Winter.

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By Jon Weisman

It would be funny if there really were a corner and all you had to do was walk to it, turn right, and Spring Training would just be sitting there instead of a gas station.

So what’s happening?

  • AC/DC is coming to perform at Dodger Stadium on September 28. Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. Monday. The Dodgers will be in San Francisco that night for the first of a four-game series with the Giants, before finishing their regular season October 2-4 against the Padres.
  • Watching pitchers like Tim Lincecum and Justin Verlander stumble from their highest perches, I’ve wondered when — hopefully a long, long time from now —  Clayton Kershaw will show signs of pitching mortality. At the Hardball Times, Will Carroll wrestles with Kershaw’s physical future.
  • Kershaw sits at No. 5 (first among pitchers) in ESPN’s Fantasy Baseball player rankings. Yasiel Puig is 16th overall, Zack Greinke 40th, Adrian Gonzalez 52nd, Kenley Jansen 75th, Hyun-Jin Ryu 102nd, Jimmy Rollins 140th, Howie Kendrick 180th, Yasmani Grandal 214th, Joc Pederson 244th, Carl Crawford 247th and Brandon McCarthy 274th.
  • Farhan Zaidi talked about Joc Pederson and Julio Urias with Jorge L. Ortiz of USA Today. An excerpt:

    Zaidi said the Dodgers ran a comparison of Urias with other elite lefties, including fast-tracked pitchers such as three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw and World Series hero Madison Bumgarner, both of whom reached the majors at 20.

    “They were both a year older and a level behind him. We’re in uncharted territory,” Zaidi said. “He’s the total package. He’s got a great delivery, three pitches he commands and tremendous poise.”

  • Eric Stephen of True Blue L.A. has some fun observations about the 1987 Dodgers’ payroll and also looks at the recent history of 200-inning Dodger pitchers.
  • David Schoenfield of ESPN.com’s Sweet Spot collected some of the top analysis of the Padres’ offseason moves.
  • The economics of baseballs (not baseball — baseballs) in 1924 in this tweet from the National Baseball Museum, with a bicoastal flavor (relayed by Rob Neyer).
  • Jon Stewart’s announced departure from “The Daily Show,” much lamented by me, nevertheless underscored the staying power of Vin Scully.