Kemp to homeplate, you though that Matt might return the favor with a 2-run game ending homerun. But when Matt drew another walk, the game was in the hands of a guy who thought he would have the night off. James Loney came up to the plate and followed the trend of waiting out Cashner's unoriginal mix of pitches.

The famous Scully quote "aaand look who's coming to the plate" quickly came to my head at the same time True Blue LA's Eric Stephen was quoting the same thing on my twitter feed. The Dodgers home opener hero was stepping to the plate, and the Padres called for a lefty. Instead of giving Ethier a challenge, 4 straight fastballs out of the zone led to the 4th straight walk of the inning and the Dodgers "walked" off for a MLB best 7-1 record.

There seems to be something in the water cooler this season. These Dodgers have gotten off to a trend of winning close games and coming through in the clutch. Last year carried with it a depressingly jaded ho-hum feeling that matched the franchise's current state of ownership affairs. WELL!!! Its a new year, a newly reloaded roster of role players, and Mattingly has his team off to a surprising start. While the first 8 games have been against two teams that aren't predicted to make much noise this season, something is just different. Last season got to a point where you just kept thinking that the close ones would go the Dodgers' way, and it never did. Its starting to look like the things might be coming back around to bring balance to the universe. Yes, yes... It is a little early to call it a charmed season but Kemp and Ethier's turns at the plate definitely seem more timely this year.