Matt Kemp
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Didn't Know Where Else To Put This, So Just Figured I'd Put It Here, dept.
... an old Bill James subject header. Far be it from Dr. D to fail to annotate his plagiarism.
Rodney was questioned by the peanut gallery, though not by people in uniform, for his arrow into the Angels' dugout. Dr. D's angle?
1. We're sure that his supervisors have asked him to please refrain, next time.
1a. We're equally sure that they did it while suppressing a smile.
2. If the Mariners have decided they wish to look other teams in the eye, it's all right by me.
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Matt Kemp
Kain't keep up with our own Shout Box any more. Imagine July 30. Does everybody realize there's a link in the left sidebar, that gives you 1 day's worth at a time? You're gonna need it.
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Bat571: Whether that change of scenery brings him to Seattle is another issue, but it appears he now realizes he's not in championship form, he's serious about getting there but is having trouble doing so because he's having to do new things as well as those he's comfortable with. He's insecure about his abilities because he's not comfortable with his role - and he says stupid things about it. I'm not sure that a country boy from Oklahoma who's seen the Hollywood lights will ever get himself grounded again. But IF he did ....2 min 41 sec ago
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Bat571: Reading all the stuff from the LA Times about Kemp for the last week + I'm struck by a couple of things: 1) Kemp is very frustrated by his struggles, knows he's not in shape for an MLB season, and is trying to figure out where he fits. 2) He still thinks he is a high-level contributor, but is limited by his lack of preparation during the last off-season. 3) He doesn't like LF - he was drafted and came up as a RF, moved to CF when Andruw Jones went down, and has "comfort level" issues in LF. His comments after playing RF in Puig's absence sound like he doesn't have the same issues there. 4) In LA, where every utterance gets in the papers, he's fighting a losing battle for positive PR - he, like every top athlete, thinks he can be a champion if he's "set free", but being set free means playing poor baseball as he makes up for the lack of off-season preparation. He needs a change of scenery -- and it looks like he now realizes it.9 min 28 sec ago
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rick82: I'd rather have Saunders than Kemp in right at this point, and I'm not certain which one is less injury prone. I do know which is more affordable :-)2 hours 34 min ago
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drm: I actually really worry about the rumors that he was terrible off the field. It's the main reason I want to wait. I want nothing to mess with our chemistry. This team seems really close and I worry that a guy who doesn't work hard, will mess with the chemistry. I got the impression teammates were not impressed.2 hours 34 min ago
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tjm: Some interesting info on the outfield trade candidate front: LA Times piece today on Matt Kemp says he hates playing left field, doesn't play it very well, and is below average in center. He really only sees himself as a right fielder, which limits his value to a team like the M's, I'd think.2 hours 36 min ago
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Personally, I'm quite optimistic that Kemp would settle into his Happy Juice here in Seattle.
Dr. D hopes he does not get a visitor gleefully jumping in to try to enforce PC censorship, but ... have you noticed there's a comfortable, supportive community of black players in Seattle now? (Ken Griffey Jr. used to always good-naturedly complain that his closest friend in the clubhouse was a redneck; some years he was the only black player on the roster, and he justifiably talked about it.)
In 2014, Cano sits there at the head of the dugout, Jay-Z's and Hollywood's shadow behind him in a lower-key setting, and Fernando Rodney with him a lot of times, Chavez, and other guys. I think this is a healthy and appropriate thing, in context: communities naturally develop wider and narrower circles of friends. In baseball, language often drives this, but it doesn't have to. Common interests can do this.
I don't know what the PC police would say, but we know what the real world says. You pick your own friends. This doesn't have to be exclusive; in Seattle, it obviously isn't exclusive. New York is as cosmopolitan as are Seattle and LA.
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As to Kemp preferring RF .... I'm not sure that the Mariners' lineup has progressed to the point to where it needs to worry about who might be displaced by an MVP candidate. ;- ) Not meaning to take the questions lightly. If Kemp was my guy, clearing a position for him would not be my issue.
None of which is to say that Matt Kemp is my guy. But Robinson Cano is, in my view, helping transform the Mariners in a lot of ways.
The 9-to-make-5 thing gives way. An important point. But Billy Beane is only to glad to cash in 9-to-make-5 when he can swap out for Samardzija or Holliday ...
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Kemp gets $20M plus this year, and 5 more years, and this is his second consecutive off-season. He's a great talent but a classic dice roll. I'm in Zduriencik's shoes, I look him in the eye and shake his hand ;- )
BABVA,
Dr D