Studs and Duds: Matt Kemp is on Fire
Welcome to the inaugural Studs and Duds feature. Each week, I’ll take a look at the league and pick one stud and one dud throughout baseball. The choices will be made based on performance over the past week and contributions to their team.
We’ve got a little over a full week of baseball under our belts. Bored yet? I didn’t think so. The Red Sox are in turmoil, the Tigers are powerful, the Yankees and Rays look like they’re going to be battling all season long, and the National League is a complete toss-up. It’s baseball season folks. Heroes are being born every day. Legends are cementing their place in history. Yet, we don’t have to look far to find those whose performances have fallen short.
Stud of the Week
Many people thought he was robbed of the MVP last season. Ryan Braun had a great year, but Matt Kemp was battling for a triple crown after all. His .324/.399/.586 line with 39 home runs last year was good enough for just second place. But Kemp looks like a man on a mission to prove that season was no fluke. So far this year, he is hitting .457/.487/.971. He has five home runs in nine games, and he’s driven in 15 runs already. His performance is off the charts, but it goes beyond just numbers.
Kemp has single-handedly led the Dodgers offense to an 8-1 record to start the season. Fresh off the bankruptcy and sale of the team, the Dodgers are still trying to lure fans back to the park. Once one of the biggest draws in baseball, Los Angeles saw half-empty stadiums for much of last season due to the ownership fiasco. Kemp’s near-MVP performance last season helped turn that around, and he is continuing that this year.
The Dodgers drew 46,549 last night for a game against the San Diego Padres. It was a Saturday night game, but it was also a game agains the worst team in baseball currently. But the fans came. They came to see one of the best players in the National League. They came to see sweet swings, and home runs blasted into the night. They came to see stolen bases and slick fielding. They came to see Matt Kemp. And he delivered.
From April 9th through the 14th, the Dodgers have played the Pirates for three games and the padres for two so far. In those games, Matt Kemp is 9 for 17 with 3 home runs and 7 RBI. During this stretch the Dodgers are 5-0 and have opened up a 2.5 game lead on the Diamondbacks. Standings don’t matter at this point, but Kemp has no doubt helped the Dodgers to one of their best starts in recent memory.
Dud of the Week
The Freak was a sensation when he won back-to-back Cy Young awards. This year, though, he has been pedestrian. Last season, Tim Lincecum was 13-14 (lack of run supports) with a 2.74 ERA. He struck out 220 batters. In other words, he was the Timmy we’ve all come to know and love. This year has been a different story in the early going.
In Lincecum’s last start, in which before the game he cut his hair hoping to bring good fortune, the Rockies mercilessly pounded him. On Wednesday, Lincecum went 2 1/3 innings. He gave up eight hits, walked two, and allowed six runs. It was the shortest outing of Lincecum’s career, and it helped raise his ERA to 12.91 on the year. He is striking out an average of 11.7 per nine, but he isn’t going nine. In two starts, Lincecum has combined to go 7.2 innings.
The Giants, who ranked towards the bottom of the National League in many offense categories last season, rely on their pitching staff. They have hopes of climbing back to the top of the N.L. West this season after being knocked off their perch by the Arizona Diamondbacks. San Francisco will need Tim Lincecum at his best, but so far, they have not received that.
If Lincecum has one silver lining, it’s the fact that he is not walking too many batters. Instead, batters are just making solid contact. Too many of his pitches are finding the plate. Currently, Lincecum is averaging 16.4 hits per nine. His week, which includes his Wednesday start firmly secures him in the Dud spot for our inaugural feature. Lincecum will likely recover, but given his importance to the Giants and the complete ineffectiveness he showed on Wednesday, he will have his work cut out for him going forward.
This week’s Studs and Duds had a decidedly N.L. West theme. That was not by design, but the numbers are there. We have plenty of baseball left. Maybe your favorite player will be the Stud of the week…or maybe he’ll be the Dud.
Who are your studs and duds for the first week and a half? Who’d I forget?
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