By Jon Weisman
Though the legendary Sandy Koufax no longer has a formal role with the Dodgers, as Ken Gurnick of MLB.com writes, that doesn’t mean he can’t stop by Camelback Ranch for a nice hello.
Category: In case you missed it (Page 3 of 12)
Dave Roberts speaks to the team today during first full-squad meeting of the year.
By Jon Weisman
On the day TMZ rumored that Yasiel Puig was getting the world’s greatest helicopter, the Dodger outfielder’s chopper concerns were much more down to earth. Like so many of us have, Puig went through the rite of passage of having his wisdom teeth removed after going to the emergency dental care center on Tuesday.
According to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com, Puig’s jaw remained swollen today. It’s hoped he’ll return to baseball activity Friday.
Rise and shine. #DodgersST pic.twitter.com/UZCJZUD5qo
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) February 25, 2016
Meanwhile, sink your pearly whites into these morsels…
Soon. #DodgersST#LADProductions pic.twitter.com/zsfTvckgxA
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) February 24, 2016
By Jon Weisman
The full Dodger squad, minus newly signed Yaisel Sierra, fell into place on what appeared to be a beautiful day a Camelback Ranch. Here’s the latest news and notes …
- There’s few Spring Training pieces more timely than a systematic look at what went wrong for Joc Pederson in the second half of 2015. Bill Plunkett of the Register talked to Pederson and several people within the Dodger organization for his story.
- Chase Utley’s hard edge as a competitor doesn’t leave much room for friendships with rivals, but when he’s on your side, there are few better, according to this profile by Andy McCullough of the Times. “I went from being scared to death of him,” A.J. Ellis said, “to loving being his teammate.”
- New special assistant to president of baseball operations Greg Maddux is spending all of Spring Training at Camelback, writes Ken Gurnick of MLB.com. Before taking that position, Maddux received an inquiry from his former Braves colleague, Dodger president and CEO Stan Kasten, about whether he might want to be part of the Dodger managerial search last fall.
- Eric Gagne is also at Camelback as a guest instrutor, notes Gurnick.
- The Dodgers said it earlier this winter, after the trade with the Reds and White Sox that did not bring Todd Frazier to Los Angeles, but today it was reiterated by Dave Roberts that the team plans for Justin Turner to remain at third base and Corey Seager at shortstop in 2016, rather than moving around the diamond. Kiké Hernandez is currently the backup shortstop.
- Eric Stephen of True Blue L.A. has a humorous recap of Brandon McCarthy’s throwing session today.
- MLB is hosting an its annual Honorary Bat Girl Contest, “which will recognize one fan from each MLB club who has been affected by breast cancer and has demonstrated a commitment to battling the disease.” Dodger pitcher Scott Kazmir will be one of the guest judges. Entries are being taken through April 14. Click for more details.
- How does the Dodger video production team set up shop at Camelback? Very quickly, and with lots of hashtags …
Jose De Leon with Julio Urias on Saturday.
By Jon Weisman
In his story on Julio Urias today for MLB.com, Jesse Sanchez presents a couple of bold March options for the teenage left-hander. I’m not sure how viable either are, but let Sanchez set it up for you …
There could come a time this spring when Dodgers pitching prospect Julio Urias will have to make a big decision: suit up for Mexico in the World Baseball Classic qualifying round next month in Mexicali, Mexico, or stay in Arizona and pitch for a spot with Los Angeles.
The 19-year-old pitcher already knows what he’ll do if the situation arises.
“My first choice would be to be here with the Dodgers and see if there is an opportunity for me here,” Urias said in Spanish. “I prefer to be with the Dodgers. But at the same time, I would enjoy being with the Mexican team.” …
Not even Clayton Kershaw made his pitching debut with the Dodgers in the month of April, so when you talk about Urias trying to “pitch for a spot with Los Angeles,” one assumes that’s a long-term goal. As for the WBC, Urias doesn’t have any specific reason to believe he would go.
