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By Jon Weisman
Well, Alex Guerrero slowed a glimpse of his potential here.
Category: Uncategorized (Page 15 of 63)
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Dodgers vs. Reds, 6:05 p.m.
Dee Gordon, CF
Carl Crawford, DH
Yasiel Puig, RF
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Juan Uribe, 3B
Joc Pederson, LF
Alex Guerrero, 2B
Tim Federowicz, C
Miguel Rojas, SS
(Hyun-Jin Ryu, P)
Dee Gordon, CF
Carl Crawford, DH
Yasiel Puig, RF
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Juan Uribe, 3B
Joc Pederson, LF
Alex Guerrero, 2B
Tim Federowicz, C
Miguel Rojas, SS
(Hyun-Jin Ryu, P)
By Jon Weisman
I keep risking a jinx, but 60 innings into the exhibition season, the Dodgers haven’t allowed a home run. They’re the only team that hasn’t been taken yard in 2014.
The shot that Joc Pederson flagged down in the video above wouldn’t have been a home run, but it’s about as far as anyone has hit one against Los Angeles so far. Let’s see what happens in the Dodgers’ first night game.
- Scheduled to follow Hyun-Jin Ryu to the mound today are Jose Dominguez, Javy Guerra, Matt Magill, Paco Rodriguez and Carlos Frias.
- Ross Stripling had to have arthroscopic surgery today before he can have his Tommy John surgery on a future date. Ken Gurnick has details at MLB.com.
- Zack Greinke threw off a mound today for the first time since injuring his calf February 27, Gurnick reports.
- And to complete a Gurnick hat trick, a nice feature providing some welcome background on Dodger pitching prospect Red Patterson. Check it out.
- Spring Training stats: All-glove, no-hit Miguel Rojas is batting .444 and fielding .895.
- Former Dodger Trent Oeltjen will play for Team Australia in the March 20 exhibition against the Dodgers in Sydney, notes Eric Stephen of True Blue L.A.
- Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale are pictured during their 1966 holdout with David Janssen on the set of the movie “Warning Shot” in a post by Scott Harrison at Framework.
- Peter Gammons has a long piece on the 2014 Dodgers at Gammons Daily.
- Eric Gagne is managing the Team France baseball team that began a five-game Cactus League tour with an exhibition game today against Dodger minor leaguers.
- Today in 1961 primary source material on the Dodgers at Ernest Reyes’ Blue Heaven: Gil Hodges.
Brian Wilson told @alannarizzo “he thinks he’s going to be in the bigs throwing a knuckleball successfully about the age of 50.” #Dodgers
— Dodger Insider (@DodgerInsider) March 5, 2014
By Jon Weisman
It was 10 years ago this July that a 23-year-old prospect with three games of Major League experience was involved in a blockbuster trade that included one of the greatest shortstops of his generation.
Now, they’re both in the world of the Dodgers.
July 31, 2004
As part of a 4-team trade: The Boston Red Sox sent Nomar Garciaparra and Matt Murton to the Chicago Cubs. The Minnesota Twins sent Doug Mientkiewicz to the Boston Red Sox. The Montreal Expos sent Orlando Cabrera to the Boston Red Sox. The Chicago Cubs sent Francis Beltran, Alex Gonzalez and Brendan Harris to the Montreal Expos. The Chicago Cubs sent Justin Jones (minors) to the Minnesota Twins.
Garciaparra, of course, later became the Dodgers’ 4+1 hero and is now a SportsNet LA and KLAC AM 570 analyst. Harris, who signed with the Dodgers in November, is one of the crew vying for time in the Dodger infield.
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With Beltran and Gonzalez, Harris was in the last group of Major Leaguers to be acquired by the Expos before they would become the Washington Nationals. The Dodgers would be Harris’ seventh-major league team if he makes the active roster at any point. In 1,876 plate appearances over eight seasons, Harris has a .314 on-base percentage while slugging .381. He peaked in 2007 with Tampa Bay, going .343/.434 in 576 plate appearances with 12 homers.
Among other claims to fame, Harris was the last MLB batter to hit in the Metrodome in Minneapolis, making the final out in Game 3 of the 2009 American League Division Series for the Twins against the Yankees.
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By the way, in case you’re wondering what the Dodgers were doing on July 31, 2004, they were trading Reggie Abercrombie, Koyie Hill and Bill Murphy for Brent Mayne, Steve Finley and the 2004 National League West title.
