You gotta wonder why Management all of a sudden thinks Kemp will help the team. Why didn't they think that a month ago?

1 To be fair, a month ago was early May. In the past weeks, initial suspicions have been confirmed, reconfirmed, and re-reconfirmed.

Now, why they didn't do it 10 days ago is another matter.

May you grow up to be righteous
May your PECOTA all come true
May you always drive in others
And let others drive in you
May your hands always be busy
May your feet always be swift
May you have a strong foundation
When the outfield padding shifts
May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung
May you stay forever young

My LAT'ed reply to Eric's earlier question:

I believe the two Kenny Washingtons at UCLA were not related. The football player was from L.A. and attended Lincoln High and a friend's mom went to elementary school with him. She said he was the king of the playground.

Kenny Washington had a son named Kenny Washington, Jr. who signed a minor league contract with the Dodgers in 1963. But I believe, that the basketball player was a JC transfer from some other part of the country and he never had "Jr." after his name.

Just like with Braun in Milwaukee, winning hides deficiencies. We are not in first anymore and while the wheel has always been squeaky, now Ned can hear it too.

Good title!

I was cruising threw sportslines #'s on Martin & i was pleasantly surprised to fine he's a must on fantasy leagues. Here's what they said about him. Fantasy Analysis
Martin has emerged as a must-start Fantasy option in all leagues, as he is putting up tremendous offensive numbers and he also gets the occasional steal.
(Updated 06/04/2007). It's always nice hearing stuff like that.

4 Washington was a key reserve on the first two championship teams, he was named to UCLA's Hall of Fame in 2005. He also coached the UCLA Women's Basketball team from 1973-1975.

He still lives in So. Cal and is one of the regulars who has breakfast with Coach Wooden at Vips, a coffee shop in the SFV.

Bear up, Bison! Never say die!

I'm so glad to have him back.

his off season hard work is paying off big time.

"gingerly placing"

Great description!

I hope Kemp plays tonight; I'll be there to see it if he does!

I'm also happy that the Dodgers finally realized they don't need to have a weak hitting backup shortstop on the roster. It's not as if Furcal ever needs a day off anyway.

I'd like to see this:

Furcal
Nomar
Martin
Kent
Gonzo
Kemp
Ethier
Abreu

11 And if Furcal does need a day off, there are two other shortstops on the roster who hit better than Ramon Martinez.

(Just reposting/paraphrasing from previous thread)
Maybe Lucille II was DL'd for pulling his lower VORP.

7. Russell Martin has been the beast of my fantasy team.

If I remember rightly, it seems like every rookie brought up in the last two years (Ethier, Martin, Billingsley, La Roche, Kemp, Abreu, Guzman, and I must be missing someone) has started in his first day up. I expect to see Kemp in, preferably, but not likely, in place of Pierre, hopefully in place of Gonzalez, probably in place of Ethier.

Martin is the 26th best player in MLB according to Yahoo's fantasy baseball rankings. That's almost entirely because he steals bases; steals are about 50 times more important in fantasy baseball than they are in real baseball.

Hip Hip Hooray!!
Hip Hip Hooray!!
The 500lb gorilla that is Dodger management, now finally has some momentum in the right direction to it.
vr, Xei

16 Loney, too, of course!

Good deal that Kemp's called up.
I wonder if the Dodgers will try to keep Marlon Anderson on his rehab stint for as long as possible.

16 I don´t know but maybe Aybar and Stults too.

20 Did that start already? That's kind of irritating. I don't think they'll be able to trade him. He'll end up getting DFA, I hope, rather than reactivated at the expense of somebody better.

16 Guzman's first MLB appearance was as a ninth inning defensive replacement. For the most part, you're right, though, Grady always tries to get the new guy in the lineup the first day. Which I think is a good idea.

20 Anderson played his first game yesterday and can stay in the minors a maximum of 20 days. He has already been quoted as saying he'll be ready before the 20 days is up.

I really don't think there is a roster spot for him anymore. It will be interesting to see what happens.

From the last thread:

Anyone read BP today? They have the Rumsfeld Number for NL, the percentage of plate appearances going to below replacement level players, we're near the top with nearly a third. JP and Nomar are the main culprits, both under replacement level. Lucille II is our biggest Vorp offender at -6.3, so nice to see him go to the DL to make way for Kemp.

