Let’s Get Matt Kemp Fewer At-Bats
April 4, 2010 at 9:48 pm | Posted in Joe Torre, Matt Kemp, Russell Martin | 7 CommentsBack on March 6, I doled out some praise to Joe Torre for Torre’s announcement that he’d be placing Matt Kemp second in the order:
If Kemp really is going to be the man in the second slot, it’s a good sign as far as the decision-making tree goes, and an even better sign for lineup productivity.
Kemp then batted second in most of the games he played in, including yesterday’s finale, and with no further discussion about it from anyone, that seemed to be that. In fact, Kemp hitting second was such a foregone conclusion that Steve Dilbeck at the LA Times Dodgers blog complained just a few hours ago that he’d prefer to see Kemp hitting lower. I don’t agree, but the point is that as far as anyone could tell, Matt Kemp was your second hitter, no questions asked.
Except that the official blog posted tomorrow’s Opening Day lineup, and…
Furcal, SS
Martin, C
Ethier, RF
Manny, LF
Kemp, CF
Loney, 1B
Blake, 3B
DeWitt, 2B
Padilla, P
So now Russell Martin is inexplicably in the #2 hole, and Kemp is down to #5? Kemp is likely the best hitter on this club, and what this does it make it more likely than not that he won’t hit in the first inning. It also means that (keeping in mind that Blake DeWitt is a total unknown) you’re giving what will likely be 2 of your 3 worst hitters in Furcal and Martin the most at-bats.
If Martin can get back to what he once was, then this could make sense. At his best, Martin is an on-base machine and a pretty decent runner. But Martin’s hardly at his best. He’s coming off a horrendous season, and more importantly his health is still questionable. He played in just 5 spring games with the big club, and while he seems fine, many – including myself – think he’s rushed back unnecessarily. So why put the undue pressure on him of being counted on to get on base, when you could easily slide him in at 7th for a few weeks to get his feet under him? If he’s healthy and hitting better than last year, you can always slide him up to maximize his OBP skills and move Kemp down into a more traditional run-producing role. To do it now seems premature, in addition to being completely unexpected.
Another way of looking at the lineup is with this arrangement of bats that showed up on the official Dodgers Twitter today. All I can think when I see this is, “Vicente Padilla has his own engraved bat?”
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Ideally, I would go with this line-up, except Furcal is slotted 8th and everyone else moves up one spot.
Comment by KempKershaw— April 5, 2010 #
Think this move has much to do with Matt tanking at the end of ST? From what it sounded like, he was flailing at the end. I still think he is a better hitter than Russ. But if Martin can get back to his old self, then the 2hole is ideal for him.
Comment by TPF aka tpferriera— April 5, 2010 #
I think this move has more to do with Joe Torre thinking that Russell Martin needed more at bats due to his shortened time in spring training. Martin was obviously adamant about starting Opening Day so what better way to get him at bats then by slotting him in the 2 hole while moving Kemp down to a more traditional run-producing role for the time being. I’m sure this isn’t going to be the lineup we’ll see in a month or so.
Comment by Trevor— April 5, 2010 #
Martin-Kemp is actually what makes the most sense at the top. :o
Comment by Chad— April 5, 2010 #
[...] divorce case has barely just begun). So while I don’t agree with the Opening Day starter, the batting order, or the 25th man on the roster, I think we can all agree: it’s worth getting out of bed in [...]
Pingback by It May Be Pittsburgh… « Mike Scioscia's tragic illness— April 5, 2010 #
I agree with the Furcal comments…he needs to be down in the order. His lifetime OBP is lower than the 2009 OBP put up by Martin.
Kemp did scuffle late in the spring, looking like his early days of swinging wildly at outside pitches.
Comment by SamAdams— April 5, 2010 #
I agree and disagree Mike. Martin should be leading off, followed by Kemp, Ethier and Manny. Russ still posts a strong OBP and his swing has shown clear signs of a return. Furcal should be in the 8 hole, or if Torre decides to think outside the box again, he should be in the 9 hold behind the pitcher.
Comment by I Alivandi— April 7, 2010 #