MLB Network put the spotlight on Vin Scully one more time in this video promoting the National League Division Series that only gets more dramatic as it goes.
— Jon Weisman
Category: In case you missed it (Page 1 of 12)
Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers
By Jon Weisman
Tomorrow really is just a day away. Friday’s opening game of the National League Division Series between the Dodgers and Nationals comes in about 24 hours, depending on when exactly you’re reading this.
Here’s what been percolating …
By Jon Weisman
Two games in the National League West separate the Dodgers and Giants, who each have 29 games remaining in the regular season — six against each other — and nearly identical schedules.
Corey Seager reacts to being safe at second on the game-winning play in the eighth inning Sunday.
Dodgers at Rockies, 5:40 p.m.
Chase Utley, 2B
Howie Kendrick, LF
Corey Seager, SS
Adrián González, 1B
Yasmani Grandal, C
Josh Reddick, RF
Joc Pederson, CF
Rob Segedin, 3B
Kenta Maeda, P
Chase Utley, 2B
Howie Kendrick, LF
Corey Seager, SS
Adrián González, 1B
Yasmani Grandal, C
Josh Reddick, RF
Joc Pederson, CF
Rob Segedin, 3B
Kenta Maeda, P
By Jon Weisman
A few quick notes before the Dodgers begin their second Colorado-or-bust, three-game road trip.
The Dodgers will play three games in 48 hours (weather permitting) between tonight and Wednesday afternoon, then fly home.
San Francisco is off tonight, so there will be a half-game added or subtracted from the Dodgers’ two-game lead in the National League West this evening. The Dodgers will gain back the off day on the Giants on Thursday.
After two games at home Tuesday and Wednesday vs. Arizona, San Francisco travels to Wrigley Field to play four games with the Cubs.
Meanwhile …
Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers
Cubs at Dodgers, 1:05 p.m.
Chase Utley, 2B
Corey Seager, SS
Justin Turner, 3B
Adrián González, 1B
Yasmani Grandal, C
Josh Reddick, RF
Joc Pederson, CF
Andrew Toles, LF
Julio Urías , P
Chase Utley, 2B
Corey Seager, SS
Justin Turner, 3B
Adrián González, 1B
Yasmani Grandal, C
Josh Reddick, RF
Joc Pederson, CF
Andrew Toles, LF
Julio Urías , P
By Jon Weisman
As part of Team Photo Day on Friday, the Dodgers indulged in a fantasy — that everyone in the world could be as wonderful as Vin Scully.
Of course, there really can only be one Vin Scully, as a close examination of the above image will reveal. (Click to enlarge.)
Here are some other recent items of note …
By Jon Weisman
It’s been a whirlwind in Dodger land lately, and for no one more than Rob Segedin, who not only hit his first two homers in the Majors on consecutive days, but also became a father late Monday.
Segedin and Andrew Toles became the first teammates in Major League history to hit their first two MLB homers in the same two consecutive games, according to Elias Sports. Here are their combined stats as Dodgers:
Doug Padilla has more on the Segedin saga at ESPN.com.
Let’s catch up some other things …
"The Los Angeles Dodgers will continue to stand firm against all forms of hatred, violence and discrimination."https://t.co/Z2iwBALGma
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 9, 2016
Padres at Dodgers, 1:10 p.m.
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Corey Seager, SS
Justin Turner, 3B
Adrián González, 1B
Yasiel Puig, RF
Trayce Thompson, CF
Yasmani Grandal, C
Scott Van Slyke, LF
Kenta Maeda, P
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Corey Seager, SS
Justin Turner, 3B
Adrián González, 1B
Yasiel Puig, RF
Trayce Thompson, CF
Yasmani Grandal, C
Scott Van Slyke, LF
Kenta Maeda, P
By Jon Weisman
I didn’t want to let the weekend go by without passing along the words Vin Scully recited to the Dodger Stadium crowd before Friday’s game, near the end of an incredibly difficult week in this country.
Ladies and gentlemen. At this time, we’d like to take a moment to reflect on the tragic events that have occurred across our country over the past few days. As a community and a nation, we mourn the tragic loss of lives and injuries, and our deepest sympathies go out to all who have been directly impacted by those events and to their families and friends. As United States attorney general Loretta Lynch said today, “This has been a week of profound grief and heartbreaking loss, but as she also reminded us, “Today and every day we are one nation, we are one people and we stand together.