How do you think Kemp's at bats will be split for the next week or two?
RF: 70%
CF: 10%
LF: 20%
or something different?
vr, Xei

20 Or they could go back down to 11 pitchers, though I doubt that lets see how that would work.

Starters - Lowe, Penny, Wolf, Schmidt, Kuo
Bullpen - Hendrickson, Tomko, Chad, Beimel, Broxton and Saito. Contract wise, odd man out would be Seanez but he has pitched well.

Position players:
IF - Nomar, Kent, Furcal, Abreu, Saenz, Betemit.
OF - Gonzalez, Pierre, Ethier, Clark, Kemp
C - Martin, Lieberthal.

Anderson would add a lefty bat on the bench.
But I think we don't have deal with for a couple of weeks.

The Bison comes up and Paris goes away. An interesting day.

Given that Pierre has been beyond brutal vs. left handers (0.449 OPS) and at least servicable vs. righties (0.682 OPS), a Pierre/Kemp platoon in CF would make sense to start with, as well as splitting time with Ethier in right.

I would guess that Clark would be let go of before Anderson. Anderson is a valuable bench player, and a left handed bat.

Anderson has his value as a lefty pinch hitter and utility guy. He certainly proved his worth late last season. That said, of course I hope they don't bring him back at the expense of Kemp or even Abreu. Question: Betemit vs. Marlon?

Anderson not bad as a lefty pinch hitter and don't deny him the big help he was last September.

At his salary (which by July, he'll be owed around 260K) he should become a very tradeable asset, maybe not for a lot but certainly something similar like a low level prospect we traded to get him.

I don't see Marlon being DFAed at all.

29. I'm fine with that idea; letting Kemp and Pierre platoon with the better performer progressively gaining more playing time. Kemp would be the everyday CF by the end of the month, IMO.

29 Problem is that the Dodgers don't see a lefty starter for another two weeks.

He also has the 25th highest VORP for all hitters which cares little for the SB.

Anderson is useful as a bench player, but Betemit has been very good filling that left-handed bat off the bench. To the issue raised by 29, you call a .682 OPS serviceable? Others might call it something else.

30 That's a good point; now that there's an extra outfielder on the team, Clark isn't needed, particularly since Anderson can sort of play left field.

Do we want to start guessing what the mysterious, previously-unknown Brady Clark injury will be? Shin splints? A sprained pinky finger? Gluteal numbness?

So the big debate starts about who sits. My co-worker just did a little bench Pierre gig. The obvious answer is JP but Ethier was who was replaced by Kemp before. Gonzo seems entrenched. I bet they announce a four man rotation depending on matchups as to not ruffle feathers. Clark is surely going to find more time to get acquainted with the bench.

With 6 games a week, that's 18 outfielder games. You can play the four guys an average of 4.5 games each per week, which seems like it would work. That shouldn't upset anybody too much except maybe The Player, who has his precious streak to protect.

I think we've talked about this before. But I don't see Clark and Kemp as interrelated. You need a good defensive outfielder as a late inning sub and occasional spot starter, which Clark fills. Kemp needs to start more so while he's here he hopefully get a lot of PT. I don't see them as mutually exclusive, but realize roster space is limited. Still, I see Martinez as more expendable at this point than Clark.

Maybe we could solve the outfield logjam by having Luis Gonzalez start taking grounders at first base.

Another BA draft tidbit of note, this from Alan Matthews: "I love the Dodgers' 31st-rounder, Rafael Thomas, who like Troupe was a standout specialist as a football player. The Lufkin (Texas) High product made the initial cut of USA Baseball's junior national team last summer before being one of 18 players cut before the team played in Cuba."

This really made me chuckle:

Well, Julio Lugo, I've got some good news and some bad news.

The good news is that teammate J.D. Drew has been such an apocalyptic bust — with a steeper price tag than yours — that few have noticed how incredibly awful you've been.
The bad news is that Omar Vizquel homered Thursday night and you now have the lowest OPS of any shortstop in the Major Leagues.

That's right, with all the money this side of the Bronx and the big brains of Theo Epstein and Bill James to figure out how to spend it, the Red Sox appear to have signed the worst shortstop in the majors.

With his 0-for-4 on Thursday against the A's, Lugo saw his OPS fall beneath .600, the Mendoza line of on-base plus slugging percentages.

More troubling for the Red Sox is that Lugo's struggles date back to last season and have extended beyond mere slump into disturbing trend. Combining his wretched start this season with his useless swoon for the Dodgers to end last season and throwing in the 0-for-4 in his final Tampa Bay appearance just to be mean, Lugo is now hitting .215 over his last 376 at bats.

