Sunday, September 29, 2013

Kemp's Baseball Season is Over


Nooooo! 

So, I spent the last several days in the "City of Sin" in order to partake in some general revelry and drunken debauchery with some fellow Kings fans at Frozen Fury.  That's an annual preseason event that ushers in the new hockey season.  I'll be sure to share some pics from that trip in the next few days. 

Anyway, my temporary escape from Dodger Baseball meant that I missed the Dodgers Annual Blogger Night at the stadium for the first time since its inception in 2008, and the entire final series of the 2013 season against the Rockies.

Needless to say, I missed a lot, but I had no idea how much until an hour ago.

It was declared earlier today that Matt Kemp's 2013 Baseball season is officially over.




Per Steve Dilbeck at The LA Times:
Kemp, who came in second for the National League most-valuable-player award in 2011, saw his difficult, injury-filled 2013 season come to an end when the ankle that had sent him to the disabled list back on July 6 flared up again.

Dr. Neal ElAttrache said the talus bone in his left ankle, one of the major weight-bearing bones in the foot, was swollen and in danger of fracturing.

“We have to protect Matt,” ElAttrache said.
Matt Kemp last played on Friday, but sat out the following game due to waht was thought to be a minor flare up in his ankle.
“I felt good going home,” he said. “I woke up the next morning and my ankle was really stiff and sore. Usually, you wake up, you walk around and everything is good. And I got to the stadium and it just felt really, really, really bad.

“It’s weird to me because I was playing and everything felt good. I didn’t twist my ankle or anything during the game. Just crazy. Really crazy.”
This is horrible news and only strains an already ailing lineup that is starting to look woefully short of outfielders.  Andre Ethier is nursing a bad ankle and has not played in the field since Friday, September 13th.  Via Eric Stephen at True Blue LA:
"He is purposely not running the bases, in an effort to give his ankle maximum rest," said Dodgers director of medical services Stan Conte. "I really truly have to wait to see him Tuesday to see. We have to evaluate him day by day."
In a year that has been filled with so many pitfalls, this loss just adds another hurdle that has to be crossed.  Considering what this team has accomplished so far, I see no reason why they can't make that leap.  Still, this is a great loss.

Tony Jackson at Dodger Scribe has a video up featuring Dodger surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache speaking about Kemp's injury.  Watch it here.

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Sunday Dodger Videos: Charley Steiner, Vin Scully and Christian - the Dodger Kid

Here are this Sundays Dodger videos.

Keith Olbermann's former SportsCenter co-anchor Charley Steiner, joins Olbermann to discuss the Los Angeles Dodgers' run to the playoffs.

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Here is a new Dodgers commercial- just in time for the playoffs.  "A Whole New October"

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Vin Scully takes a moment to humorously recap a San Francisco run-in with a group of local ladies offering "Free Hugs" to strangers.

Video Link:

Watch Christian, the Super Dodger Kid, in this fun little video.
We hope this video brings a smile to your face even if you're not a fan of baseball or the Dodgers. Nothing makes our son happier than playing baseball and this video filmed just before his 5th birthday shows the many ways he has found to play baseball inside of our house. His passion and great luck have led him to meet many of his heroes and the slideshow at the end shows his journey from being discovered by Adam Sandler on YouTube for a baseball playing cameo role in "That's My Boy" at the age of 2 to being the youngest person to throw a ceremonial first pitch at an MLB game at the age of 3. Nobody in our family ever watched or played baseball so his fascination with the sport came as quite a surprise to us! The AP photo of his first pitch now hangs on the walls at Dodger Stadium and in the home of legendary Dodger pitcher Sandy Koufax. He is one lucky kid!

Video Link:

* Please follow on twitter @ernestreyes *
* Dodgers Blue Heaven home page *