Hot and Cold, Young and Old
Not surprisingly, the Dodgers current hot streak has coincided with Matt Kemp's recent tear. He's had 19 hits, 2 HRs and 18 RBIs over the last 11 games. Over that time span, the team has won 10 of their last 12 games, catapulting them to 2nd place in the NL West standings, just 3 games behind the red hot Arizona Diamondbacks. Not only is Kemp an offensive powerhouse, he's also probably the best defensive OF we have (even over Andruw Jones) and has far more range than the average RF. Over the years, Kemp has drawn many comparisons from scouts. Some compare him to Hall of Famer, Dave Winfield. Others compare him to future Hall of Famers, Manny Ramirez and Ken Griffey Jr. and some even claim he resembles a young Barry Bonds. Undoubtedly, those are some pretty lofty expectations. After a slow start to the season that saw him lose playing time to Juan Pierre, Kemp has made it impossible for manager Joe Torre to sit him for a vet. He's the type of player who can (and will) carry this offense for the foreseeable future. Luckily, GM Ned Colletti, knew enough not to trade him over the offseason, I, like many others, were worried this winter that Ned may give in to demands and ship him off for a pitchers or 3B. Dodger fans sure must be thankful that didn't happen because this guy appears to be the real deal. If he does manage to live up to expectations, the Dodgers will have an offensive weapon that they haven't seen the likes of in decades. He's the type of player that can be the face of the franchise for years to come and should be a fixture in the middle of the lineup for a long time.
Now, if only Andruw Jones' bat would wake up we'd be in business. At this point, it's not looking too good at all. Jones has been the opposite of Kemp in the early going and has become a major headache for management. Afterall, they are paying this guy $18 million per year. As of Wednesday May 7th, Jones is hitting a robust .162 with 1 HR and 4 RBIs. Not quite what the Dodgers thought they were getting when they put up the big money to sign him. However, his decline shouldn't be all that surprising to the front office. He did hit only .222 last year and hasn't been the same Andruw Jones that was hitting 50 HRs and getting elected to all-star games for several years now. So far in the early going, he's been the antithesis of Matt Kemp, yet is still seeing playing time nearly everyday due to Joe Torre's continued support of the beleaguered slugger. Over his last 41 at-bats, he managed to only get 7 hits...a .170 batting average. At this point, the signing is looking pretty bleak to say the least, especially when you figure in how well Torii Hunter and Aaron Rowand are playing for their respective teams, either of which we could've signed instead of Jones. Hopefully he'll get it turned around at some point but I'm not holding my breath. If this slump continues, Torre will eventually be forced to bench him and plug Kemp or Pierre back in CF. That still seems to be a ways off as Torre is likely to give Jones every possible chance to get it turned around. As far as I'm concerned, he can't be THIS bad. He probably won't reach my .250/30 projection but should hit over .200 with 20 HRs or so. Of course, those numbers are pretty far off at this point. He's only had one multi-hit game all season (2 hits) which came on APR 15th against Pittsburgh. That simply doesn't cut it at an $18 million price tag. If he doesn't start hitting soon (forget about power) he may find himself on the bench or in the minors. A stint in the minors may not be such a bad idea. That way, he could figure out what's wrong with his swing and the Dodgers wouldn't have to keep penciling in a major void in their lineup every night.
