Dodger Thoughts

Jon Weisman's outlet for dealing psychologically with the Los Angeles Dodgers, baseball and life

Month: May 2016 (Page 7 of 7)

Star Wars Night at Dodger Stadium features exclusive T-shirt

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On this galactic Star Wars Day, the Dodgers are happy to reveal the T-shirt that will be included in the special Star Wars Night ticket page July 29 (when the Dodgers face the Diamondbacks. You must purchase your ticket for the game at dodgers.com/starwars to receive the exclusive shirt.

— Jon Weisman

Champ and Joc Pederson, living life

Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers

Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers

Joc and Champ Pederson combined to produce a wonderful, multimedia piece for the Players Tribune on their relationship and their approach to life. It’s a must-read, so go check it out now …

— Jon Weisman

Dodger offense finds Rays of sunshine indoors

Brian Blanco/Getty Images

Brian Blanco/Getty Images

By Jon Weisman

After a rough week, the Dodgers tonight hit lefties and righties and starties and relievies — all the -ies.

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How soon will Dodgers find right path on offense?

Jill Weisleder/Los Angeles Dodgers

Jill Weisleder/Los Angeles Dodgers

Dodgers at Rays, 4:10 p.m.
Kiké Hernandez, DH
Yasiel Puig, RF
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Justin Turner, 3B
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Trayce Thompson, LF
A.J. Ellis, C
Joc Pederson, CF
Charlie Culberson, SS
(Scott Kazmir, P)

By Jon Weisman

Beginning tonight, the Dodgers face two left-handers in their short sojourn to Tampa Bay.

So of course, I’m going to start things off by talking about their hitting against right-handers.

Why? Because lack of offense is on every Dodger fan’s mind these days, and a big part of the struggle is that the Dodgers’ righty-on-righty hitting has gone off a cliff.

Los Angeles ranks last among the 30 MLB teams with a .544 OPS by their right-handed batters against right-handed pitchers. That’s the baseball equivalent of shooting free throws like Shaquille O’Neal.

While the Dodgers platoon quite a bit, righty-on-righty still accounts for 33 percent of their plate appearances this season. So while their lefty hitters have been strong against right-handed pitching (.802 OPS), the righty batters have been dragging them down.

The good news is that this is so far out of the norm that it isn’t likely to continue. (Click below to enlarge …)

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Guns N’ Roses adds second Dodger Stadium show August 19

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Guns N’ Roses has added a second show at Dodger Stadium for its “Not in This Lifetime” tour, produced by Live Nation.

Tickets for the added August 19 show will be available on a 48-hour pre-sale for Citi cardmembers beginning Tuesday at 10 a.m., followed by a Dodger pre-sale Thursday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tickets for the general public go on sale beginning Friday.

The Dodgers will be in the middle of a seven-game road trip to Philadelphia and Cincinnati, returning home to play the Giants from August 23-25, followed by the Cubs from August 26-28.

— Jon Weisman

Josh Ravin suspended 80 games

Jill Weisleder/Los Angeles Dodgers

Jill Weisleder/Los Angeles Dodgers

By Jon Weisman

Dodgers reliever Josh Ravin, who has been on the 60-day disabled list this year as a result of breaking his left forearm in a car accident during Spring Training, has received an 80-game suspension without pay for a violation of Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program, the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball has announced.

Ravin, 28, tested positive for “Growth Hormone Releasing Peptide 2 (GHRP-2), a performance-enhancing substance,” MLB said.

The suspension of Ravin is effective immediately.

“We are disappointed to hear that Josh has violated Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program,” the Dodgers said in a statement. “The Dodgers fully support MLB’s policy toward eliminating performance enhancing substances from the sport and, as per the Joint Drug Program, we will have no further comment on this suspension.”

Ravin pitched 9 1/3 innings for the Dodgers last year, allowing 18 baserunners while striking out 12. For Triple-A Oklahoma City, the Chatsworth High grad allowed 40 baserunners in 28 innings with 38 strikeouts.

He issued a statement via the Major League Baseball Players Association. 

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Dodgers recall their most memorable home runs

A.J. Ellis homers in Game 5 of the 2013 National League Championship Series. (Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)

A.J. Ellis homers in Game 5 of the 2013 National League Championship Series. (Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)

By Jon Weisman

The most memorable home run of a big-leaguer’s life might not even be in his big-league life. Sometimes, the big blow is an obvious one, but other times, it’s one you might never have known about if you never asked.

So, we asked.

See what we mean in the stories that follow from these members of the Dodger family …

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Kershaw provides the answer — again

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By Jon Weisman

When you’re taking your daughter to a Dodger game, for the first time just the two of you, you want things to go right.

So thank you, Clayton Kershaw.

Seven days after the Dodgers’ last win, Kershaw was just a few wisps shy of perfection, facing two batters over the minimum while striking out 14 in a three-hit, 127-minute, 1-0 shutout of San Diego.

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Dodgers dig deep for homestand finale

Yasiel Puig and Dave Roberts prior to Saturday's game

Yasiel Puig and Dave Roberts prior to Saturday’s game

Padres at Dodgers, 1:10 p.m.
Kershaw CCXLVIII: Kershawt. Elsewhere
Yasiel Puig, RF
Kiké Hernandez, LF
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Justin Turner, 3B
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Trayce Thompson, CF
Corey Seager, SS
A.J. Ellis, C
Clayton Kershaw, P

By Jon Weisman

Behind Clayton Kershaw, the Dodgers take the field today trying to stave off the longest winless homestand in franchise history.

According to Stats LLC, via the Dodgers’ public relations department, the Dodgers have had six winless homestands at Dodger Stadium, but none longer than three games. In Brooklyn, the longest winless homestand was four games in 1893.

Overall, the Dodgers’ six-game losing streak is their longest since an eight-gamer from May 1-10, 2013. That was the year the team came back with a 42-8 run to win the National League West and reach the National League Championship Series.

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Video: ‘The History of Beards,’ by Vin Scully

[mlbvideo id=”643548083″ width=”550″ height=”308″ /]

During the top of the second inning Saturday, Vin Scully announced he had researched all things beards. Well, pull up a chair indeed …

— Jon Weisman

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