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By Jon Weisman
As the warmup period for Spring Training comes to a close and the Dodgers embark upon 21 games in the next 19 days before leaving for Australia, I thought this would be a good time to thank official Dodger photographer Jon SooHoo — whose blog you should be checking out daily — for serving as our eyes into Camelback Ranch.
I’d also like to pay tribute to just some of those Dodgers who have been among SooHoo’s best subjects in February, regularly cropping up in distinctive images. In alphabetical order:
- Dee Gordon
- Alex Guerrero
- Sandy Koufax
- Yasiel Puig
Here are the links to SooHoo’s photos since pitchers and catchers reported. Click over and let us know which are your favorite shots and subjects from Spring Training so far:
February 7
February 8
February 9
February 10
February 11
February 12
February 13
February 14
February 15
February 16
February 17
February 18
February 19
February 20
February 21
February 22
February 23
February 24
February 25
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By Jon Weisman
Day 2 of the Dodgers’ pair o’ pre-preseason intrasquad showdowns ended in a 0-0 tie at Camelback Ranch.
There was a big near-blow in today’s three-inning affair, but appropriately, it was for naught.
Joc Pederson reached above the short fence in RF to rob Andre Ethier of a possible 2-run HR. #Dodgers
— J.P. Hoornstra (@jphoornstra) February 24, 2014
Chris Reed faced the minimum in his two innings of work, allowing one hit (to Pederson) while notching a double-play grounder from Carl Crawford and strikeouts of Yasiel Puig and Scott Van Slyke. Dan Haren also pitched two shutout innings, while Paco Rodriguez and Jamey Wright each contributed a frame. Adrian Gonzalez, Nick Buss and J.C. Boscan (with a double) also had hits.
A couple of excerpts from Hoornstra’s notebook:
- Gonzalez was picked off second base on an excellent throw by catcher Drew Butera.
- The unofficial pitch count for Gordon’s first at-bat against Haren: 12. It was long. Gordon struck out on his final swing.
For more photos from today at Camelback, visit Jon SooHoo’s Photog Blog.
By Jon Weisman
Jim Fregosi, the former MLB All-Star and manager who passed away at age 71, is probably best known for his time with the Angels — but because of the time he was with the Angels, he spent the beginnings of his Major League career at Dodger Stadium.
Fregosi was an expansion selection from Boston by the newly formed Los Angeles Angels, who were tenants of Dodger Stadium a year later when it opened in 1962.
Among other things, Fregosi on September 19 that year hit Dodger Stadium’s first inside-the-park homer. That and other good information is captured by Mark Armour at the SABR Baseball Biography Project:
… Fregosi started his career at about 6-feet and 175 pounds, but he was 6-2, 195 within a few years. With his size came strength and more power. In his first full season, the 21-year-old hit .287 with nine home runs, 12 triples, and 29 doubles. This was in the middle of a very difficult time for hitters, and Fregosi was playing in the pitcher-friendly Dodger Stadium; he hit .315 with six home runs in his road games. “It is absolutely amazing the way Fregosi has improved week to week,” raved Rigney near the end of the season.
In 1964 Fregosi had a breakout season and became a recognized star. In 147 games, he hit .277 with 18 home runs and 9 triples. These were excellent numbers in the 1960s, especially for a middle infielder in a pitcher’s park. He was selected (by his fellow players) to start the All-Star game, held that year at New York’s Shea Stadium. As the game’s leadoff batter, he singled off the Dodgers’ Don Drysdale, and went on to play the entire game. On July 28 he hit for the cycle, backing Dean Chance’s two-hitter and 3-1 victory over the Yankees. …
… “The kid is one of those exceptional athletes who has everything going for him,” said Rigney. “He has speed, size, strength, desire and intelligence. He can be the best. It’s all up to him.” He had come far already, thought Detroit star Al Kaline, who called him “the best shortstop in baseball.” Ernie Banks, former star shortstop for the Cubs, now a first baseman, said, “he’s one of the few who might be able to hit .400 some year.” Playing for a team out of contention, it took a bit longer for the general public to catch on. “If Jim Fregosi played for the Los Angeles Dodgers instead of the Los Angeles Angels,” thought one writer (Frank Deford), “the city would cast his footprint or his gloveprint or something in cement outside of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.” …
The President of the Booth flanked by the Presidents of the #Dodgers and TWC Sports: pic.twitter.com/g9iRs74zYM
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) February 11, 2014
By Jon Weisman
It’s tough to steal a show that features Vin Scully, but during tonight’s Town Hall at Dodger Stadium for season-ticket holders, Dodger president and CEO Stan Kasten did his very best.