That's more than a rough patch. That's a serious (and sickening) sample size. And it would get most guys not making $36M over four years sent back to Triple A.

from FOXSPORTS.COM btw.

which off-season signing was worse?

JULIO LUGO or JUAN PIERRE?

Isn't it amazing how bad offensively Lugo, JD Drew, and Crisp have been and yet they have a huge lead? Pedroia was being buried about a month ago and he turned it around very quickly. At least one of those three should get going. Lugo may just be a guy who can only play in small markets and the glare of markets like LA and Boston wilt him. Not that I have any kind of numbers to back up a statement like that.

45
Pierre's contract is one year longer for essentially the same annual salary, and therefore worse.

Pierre because we had Kemp and we don't have an unlimited budget that we can big mistakes and just blow it off.

15. I've never cared much for Yahoo's ranking system, it never seems to do very well. On my fantasy teams I have both Martin and McCann. Talk about a great catching duo. Was thinking about trading McCann, but haven't gotten any reasonable offers for him yet. The only reason I have Martin is because he was ranked somewhere in the 250s to start the season. I thought he would be far better than that and got him as a sleeper pick. I don't think I'll be able to do that next year, though...

Bringing Kemp back eases my frustration/despair from last night, but it will be hard to forget if it comes down to the wire in October.

please grady...please platoon kent and pierre pleaseee.....

*kemp

If we're gonna beg, let's beg for Grady to replace Pierre with Kemp. No need for platoons.

53 - haha yea while we're at it, we can always beg for them to eat pierre's contract, replace nomar with Teixiera, and Abreu for Cabrera :)

Nate should love this quote from BP:

"Norville Barnes (Muncie, IN): Time to turn attention to the future. Is Pedro Alvarez the clearcut favorite to go #1? Who will it be in 2009?

Kevin Goldstein: right NOW, yes he is, but a draft board a year ago and how it ended up are VERY different things. 2009 is way too early to predict, but I heard some good things about UNC freshman pitcher Alex White."

How frustrating would it be to have 3 players who the dodgers previously drafted go No. 1 overall in the draft in consecutive years? This is why we need to pony up for some of those later round signability guys.

Huzzah! Me likey the Kemp.

Also, anybody who uses a Hudsucker Name to ask a question on BP rocks. Better movie than Fargo. Yup, I said it.

I think at this point pleas to platoon Kemp and Pierre are unrealistic . . Kemp will probably get the time in RF with some in LF...... this is nearly the most unproductive way to use him but, hey.... ill take it at this point......

There's been a lot of talk lately in the beat stories and notes about how Ethier's bat is heating up, he's coming around, etc. If the seeds of that came from Dodger management I'm not so sure Ethier's spot is the one Kemp takes.

There won't be a 4 man rotation in the outfield, and really won't even be a 3 man. It will be 2.5. Gonzo is going to play nearly every day and quite frankly he should. He isn't the problem with our outfield, and will only get the occasional rest day off. Pierre will also play every day. Kemp's playing time will come at the expense of Ethier, and the maybe every 10 games day off for Gonzo. Kemp needs to hit like pujols and Pierre has to fall off a cliff for him to get time over Pierre.

57 Fight on, fight on, dear old Muncie/Fight on, hoist the gold and blue/You'll be tattered, torn, and hurtin'/Once the Munce is done with you/Go... Eagles!

57 tsk tsk tsk...

59 But there are only two other spots. And Luis Gonzalez isn't hitting that poorly at all. But...but...that would mean the other spot...Kemp could...

Nah. It's for Ethier.

little does Kemp know that nearly the entire Dodger season rests on his back . . . a good showing not only opens up the door for more playing time. But, may crack the door open for Loney . .

"Matt Kemp ... you know, for kids."

Forget rabbits, I want to see a Bison on the loose tonight.

60Pierre has to fall off a cliff for him to get time over Pierre.

Like literally or as a hitter? Cause one has already happened.

Interesting, Kemp´s debut last year was in Dodger Stadium and one series before the Dodgers face the Mets like this year. Matt will hit a bomb today, he has good memories of being called up in June!

67

Pretty much literally. His batting average would have to be like .250 before he's not playing every day. Although he certainly isn't that far from something like that...

