Sky's the limit for Matt Kemp, but stakes rising too

When you think of Matt Kemp, what word first pops to mind?

There was no pause. He looked me dead in the eye. "Potential," he said.

Ah, glorious potential.

Said the way Mattingly said it, with the glowing look one gets when seeing a flashy Lamborghini buzz down Sunset Boulevard, "potential" is a catchall word that brings to mind speed and will and power and Hall of Fame, all at once.

It brings to mind -- and this is true for no one in baseball more than the young Matt Kemp -- the burden and heavy weight of great expectations, which can either boost a young player or cause a sad crumble.

These days, luckily for Dodgers fans, there is little crumble in Kemp.

Of the players who have been on the roster all season, none has improved as much as the young Oklahoman.

And other than Manny Ramirez, there may be no player more vital to the Dodgers' playoff hopes than Kemp, an imposing 23-year-old who stands 6 feet 3 and looks as if he would fit right in on an NFL team. He must keep up the pace if his team is to stay in the hunt. And if he gets as hot as it seems he might, the Dodgers may well have a chance at turning heads come October.

On a steady rise since the All-Star break, Kemp is hitting for average and power, .298 this season with 14 homers going into Saturday night's game against Milwaukee. He is on pace to burst well past 30 stolen bases. Occasionally, he bats leadoff. When needed, he uncorks an arm that makes you think of Dave Parker playing for the late-1970s Pittsburgh Pirates.

True, Kemp still makes the mistakes of a guy who did not get serious about baseball until high school. He will sometimes blow past third base and get caught. Sometimes, he will fail to find a cutoff man. But steadily, consistently, his game grows.

Take the current homestand. Kemp, part of a fresh young crop of outstanding African American major leaguers, went into Saturday night's game batting .380 this week with two doubles, five RBIs and one home run.

On Monday, he started the week off with three hits, a walk and two runs in an 8-6 Dodgers victory.

The next night, with the Dodgers down, 1-0, to the Phillies in the bottom of the first, he scorched a bullet to left field, ran the bases like a locomotive, and ended up on third after a Phillies player bobbled the ball. Kemp eventually scored, establishing a tone for the week: This was a team that was going to bounce back.