When one transistor-toting fan asked why there was a delay between the game action and Scully’s call on the radio, Kasten was quick with a zing.
“The delay is there for a reason,” Kasten said, “and it’s because we never know what Vin is going to say.”
While Kasten might have had the night’s funniest line, Scully might have had both the most heartwarming and also the boldest.
Heartwarming: “It’s nice to be a bridge (for generations of fans), not a toll bridge, not a bridge that has a traffic jam. I’d like to be that bridge for a little bit longer, God willing.”
As you try to read into those tea leaves (I have no insight into them), here’s the bold:
“Tonight,” Scully said, “I really have the feeling we are beginning one of the great stretch runs in the history of the Dodgers.”
Scully explained the latter remark in a couple of ways, most entertainingly in his telling of the story of the Dodger ownership transfer in 1925. Listen here:
Later, Scully characterized the level of dedication that he felt the current leadership brought to the Dodgers.
“You know the definition of dedicated?” Scully asked. “There’s two men; they’re partners in a clothing company, and one goes to Rome and has an audience with the Pope, and he comes back, and his partner says, ‘What kind of a guy is the Pope?’ And the other guy says, ‘He’s a 44 regular.’ ”
For his part, Kasten – who indicated that he was ready for fans and the media to stop referring to the current ownership as “the new ownership,” as opposed to just “the ownership” – said Dodger fans had every right to expect as much.
“We didn’t have to reinvent the wheel,” Kasten said. “We just had to restore the Dodgers. We knew what we wanted – what we always were.”
“We’re the Dodgers. We’re supposed to contend every year. And I believe that’s what we’re going to do this year.”
Orel Hershiser, who joined new SportsNet LA teammates Nomar Garciaparra, John Hartung, Alanna Rizzo and Charley Steiner (along with a number of Time Warner Cable Sports executives) at tonight’s event, talked about how much the approach meant to him and his fellow Dodger alumni. Listen:
There was a lot of patting on the back tonight, much of it from the season-ticket holders who asked questions for the final 20 minutes of the program, but Kasten was questioned on the topic of paperless tickets. He said the team was prepared to deal with everyone’s issues.
“Like all new things, there’s going to be a period of time when people struggle with it,” Kasten said. “Every time so far that we have gotten on the phone and talked them through their questions, there’s going to be a very high acceptance factor. … Two or three years from now, we’re all going to be wondering what took us so long.”
Kasten also offered snippets on other topics. A sampling:
- Another player acquisition: “We have 59 players in camp. There’s going to be one more coming. Nothing I can say about that just yet. I’ll let the media go crazy with that.”
- The Australia trip: “We have so many resources to deal with problems, to deal with preparation, and so much planning, that the only downside we have is people using it as an excuse. And we won’t accept excuses.”
- Improved wi-fi: “For the second consecutive year, I’ve been promised it’s going to be here on Opening Day. This year I’m kind of sure we’re going to have it on Opening Day.”
"I don't know about you, but I am starving for baseball!" -Vin Scully pic.twitter.com/AWVIqs1AMn
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) February 1, 2014
By Jon Weisman
If you were at FanFest today at Dodger Stadium, here’s what you didn’t miss, courtesy of Twitter and Instagram:
By Jon Weisman
Some would call the most important information known to man. Others, less enlightened, might call it trivia. Either way, in the 2013 regular season, it is a fact that Adrian Gonzalez had …
- … a .985 OPS (.444 on-base percentage, .541 slugging percentage) batting cleanup in his first 17 games of the season — but despite reaching base 32 times, scored only three runs.
- … a .940 OPS (.351/.589) when he swung at the first pitch of an at-bat, despite only two walks in 185 plate appearances. By comparison, Yasiel Puig had a .927 OPS in the 187 times he swung at the first pitch of an at-bat.
- … 18 homers in 400 at-bats against right-handed pitching, compared with four in 183 at-bats against lefties – but delivered more doubles against lefties (17) than righties (15).
- … an .835 OPS at Dodger Stadium in 315 plate appearances. In 2007, while with San Diego, Gonzalez went 2 for 38 in Los Angeles.
- … the same OPS in August as he did in September: .772. And that includes wrapping up the regular season with a .945 OPS in his final 22 games.
- … a line of 6 for 11 with two doubles as a designated hitter or pinch-hitter.
