September 2nd, 2013 at 6:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka If the 2013 season has taught us anything it has taught us that this is not Matt Kemp’s year. It has also taught us that the Dodgers have tremendous outfield depth and are perfectly capable of winning without the so-called ‘face of the franchise’ in the line-up or even on the 25-man roster.
Now this is not to say that Kemp is not a very valuable component for the Dodgers, he most certainly is; but simply put, the Dodgers do not need him to win and it would probably be best if he were to sit out the remainder of the season and get completely healthy for the 2014 campaign.
We’ve all seen what a healthy Matt Kemp can do and know how valuable he is to the success of the team, but is it wise for the Dodgers to fix what isn’t broken in the outfield right now – an outfield that got the Dodgers to where they are without Matt Kemp?
Keep in mind that aside from one outfield assist and two walks during his four rehab appearances with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, Kemp is having a horrible time against Single-A pitching. In fact, he is 0 for 14 with 7 strikeouts. Is this what the Dodgers need heading into the final month of the season and into the post-season?
Reminiscent of his dismal 2010 season, Kemp swings and missed at a slider off the plate for one of his 7 strikeouts during his four-day rehab assignment with the Quakes. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)
I applaud Dodger manager Don Mattingly and general manager Ned Colletti for their decision to extend Kemp’s rehab assignment for a couple more days, but with the Quakes (and Isotopes, and Lookouts) respective seasons ending on Monday, there is every indication that the Dodgers will reactivate Kemp from the disabled list on Tuesday. Granted, a corresponding roster move will not be necessary because we are now into the September call-up period, but what can Matt Kemp do that Carl Crawford, Andre Ethier and Yasiel Puig cannot?
In their last 10 games Crawford is 10 for 36 (.277) including five hits in his last two games; Ethier is 9 for 31 (.290) and playing an outstanding center field; and Puig is 14 for 35 (.399) with two home runs and has made several absolutely incredible if not impossible defensive plays. With all due respect to Matt Kemp, do the Dodgers really want to mess with this very good defensive and offensive outfield right now?
There is little doubt that Kemp will come back as strong as ever (or perhaps even better than ever) in 2014, but perhaps it would be best for the Dodgers if Kemp were to take one for the team and write this season off and allow his teammates to continue their historic run without him.
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RT @Think_BlueLA: New post – Matt Kemp needs to take one for the team – http://t.co/pTb31FjQZD #Dodgers #Dodgerfam
This is going to be a tough one for Mattingly if Kemp doesn’t start showing some life with the bat. The good thing is that the Dodgers are now 11.5 up in the standings and we have a month left where he can get some playing time in games that hopefully aren’t going to mean much apart from trying to get home field advantage in NLCS. It would be very tough politically to keep him off the roster in the post season, but I think at this point Mattingly would use him as the “extra” 4th outfielder with limited playing time. Lets just hope he knocks off the rust in this last month. If he can somehow find his swing, it would be a great addition.
This is one of those controversial topics that everyone thinks about but nobody wants to say anything about – and understandably so – Kemp is revered by Dodgers fans and by his teammates and coaches.
There is zero, and I mean absolutely no chance that Kemp will be excluded from to 25-man or the playoff roster(s) – none whatsoever. But this is something that both Kemp and Dodger management need to at least think about.
Your point about home field advantage through the first two rounds of the playoffs is spot on, bigbluebird; and please do not underestimate its importance – it is a huge advantage and one that must not be taken lightly.
We all fear that an early clinching may lead to relaxing a bit too much and that the Dodgers might lose their edge because of it. This is where Mattingly absolutely must keep his players sharp and focused (and in their routine) which, unfortunately, may result in Kemp seeing less playing time than he would like. But going 0 for 14 with 7 strikeouts against Single-A pitching speaks loudly about where Matt Kemp is right now – especially when we know exactly where Crawford, Ethier and Puig are right now.
