September 20th, 2012 at 6:55 am 
by Ron Cervenka Could it be that Matt Kemp has finally… finally emerged from his career-worst slump? The one in which he went 6 for 50 (.120) with 14 strikeouts since September 1st heading into Wednesday’s doubleheader against the team with the best record in baseball?
As much as I want to believe it, I’m not about to go out on a limb and say that Kemp’s slump is over, but I am very encouraged by the fact that Kemp went 3 for 8 during the twin bill and had his first multi-hit game of the month, including the eventual game-winning home run in the top of the 9th of the night cap – his first in 55 plate appearances and 19th on the season.
According to hittrackeronline.com, Kemp’s home run to straightaway center traveled 413 feet. (Photo credit – Alex Brandon)
It’s easy to get excited about Kemp’s game-winning home run, but it’s his 3 for 8 (1 for 4 in the first game and 2 for 4 in the second) and his two walks that I am most excited about. This is what it takes to get out of a slump, not a home run every 55 at bats. This is what it takes to stop his plummeting batting average that has dropped over 50 points since returning from the DL after the All-Star break. If Matt can start stringing together several more multi-hit games over the 13 that remain, then maybe… just maybe his slump is over, and maybe… just maybe the Dodgers can somehow miraculously grab onto that second and final NL Wild Card spot.
In all honesty, it’s going to take a lot more than just Kemp coming out of his slump for the Dodgers to secure that final Wild Card spot and I’m not convinced that the Dodgers have the pitching and offensive punch to do it, especially with the red hot Milwaukee Brewers now a mere half game behind the Dodgers, who still trail the Cardinals by two games. And then there’s those damn Phillies whose apparent goal in life is to constantly knock the Dodgers out of playoff contention (or the playoffs themselves). The Phillies are now only two games behind the Dodgers in the Wild Card standings and are also playing exceptionally well of late.
So there you have it – a Wild Card race that is as clear as mud. A Wild Card race in which there is no room… absolutely no room for a losing streak – not even a one-game losing streak.
Piece of cake.
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Where there’s life, there’s hope, and this is a lot better than being eliminated and having no stake or interest in the games. There was some spirit shown by the team both after the home run and after League was lights out in the bottom of the ninth, and I haven’t seen that for a while either.
It could be…it’s a spirit thing. Remember at the beginning of the season how jazzed everyone was on the field and in the dugout. You couldn’t count the high 5’s, butt slaps, etc. Then the sadness began – even when someone did something good, the enthusiasm had a different feel. Maybe, just maybe, this new zeal can translate on the field. I’m still holding onto my towel.
Yes, finally Kemp looked good for a change and like you, I hope his slump is over. This could very much help the team. It could boost their chances in making it to the wild card game. It may be the spark that gets the team going, if that’s what they need.
It’s a tough race and I think, as usual, it will be the team that is the hottest as the season comes to a close, that will win it.
I was encouraged that Matt walked twice in those games instead of flailing away at everything.
As most of you know, I’m not big on “hoping and wishing” like a lot of other folks on the forum and blog are, but rather a ‘just the facts’ realist. As such, and to be quite honest, I do not think the Dodgers stand a chance at winning that final Wild Card spot – bear with me here.
The spirit that you (ebbetsfld and Lindav) speak of only came out after Kemp’s home run. Where was it during the rest of the game? The Dodgers build a 6-0 lead (which clearly should have been 5-0 were it not for a seriously blown call by the umpires) and then ‘phoned it in’ after that. Nothing frosts my flakes more than when the Dodgers get a lead and then quit playing instead of stomping on the throats of their opponents and piling on more runs. I have never understood this and no other teams seems to do this.
Watching Kemp loafing it down the third base line instead of running all out as he should have done (especially while making $160 million) was, quite frankly, bullshit. Had he done so, that blown call never would have come into play and the Dodgers would have earned every one of their seven runs instead of receiving a gift run on a blown call that became monumental in the final outcome of the game – it made everybody look bad – especially Matt Kemp. If you guys see this as spirit then I guess I have an entirely different interpretation of that word, because this was the farthest thing from spirit I have ever seen. I only hope that Don Mattingly (or Trey Hillman) chewed Matt Kemp a new one for his unprofessional lackadaisical play and his cavalier attitude. This is not how a playoff-bound team plays and why I believe that they will not make it.
One need look no further than how the Nationals and Giants (uggh!) play to see true spirit – at least in my definition of the word.
Since I couldn’t see the games (grrrrr), I didn’t know that Matt hot-dogged it to 3rd. I, too, hope he got his butt chewed out and the enthusiasm is there from the first batter tonight. It’s on Prime thank goodness. Adding to that subject of not seeing the game, it’s a crying-out-loud shame how they do TV. It was on MLB last night but F—— BLACKED OUT IN VEGAS. Not fair.
I mentioned Matt’s trot home in the forum and also Adrian’s mistake in going to third when he could have held up allowing Matt to score. Adrian had the whole thing in front of him and must have known he could allow Matt to score by holding up. He didn’t need to get to third as he is not a very fast runner. We only needed the run, not third base.
Matt really did dial it in going home, on a rotary dial I expect, assuming Zimmerman had no play. Zimmerman’s play was the spirit you speak of as he was five runs down at that point and doing the impossible to prevent the sixth run.
The guy that should get his backside fried on the Nats is Davey Johnson. He gave up and took three of his better players out to rest for today. He quit, his team didn’t.
The Blue Jay games on MLB TV get blacked out here.