68. I´m wrong, Kemp´s debut in Dodger Stadium was one series before the Dodgers faced the Mets.His first MLB game was against the Nats in Washington.

We really do need to help Pierre have an accident. Could we activate Repko to play next to him one game?

just purchased my ticket (DT night at DS) via the paypal on the side bar like Jon requested, i guess BHSportsguy will send me the ticket? By the way i'll be wearing my Dodger Thoughts T-Shirt tonight at Dodger Stadium. :o)

His batting average would have to be like .250 before he's not playing every day

--

I could only imagine the OBP that would be associated with that AVG.

Any chance at all the Snakes would take Pierre and some money, scratch that, a lot of money, for Eric Byrnes?

72 - Yes. But I need to set a deadline for people to place their orders. Thanks for reminding me.

Kemp is not starting tonight.

How many attendees do we have so far?

76 Pierre still leading off? Nomar still batting third?

Whaaaa?! Is Grady not reading Dodger Thoughts?!

And old friend Ricky Ledee is back with the Mets!

Play Kemp in CF & trade pierre/betemit or laroche/and a pitcher to Florid for Cabrera, they need a CF or to Texas for Teixera....I don't know...I have a feeling that ned will pull the trigger on a blockbuster deal before the trading deadline.

78 - could grady ever read to start with?

77 - Not enough yet. Either people are procrastinating or they weren't sincere about their interest.

I guess Grady decided against shaking things up.

If given the proper amount of playing time, Kemp should be leading the team in strikeouts by August 25. Nobody is currently on a pace to have 100 strikeouts.

84 Maybe, but he'll also be leading the team in home runs.

82 That surprises me. I thought thirty would be no problem.

No Kemp in tonight's lineup, per Josh at ItD

ok so how do I get tickets? just click the pay pal thing and then enter $24.50 in the box myself?

Assuming we get 30 attendees for July 21, does that get some sort of recognition on the scoreboard?

If it does, I propose that Jon's hard work be acknowledged somehow...something like "Jon Weisman's DodgerThoughts.com" or something like that.

Pimps the website, and the gracious host.

86
I guess I'm a big gate attraction.

"but at the same time, we're not in position where we repeat things that constantly aren't working for us.

89 - I don't need my name up there. I just want to pick the song they play upon my entrance.

Tony Jackson, caught in the switches:

"Haven't seen the lineup, but I can't imagine that Kemp isn't in it. They didn't bring him up here to sit."

86

my guess is that its still early. It's a bummer Kemp ain't in there today I'm getting ready to head out there tonight & it sure would've been nice seeing him in there.

92 How about Cypress Hill's Rock Superstar. It'll match the giant gold LA necklace, black cane in the shape of a baseball bat and fur coat I hear your wear.

Maybe Kemp lost his equipment bag.

homer bailey makes his mlb debut for the reds!

just off the top of my head, first day drafts i liked....

blue jays
tigers
reds
nats

89 Burning down the House?

Jon will enter to a medley of Terry Cashman hits.

Ks sizemore!

Somebody named Homer is a pitcher?

Homer, Homer...

http://tinyurl.com/2dbnbm

Also

https://griddle.baseballtoaster.com/archives/688923.html

Was Adkins a good pick?

98

how about Jim Croce - "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown"

92 What was the theme song from Becker, again?

That was probably a Rule 14 violation. I apologize.

Maybe we could get a similar intro to "Deep Thoughts with Jack Handey"

the scrubs theme would be good

"Conversely, every pick later in the draft is not always an organizational soldier or minor league roster filler; sometimes, late picks blossom into Kevin Youkilis (8th round), Julio Lugo (43rd), Mike Piazza (62nd), Mike Cameron (18th), Albert Pujols (13th), or the subject of today's profile, Russell Martin."

After watching Lugo with the Dodgers, I understand why he was a 43rd round pick!

Link: http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=6323

Was Adkins a good pick?

probably not but left handed pitching is left handed pitching.

This might sound crazy but does anyone know a kid who would like to see a game but whose parents can't afford it? I for one would contribute some money to buy a ticket for a deserving kid to accompany one of you to the game. No family members. Jon could nominate/choose recipients...

109 I'll take "Philanthropist or Pedophile?" for $400, Alex.

lol!!

sometimes people just say lol as a cute thing to say that made me smirk, but 110 was a serious lol.

Sorry about that but I won't be driving 300 miles to attend. You know that was rude and snide, don't you, not to mention wrong?

