Matt Kemp

by ChrisRef19 on Jun 24, 2007 8:47 AM EDT

What do you guys think the dodgers are going to do with Kemp? Will they move him, alone or in a package deal?

This kids too good to be leaving on the bench. Hitting .426 in 19 games with no errors in the field.

I wouldnt mind seeing them deal Gonzalez, and keep Either, Pierre and Kemp.

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Poll

What will happen to Matt Kemp?

Staying in LA.

58 votes

Going to the AL.

4 votes

Will be delt in a package deal.

9 votes

He will platoon with Either till next year.

13 votes

Going to a NL team.

1 votes

85 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

a few thoughts

he's not going anywhere -- bank on it
he's NOT "too good" right now to be on the bench for a major-league franchise (though he most certainly is better than Pierre, and almost certainly better than Ethier too)
though he looks much improved from last year, the .426 BA is fairly deceptive. since he's gotten back, he's been the major-league equivalent of what everyone on this website accuses Cameron Maybin of being -- he's beat out an extraordinary number of infield rollers, and many of the rest of his hits have been hard hit grounders through a hole. lately, he's started to look like he did pre-injury -- getting good extension on balls and getting better loft -- but that hasn't been what's led to the gaudy numbers you cite.
LoGo's not going anywhere either. Grady Little called him the team's best hitter the other night. not sure i agree with him, but i don't particularly disagree either. the Dodgers are a playoff-contending team, and teams like that don't move the centerpieces of their (already fragile) offense just so some young kid can get a full-time slot sooner. besides, what would the Dodgers trade LoGo for?????? starting pitching? not needed. bullpen help? ditto. they need some help on offense, but not at any particular position (maybe 3rd base, though everyone on this site will complain if they go out and get a long-term fix at that position, blocking their prospects there). all in all, the only thing you can trade a bad-gloved 40-year-old left-fielder for is another player of equivalent or lesser offensive output (or prospects, but, as discussed, the Dodgers are competing NOW). there's no reason for the Dodgers to make that trade. none.

by bleedjaxblue on Jun 24, 2007 1:11 PM EDT reply actions

so you think

Ethier isn't terribly valuable and isn't a big part of the Dodgers' future?

also, was that you that touted Kuo? I'm watching his start today, starting him in my fantasy team.

by playingwithfire on Jun 24, 2007 1:44 PM EDT up reply actions

Ethier's......

.....alright. I still think, when it's all said-and-done, he's major-league starting quality, despite how he's played this year. But he's no future star. The only hope he would be requires him to maintain a HUGE batting average (I mean .325-plus). I'm not anticipating him moving anywhere, but I think it's safe to say the Dodgers offense will never be centered around Andre Ethier.

And yes, I am obsessed with Hong-Chih Kuo. Watching him right now. It brings tears of joy to my eyes.

by bleedjaxblue on Jun 24, 2007 1:59 PM EDT up reply actions

is it just me

or does Hong Chih Kuo no longer hitting 95mph anymore.

I mean what I see his first inning is 89-92 consistently, with 1 fastball at 94. They do look faster than low 90s, so maybe it's a slow gun.

by playingwithfire on Jun 24, 2007 2:10 PM EDT up reply actions

kuo

he can get it up to 95 when he has to. he has a really sneaky motion so the 91mphers get on the hitter really quickly.

by npurcell on Jun 24, 2007 2:19 PM EDT up reply actions

was going to say the same thing

he can pump it up to 95 when he needs to, but that 91/92 is really well hidden. people have to commit early and still swing late. watching today's game and all the swingthroughs out of the zone, you'd have to agree that the velocity's not a problem, right?

by bleedjaxblue on Jun 24, 2007 2:21 PM EDT up reply actions

no

but throwing way too many fastball and doesn't throw his slider enough is a problem

Man, I thought I have the insider info on Taiwanese pitcher a couple years ago and ranked him

Chin-Hui Tsao
Hong-Chih Kuo
Chien-Ming Wang

boy was I wrong!

by playingwithfire on Jun 24, 2007 2:23 PM EDT up reply actions

ranked them

not him

by playingwithfire on Jun 24, 2007 2:23 PM EDT up reply actions

well

its not like wang has better stuff then tsao or kuo. its just that wang has been able to stay healthier then the other two. all 3 have shown they can be big league starting pitchers.

by npurcell on Jun 24, 2007 2:29 PM EDT up reply actions

Kuo's slider

not working at all.

by playingwithfire on Jun 24, 2007 2:34 PM EDT up reply actions

lack of pitch selection....

