Matt Kemp day
It had to be strange for so many writers who predicted that Matt Kemp would never don Dodger Blue after being acquired in the Charlie Culberson trade to be interviewing him on Feb 13th but there he was, still a Dodger as spring training officially opened in Glendale, Arizona.
There is BSOYL and then there is losing 41 pounds over the winter.
Harold Reynolds said on MLB Network on this morning that Matt Kemp lost 41 pounds during the offseason. Reynolds added that Kemp was pushing to lose 50 pounds. Kemp showed up at Dodgers camp today and people are saying he’s noticeably thinner.
“Somebody had asked me how it was to be in Atlanta and I said Atlanta’s always been known for the Braves. The Atlanta Braves, it’s a baseball town – not the Atlanta Hawks, not the Falcons but the Braves. But in LA, when I first got here (in 2006), it was all about Kobe and Shaq (and the Lakers). As the years went on and we started winning more games, the city came alive. We had the best fans. It became more of a baseball town.
Dave Roberts explained how he felt the Dodgers could get better work from Matt Kemp defensively.
He listed a trio of factors that could aid a revival: effort level, fitness and positioning.
The Dodgers believe Kemp will be motivated, after three seasons spent in big league basements, by an opportunity on a contender. Kemp credited an improved diet — more water, smaller portions — along with a renewed interest in conditioning for his upgraded physique. In previous years, the Dodgers utilized advanced scouting reports to properly position converted infielders like Chris Taylor and Howie Kendrick as they learned the outfield.
“I expect there to be a huge uptick in the metrics this year,” Roberts said.
Matt Kemp is certainly saying the right things while physically looking the part of a starting left fielder. The same can’t be said for World Series goat Yu Darvish who told Dave Roberts that his main goal was to beat the Dodgers. Many on twitter pointed out that he already did that by failing to show up in the 2017 World Series.
didn’t he beat the dodgers in the world series this year though https://t.co/uw8Mj6OrQe
— Cam Buckley (@l3uckley) February 14, 2018
- Posted in: 2018 Dodgers ♦ Uncategorized
- Tagged: Matt Kemp, Yu Darvish
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