San Diego Padres Are Not Done Criticizing Matt Kemp

Matt Kemp may no longer be with the San Diego Padres, but he sure is not out of their thoughts.

The San Diego Padres executive chairman Ron Fowler is not done talking about Matt Kemp. When addressing the letter that Matt Kemp penned to Atlanta Braves fans and teammates, he had this to say:

"“He made the same type of statement to our fans when we traded for him. I called his comments B.S., because his actions are inconsistent with his words. My whole spiel was about winning … We had some high-priced talent that was not contributing to more wins … We’re moving in another direction.”"

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This whole statement from Ron Fowler makes little sense. The Padres made a clear decision to go after a player in Kemp who had developed a bit of a reputation already.  Whether or not his Kemp’s letter to Atlanta fans and players was genuine is not Fowler’s call.

The Padres front office was less than pleased with Matt Kemp’s attitude and production. They wanted the Matt Kemp that put up the MVP numbers from his past, and were sorely disappointed when he didn’t.

Kemp is an intelligent player who let the disappointment and rumors get to him. He may not have been the player he was capable of, as he referenced in his letter to Braves fans.  Maybe he didn’t give it his all like he should have. Regardless, Kemp is moving on with his life and career and has become part of a re-building Braves team.

The San Diego Padres are rid of Kemp and his bad contract, trading him for Hector Olivera a few days before the deadline. Shortly afterwards, they designated Olivera for assignment. So why do they feel the need to keep coming after Kemp?

There is little doubt that Ron Fowler’s statement is dripping with a bitterness. The Padres executive could not resist taking another parting shot at the Padres’ former outfielder.

Not only does he call the outfielders letter to the Braves B. S., he also goes after Kemp’s production, calling him a high priced talent that wasn’t contributing to wins. While Kemp’s salary was certainly higher than his talent, that was through no fault of his own.

Kemp had consistently produced the same numbers over the past few seasons as a Padre, putting up solid power numbers with the rest of his production being below average.

Fowler’s statements and the timing of them speak for themselves. The Padres are an organization that has seemed stuck in neutral for many years. The frustration of the organization itself is at an all-time high. Matt Kemp is the recipient of that frustration at the moment.

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While the criticisms of his production may be fair, who put Ron Fowler in a position to judge the sincerity of Matt Kemp’s words?  Take it for what it is a frustrated executive who still feels the need to lash out at the form San Diego player.