Frost still covered the grass at Camelback Ranch when Matt Kemp met with Dodgers first base coach George Lombard earlier this week. Kemp had asked Lombard to help prepare him for the coming season, so at 7:45 a.m. Lombard chopped groundballs toward a two-time All-Star attempting an improbable revival with the Dodgers.
"He's here to work," Lombard said. "He looks good. He's working hard. It's pretty cool to go out there and see him have a pretty good first game."
The surreal homecoming of Kemp took another step toward reality on Friday. He wore a Dodgers uniform in a game, a 13-5 victory over the Chicago White Sox in a Cactus League opener.