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They're looking up at Matt Kemp.
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In the immortal words of
The Wire's Clay Davis... Sheeee-it.
I'm still trying to wrap my head around last night's game. It was definitely one of the best games I've ever seen live (other highlights, in no particular order: 4+1, Manny's first dodger home run, Kershaw's first start, Russell Martin's first hit, 2008 playoff clincher), and I've been trying all morning to contain my enthusiasm for it's long-term implications, considering that it's a single game in April. Still, with a sellout crowd and the Washington Nationals' 1-2 Strasburg-Harper hype punch, this game felt like a game with a lot more on the line than the typical April matchup.
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| Matt Kemp doesn't warm up. He waits. |
The Good: My god, Matt Kemp is good. On an night where he had gone 0-3 (with a walk and a stolen base), he delivered when the team needed him most. We're witnessing history on a daily basis right now, and everyone should be enjoying this as much as possible. This is the crowning of a true superstar, the best player in baseball. And the palpable joy that he gives off from the field is intoxicating. During warmups, he hi-fived and shook hands with every other Dodger on the field. He performed personalized hi-five routines with at least two of the SECURITY GUARDS, for god's sake. He's always standing on the top step of the dugout, cheering on his teammates and focusing on the game. To see someone with his natural ability caring about all 24 of the other guys on the team is so much fun to see. Simply put, he seems to be having just as much fun playing as we are watching.
Chad Billingsley deserves to be singled out as well. Coming off the shellacking in Houston, Chad needed to bounce back with a solid outing to keep his many, many critics from starting their yearly calls for his release/trade/disembowelment. That he needed to do so against one of the best young pitchers in baseball, and against a pretty dangerous lineup (Ryan Zimmerman's absence notwithstanding), made it even more daunting. For whatever reason, the permanent story about Billingsley, as long as he is a Dodger, will be whether or not he is mentally "tough enough". Dating back at least to the 2009 playoffs, the media and public discussion has revolved around this, and the vicious hatred for him that has developed is baffling. At worst, he's a mechanically inconsistent mid-to-back of the rotation starter that will have streaks of both dominance and failure. And that's the level he's being paid at. At best, he's exactly what we saw last night- a power pitcher with good command and the ability to go toe-to-toe with a quality opponent. Is it too much to ask that people just enjoy that?
Jerry Hairston Jr: defense wizard. He's been a very solid contributor so far, both at the plate and especially in the field. While I'd love to see him just in the infield (bat plays better filling in for Ellis & Uribe better than a would be LF one), he's been the best of the new signings so far in this early season.
The bad: Javy Guerra's in a world of hurt right now. Plug in Jansen as the closer and hope Javy figures out what's going on in lower-leverage innings. The Dodgers would be 17-4 if you erased the last week of his work. No closer is perfect, and I like Javy, but objectively, he needs to get fixed before getting sent out in a high-leverage situation again.
Dee Gordon isn't looking so hot either. Unfortunately, unlike with the bullpen situation, we don't have an easy alternative to replacing Dee while he works this out. In a world where I'm filling out the lineup cards, I'd swap out Gordon and Ellis in the lineup- putting someone with a >.400 OBP on in front of Kemp and Ethier seems like a good idea where I'm from. But the odds of that happening are beyond slim. Maybe a temporary platoon of Gordon and Sellers would help? Gordon's having a very hard time with lefties so far- putting Sellers in against lefties and giving Dee a few days of rest here & there seems like a nice compromise right now.
What we learned: All season, the media has pointed at the Dodgers' superior record and countered with the claim that it came against inferior opponents. They can't do that anymore. The Dodgers have been better than expected this season, and it gives a great deal of hope that the incoming ownership is going to be in good position to add at the deadline for a legitimate playoff push. And expect any and all free agents this coming season to be pretty excited to play alongside the National League's two best players in Kemp & Kershaw.
