April 10th, 2013 at 6:10 am 
by Ron Cervenka Even before the very first pitch of the 2013 season was thrown, I was confident that a line-up of Carl Crawford, Matt Kemp, Hanley Ramirez, Adrian Gonzalez and Andre Ethier would not only be among the most feared line-ups in the National League but in all of baseball. Even after Ramirez went down with his thumb injury in the final game of the WBC, the Dodger line-up would still be absolutely terrifying for opposing pitchers.
And the key component of this deadly bunch is, without question, Matt Kemp – the REAL Matt Kemp, not the impostor that we have seen over the past week.
There isn’t a Dodger fan alive who isn’t aware that Kemp is off to the worst start in his 7-year MLB career, and I mean a terrible start. Through seven games, Kemp is 3 for 25 (.120) with only 2 RBIs. He has walked 3 times, stolen zero bases and has struck out 7 times. Granted, all three of his hits have been doubles, but (in my opinion) without his 30+ home runs, 90+ RBIs, and .290+ batting average, the Dodgers will have a very difficult time battling the Giants (or D-backs) for the NL West title or staying close enough to them to secure a Wild Card berth into the playoffs.
When Matt Kemp chases pitches like this, it brings back nightmares of his dreadful 2010 season. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)
As expected (and as he should), Dodger manager Don Mattingly answers the same question every day about whether or not he is concerned with Kemp’s early struggles by saying that Matt will be fine; that Matt is getting good swings; that Matt will come around. But even those who are not all that close to the game know that Mattingly is concerned, even if he says he is not – because that’s what good managers do; they are always concerned about their players, especially about their star players.
And it’s not just Kemp’s horrible numbers that are of concern here. Matt is the leader of this team, the unofficial captain, the Pee Wee Reese of the 2013 Dodgers. And when he carries his frustration into the clubhouse and his teammates see it and feel it, it affects everyone, regardless of what they may tell the media.
Although there has been absolutely nothing to even remotely suggest that Kemp is not completely healed from his off-season shoulder surgery, perhaps this is something that the Dodgers medical staff should take a look at. Granted, nobody enjoys having an MRI, but perhaps the Dodgers should consider one for Kemp – just to be on the safe side and to remove any doubt that maybe Matt’s struggles are health related. We all know that Matt would never admit to being unable to play – even if his arm fell off.
But regardless of what Gonzalez or Crawford or Ethier or Ramirez do this season, the bottom line is that the Dodgers need Matt Kemp’s bat; they need Matt Kemp’s leadership; they just plain need Matt Kemp – period. Because: So goes Matt Kemp – So go the Dodgers; it’s as simple as that.
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Medical! That’s exactly what I said to Curt last night. I say something is wrong that he ain’t sayin.
I may have a little insight into Kemp’s injury that was repaired in the off-season. I had a SLAP (Superior Labrum from Anterior to Posterior) tear repaired with arthroscopic surgery on my shoulder in December. This is basically a repair of the cuff of cartilage that holds the ball of the shoulder in the socket. Kemp had his labrum repaired on his non-throwing arm in October as well as some minor repair of his rotator cuff because of the collision with the center field wall late in the season last year.
While my surgery was on my throwing arm, I can tell you that while the recovery time is very quick as far as pain is concerned, the shoulder has a tendency in the beginning to feel weak with a limited range of motion – many Doctors suggest that full recovery for this surgery for sports purposes can take up to a year.
I am now doing light weight exercises and work with bands which I can do without significant pain but I don’t have full range of motion or anything close to full strength yet. I am now almost 4 months removed from surgery and I am just starting to throw lightly and building up strength and range of motion. I can hit without any problems but throwing at full strength will take longer. Part of the issue is mental because your first instinct is to protect the repaired area. The range of motion increase is gradual as the ball of the shoulder stretches out the repaired cartilage.
I am sure Kemp has had the best of care as far as surgery with Dr. El Attrache and the most advanced physical therapy but I imagine that although he says that he is pain free he may still have some limitation on the full range of movement and perhaps some lingering weakness that will eventually go away. As well, he may be holding back a bit, still testing it out mentally. Additionally Kemp had some rotator cuff repair done which I didn’t have. As we know with pitchers, this tends to have a longer recovery then a SLAP repair.
Watching these initial games, I really haven’t seen Kemp take those powerful opposite field cuts yet that we saw last April. While he may be pain free, I don’t think he has really let loose yet on his swing. Here’s hoping it comes soon.
Good post, Big Blue. I partially tore my rotator cuff about two years ago and I’m just now getting my full range of motion back… but I’m still limited with strength. My doctor said it’s a part of getting older, but I should regain most of the strength back. It’s been a long time for this 50 year old body.
Kemp is much younger and getting the best medical treatment available. He’ll be back sooner than later.
It would be good if Kemp would tell someone if he’s hurting in any way but if he is and will keep quiet about it, I guess all we can do is wait until he feels better.
But I think he’s just in a slump and will eventually come out of it. Meanwhile the rest of the lineup has to continue to do their best.