....may be a problem. agreed. hopefully, he refines the change-up. right now, it's not really an option.

he does throw two different kinds of sliders, though.

by bleedjaxblue on Jun 24, 2007 2:31 PM EDT up reply actions

his loopy

slider isn't really an option either, everytime he throw that he gets hit hard.

by playingwithfire on Jun 24, 2007 2:35 PM EDT up reply actions

really?

maybe you don't like the slider, but I've only seen two balls be hit hard today (Wigginton's homer and Navarro's flyout), and they were both on fastballs. he uses the slider as a change-of-pace -- I agree, he can't pitch OFF of it -- but it hasn't been hit hard today.

by bleedjaxblue on Jun 24, 2007 2:40 PM EDT up reply actions

it hasn't been a lot of swing and a miss

or strikes in general off that slider today. What's the point of throwing one if it's just going to be a ball or fouled off. Sure, he got 2 balls hit off his fastball that's pretty hard today, but he basically lived off his fastball today.

And no, I haven't seen him throwing that loopy slurve looking slider yet, and I hope he doesn't use that pitch often.

by playingwithfire on Jun 24, 2007 2:42 PM EDT up reply actions

the point of throwing one

is to get strikes on a hitter. foul balls are strikes and puts the hitter deeper into a hole. they also cant catch up with his fastball if they have to worry about a breaking pitch being called for strikes.

by npurcell on Jun 24, 2007 2:45 PM EDT up reply actions

and there's that slurve to begin the fourth

strike

by playingwithfire on Jun 24, 2007 2:47 PM EDT up reply actions

This thread is funny...

It's like you all are arguing about E-Jax, who gave up 9 hits and only struck out 2 in 6 innings, and not Kuo who gave up 4 hits and struck out 8 in just over 5 innings.

Whatever Kuo was doing today, it seemed to have been working on the TB hitters. He's really only been hammered once, so far, in 5 starts back from his injury. 24ks in 27 innings ain't bad.

by beastball on Jun 24, 2007 3:36 PM EDT up reply actions

unfortunately

Kuo is getting the L

by playingwithfire on Jun 24, 2007 3:52 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah...

Kuo's main flaws are control and durability. He's getting the L because of a combo of his lack of pitch efficiency and because of his lack of durability. I mean 95 pitches and he's barely in the 6th inning, just ain't good.

by beastball on Jun 24, 2007 4:38 PM EDT up reply actions

Carry on

Nothing really to add I just wanted to see how squashed the words would get.

by TRanger on Jun 24, 2007 4:50 PM EDT up reply actions

ok

What is love
Oh baby, don't hurt me
Don't hurt me no more
Oh, baby don't hurt me
Don't hurt me no more

What is love
Yeah

Oh, I don't know why you're not there
I give you my love, but you don't care
So what is right and what is wrong
Gimme a sign

What is love
Oh baby, don't hurt me
Don't hurt me no more
What is love
Oh baby, don't hurt me
Don't hurt me no more

Whoa whoa whoa, oooh oooh
Whoa whoa whoa, oooh oooh

Oh, I don't know, what can I do
What else can I say, it's up to you
I know we're one, just me and you
I can't go on

What is love
Oh baby, don't hurt me
Don't hurt me no more
What is love
Oh baby, don't hurt me
Don't hurt me no more

Whoa whoa whoa, oooh oooh
Whoa whoa whoa, oooh oooh

What is love, oooh, oooh, oooh
What is love, oooh, oooh, oooh

What is love
Oh baby, don't hurt me
Don't hurt me no more

Don't hurt me
Don't hurt me

I want no other, no other lover
This is your life, our time
When we are together, I need you forever
Is it love

What is love
Oh baby, don't hurt me
Don't hurt me no more
What is love
Oh baby, don't hurt me
Don't hurt me no more (oooh, oooh)

What is love?

by playingwithfire on Jun 24, 2007 5:24 PM EDT up reply actions

oh yeah

doop, doop, doop-doop
de DOOP, doop doop-doop
de DOOP, doop doop-doop
de DOOP, doop doop-doop
what is love? doop doop-doop

by wily mo on Jun 24, 2007 6:35 PM EDT up reply actions

Loney hitting .440

Hit a deep double today, he should be starting over Nomar the rest of the year and put Nomar at 3rd.