Therefore, we commend the heroic actions and courage of our first responders, volunteers, citizens and government officials, and we gratefully acknowledge the sacrifice that so many have made on behalf of those people. And as the organization that took a historic stance against racism, the Los Angeles Dodgers will continue to stand firm against all forms of hatred, violence and discrimination. At this time, we ask that you please stand silently for a moment of reflection and respect.
Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers
A few other items from recent days …
By Jon Weisman
Still feels like there’s a buzz in the air over how very #Puignotlate the ending was to Wednesday’s game. Let’s provide some epilogues to that, as well as catching up on some other recent Dodger ephemera.
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- Puig’s dash around the bases was 15.2 seconds, which is tied for the fastest home-to-home run in baseball this year, as seen in the video above.
- What was going through Puig’s mind? “I was ready for the hit, and nobody thought that the ball would go through,” Puig said through an interpreter, according to Doug Padilla of ESPN.com. “So when I did see the ball go through, I had to talk to my hamstring so I can figure out how far I could go on the bases. … I didn’t see [the stop sign]. I was listening to my hamstring and I was trying to figure out how far it could go. If it exploded there, that’s what was going to happen, but I was able to make it home.”
- The big finish called to mind 1988’s Kirk Gibson scoring from second base on a wild pitch, as Phil Gurnee writes at his new blog, Dodgers, Yesterday and Today.
By Jon Weisman
In this video clip, Vin Scully talks about how new Dodger outfielder Will Venable is using an actual old glove of Dave Roberts from 2005, seen above.
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Here are some more notes and news from the past week …
- Cali Ann’s getting a sibling. Clayton and Ellen Kershaw have a second baby on the way, due in November. Andy McCullough of the Times has the news in this Father’s Day-themed interview with Kershaw, which talks at length about the softening effect parenthood has had on the Dodger ace.
- Monday’s nationally televised series-opener (ESPN) against the Washington Nationals figures to match Stephen Strasburg (2.90 ERA) against Clayton Kershaw (1.58 ERA). I’m not into win-loss records, but even a cynic like me about them finds it a little glamorous that the two pitchers are a combined 20-1. Reminder: Strasburg is four months and one day younger than Kershaw.
- The Dodgers officially announced the signing of the following draft picks: shortstop Errol Robinson (sixth round), right-hander Andre Scrubb (eighth round), right-hander Dean Kremer (14th round), outfielder Darien Tubbs (16th round), third basemen Brock Carpenter (20th round), right-hander Jeff Paschke (22nd round), second baseman Brandon Montgomery (26th round) and catcher Steve Berman (31st round).
- Ross Stripling gave a progress report to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com regarding his current hiatus from game action.
- Chad Billingsley said he hasn’t given up, but the former Dodger right-hander, who hasn’t thrown a competitive pitch in 11 months, told Bruce Hefflinger of the Defiance Crescent-News (his hometown newspaper) that it was “most likely” that his career was over.
- Scott Radinsky, the one-time Dodger reliever who is the Angels’ bullpen coach, is thankfully recovering from April open-heart surgery after a big scare.
- Former Dodger catcher Tim Federowicz was designated for assignment by the Cubs.
Andre Ethier poses with former Dodger infielder Mark Ellis prior to Monday’s game.
By Jon Weisman
Some items to catch up on …
- Andre Ethier is still in limbo, as Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports. “It’s a little slower than we thought,” Ethier said. “At the eight-week exam, I was expecting to have the OK and go do baseball stuff and slowly progress into running. It was a little bit of a jaw dropper when you get the result. It wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t healed like I was hoping it was. I had to reassess that it would take a little longer. You always think you can bounce back quicker than you do.”
- In his first rehab outing since going on the disabled list June 3, Yasiel Puig grounded out, homered to right center and walked.
- Brandon McCarthy and Hyun-Jin Ryu came through their weekend rehab starts without issues and remain on schedule for their next appearances — Thursday for McCarthy, Friday for Ryu. McCarthy threw two innings June 11 in his rehab debut. Ryu pitched three innings June 12.
- Carl Crawford cleared waivers and was officially released by the Dodgers.
- Brock Stewart, the 24-year-old righty who was a sixth-round Dodger draft pick from Illinois State in 2014, made his Triple-A debut Monday for Oklahoma City. Stewart struck out seven in 5 2/3 innings and didn’t walk anyone until his final batter, though he allowed two home runs.
- Another newcomer to the Oklahoma City starting rotation is 27-year-old righty Nick Tepesch, who was picked up after being released by Texas. Tepesch has made two five-inning starts for Oklahoma City, with a 2.70 ERA and nine strikeouts in 10 innings. He has 219 career big-league innings with a 4.56 ERA.
