Jun

Trouble in Dodgerland with Matt Kemp?

By Ryan

Is it possible that Matt Kemp who many expected to only get better has digressed in his development because he is being distracted? Maybe it’s Rihanna or maybe it’s the “Other” stuff that goes along with dating a mega star like her. Whatever the case is, Kemp is in the midst of an awful slump, batting .161 with one home run over his past 17 games. On the season, he is hitting .258 with 12 home runs and 40 RBIs. Not completely horrible numbers, but for someone that hit .297-26-101 and winning a silver slugger award last year, these are not the numbers that are expected. Or maybe its just some tough luck that has fallen on him.

Lets not forget Kemp was recently rumored to possibly being involved in trade talks for Cliff Lee over the weekend.

Whatever the case is, Torre has put Kemp on the bench for two straight games. The second game of his benching, (tonight) he holds a career .457 avg against Barry Zito which adds more fuel to the fire as to why is he on the bench.

Kemp wasn’t aware of manager Joe Torre’s decision until he saw the lineup card on Monday afternoon.

“I didn’t know nothing about it,” he said. “I just come, look at the lineup and see if I’m in it. If I’m not in it, I go about my business in the cage and don’t change anything.”

Torre said he didn’t speak with Kemp about this specific change, but added, “Matt and I have talked a lot.”

Torre didn’t rule out the possibility of keeping Reed Johnson in the lineup beyond Monday. “I’m going to take it a day at a time,” he said. “I’m trying to get on a little bit of a run.”

Maybe Kemp just needs a few days to rest to get his all-star caliber game back on track. Or maybe he is in need of a change of scenery.

Information from Jon Paul Morsi of FOXSports.com was used in this article.