The 2011 Dodgers will need Matt Kemp to turn his words into action
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Say this for Matt Kemp, he generates a reaction.
People love him or hate him, or love and hate him.
He is the Dodgers’ lightning rod, dividing fans, coaches, teammates and media.
He is a remarkable talent … he relies too much on talent alone. He has blazing speed … he’s caught stealing way too often. He has amazing power … he swings too much at the low-and-away pitch. He always gets his work in … he’s undisciplined on the field. He’s that rare five-tool player … he mentally drifts during the game. He’s a superior defensive player … he too often gets a miserable jump on the ball.
Build around him or trade him. Nurture him or tell him time’s up. Give him a hug or a shove, but give him something.
This has truly manifested itself this season, a difficult one for Kemp. He was coming off a year when he won both a Silver Slugger and a Gold Glove, achievements that seem almost unfathomable to anyone who had watched him only this season. Achievements that, based on him not turning 26 until last week, were championed as the harbinger of true superstardom.
And although his grand slam Wednesday gives him 25 home runs -- one less than last year -- his .248 batting average is down almost 50 points and his 83 RBIs are well shy of last year’s 101. He’s struck out a club-record 168 times.
He’s had six RBIs in the last two games; he had three in his previous 28 games.
As his season declined, he became moody and sour. His clubhouse presence shrank. A simple ‘hello’ might be not be returned.
When he did speak to the media about his disappointing season, however, he normally said the right thing.
And so it was again after Wednesday’s slam, a chipper Kemp telling reporters that he was going to make up his disappointing season to fans next year with a 40-steal, 40-home-run season.
‘I have to pay the fans back, man,’ he said. ‘They deserve it.
‘They’ve been mad at me all season. I have to do something for them, something special. We all do. Give them a little taste right now.’
That’s what a fan wants to hear from Kemp, of course. Renewed dedication and commitment.
Yet saying the right thing and then executing it proved a challenge to Kemp this season.
Unless Frank McCourt is going to stun followers by seriously expanding the payroll, any chance of the Dodgers turning things around next season will center on a return to form by Kemp and Andre Ethier.
The youth excuse will no longer fly. Kemp has now spent seven seasons in professional baseball.
If he turns it around, the lightning rod will dramatically tilt his response to the positive. If he doesn’t, naysayers will mushroom. With Kemp, a reaction is a certainty.
-- Steve Dilbeck