Rick Honeycutt – Dodger Thoughts

Pitching coach Rick Honeycutt visits Carlos Frias at the mound during a May 24 game. (Jill Weisleder/Los Angeles Dodgers)

By Jon Weisman

As a rookie manager who neither pitched nor caught in his big-league career, Dave Roberts will be scrutinized for every move he makes with the Dodger pitching staff. (I know — I could have just begun, “As a manager.”)

Today, Roberts spoke about his approach will be, and how he will use pitching coach Rick Honeycutt and bench coach Bob Geren as resources.

Dodgers name coaches for 2016

By Jon Weisman

On December 17, 2015

In Coaching, Transactions

Juan Castro making a play on July 9, 2009 at Citi Field. (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Juan Castro makes a play next to a sliding Alex Cora on July 9, 2009 at Citi Field. (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

By Jon Weisman

We’ve got the names of next year’s Dodger coaches, and all but two will be new to their positions in Los Angeles.

Joining pitching coach Rick Honeycutt and catching instructor Steve Yeager with the Dodgers will be Bob Geren as bench coach, Turner Ward as hitting coach, George Lombard as first-base coach, Chris Woodward as third base coach, Josh Bard as bullpen coach, Tim Hyers as assistant hitting coach and good ol’ Juan Castro — who started the Dodgers’ first triple play in Los Angeles on June 15, 1996 — in the newly created position of quality assurance coach.

Here’s more on everyone joining the staff, from the Dodgers’ public relations department:

In case you missed it: Be there or Bedard

By Jon Weisman

On March 4, 2015

In In case you missed it

#DodgersST.

A post shared by Los Angeles Dodgers (@dodgers) on Mar 4, 2015 at 8:19pm PST

By Jon Weisman

I’m knee-deep in the 2015 Dodger Yearbook and April 2015 Dodger Insider magazine — you’re going to like what you see in both.

Now, let’s finish off today …

Juan Nicasio received some nice compliments from his former team in Colorado — specifically Rockies manager Walt Weiss and general manager Jeff Bridich — via J.P. Hoornstra of the Daily News.
Erik Bedard told Ken Gurnick of MLB.com that he would accept a minor-league assignment out of Spring Training. That stands in contrast to Alex Guerrero, but of course, their contracts are structured quite differently — with Bedard on a minor-league deal to begin with — so it’s an apples-to-different-kind-of-apples comparison.
Brett Anderson threw to actual hitters for the first time in more than six months today, pitching two simulated innings and remaining on track to make a Cactus League start Monday. Eric Stephen of True Blue L.A. has more.
By the way, Mike Bolsinger will start Saturday, while Brandon McCarthy will start Sunday, as Gurnick notes.
Juan Uribe likes the idea of winning a World Series every five years, given his past titles in 2005 with the White Sox and 2010 with the Giants, writes Dylan Hernandez of the Times.
Former Red Sox pitcher Bruce Hurst is now the Dodgers’ field coordinator of their Campo Las Palmas academy in the Dominican Republic, reports Gurnick.
Dan Haren has adjusted to becoming a Miami Marlin, writes Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.
Rick Honeycutt is among the principals in this story by Matthew Kory at Vice about the “Dad Hat.”

A Happier 9/11

By Jon Weisman

On September 11, 2014

In History

Every year at Dodger Thoughts, I would run this remembrance of the September 11, 1983 game at Dodger Stadium that was, at least until 2006’s 4+1 game (four homers in the ninth, one on the 10th), the most incredible game in Dodger Stadium history. (It’s amazing to me that the story itself is now 11 years old.)

Here is a link to the story.

— Jon Weisman

From the magazine: The quirks that work

By Jon Weisman

On August 21, 2014

In Pitching

Wanted to share this fun feature by Cary Osborne from the August edition of Dodger Insider magazine that looks at the oddities in the pitching motions for such Dodgers as Clayton Kershaw and J.P. Howell. Click on each image below to enlarge the pages.

— Jon Weisman