Matt Kemp’s Beast Mode has Been Activated!
Pitchers all around the majors are looking at the Los Angeles Dodgers and wondering “who opened the cage?” Matt Kemp’s in such a hot streak right now he was walked 3 times yesterday yet he still went 2-3 with 2 runs a home run and 2 runs batted in.
As a huge Matt Kemp fan I’m lovin’ it! Over the last 7 games Matt Kemp is hitting .406 with 4 home runs, with 13 RBI’s. I can’t how say badly the Dodgers have needed this, and it seems to have waken up the rest of the line up. Not only is Kemp hitting well but heck even Chad Billingsley got into the fun yesterday with a double, home run and 3 RBI’s, Rod Barajas actually drove in runs that didn’t involve a home run and this was the first time I can recall that the bottom of the line up (5-9) beat out the top of the line up (1-4).
I don’t know where Matt Kemp is in the All Star balloting but he should be a starter definitely, he’s now 2nd in the National League in home-runs, leads the NL in RBI’s, is 5th in average, 10th in runs scored, 6th in hits, tied for 5th in stolen bases, 5th in on base percentage, and 2nd in slugging. If Kemp keeps up these numbers, he needs to be the MVP no matter where the Dodgers finish, without him God knows where this team would be, I’m sure we’d be looking up from the cellar.
So watch out Phillies, you’re next! Beast mode has been activated and Matt Kemp is coming to rip apart your pitching staff with his bare teeth, rawr!
Would Trading Chad Billingsley be Beneficial to the Dodgers?
[picappgallerysingle id="6301348"]Chad Billingsley is one of the more intriguing pitchers throughout baseball. At times, he’s as dominant as anyone in baseball. At other times, he’s as hittable and inconsistent as anyone in baseball. So what to do with him? Well- you have two choices. Resign him to a deal where you’re going to have to pay him A LOT of money (likely AJ Burnett type money), or trade him for large value. The Los Angeles Dodgers are obviously having some money issues with the divorce proceedings going on, they’ve recently traded quite a bit of their farm system away, leaving them wide open in that aspect, so I might make the unpopular claim here- but I believe it would be more beneficial to trade Billingsley this offseason.
Think about it- who is the ace of this Dodgers staff? Yes- Clayton Kershaw. What kind of money is he going to get? Scary to think about isn’t it? Chad Billingsley is a number 2 who pitches like a 1…or pitches like a 4. Why would you want to pay him the kind of money I suspect he’ll get, when you could take that money and go after some offense, or TWO pitchers who could really hold the fort down for some of the young talent to emerge. Everyone is on the lookout for pitching, and I think you’ll get someone to bite on this guy for quite a bit. I also have some worry with his mechanics. After breaking down some of his tape, I believe he’s got a little bit of a timing issue, which puts excess pressure on the shoulder mainly- based on his whip action. Now what this means to me is, when he plants, his arm isn’t ready to come through (at times) meaning the arm has to rush to the throwing position instead of naturally getting there on time. We’ve seen many pitchers go down with shoulder and arm injuries and some never return. This to me is a HUGE risk, and when we’re attaching 65-80 million to him- it’s not a risk I would be willing to take. Free up that money, and start restocking the farm system- that’s how I’d attack this organization
Will this happen? Who knows? Should it be talked about internally? Absolutely.
Dodgers Lose Martin- Time for Changes
[picappgallerysingle id="9416363"]It’s only been a couple days and 1 Ted Lilly Start since the deadline. The fact of the matter is- Losing Russell Martin to a torn labrum in his hip is going to really hurt this team moving forward. When you lose your catcher, your quarterback- your in trouble unless your playing with a ton of season, or are in a weak division. I don’t think the Dodgers have a replacement that’s going to be able to do what Martin was able to do- especially for the pitching staff.
Look- it’s time to reailze that this team is not going to be in the postseason this year. You’ve stripped the system of some good prospects to take your shot. Okay great- they took the shot…and missed. The Padres are not going away, and the Rockies are surging. The funny thing is- I’m not even throwing the Giants into that boat.
Why is it such a terrible thing to realize it’s time to wave the white flag- and move your assets. We all know about the ownership position, the lack of money, so why would we continue to hold on to some of these guys?
Manny needs to go. Lilly needs to go. You start there and see what you can get for a Chad Billingsley. If you open up some payroll- you might be able to attack a Cliff Lee next year in the off season. The fact of the matter is- this team is a sinking ship- so let’s spare our crew…and move on.
The Dodgers Should Have Been Sellers
[picappgallerysingle id="8837397"]The Los Angeles Dodgers were buyers this year as the deadline has come and gone. They traded young pitchers Brett Wallach and Kyle Smil as well as servicable Blake DeWitt for Ryan Theriot and Ted Lilly. Are you kidding me with this? Not to mention the opportunity to rid themselves of Manny Ramirez’s contract was present, and ignored. Do the Los Angeles Dodgers REALLY believe they’re in this race? That the San Diego Padres will fall down in September and the San Francisco Giants will choke? Give me a break. This Dodgers team is NOT better than either of those teams right now, and adding payroll to the situation of the front office was a joke. The system already isn’t exactly tip top and they sent 2 of their better prospects for a 34 year old left hander whose lost velocity, had shoulder surgery, AND is a free agent at the end of the year. Ryan Theriot a sparkplug? What exactly is he going to spark? Is he going to teach guys how to not take a pitch? How not to get on base, evident by his .320 OBP? Blake DeWitt wasn’t worth more than Ryan Theriot? Did Ned Colletti lose his mind or forget to remember that Ryan Theriot’s career year was now 2 years ago?
The Dodgers had some pieces that could have been coveted by other teams. Look no farther than Manny Ramirez. Mannywood hasn’t exactly lived up to the hype this year, with his “injuries” popping up often. Ridding the remainder of his contract would have been glorious while adding a couple of prospects. Nope- instead they’ll hold on to him and watch him leave for free agency. Good move. They could have traded Casey Blake for a couple mid level prospects. Hiroki Kuroda for a couple mid level prospects. Vincente Padilla could have attracted some buyers. Heck- you could have moved Chad Billingsley at the high as well which would have saved some money. Sometimes, you have to be realistic about your roster. Sometimes you have to say ” you know what- it’s time to move on from this roster, build around Clayton Kershaw, Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, and the big man Broxton at the back end of the bullpen. Instead, the Dodgers hurt their future, while NOT helping their present.
Terrible moves and moves that should get Ned Colletti fired.
Billingsley Hurls Shutout, L.A. Wins 7th-Straight
On a day when offense was hard to come by, Chad Billingsley hurled a shutout over the first-place San Diego Padres and Russell Martin’s RBI single was all the streaking Dodgers needed to win their season-high seventh-in-a-row, 1-0.
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