- Frankie Montas isn’t exactly new to Oklahoma City, but he is officially off the Dodgers’ 60-day disabled list and was officially optioned Sunday. With 11 strikeouts against one run in his first 7 2/3 innings (two appearances), Montas has done nothing to discourage speculation that he is on the fast track to Los Angeles. He next pitches Wednesday.
- Double-A Tulsa’s Trevor Oaks and Willie Calhoun each won Player of the Week honors, as did Single-A Rancho Cucamonga’s Michael Ahmed, the brother of Arizona’s Nick Ahmed.
- Jose Tabata, who was acquired in exchange for barely-a-Dodger Michael Morse last summer, was released June 11 from Oklahoma City. The six-year MLB vet had a .673 OPS in Triple-A this year.
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By Jon Weisman
There have been several bits of business that I’ve been meaning to get to, so I figured the best solution was to bring back the reliable “In case you missed it” feature from Spring Training to capture them all.
Last day @CamelbackRanch. #DodgersST pic.twitter.com/W9qNFzQVDq
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) March 30, 2016
Indians at Dodgers, 1:10 p.m.
Chase Utley, 2B
Trayce Thompson, RF
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Scott Van Slyke, LF
Joc Pederson, CF
A.J. Ellis, C
Rob Segedin, 3B
Charlie Culberson, SS
Clayton Kershaw, P
Chase Utley, 2B
Trayce Thompson, RF
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Scott Van Slyke, LF
Joc Pederson, CF
A.J. Ellis, C
Rob Segedin, 3B
Charlie Culberson, SS
Clayton Kershaw, P
By Jon Weisman
On the final day of Cactus League play at Camelback Ranch for 2016, here are some Dodger tidbits …
- Though he remains hopeful that Yasmani Grandal will be on the Opening Day roster Monday, Dave Roberts told reporters today that A.J. Ellis would catch Clayton Kershaw.
- Roberts didn’t leak his entire Opening Day batting order, but predicted Justin Turner-Adrian Gonzalez would be in the three-four slots, and that Chase Utley (playing second base in place of Howie Kendrick) might lead off. For what it’s worth, Utley has OPSed .892 this spring.
- Corey Seager remains scheduled to start Thursday in the Dodgers’ Freeway Series opener.
- Trayce Thompson, Charlie Culberson, Rob Segedin and Austin Barnes should see action in the Freeway Series, but Rico Noel, Elian Herrera and Brandon Beachy won’t.
- Hyun-Jin Ryu had a full bullpen session scheduled for today and should begin facing hitters at Camelback next week. All players on the disabled list are to be at Dodger Stadium for Opening Day, however.
- Scott Kazmir provides an interesting touchstone for Julio Urias in this Ken Gurnick MLB.com story. Kazmir was 20 when he made his big-league debut for Tampa Bay, whose director of baseball development at the time was Andrew Friedman.
- Don Newcombe told Ron Cervenka of Think Blue L.A. that running is the key for a pitcher to stay healthy.
- MLB players and coaches can now have iPads in the dugout during games. Roberts said his staff might take advantage, but that he was more likely to stick with paper.
Adam Liberatore has struck out 11 in nine Cactus League innings this year.
Dodgers at Padres, 1:10 p.m.
Carl Crawford, LF
Yasiel Puig, RF
Justin Turner, 3B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Chase Utley, 2B
Kiké Hernandez, SS
Joc Pederson, CF
A.J. Ellis, C
Ross Stripling, P
Carl Crawford, LF
Yasiel Puig, RF
Justin Turner, 3B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Chase Utley, 2B
Kiké Hernandez, SS
Joc Pederson, CF
A.J. Ellis, C
Ross Stripling, P
By Jon Weisman
The Dodgers are down to two left-handers in their Major League bullpen after optioning Adam Liberatore to the minors following the team’s 5-4 victory Monday over Texas.
The question now is, will they go down to one?
Since we last checked in on the bullpen, it has been whittled in predictable fashion, leaving the following:
[mlbvideo id=”565381383″ width=”550″ height=”308″ /]
Reds at Dodgers, 1:05 p.m.