“I’ve heard I appeared on a list, but nobody has said anything to me,” Urias said. “Adrian [Gonzalez] is here and his brother is the manager, so I don’t know what my status is there. I would love to do it, but it’s also up to Mexico to choose me.”
Perhaps the main takeaway from Sanchez’s story might be that Urias, who has rated as mature for his age even since the Dodgers signed him in 2012, continues to progress.
“In talking to people that were here in years prior, he’s got a different look in his eye,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “He’s got that confidence where he’s no longer this young kid with a blessed arm. Right now, he feels that at the Major League level, there is a real opportunity to make an impact, and that’s a good thing.”
Elsewhere in the world of the Dodgers and baseball …
Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers
By Jon Weisman
It’s a long season as you know, and the Dodgers can benefit tremendously from the return of Hyun-Jin Ryu, even if he’s not on the active roster Opening Day.
So it’s all good that Ryu had a strong bullpen session today, as Ken Gurnick of MLB.com writes …
For more images from today, visit the Dodgers Photog Blog.
By Jon Weisman
Let’s recap the first Saturday of Spring Training …
For more photos from today, visit the Dodgers Photog Blog.
By Jon Weisman
Hey! It’s that day!
With today’s “pitchers and catchers reporting” day arriving, it’s time to bring back our regular roundup of relevant news on the Dodgers and baseball. Here’s what’s percolating on the Camelback campus …
- Hyun-Jin Ryu, pictured above with Kenta Maeda, had a 35-pitch bullpen session Thursday. He is expected to pitch in the Cactus League but is not being rushed to be ready for the opening of the regular season, wrote Andy McCullough of the Times in his roundup.
- Maeda, who met with a gaggle of reporters this morning, has thrown two bullpen sessions already and all is normal, according to Bill Plunkett of the Register.
- Yasmani Grandal is under no limitations now that his left shoulder has healed from surgery, according to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com.
- Andre Ethier’s jersey is being retired by Arizona State tonight. Ethier and his wife Maggie were both already inducted into the Sun Devil Athletics Hall of Fame in 2014.
- Frankie Montas’ stress fracture in rib “was less severe than thoracic outlet syndrome,” notes Alanna Rizzo of SportsNet LA. Montas broached it with Dodger trainers last month after it persisted, Rizzo said.
- On a brighter side, Rizzo added that Justin Turner has “hit every checkpoint” in his recovery from microfracture surgery.
- Trayce Thompson watched his brother Klay at the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, then went to Arizona on Monday, according to Doug Padilla of ESPN. (Update: Padilla has more on Grandal here.)
- Fellow White Sox emigré Micah Johnson needed a few stitches after cutting his hand while slicing an avocado, and will need a few days to heal, reported Plunkett. For his part, Johnson tweeted that he had “the last laugh.”
- Andrew Friedman has taken to calling Dave Roberts “Doc,” according to Eric Stephen of True Blue L.A. For you trivia buffs, the new Doc Roberts was born almost exactly 75 years after “Fiddlin'” Doc Roberts.
- The Uribear, Juan Uribe, has agreed to a one-year contract with the Indians.
- Tony Phillips, who seemed perpetually underrated to me, has passed away all too soon at age 56, as chronicled by Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.
- And one more item from Thursday: Brandon McCarthy took Clayton Kershaw to task for misunderstanding the fundamentals of offseason training. But it’s possible there’s been a misunderstanding …
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By Jon Weisman
During the day Monday, Adrian Gonzalez was named the Dodgers’ nominee for the 2015 Roberto Clemente Award, which honors “a player who best represents the game through positive contributions on and off the field, including sportsmanship and community involvement.”
Lately, Gonzalez has needed to display a great deal of sportsmanship alongside athleticism to come away foul balls. First there was the one in Chicago involving a Wrigley Field fan holding a baby. Then came Monday night’s fifth-inning foul ball, which Gonzalez caught despite a Boston-capped fan nearly tearing Gonzalez’s glove off.