I doubt that would happen. Matt probably just wouldn’t do it and management no doubt keeps hoping he will break loose in time for the play offs so every effort will made to get him on track.
I agree with you wholeheartedly on this one Ron. I see no reason to activate Kemp for the sake of the team. It certainly looks like the team can easily make it to the postseason, and even futher, with the outfield the way it is.
But it looks like they’re makng every effort to bring him back before the season ends. I think it would be awful hard, if the team wants to, to convince Kemp to call it quits for this year.
No offense, Joe, but this is nuts. AIt’s not time to panic over 14 ABs in a rehab assignment.
Seriously, do you want Van Slyke on the playoff roster over Kemp? We’re going to shut him down when all he needs is some playing time to get his timing back?
Interesting assessment, Ron.
This is a timing thing with Kemp and patience is needed. You have seen some of his at bats at Rancho,so maybe I’m off, but High A pitchers can get pretty amped up when facing a major league All Star. By accounts that I have read, he has faced some real nasty stuff in the high 90s. That’s quite a difference from the BP meatballs he has been teeing off on for a few weeks. Mix in some off speed stuff and its the ingredient for some embarassing ABs when you are trying to get your timing back.
With an 11.5 game lead, the Dodgers can afford to see if Matt can get back his timing back. Frankly, I think a series in Colorado might do him wonders for his confidence. Cincy is a launching pad too. Why not let him play this road trip? I see no harm in it frankly.
Home field advantage is great and all, but with Kershaw and Greinke going in games 1 and 2 of playoff series, the HFA is immediately negated once one of those games is won. Look at Atlanta’s schedule. Those guys have 23 games against sub .500 teams and then three against the Nationals, (who may also be under .500 by the time the Braves play them). It’ll take quite a collapse bt Atlanta for the Dodgers to surpass them for the best record. Not getting HFA isn’t a worry to me. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to have it, but it’s not as huge in my estimation as you see it.
Kemp is at Spring Taining timing again. He got that timing back before his last injury and was mashing. It appeared that his shoulder was getting back to normal again and he had some pop again. I see no reason why that can’t happen again. It’s silly to write him off for the season when we could potentially add an all star bat to the middle of the order for post seasson play. Let’s be honest here. Andre Ethier isn’t close to the hitter he once was and is completely overmatched against lefties. Crawford has two dingers since May. A power bat, such as Kemp, in the outfield would really help the offense.
September will be about getting the team in playoff playing shape and Kemp has to be a part of that. One thing that Dodgers have in their favor is a big lead and 26 games to play. Not a lot of time, but enough to see if Kemp can come back to close to 100%. He needs to go for it.
Great blog on kemp RT @Think_BlueLA: New post – Matt Kemp needs to take one for the team – http://t.co/9ZDRrAzu53 #Dodgers #Dodgerfam
Aside from the other reasons given, should the Dodgers reach the World Series, having the 4th OFer available to DH would be a plus.
Also, thanks for the alert about Mark Langill’s appearance last week. I live right across the street from the library and wouldn’t have known about it otherwise. Very enjoyable presentation.
After seeing Kemp in person again today (Monday) my perspective has changed. Even though he went 0 for 4, he had much better ABs. (See tomorrow’s blog post).
Glad you got to see Mark Langill – he is a great guy. Mark only told me about the gig last Wednesday (I wish he had told me sooner so that I could have promoted it better). Unfortunately (for me, that is), I already had media creds for the Quakes game on Thursday. Whittier is quite a drive for me but it’s half that of Rancho Cucamonga.
Thanks for the input and don’t be a stranger.
I have to go with Evan on this one. IMO, Kemp needs MLB playing time and AB’s before the playoffs, not during the playoffs. And to think he should take the balance of the season off is never going to be a consideration by Kemp or the Dodgers. Remember Ned like experience over talent and that alone says Kemp plays !! And now that Puig could be injured the need just got bigger.
Looks like this might be a non-issue now.
Kemp has a setback at CBR with his Hamstring
http://dodgerscribe.com/