Carl Crawford, LF
Trayce Thompson, CF
Chase Utley, 3B
Scott Van Slyke, RF
A.J. Ellis, C
Rob Segedin, 1B
Austin Barnes, 2B
Charlie Culberson, SS
Kenta Maeda, P
Carl Crawford, LF
Trayce Thompson, CF
Chase Utley, 3B
Scott Van Slyke, RF
A.J. Ellis, C
Rob Segedin, 1B
Austin Barnes, 2B
Charlie Culberson, SS
Kenta Maeda, P
By Jon Weisman
I hope you don’t have to read a tougher story than this today: Former Dodger reliever Javy Guerra spoke to J.P. Hoornstra of the Daily News about the twin horrors of losing his brother and sister in the past two years.
Here’s what’s happening around the Dodgers …
- Zach Lee held serve in his challenge with Carlos Frias to start in the first week of the 2016 season. In the Dodgers’ 5-4 victory Saturday over the White Sox, Lee (pitching 4 2/3 innings) got two more outs than Frias, but allowed two more runs. Oddly, Lee had no walks or strikeouts.
- Wrote Ken Gurnick of MLB.com: “Some will speculate that because Frias faced the Giants recently, Lee will get that first start, rather than have Frias face the same hitters again. San Francisco’s lineup Friday night included Buster Posey, Hunter Pence and Brandon Crawford.”
- Under the radar, Kiké Hernandez (hit by a pitch near his oblique Sunday), Alex Guerrero (knee) and Yimi Garcia (knee) have gone days without playing as they try to let various sore spots heal.
- However, Gurnick indicates that Corey Seager is nearing a return to Major League action after playing defense in a minor-league game Saturday.
- Scott Kazmir’s abdominal issues weren’t abominable – it turns out, they were cramps.
- Prospect watchers got a thrill when 20-year-old Cody Bellinger and 21-year-old Willie Calhoun hit back-to-back home runs in the sixth inning off MLB veteran Dan Jennings. Each player reached base twice in the game.
- Justin Turner walked, doubled and singled in his three plate appearances, and now has a Cactus League on-base percentage in the .700 club.
- Play-by-play announcer Joe Davis is not only spending his first season with the Dodgers in 2016, he and his wife Libby are having their first baby this summer. Congrats!
- It was Dodger Pride night Saturday at Staples Center with the Kings.
Yasmani Grandal homers March 18 against Arizona.
Dodgers at Indians, 7:05 p.m.
Joc Pederson, CF
Yasiel Puig, RF
Justin Turner, 3B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Scott Van Slyke, DH
A.J. Ellis C
Kiké Hernandez, SS
Elian Herrera, 2B
Trayce Thompson, LF
(Clayton Kershaw, P)
Update: Howie Kendrick was scratched shortly before first pitch with left calf tightness and is day to day.
Joc Pederson, CF
Yasiel Puig, RF
Justin Turner, 3B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Scott Van Slyke, DH
A.J. Ellis C
Kiké Hernandez, SS
Elian Herrera, 2B
Trayce Thompson, LF
(Clayton Kershaw, P)
Update: Howie Kendrick was scratched shortly before first pitch with left calf tightness and is day to day.
By Jon Weisman
Yasmani Grandal will remain out of the Dodger lineup until at least Sunday, Dave Roberts told reporters today.
An MRI showed no muscle damage in Grandal’s sorearm, tweeted Eric Stephen of True Blue L.A., but the Dodgers are taking a precautionary approach with their starting catcher, who told SportsNet LA’s Alanna Rizzo that if it were up to him, he would play.
Of course, it became apparent toward the end of last season that Grandal is pretty much the Black Knight when it comes to pain tolerance. Today, Bill Plunkett of the Register noted that Grandal caught Kenta Maeda’s bullpen session, though he let another catcher throw the ball back to the mound.
Grandal has played in eight Cactus League games, with his most recent start coming Sunday.
Here are some other pregame notes:
- Andre Ethier won’t be allowed to put any weight on his fractured right leg for six weeks, according to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com.
- Corey Seager batted in a minor-league game today, going 0 for 4. He did not play defense in the game.
- In his third inning of a minor-league game today, Cuban pitching prospect Yadier Alvarez was clocked by two scouts at 100 mph, said J.P. Hoornstra of the Daily News.
- National columnist Peter Gammons has an extended piece on the Dodgers at GammonsDaily.
- Fangraphs writer Dave Cameron addresses concerns that the Dodgers aren’t taking Clayton Kershaw’s prime seriously enough.
- On Saturday, the Kings will host Dodgers Pride Night at 7 p.m. at Staples Center. Fans are invited to purchase a ticket package that includes a ticket to the game and a commemorative Dodgers Pride Night long-sleeve shirt that will be redeemed at the game. Visit lakings.com/dodgers for more details.
