For my first blog, I wanted to talk about an article regarding center fielder, Matt Kemp of the Los Angeles Dodgers (my favorite team). Over the past 2 seasons, the Dodgers have made big strides towards being one of the best teams in baseball and more importantly , being major contenders for winning the World Series. The Dodgers have all the right ingredients to be winners: they have elite pitching, great fielding players, a strong batting line up with a balance of speed and power, along with experienced veterans to help guide the team. The only thing that has fallen short of the organization’s expectations is Matt Kemp’s production the last 2 season. After an astounding, “Beast-Mode”, MVP -like, 2011 season, Matt Kemp’s stats have fallen, partially due to injuries. This year, Matt Kemp is supposedly coming in healthier than ever, and is on his way back to his “beast-mode” days. I am a little skeptical because a majority of the time, athletes do not come back the same after serious injuries, although there are some exceptions.
Another issue that the Dodgers face is their out-fielding roster. They have 4 starting caliber outfielders in Andre Either, Carl Crawford, Yasiel Puig, and Matt Kemp, for only 3 positions. Either, Crawford, and Kemp are all former All-Stars and have a great resume. Puig, a rookie last year, took the MLB by storm, putting up huge batting numbers. In my opinion, Puig should not start because of his lack of fundamentals, along with his off the field problems. Crawford is more expendable because he is in the back end of his career, and the fans want Puig to play because he has become an instant star. Kemp is slowly making his way back as he was just announced a starter in the Dodgers home opener today, also because Puig showed up late. We’ll see if Kemp can make it count. With a stacked outfield, I am very interested to see what the Dodgers decide to do this season regarding their outfield issue.
“Live.Breathe.Blue”, Go Dodgers!