Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp was removed in the seventh inning of a one run game by Dodgers manager Don Mattingly and Kemp made it clear he was not happy.
Kemp appeared to voice his displeasure at Mattingly as he headed off the field, flipping his glove at the dugout wall and venting a little more before disappearing into the clubhouse.
Kemp, who had struck out twice with runners in scoring position and been booed Saturday, was taken out of the game in the seventh inning during a double switch when Mattingly brought in reliever Kenley Jansen.
“Man, I was just frustrated,” Kemp said. “It had been a bad day for me. I really didn’t do much to help the team win. It is what it is. It’s over now.”
Mattingly defended the move and said he did not remove because he was struggling. “It was the right move,” Mattingly said. “It has nothing to do with Matt struggling. This is more a baseball move.” Mattingly also added that he was unaware that appeared to be yelling at him.
“If that’s that the case, we’ll talk about it,” he said.
Not much has gone right for the Dodgers this season and things like this seem to get blown out of proportion. Bottom line no major leaguer is going to like being removed in a game, especially in a double switch situation. For now, this episode seems to have been put to bed, but stay tuned more Dodgers news can’t be far behind.
