October 14, 2011

Exclusive: It’s Official, No Makeup Game for Kemp

UPDATE: Yesterday I wrote about the potential opportunity that a makeup game for the September 7th rain-out with the Nationals would provide for Matt Kemp’s Triple Crown and 40 HR / 40 SB chances.

Since then, I checked in with Dodgers VP of Communications Josh Rawitch and asked about the possibility of the Dodgers officially requesting that the September 7th rain-out with the Washington Nationals be made up at  the end of the regular season, if Kemp was close to either record. Rawitch informed me that he confirmed with Major League Baseball that ”this isn’t really a game that would be made up if the only thing to be determined was an individual player’s statistics.” Rawitch went on to state that he did not think that the Dodgers would make such a request, given the large number of other players from both teams that would be impacted.  So that’s that!

Let’s Get Matt Kemp to St. Louis!

So the MLB’s Final Vote program has Matt Kemp up against Nationals shortstop Christian Guzman, D-Backs third baseman Mark Reynolds, Giants third-baseman Pablo Sandoval and Phillies outfielder (and former Dodger) Shane Victorino.

According to MLB.com, “This eighth annual event, which has gained in popularity each year, allows fans to decide the 33rd and final roster spot for the American and National Leagues leading up to the 80th All-Star Game on July 14 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.”

Additionally, the Dodgers and Angels are reportedly asking their fans to vote for each other’s players.  So Dodger fans, that means we’re all about Chone Figgins until voting closes on Thursday!

While I have several questions about how the finalists were selected (and why Juan Pierre isn’t on this list…the guy clearly is the most valuable Dodger position players in the first half of the season), I’m rolling with it and encouraging voting for our boy Matt.  While his stats are comparable to the other candidates (Sandoval is having an amazing year), Kemp’s fantastic defense can’t be measured in traditional stats.

Let’s make it happen people!

Vin Scully and Troyfromwestvirginia on Matt Kemp

I recently came across two great YouTube videos – one with Vin Scully giving the play-by-play of the Matt Kemp vs. Yorvit Torrealba (a fight that I missed due to a family event) and another with our old friend TroyFromWestVirginia who decided to film 2.5 minutes of himself impersonating Matt Kemp sitting in the dugout with nothing to do. I’m not sure where he comes up with this stuff, but I’ll have to give the nod to ol’ Vin for his interpretation of the fight.

Matt and Yorvit go at it in Denver

TroyFromWestVirginia “ridin’ the pine” as Matt Kemp

Matt Kemp Named NL Player of the Week

Matt Kemp
Dodger outfielder Matt Kemp has been named the NL player of the week, according to The Sports Report, for the period ending May 4th. Kemp’s been a hitting machine as of late, contributing a great extent to the Dodgers winning 9 out of their past 10 games.

Kemp beat out San Francisco’s Aaron Rowand, who hit .478 with two home runs; San Diego’s Adrian Gonzalez, who batted .385 with 4 HRs; and Pittsburgh’s Xavier Nady, who hit .450 with 7 RBIs. While Matt may not have led the NL with the best batting average, his all-around performance was really remarkable.

Kemp’s average over the past week was a respectable .407 and delivered four doubles during that time. Hed led the National League with 11 RBIs and also stole a league-best six bases and tied an NL-week best with 11 hits. Did I mention that he hit safely in all six games, and recorded four multi-hit games and three multi-RBI games last week?

Glad to see Kemp is getting his due and staying in the Dodgers starting rotation consistently now! Keep it up Matty!