FanPost

Someone Please Un-Kemp Me

Fantasy Baseball is just around the corner and I have a problem. My Matt Kemp therapy is not working. Oh how I have tried to cure my addiction!

Last season I selected Kemp early in the draft because I thought it would be his break out season. He started out like Babe Ruth hitting 7 home runs and driving in 20 in April. I quickly calculated that this pace would give him at least 49 homers and 140 RBI for the year. I was hooked. Soon however, it appeared that Kemp's defense had deteriorated. I wondered why he was so slow to go after fly balls. Then it became obvious that he was swinging and missing more than usual. Could it be that Kemp needed glasses? Had Torre had Kemp's eyes checked? His baserunning was atrocious. I saw him doubled off, picked off, and thrown out trying to steal. Was his attention elsewhere, was he unconscious, or just plain dumb? They give football players the Wonderlic test to see if they are smart enough to memorize a playbook. Do they ever check baseball players? Then there is the Rihanna angle. For whatever reason, this guy was not getting enough sleep.

By mid-season, I could clearly see that Kemp was stepping toward third base with his left foot and pulling himself away from the ball and missing pitches. This is when I decided that the Dodgers were doomed. I live in a tiny town in northern California. If I could see this from my house, 550 miles from L.A., why could the Dodger coaches not see this from the ballpark? I also observed that Kemp must have a sign hanging around his neck that said "Throw me two strikes and I won't swing until the count is 0 and 2." Every pitcher in the league seemed to be able to get him 0-2 or 1-2. I

In late August, Chad Moriyama of Memories of Kevin Malone, wrote a great piece showing exactly what Kemp was doing. As I understand it, Moriyama lives in Hawaii. He could see from 5000 miles away what I was seeing from 550. Why weren't the Dodgers doing anything to help Kemp? I hoped that someone in Dodger management read sports blogs, but for the first two weeks of September, Kemp seemed even more confused than usual at the plate. From September 1-16, he was 7 for 42 (.167 BA) with no home runs, no RBI. September 17-25, Kemp hit .194 with one home run and three RBI. I had stupidly kept Kemp in the lineup for no good reason, waiting for that potential to kick in. Who was dumber? The Dodgers, Kemp, or me? I knew I was going to lose my fantasy league title due to my Kemp-Will-Hit-Tomorrow addiction. So I dumped him. I had to completely remove him from my team so that I would not be tempted to take another drink, oops, I mean put him in the lineup. I had no faith at that point. Then I noticed that he was hitting some pitches to right field-a very positive sign. Did Moriyama's blog finally get noticed? On the 24th and 25th, Kemp did not start. From September 26 to October 3, Kemp suddenly got religion. His left foot strided forward in line with his right. He batted .296 with 5 home runs and 12 RBI. He hit home runs in each of the last 5 games. I lost my fantasy league championship.

What got into Kemp in the last week of the season? Did the rest on consecutive days give him a needed break? Did someone finally convince him to check out Moriyama's analysis? Did the fear of losing his starting status get his attention?

Overall, Kemp's numbers were mixed. On offense he hit .249, 28 jacks, 89 RBI, 170 strikeouts, the lowest stolen base percentage in the NL (55.9% - 20 attempts or more), and numerous base running errors. On defense, he scored a minus 15 on Bill James' Runs Saved scoring system--worst among MLB center fielders.

So now you see my problem. Five home runs in 5 days. He shows up early for spring training. Lopes works on Kemp's base stealing technique. The Dodgers have a new manager who hopefully will suggest that Ned Whats-His-Name not criticize his players in public. The hot-headed, old-school third base coach is gone. Rihanna is gone.

So which Matt Kemp will appear this season? Am I going to be sucked in again? Draft Kemp in the first round and end up waiting on the church steps with my lovely wedding gown and flowers only to be ditched again? Right now, the bouquet is fresh, the sun is shining, and life begins anew. And I can't stop myself.

This is a fan-written post that is in no way affiliated with or related to any of the authors or editors of True Blue LA. The opinions reflected in this post do not necessarily reflect those of True Blue LA, its authors or editors.