Gonzalez not only came away triumphant on that play, he made a nifty defensive stab to record the final out of the Dodgers’ 4-1 victory over the Rockies.
Clayton Kershaw won the award in 2012, and Jimmy Rollins shared the honor with Paul Konerko in 2014.
Here are some other bits and bunts …
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- Chef Dave Pearson, who passed away Saturday, received a tribute Monday before the National Anthem.
- According to Stats LLC (via the Dodgers’ public relations department), the Dodgers’ 35-10 (.778) record in home games decided by three or fewer runs is currently the second-best in MLB history, behind only the 1953 Brooklyn Dodgers (35-9, .795).
- Called upon to save Monday’s game with Kenley Jansen requiring a day off, Chris Hatcher did the trick, lowering his ERA to 1.35 since coming off the disabled list August 15. In 13 1/3 innings, he has struck out 16 and allowed 13 baserunners.
- Yasmani Grandal ended his 0-for-36 (with eight walks) slump Monday with two hits, which themselves followed a sacrifice fly.
- Fan voting has begun for the Esurance MLB Awards. Dodger nominees include Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw for Best Major Leaguer and Best Starting Pitcher (Kershaw won both in 2014), and Joc Pederson for Best Rookie. Many more categories will follow between now and when voting ends November 13. (Five different groups of voters — fans, members of the baseball media, club front-office personnel, former MLB players and Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) members — each count for 20 percent of the total.) T
- The Institute for Baseball Studies is presenting, “The Dodgers Come to Los Angeles: Politics and Pennants in Paradise,” featuring Andy McCue and Wes Parker, at 7:00 p.m. September 27 at Villalobos Hall on the campus of Whittier College.
- Justin Turner, nominated for the Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award last week, is now a finalist, representing the National League West. Kershaw won last year.
- I’ve seen some hard foul balls in my time, but I’m amazed this one Monday didn’t do some real damage to someone.
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By Jon Weisman
My wife has been perpetually perplexed that to her ears, I pronounce the word “ketchup” as if it were “catchup.” So with that in mind, let’s ketchup on some Dodger news …
Jill Weisleder/LA Dodgers
By Jon Weisman
Dodger Insider is going to be quiet most of the weekend for family events. Hope to return to victory celebrations!
— Dodger Insider (@DodgerInsider) August 15, 2015
Well, that worked. Three games away, three victories in the books. And a nice opportunity to celebrate them, with an off day today and Clayton Kershaw on the mound at Oakland on Tuesday.
Let me take this opportunity to tie a bunch of loose ends together …
- With 13 innings of one-run ball last week (14 baserunners, 14 strikeouts), Zack Greinke managed to reassert control in the National League Cy Young Award race, even as Kershaw threw eight shutout innings of his own.
- Could Greinke, whose adjusted ERA (in an MLB-leading 165 1/3 innings) is the best in baseball since Pedro Martinez in 2000, follow Kershaw as a Most Valuable Player? The award remains Bryce Harper’s to lose, and though the Nationals have slumped terribly, Harper (.415 on-base percentage in August) isn’t to blame. I don’t believe that MVP contention should be tied to a team’s record, but for those voters who do, Greinke’s top competition if the Nationals disappear would probably be San Francisco’s Buster Posey.
- Would most people be surprised to find that the Dodgers are on pace for a record number of home victories? Los Angeles is playing .677 ball at Dodger Stadium, which would yield a 55-26 home record if that plays out over their final 19 games here. That would match the 1980 Dodgers in victories, but that team unfortunately lost home game No. 82, the one-game NL West playoff against the Astros.
- Looking for the next test? The Dodgers’ next two home series will be against NL playoff contenders Chicago (August 28-30) and San Francisco (August 31-September 2). The Dodgers have lost three home series all season, to the Cardinals, Giants and Mets.