by Bravesin07 on Jun 24, 2007 1:57 PM EDT reply actions

loney

hes been an XBH machine since hes been called up.

by npurcell on Jun 24, 2007 1:58 PM EDT up reply actions

+1

like I've said from the start, anyone who doesn't think he'll hit for power isn't watching, and anyone who thought his triple-A stats this year were meaningful is crazy.

also, just as a note, the difference between Loney having 1 and 4 homers right now is a matter of a few feet. who is it who thinks a frame like his won't add the extra power to turns those doubles and triples to homers? and why?

by bleedjaxblue on Jun 24, 2007 2:02 PM EDT up reply actions

He could for sure hit 25-30 HR

He has the frame size to do it. The bad thing is that he's playing in a pitcher park for half of his games and Coors field isn't the launching pad anymore like it used to be.

by Bravesin07 on Jun 24, 2007 2:08 PM EDT up reply actions

dodger stadium

isnt the pitchers park it used to be. it doesnt suppress homeruns, its pretty neutral now.

by npurcell on Jun 24, 2007 2:09 PM EDT up reply actions

Loney lacks the uppercut in his swing...

to hit 25-30 homers. Thinks of him as another Mark Grace type. He's got a nice bat, but it's going to produce line drives to all fields. On occassion he'll pop a homer here and there and probably finish with 15-18 on most years, 22-23 at the most.

Lincecum is the truth!

by JT12340 on Jun 25, 2007 4:59 PM EDT up reply actions

personally....

....I don't buy that "his swing doesn't support hitting homers." Having watched almost every at-bat he's had at in the majors and for the past two spring trainings (whenever televised), I'd have to say that I've almost never seen a player hit a higher percentage of balls as high line-drives. To me, high line-drives are what become homeruns. And a fair number HAVE been homers in the majors (and in the second half of triple-A last year). A bunch more have been to the warning track or off the wall. The point is, I don't think his hitting STYLE is what's going to stop him from hitting homers.

Take this how you will: Adrian Gonzalez, after hitting 24 bigflys last year, has 14 in 74 games this year. And that's in Petco. Not saying that A-Gone's success and Loney's are tied together, just that it's easy for people to get too wrapped up in power stats at a young age, while the miss the train that that player is actually perfectly capable of turning their great hitting skills into solid power numbers. If you've watched much of Loney at all, I don't see how you could dismiss that possibility.

by bleedjaxblue on Jun 25, 2007 5:07 PM EDT up reply actions

I was actually hoping for this comparison..

I've been a fan of Adrian Gonzalez since he was in the Marlins farm. He actually started developing a slight upper cut once he was traded to the Rangers upon their quest to find more power out of their possible 1B of the future or corner OF of the future. After shifting Texiera to 1B and the development of Blalock, they moved him to the corner OF's and wanted him to maintain the uppercut in his swing. Because of the slight change in his swing, he had a subpar year and his GB/FB ratio was horrible. It appeared as though he lost all of his power. He started hitting (with slight power) at a mediocre clip, which was a marked improvement allowing the Rangers to add him in a deal in which they thought they were getting the better end (who really thought Young would be this good).

It's funny because in his high school/early minor league swing it was very flat but compact and tight. Now it has a slight upward tilt to it rather than being almost parallel to the plate through the zone.

I've been saying for the past 2-3 years that he's got the potential to hit 30 a year, and I've been laughed at... Look now...

Lincecum is the truth!

by JT12340 on Jun 26, 2007 5:36 AM EDT up reply actions

if it makes any difference

loney has changed his batting stance and load mechanicism this year compared to last year. He is more closed up and 3 point load, kind of like a chipper jones load. I cant really tell if he has changed his swing plane though.

by npurcell on Jun 26, 2007 5:57 PM EDT up reply actions

The load mechanism has helped Loney

he's much quicker through the zone now.

Don't get me wrong, I think he'll be a good MLB player, but nothing great. He'll hit everything, but he's never posted anything over 15 homers in his minor league career. This is his first year with more than 12 homers in a year I believe. Granted this has to do with development of body and power. Looking at his swing, I just don't think he's going hit more that 25 homers in any year and should average somewhere around 15 homers a year as I said earlier.

Lincecum is the truth!

by JT12340 on Jun 26, 2007 6:48 PM EDT up reply actions