Matt Kemp, photographed by BHSportsGuy today
Juan Uribe’s 2012 Spring Training is starting off on one good foot … and one wayward foot.
Uribe pronounced himself completely healed from his 2011 injuries, but he will miss a few days of Spring Training nonetheless because of the trial of a lawsuit filed by his 2010 San Francisco landlord. We’ll let Tony Jackson of ESPNLosAngeles.com explain.
… He has to fly up to San Francisco on Monday, which is the tentative trial date for a lawsuit that has been filed against him by his former landlord stemming from alleged damage to the apartment he rented during the 2010 season while a member of the Giants. The Dodgers are scheduled for their first full-squad workout on Tuesday, meaning there is a strong likelihood Uribe will miss the first workout and possibly a few others while getting this matter resolved.
All of which begs the question of why this matter isn’t already resolved. The plaintiff is suing Uribe in the amount of $145,000. Uribe is in the second season of a three-year, $21 million contract and will receive an $8 million salary this year. That means $145,000 is less than 2 percent of his salary for this year, and an out-of-court settlement of this suit presumably would be in an amount less than the amount Uribe is being sued for. …
In a separate post, Jackson reminds us that Jerry Sands is not a candidate for third base. “He tried it,” Dodger manager Don Mattingly told Jackson. “Honestly, it looked rough to me. He is a lot better on the first-base side for me. He looked a lot better there, more comfortable, at first base and both corners of the outfield. Third is not one of those positions where you can just throw a guy over there and teach him to play third.”
Mattingly, obviously, was a contemporary of Pedro Guerrero.
Mattingly also said to Dylan Hernandez of the Times and Ken Gurnick of MLB.com that his goal was to have Uribe play exclusively at third base, rather than move around the diamond, in the hopes of preserving his health.
That didn’t stop Mattingly from reminiscing about the time he strayed from first base to become what remains the last left-handed thrower to start at third base. Jackson and Eric Stephen of True Blue L.A. have more.
And in other news, weather and sports …
- Andre Ethier held what Jackson called a “curiously contentious” first interview with reporters. I wonder if it was sponsored by Altoids. Gurnick called Ethier “curt.”
- Today in Jon SooHoo: Raul Mondesi and Raul Mondesi Jr., 1995. That little guy, by the way, is now a 19-year-old Brewers minor-leaguer.
- More thoughts on the Ryan Braun case from Jason Roberts at Fangraphs and Chad Moriyama at his blog.
Anonymous
So Ethier was all “Don’t call me Curt” to Tony?
Anonymous
Or Gurnick. I hate when I ruin my own jokes.
Anonymous
Taken while Matt signed a few autographs prior to getting dressed for workout
Anonymous
Boomer to the group of Dodger catchers before throwing BP, “Best BP you will ever see.”
Anonymous
I’m guessing Ethier isn’t looking to be the face of the Dodgers in promos for the team anymore.
b s
Terrible, unreadable font. Make it bolder or give it serifs, but PLEASE make it readable!
Ken Arneson
Are you talking about this site? What device/browser are you trying to read it on? The font should be Helvetica, which is just about the most commonly used font in the world.
b s
Oy. Another person who doesn’t read books.
Yeah, Helvetica is common, but the text font Jon uses is LIGHT and kerned too tightly. Look at any other site and you will notice smaller, bolder type, even if it is Helvetica. I’ve only been a graphic designer for +20 years so I could be wrong…..but I doubt it.
Ken Arneson
Well, I’ve only been designing web sites (including this one) for +15 years, so I’ll defer to your five extra years of experience.
I can see why you would say the text is lighter than optimal, or the kerning is too tight. But the word “unreadable” doesn’t make sense to me. If it’s literally unreadable, then that sounds like you’re actually looking at a different font than I am. Which is why I asked about what device/browser you were trying to read it on.
For example, if you’re a graphic designer, you might actually have 50 versions of Helvetica on your computer. Your browser might be using one that the rest of us aren’t using.
Anonymous
Breaking news-Ethier is moody. Cute pic of Mondesi’s kid, but few players have disappointed me more with their waste of talent than Raul Mondesi. When he came up I thought he was going to put up Manny type numbers, while playing GG defense. What a shame. Opening day, ’99. Kevin Brown vs Randy Johnson. Mondesi hits a 3 run bomb with 2 outs in the 9th to tie. 11th, Mondesi hits 2 run bomb to win. Very few games I have been to at the Stadium had the excitement of that day. And that was pretty much the highlight of the season too.
Anonymous
I still don’t understand why 1st base is considered the easiest position to play while 3rd base is considered one of the most difficult. I get that the throw from 3rd is harder than from 1st, but as far as playing ground balls, how big is the difference? There are probably more RH hitters than LH hitters, so I guess more balls get pulled hard to 3rd base than to 1st base, but the action on those should be mirror opposites, right? Add that 1st base requires a lot of good footwork around the bag, fielding everyone’s lousy throws and pickoff attempts, and the dance with pitchers on bunts. And starting a DP must be tougher from 1b, since you have to avoid hitting the runner. All of those things would tend to make 1st base more complicated and with a much higher number of chances. Some games, a 3rd baseman will never get near a ball, but a 1st baseman might handle it 20 or more times.
I guess the only other reason I can see that a RH first baseman might have trouble at 3rd is that he has to play in more? Maybe 1st basemen can play back because they don’t have to throw across the diamond after gloving a ball, and they needn’t necessarily handle every ball cleanly since the short throw gives them time… On the other hand, 3rd basemen don’t have to hold runners on and get back to position to field (and on those, 1st-basemen are necessarily even with the bag, so they’re not back with extra time).
Anonymous
1st base is considered a lot easier than 3rd base mostly because you make far fewer throws.
Anonymous
So it’s just about the throws? I understand that Garvey was moved to 1st because he had a weak and inaccurate arm, but Sands, as a OFer, doesn’t have a weak arm. And still, it seems to me that when most people comment that a guy can’t play 3rd, they’re talking about glove work, not arm. Anyway, I think I basically don’t believe it. Unless someone has a Garvey arm, it seems to me that any RH first baseman could be just as good at 3rd with a little practice. OTOH, the opposite conversion should be harder – more new skills to learn.
Jon Weisman
I also think that you have many more grounders hit your way at third is an issue.
Jon Weisman
NPUT