- Since sitting out two of the three games against the Angels, Joc Pederson is hitting .167/.447/.400. In 47 plate appearances, he has two singles, a double, two homers, a hit-by-pitch, a sacrifice fly and 15 walks. There are worse things in the world from a No. 8 hitter than that, plus great defensive range.
- Yasiel Puig’s 10th homer of the year Saturday gave the Dodgers eight players with double-digit homers, their most since a team-record nine players in 2004. The Dodgers will need one more homer from Howie Kendrick when he comes off the disabled list to tie the record, but what about breaking it? Four more homers from Kiké Hernandez in the final 44 games of the season no longer seems like crazy talk.
- Carl Crawford’s OBP in August as a Dodger: .353 in 2013, .360 in 2014, .538 in 2015 (27 plate appearances).
- Dad-for-the-second-time Kenley Jansen’s four-out save Sunday was his first of 2015 and eighth of his career. He has never had a longer outing for a save. But in 34 outings of more than one inning in his career, Jansen’s ERA is 0.50 with 23 hits, 18 walks and 80 strikeouts in 54 innings.
- Jansen has entered 29 games with a lead this year, and the Dodgers have won them all. After his only blown save of 2015, when Arizona’s A.J. Pollock hit a ninth-inning solo homer June 10, Kendrick had a walkoff single in the bottom of the ninth.
Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers
Reds at Dodgers, 7:10 p.m.
Jimmy Rollins, SS
Kiké Hernandez, 2B
Justin Turner, 3B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Scott Van Slyke, LF
Yasiel Puig, RF
Yasmani Grandal, C
Joc Pederson, CF
Alex Wood, P
Jimmy Rollins, SS
Kiké Hernandez, 2B
Justin Turner, 3B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Scott Van Slyke, LF
Yasiel Puig, RF
Yasmani Grandal, C
Joc Pederson, CF
Alex Wood, P
By Jon Weisman
Juan Nicasio has been placed on the 15-day disabled list (retroactive to Aug. 10) with a left abdominal strain by the Dodgers, who have activated Chris Hatcher from the 60-day DL.
Carlos Frias, out since July 1, has been moved to the 60-day disabled list.
Nicasio has allowed 62 baserunners in 47 innings this season while striking out 52. Since allowing three runs on July 5 and again on July 7, the right-hander, who turns 29 at the end of the month, has allowed two runs in 11 innings (with 13 strikeouts) and stranded all three inherited runners.
Hatcher has allowed 31 baserunners in his 18 1/3 Dodger innings with 19 strikeouts.
Some other quick notes …
- Yasmani Grandal has been nursing a sore left (non-throwing) shoulder, but is back in the lineup tonight. Justin Turner also makes his first start since returning from the disabled list.
- Joc Pederson on Thursday hit his second homer since July 1. Mike Petriello looked at Pederson’s contact rates for MLB.com.
- Mat Latos spoke about his own struggles Thursday after a second consecutive subpar start. From Bill Plunkett of the Register:
“I just need to get back to pitching like me instead of trying to fool everybody, throw too many breaking pitches and so on and so forth,” Latos said. “Go look back at video and try to make some adjustments on how I used to pitch when I was getting outs.”
Latos could not say when that drift occurred and whether the change was in response to a gameplan devised by his new team, saying only that it has been “kind of like spring training all over again, trying to get used to a new team, get used to a new catcher.”
“I honestly can’t tell you,” he said. “I need to go back and look a couple years back when I was more fastball dominant, throwing more fastballs, locating better. I’ve gotten away from that and started throwing much more off-speed.
The next two days at Dodger Insider will be relatively quiet because of family events. Will catch up with you soon …
Tiffany Billingsley (left) has been quietly going through chemotherapy to beat a rare but aggressive form of cancer called gestational choriocarcinoma. (MLB.com)
Dodgers at Phillies, 10:05 a.m.
