Dodger fans are a fickle bunch. We’re spoiled, we want our cake and eat it too, and at times we’re willing to go to war in support of our Boys in Blue – and we love every minute of it. We love the never-ending cheap shots at the Dodgers by the national media (who are usually wrong); we love the verbal abuse of rival fans and their childish “Beat L.A.” chants (you know who you are), and we will support our Dodgers through thick and thin, good times and bad – no matter what.

…or will we?

It seems that depending on what day of the week it is, many Dodgers fans are either calling for Matt Kemp the malcontent to be traded or Matt Kemp the superhero to remain a Dodger forever – and I admit that I am as guilty of this as anyone.

We’ve all seen or heard about the occasional clubhouse disruptions involving Kemp, such as him saying or rather demanding to be an everyday player – this in spite of the fact that, at times, he is clearly not the best man for the job. And then we see the Kemp who has now hit two home runs in a game twice this season (thus far) – including Tuesday night’s dominating 8-4 win over the extremely talented Atlanta Braves.

Matt Kemp is, without question, the most polarizing player on the team for Dodger fans.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

But is it really Matt Kemp who is causing the uneasiness in the Dodgers clubhouse and in the Dodgers front office or is it his agent, former Dodger (and Oakland A) Dave Stewart?

Now granted, good agents always keep the best interest of their clients in mind, agents like Casey Close and even baseball’s Antichrist, super agent Scott Boras. But when an agent intentionally and often times maliciously generates negative publicity in the national media (things that certain national media guys jump all over – again, you know who you are), is it really in the best interest of their client? It most certainly is not in the best interest of a team working towards making the playoffs… say… like, the Dodgers.

It is understood and generally accepted that Matt Kemp and Dave Stewart are close friends and understood that the lofty eight-year/$160 million contract that Stewart landed for the 2011 MVP runner-up a tremendous accomplishment, but are the negative comments by Stewart about Kemp wanting to be traded to the Red Sox, a team that has clearly already thrown in the towel for 2014 and whose clubhouse is a disaster, really helping the 29-year-old Midwest City, OK native or are they alienating him from his teammates, the Dodgers front office and fans?

Although I do not know Dave Stewart nor have I ever spoken with him, I’m sure he’s probably a great guy. But perhaps it would be in the best interest of Kemp to consider changing agents to one with a more positive reputation and one with a good working relationship with most general managers and owners rather than remaining with one who general managers would rather avoid doing business with.

Whether or not Kemp actually gets traded or if he even wants to be traded is still anyone’s guess, and with Ned Colletti you never really know what’s going on until it’s a done deal, but perhaps it is in the Dodgers best interest to think long and hard before pulling the trigger on trading away a guy who seems to finally be happy in right field and who is hitting .400 (14 for 35) with two home runs, one triple, one double and nine RBIs since the All-Star break heading into the stretch run.

By the way, today is Wednesday and after Kemp’s great game last night, I’m for keeping him – but check back with me tomorrow.

Did I mention that Dodger fans are a fickle bunch?