108. Hey nate what are your thougths about DeWitt, DeJesus, Mattingly and Bell.

112 I apologize for that. My attempt was only humor.

109 - 110 is a little strong, but that does sound a little bit crazy, forcing a kid to go to a game without parents. Maybe I'm just reading it wrong.

"Born to Run" will probably be my entrance song, BTW.

No doubt sitting out for 8.5 innings last night was enough to turn Pierre into a completely different hitter.

Hey nate what are your thougths about DeWitt, DeJesus, Mattingly and Bell.

Dewitt- he hasnt really progressed as a hitter as far as learning to zero in and swing at his pitch. he doesnt strike out, but he doesnt walk that much either. that combined with below average power, he needs to re-evaluate his approach.

Dejesus- at the very worst i think he will become a utility infielder. he has an excellent batting eye. if he ever develops consistent doubles power, he could be an effective starting shortstop.

mattingly- hes shown glimpses of his exciting tool set and we'll see in 2-3 years if he can continue to gradually improve and then breakout. very similar to matt kemp except less raw power.

bell- i have really high hopes for bell. hes athletic, has good batspeed, good batting eye and plus raw power. the midwest league is a really hard league to hit in (especially for power) so what he is currently doing isnt all that bad.

I was thinking maybe a kid from one of your neighbors. (The 'your' is collective) I have trouble accepting that anyone would go and not take their own kids if they wanted to go. If they can't afford to take their kids, they shouldn't be going themselves. Way I was raised. Sorry I brought it up. Not my crowd apparently.

118 - I don't think you need to make a determination that this isn't your crowd. Clearly, it's just a misunderstanding.

118 goofus, I didn't mean to drive you away. I just made a smart-alecky comment mocking your benevolence. Once again, I apologize. Welcome aboard.

Let's get back to baseball! I just hope the Dodgers can put forth a gallant effort this evening and erase the SD series from memory.

does anyone know a kid who would like to see a game but whose parents can't afford it?

I'm guessing Daniel can't afford to take all of his kids to a game...

117 Thank you very much.I saw DeJesus in ST and I think he can be a good player, Bell and Mattingly can be really good too. But I´m wooried with DeWitt, can we say that he was a mistake or do you think he can improve?

Oh yeah, I laughed not cause I think you had ANY pedophile type intentions goofus, nor does Eric I imagine, it's just the way it all sounded had me laughing. I think what you are suggesting is quiet admirable and it would be nice if more people were so thoughtful.

So my bad to everyone if I contributed to any misunderstanding..

But I´m wooried with DeWitt, can we say that he was a mistake or do you think he can improve?

well at the time he was picked, he wasnt a head scratcher like a mattingly or a watt from this year. Scouts pretty much agreed he was the consensus top prep pure hitter in the draft. Drafting is an inexact science and players stall or regress all the time. I still think he can improve but he is rapidly approaching a point where a large improvement might never come.

120 "goofus, I didn't mean to drive you away...I just hope the Dodgers can put forth a gallant effort this evening"

Hmmm.

125 I know somebody who'll be watching the highlights from tonight's game.

Probably Kemp comes in late in the game tonight as OF substitute or pinch hitter. Like 8th inning.

Re one Julio Lugo, he's survivable now because while certain numbers are well south of the Mendoza line, he leads all leadoff hitters in RBIs 33, and while some don't value the SB, he's 17-0 and so 17 times he turned that lowly and wretched single or walk or reached on an error into a double and so he also has 27 runs scored to go with an ever more lowly and wretched AVG., OPB., etc. But both he and J.D. will have to start hitting soon, or else the Sox might find themselves sinking ever so slowly back into the race. And the real question isn't the despised one versus Pierre, but J.D. versus Pierre, as J.D. is with Lugo well south of the Mendoza line, but he doesn't have the other "saving" numbers as does Lugo.

Advanced scouting report from PDH5204: Stop Alex Rios at all costs and by any means necessary. Wells isn't right, though not to be taken lightly [i.e., no reason that I can see why he should start his rebound as a result of any carelessness on our part]. Then there's Troy Glaus and Aaron Hill. We stop them, do some hitting, and we take out the broom and use it. Oh, and here's to hoping that a certain someone lives plays his part, and so, Roy, you're 1-2 with a 10.00+ ERA in your last 4/5 starts, so please, be kind, and have another one of those 8 ER in 3.2 kinda days.

NPUT