Jimmy Rollins, SS
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Yasmani Grandal, C
Andre Ethier, RF
Carl Crawford, LF
Alberto Callaspo, 3B
Joc Pederson, CF
Zack Greinke, P
Jimmy Rollins, SS
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Yasmani Grandal, C
Andre Ethier, RF
Carl Crawford, LF
Alberto Callaspo, 3B
Joc Pederson, CF
Zack Greinke, P
By Jon Weisman
Before the first of three midweek day games this month, followed by August 19 at Oakland and August 27 at Cincinnati, here is some quick news, led by a life-and-death story …
- Tiffany Billingsley, the wife of former Dodger pitcher Chad Billingsley, revealed this week that she had a major cancer scare this year but is now cancer-free, as Todd Zolecki reports in a harrowing piece for MLB.com.
- Jimmy Rollins has a .400 on-base percentage and .650 slugging percentage in his past 11 games, while Howie Kendrick is at .406/.600 in his past seven games.
- Zack Greinke has pitched at least seven innings in six consecutive games. Other than Clayton Kershaw, the last Dodger to do that was Hiroki Kuroda in 2010. (Kershaw pitched at least seven innings in 17 straight games last year.)
- If Greinke goes at least seven innings today without allowing more than two runs, that would be the longest streak of its kind by a Dodger since Tom Candiotti in 1995. The franchise record is 10 games by Don Sutton in 1976.
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By Jon Weisman
Some pregame news and notes for you …
- Walker Buehler, the Dodgers’ No. 1 choice in the 2015 draft, will have Tommy John surgery performed Wednesday by Dr. Neal ElAttrache.
- Justin Turner will spend some time at Camelback Ranch while recovering from his leg infection, Don Mattingly told reporters today. Turner is still not expected to miss more than 15 days.
- In their past 10 games in Philadelphia, the Dodgers have allowed 13 runs, according to the Dodgers’ public relations department.
- Same source (with help from Stats, LLC): The Dodgers have an extra-base hit in 95 straight road games, tied for the second-longest streak all-time behind the 2005-07 St. Louis Cardinals (127 games).
- Tonight’s starting pitcher, newly acquired Alex Wood, has a bit of a decline in strikeouts this year. Daniel Brim of Dodgers Digest did a deep dive and may have connected the dots with some shifts in Wood’s unorthodox delivery.
- Pedro Moura of the Register has more on Wood, including this:
Over the weekend, Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycutt watched Wood’s first bullpen session in awe.
“Some of his changeups were almost like splits that went almost straight down,” Honeycutt said. “I said to him, ‘Geez, that’s filthy.’”
“He goes, ‘Yeah.’”
- New Dodger reliever Jim Johnson, now on his fifth team in the past two seasons, spoke to Arash Markazi of ESPN.com about the travails of changing teams.
- Despite the presence of Adrian Beltre and, of late, Justin Turner, no MLB team has gone longer without an All-Star third baseman than the Dodgers, writes Miles Wray of the Hardball Times. Pedro Guerrero was the last, in 1983.
- Newly acquired injured pitcher Bronson Arroyo could play an indirect role in the Dodger postseason, even if he never throws a pitch, as Eric Stephen of True Blue L.A. explains.
- Major League Baseball Advanced Media has make a major deal to run the NHL’s TV and online video operations, as Todd Spangler of Variety notes. How BAM, as it’s known, became such a behemoth is explored by Ben Popper at the Verge.
- Adrian Gonzalez’s three-homer, 13-base game against the Padres in April is the top offensive performance by a player this year, according to Cliff Corcoran of SI.com.
- Kiké Hernandez and Yasiel Puig took up this year’s Ice Bucket Challenge on behalf of the Dodgers this year. Don’t worry — they did it over the Dodger Stadium grass, so the water was put to use.
- Funny stuff from Jason Bateman on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” the other night (via Blue Heaven) — watch below.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVBahpC9g-8]
By Jon Weisman
Good day, everyone. I’ve got a long buildup of links to share, and today’s off day provides the opportunity.
