Saturday, March 2, 2013
Updates on Kemp and Crawford
By Jason Catania
For the Dodgers, this week brought both good and bad news on their two star outfielders.
Matt Kemp finally got back on the field, making his spring game debut Friday. In the lineup as the Dodgers designated hitter, he saw his first Cactus League action and went 0-for-2, but more importantly, he felt good and didn't suffer any setbacks.
Unfortunately, the same can't be said for Carl Crawford, who had a hitting session cancelled Thursday, per the Los Angeles Daily News' J.P. Hoornstra. It was later revealed that Crawford would be held out for a week due to lingering effects from his Tommy John surgery.
Kemp, though, has seen his recovery go swimmingly. He made it back onto the diamond only five months after surgery to fix the torn labrum in his left shoulder -- and injury that occurred when he crashed into the wall at Coors Field last August. He missed a few games initially then returned soon thereafter but clearly wasn't himself, hitting .222 in September and October as the Dodgers fell short of the playoffs.
There's a lot riding on Kemp and Crawford this season as the Dodgers aim to return to relevance after spending hundreds (and hundreds) of millions rebuilding and remaking the roster. So while the club will have to wait and see on Crawford, it's certainly promising to get the franchise hitter back.