- … runs in nine consecutive road games from July 10-August 2.
- … 14 home runs in 285 plate appearances after pitchers got first-pitch strikes, compared with six home runs in 283 plate appearances after first-pitch balls.
- … a 1.099 OPS in the seventh inning and a .461 OPS in the eighth inning.
- … eight infield hits, four more than Zack Greinke.
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By Jon Weisman
Hall of Fame broadcaster Jaime Jarrín was presented with the Art Gilmore Career Achievement Award from the Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters at a luncheon held in Studio City. Vin Scully made the presentation, which you can see in this lovely video above celebrating Jarrin.
The upcoming season on KTNQ 1020 AM will be Jarrin’s 56th with the Dodgers, the second-longest tenure in MLB history behind Scully.
Hank Aaron and Tommy Lasorda (Photos by Juan Ocampo/Los Angeles Dodgers)
Lasorda with former Dodgers executive Tommy Hawkins
By Jon Weisman
Tommy Lasorda provided one of the funnier moments at the 11th annual “In the Spirit of the Game” fundraiser for the Professional Baseball Scouts Foundation on Saturday. Ken Gurnick of MLB.com has the coverage from the fundraiser for the foundation, which raises funds for baseball scouts in need. Dennis Gilbert heads the foundation.
… Special presentations were made by motion picture and television stars Jason Alexander and Michael Keaton, while one of the funnier moments was provided by Dodgers Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda, who painstakingly presented the Managerial Award named for him to Bruce Bochy of the rival Giants.
“For me, to give him this award, something is wrong with this dinner tonight,” Lasorda joked.
“Thank you, Tommy,” said Bochy. “You were my great, great, great grandmother’s favorite manager.” …
Hank Aaron, pictured above with Lasorda, was presented with the Executive Leadership Award.
Actor Jason Alexander, in George Costanza-esque Yankees jersey, opens up the program.
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By Jon Weisman
My never-ending, fruitless quest to get people to say “Nomonia” instead of “Nomomania” aside, here’s a nice video tribute from the Dodgers to the newly crowned Japanese Baseball Hall of Famer, Hideo Nomo.
It’s a tremendous honor, and I was so happy to see it. Even though I rationalized why Nomo was almost completely shut out in the recent Cooperstown balloting, a big part of me felt his importance to the game was being understated. But this new recognition feels wonderfully appropriate and fulfilling.
I can still remember the joyful surprise of that first Nomo season. Before it began, you weren’t sure he would be able to stay in the big leagues at all, and then suddenly, he was racking up strikeouts on a pace with the greatest in baseball history.
I can also remember the tough times, when his arm was failing him and the struggles began, and then his resiliency as he battled back, before finally giving way for good. His ERAs and adjusted ERA as a Dodger:
2.54, 149 (1995)
3.19, 122 (1996)
4.25, 91 (1997)
5.05, 80 (1998)
3.39, 112 (2002)
3.09, 131 (2003)
8.25, 50 (2004)
Pitching is a crazy game.
Below, some statements from the Dodger family, present and past.
“The Los Angeles Dodgers congratulate Hideo Nomo on his election to the Japanese Hall of Fame,” said Dodger President and CEO Stan Kasten. “‘Nomomania’ was a very special time for Dodger fans in the United States and internationally. He had a great career both in Japan and the United States, and that’s quite evident by the overwhelming voter support Hideo received in gaining entrance on the first ballot.”
“I am so happy and proud to learn of Hideo Nomo’s election to the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame — he is truly a Hall of Famer,” added Tommy Lasorda, who managed Nomo during his first two MLB seasons in 1995-96. “When he came to the Dodgers in 1995, I remember taking him under my wing like a son and helping him with the transition. He was quite a pitcher and competitor, but he is also a very special and caring person. The Dodger fans loved him and it became the start of ‘Nomomania’ in Los Angeles and Japan. Hideo, on behalf of the Dodger organization, congratulations on this prestigious honor. We wish you and your wonderful family many happy and healthy years.”
Former Dodger owner Peter O’Malley sent this message to Nomo: “Congratulations, Hideo, I am very happy for you. You deserve this extraordinary recognition by the Baseball Hall of Fame. Ever since we first met in 1995, I have admired your professionalism and courage facing baseball’s finest hitters. Everyone in the Dodger organization respected you. You are a pioneer and have opened the door for others to follow you in Major League Baseball. Well done.”
Postscript: For those who have forgotten, the unusual boxscore of Nomo’s MLB debut.
