Matt Kemp Is Your Daddy

A number of children in America wish that the Dodgers' Kemp were their father, instead of this other guy. He only had one hit today, but it was a two-run homer that gave LA the win in the 12th inning against the Braves. He continues to mash and dash, hitting .411 with 4 HR and 8 SB for the otherwise enemic Dodgers. It makes you think that if anyone besides Kemp and Ethier could hit on this team, they could be a serious contender. Well, there is someone else who is starting to hit...

Casey Blake - 3-6 with a HR and 2 RBI. Kept the Dodgers into the game until Kemp was able to play the hero, and he's beginning to heat up. Blake has hit safely in eight of his first ten games this season, and he is batting .302 now. If you're in need of some average help or CI depth, ride him while he's hitting.

Clayton Kershaw - 8.2 IP, 9 baserunners, 3 ER, 7 Ks. Despite losing the lead in the ninth, Kershaw pitched very well. And since when does he go this deep into games?! Could it be that he is taking that next step forward?

Felipe Lopez - Bats cleanup for the Rays. The five fans watching them frown.

Sergio Santos - Pitched a scoreless eighth inning in a blowout win. This leads me to believe that Ozzie might not be ready to close with him yet. But then again, who knows with that guy? The batboy might close tomorrow.

Paul Konerko - 3-5, 2 R, 2 RBI. The White Sox finally all decided to hit today, and Konerko wondered where they'd been.

Scott Baker - 7 IP, 5 baserunners, 0 ER, 9 Ks. That collective thud you hear is the Scott Baker addicts all falling off the wagon.

Stephen Drew - 2-4, 1 HR, 2 RBI. J.D.'s younger bro is smoking right now, upping his average to .340.

Mike Leake - 7 IP, 6 baserunners, 3 ER, 6 Ks. Leake survived a razzing usually reserved for Bengals players, and he was quick to produce a Dick's receipt for his spikes when questioned by a reporter.

Matt Holliday - 2-4, 2 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI. He's continues to rake as the average rises to .455. That's a streak Frank the Tank would be proud of.

Kyle Lohse - 9 IP, 4 baserunners, 0 ER, 6 Ks. Lohse channeled his inner Wainwright and flat-out dominated the Reds. Throughout much of his career, he's been a strong home-split guy; so far, he's been dealing everywhere.

Jason Bay - 1-4 with 2 runs as he batted fifth in his season debut. You can start him if you have to, but I don't know if I'd expect much yet.

Angel Pagan - 0-3 and takes Bay's place out of the lineup by pulling a muscle in his left side. Not sure if this is the mysterious Masked Oblique Strain, as he hasn't revealed himself to the masses yet.

David Wright - 2-3 with a homer, 2 runs, and 2 RBI. Hopefully for my teams, this is a sign of him breaking out of his long slump. Take two Astros pitchers and call in the morning.

Astros Offense - Shut down by Chris Capuano. They blow.

Felix Hernandez - 7.2 IP, 7 baserunners, 0 ER, 8 Ks. Finally the outing we've been waiting for from the King, as he wins 1-0 thanks to an Adam Kennedy homer. Wedge almost left him out there too long, as he threw 125 pitches and almost lost it in the eighth, but I know that all of his owners will take this one.

Brandon McCarthy - 8 IP, 5 baserunners, 1 ER, 6 Ks for the hard-luck loser. McCarthy is doing an awesome job so far, and if he stays healthy he could be a real gem.

Pedro Alvarez - 3-4, 1 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI. Shrugs off the rumors of a possible demotion and carries the suddenly struggling Bucco-O (a swashbucklingly delightful part of this balanced breakfast).

Logan Morrison - Placed on the 15-day DL with a foot sprain, just as his owners thought they were getting him back. Maybe LoMo sprained his foot kicking them in the crotch.

Scott Cousins - 2-4, 1 HR, 2 R, 4 RBI. Morrison's replacement celebrated the news of more playing time by dancing all over James McDonald.

James McDonald - The aforementioned Pirate got bombed again, this time giving up 8 ER in 3 innings. If you haven't jettisoned him already, get someone new next week.

Grady Sizemore - 3-5 with an RBI, and is hitting .421 in his first five games back (four starts). Maybe Acta will move him into a better spot in the lineup for RBI soon.

Josh Tomlin - 7.1 IP, 6 baserunners, 1 ER, 4 Ks. Continues to defy the pundits in this first month of the season, and he could be the biggest surprise on this Indians team. Won't give you good K numbers, but neither did Trevor Cahill last year. The trouble is, Tomlin doesn't have Cahill's stuff, and thus I wouldn't bank on his success continuing at this current level.

Chris Perez - Blew his first save of the season, giving up his first run in 26-some-odd innings (dating back to last year). No worries, Chris, everyone's doing it this year!

Kevin Youkilis - Pulled from the game in the second after hitting a foul ball off his shin. X-rays were negative, which is the opposite. He still looks like he'll miss a couple games, with hot sauce Jed Lowrie manning third for him.

Dustin Pedroia - 3-4 with a run and a steal. He has raised his on-base percentage to .450, and I am down with OBP.

Josh Beckett - 8 IP, 5 baserunners, 2 ER, 5 Ks. I didn't trust Beckett at all this spring, and I'm kinda regretting it. But I still don't trust him. So there!

Roy Oswalt - 6 IP, 3 baserunners, 0 ER, 7 Ks, win against the Pads. It's hard not to like reliable guys like Oswalt. He never really gets his due, because now he's playing third banana to Halladay and Lee, but he has been as reliable as they come in the last decade.