LOS ANGELES – Surreal. It’s the best one-word description that Phillies third baseman Otto Kemp can give to describe his first time playing in the big leagues.
And Monday night’s series opener will add to all of it, as he has close to 30 family members in the stands of Dodger Stadium to watch him try to help the Phillies clinch their second consecutive National League East title. Kemp was penciled to hit sixth and play third base for the Phillies.
Kemp was called up from Lehigh Valley on June 7 and played 46 games with the Phillies until being sent back down to the IronPigs on August 15. He came back to the big club on September 8 and has gone 9-for-24 (.375) with three home runs and seven RBIs.
“It’s been really cool,” said Kemp, who is batting .249 on the year. “Been nice to kind of have that first little stint to get comfortable and see what everything’s about and just kind of accept it as the learning curve and now that we’re back I feel like my feet are under me and feel a lot more comfortable. I feel like I’m a part of this team with all these guys in this clubhouse.
Getting to know Philly, the stadium, the game, the area, all of it. It was all kind of new at the beginning. I’m just the kind of guy that kind of takes a lot in and it takes me a second to get my feet under me and get comfortable. That was kind of the story at every level. Just getting a little more comfortable. To go back, reset for a second and come back and try and contribute was the right formula for me. “
Monday, the Fullerton, California native was showing off his formula in front of all those family members in a stadium that he had been to as a kid, but never played in. Another new experience to add to the list.
“It’s cool to be back in the home state. I grew up closer to Anaheim, so I was more of an Angels fan than a Dodgers fan. It’s still unbelievable to be here. It’s a historic place. Family has a lot of history of being Dodgers fans and growing up in this area and around this ballpark and seeing a lot of the Dodgers legends pass through here. Cool to be here and experience this place.”
Still, there is a job to do and when so much is on the line, it certainly adds some pressure, no matter how hard you try to block that out of your mind.
“You have to get used to it,” Kemp said. “In order to have success you have to push that to the side a little bit. For me, when I first came up, I think I let a lot of those little things play in my head a little bit more. My first time I didn’t know what the right mentality was to have success up here was. We got a job to do and I think the setting just changes a little bit. It’s the same game between those lines so I’m trying to treat it like any other day, which is hard to do. For me, that’s just the adjustment I’ve made. I belong here and sticking to my guns and doing what I do.”
His hope, obviously that he does stick for the playoff roster. That’s a decision manager Rob Thomson and the front office will have to make in a couple of weeks. For now, Kemp is still just soaking it all in.
“If you let your mind wander that’s when it starts to be harder and harder to get to that one point to where you want to go,” he said. “Not giving it more energy that it needs and it’s just another game. We’re going to get there. But the more we try and force it the worse it’s going to be. Just playing the game for what it is.
“You have ideas of where you think you can go but when pencil comes to paper it’s pretty unbelievable to think last year I was in double-A at this time and transitioning to triple-A not knowing what was next after that. Kind of hoping I had a shot at the big leagues, but little did I know it was right around the corner. You can make a lot of stuff up in your mind and you can create a lot of situations – create the worst case, create the best case – but it’s pretty surreal to be sitting here and having a chance to go and win a title.”
Injury updates:
There is never a good time of the year for injury, obviously, but the small dings that have hit the Phillies recently seem to be improving well.
Trea Turner, Alec Bohm and Edmundo Sosa all have missed time recently with various injuries but are progressing well, according to Thomson.
“Hope so,” said Thomson when asked if Bohm should be ready by Friday. “He’ll work out today, so we’ll know more after today. Same thing with Sosa and then we’ll reevaluate tomorrow.” Thomson said there’s a possibility Sosa could be back from his groin strain as early as tomorrow. Bohm is working out soreness in his shoulder.
Turner, diagnosed with a Grade 1 hamstring strain, appears to be progressing ahead of schedule.
“Stayed in Philly. Did a full workout today,” said Thomson of Turner. “Did a little bit of jogging. Hit in the cages, tee and toss, ground balls. Really good. He feels good. We’re hoping (Turner will return before playoffs). Said he feels really good.”
Travel troubles
For the umpteenth time this season, the Phillies had travel issues in getting out to the West Coast.
“It was mechanical, and we had to wait for another plane. That’s the way it goes,” said Thomson, adding the team got in around 2 a.m. “I slept most of the time. All the way out pretty much, then I got to bed and slept some more. We kind of pulled back on (the players) because of how late we got in last night. Some later busses (to Dodger Stadium) and going to keep the workload to just make sure they’re ready to play.”
Pitching change
The Dodgers announced Monday that they would be starting left-handed reliever Anthony Bande instead of previously listed starter Emmet Sheehan. Thomson said he didn’t make a change to the starting lineup that he told his team on Sunday.
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