Matt Kemp says Ned Colletti criticism is behind him
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The next day, they just had a big love-fest. Kiss-kiss, smooch-smooch.
Anyway, that’s their story.
Matt Kemp said all that controversy over critical comments made about him by General Manager Ned Colletti was strictly old news. Stuff for the baseball history books.
‘It’s squashed, so why would I talk about something that’s already squashed?’’ Kemp asked.
Hey, I don’t know. Maybe because it’s almost all anyone around the Dodgers the last two days have wanted to talk about.
Kemp and Colletti met in New York before the team returned to Los Angeles. Afterward, Kemp would not say what was discussed.
Thursday before the Dodgers opened a 10-game homestand against the Pirates, he was only slightly more forthcoming.
‘It’s just old news to me,’ Kemp said. ‘I’m just going out here and getting ready for my day and play some baseball.’
Colletti was not on the field prior to Thursday’s game, but Manager Joe Torre -- no stranger to controversy during his tenure with the New York Yankees, under owner George Steinbrenner -- contended that there really was nothing to get excited over.
‘To me, whether something is said in the clubhouse or said to somebody, I never think it’s any big deal,’ Torre said. ‘Maybe it’s because of my experience.
‘To me, what solves the problem is out there [on the field]. You play baseball and play the way you’re capable of playing, all of a sudden in two days everything is gone. That’s the way I look at it.’
Colletti has received criticism for singling out Kemp for his defense and base running, though he said it was in response to a question about the center fielder.
Kemp never did lash back at Colletti.
‘It’s baseball,’ Kemp said. ‘We’ve got all you [media] guys talking about us. It is what it is. They want us to play better and are trying to light a fire under us and get us going.’
Torre said that in New York, although normally it was Steinbrenner who would be critical, General Manager Brian Cashman wasn’t shy, either.
‘He would say something from time to time,’ Torre said. ‘I don’t think it’s that unusual. Manager, general manager, the thing about it is, you have to take personalities into account.
‘Ned is a passionate guy and a very proud individual. He wants to bar to be [higher]. I’m not so concerned about what they said, as maybe what made them say it.’
Kemp was light-hearted with the media prior to Thursday‘s game, downplaying the incident and acting like he could handle the criticism.
‘Everyone has their own opinion,’ he said. ‘I’m just getting ready for this baseball game and try to beat these guys and get some [wins] on the board. Wouldn’t that be fun, huh?’
Alas, in the first inning he misplayed a Ryan Doumit hit into a two-run triple. Then in the bottom of the first, after bouncing back to the pitcher, he was actually booed.
Love, it’s a fickle thing.
--Steve Dilbeck