Thursday, November 07, 2013

Blog Kiosk: 11/7/2013 - Dodgers Links - Dodgbers Scouting, Masahiro Tanaka, and Dodgers Talking Contract with Mattingly

(auction link)

Here is a vintage April 18, 1958 AP wire photo of the Dodgers welcome parade through the Streets of Los Angeles.  Coach Charley dressen and Manager Walter Alston are seen in the front car.  Photo via eBay.  More photos from this parade can be seen at the USC Digital Library, here.
At the time, the Dodgers weren’t just grabbing who they thought were the best players available. They also were rolling out a new philosophy.

“A little bit of both,” general manager Ned Colletti said. “When you have gaps in the system, you have to fill them.”

The gap Colletti was targeting was mature power pitchers with major league-ready speed. And really, what general manager wouldn’t want a system full of 22-year-old fireballers?
  • Via Mark Saxon at ESPN, "Five Dodger prospects on the cusp". - Alexander Guerrero, Joc Pederson, Onelki Garcia, Ross Stripling and Matt Magill.
  • Via Ramona Shelburne at ESPN, "Don Mattingly, Dodgers talking deal".
  • Via Brandon Lennox at True Blue LA, "AFL recap: Seager responds in grand fashion".
  • Colleen Kane at the Chicago Tribune writes, "Sox scout Pellant joining Dodgers".  Gary Pellant is noted for being the 2nd player in Baseball history to hit a home run from both sides of the plate in the same inning.  Here's a great article by Terry Nau at the Pawtucket Times about his life as a scout.  He'll fill a vacancy with the Dodgers that covered scouting of other professional clubs; i.e. scouting reports on teams playing the Dodgers next.  (Hat Tip: Tony Jackson at Dodger Scribe)
  • The Masahiro sweepstakes will be delayed.  Via Gen at Yakyubaka.com, "New posting system agreement to be delayed, Rakuten’s discussions with Tanaka also pushed back".  The Dodgers have been named as a potential destination for this Japanese pitcher.  He'll be pricey, but all indications are that he's worth it.
  • Via Dustin Nosler at Fellin' Kinda Blue, "Masahiro Tanaka scouting profile: He's good, and the Dodgers could use him".
Tanaka, 25, isn’t the next Yu Darvish. Darvish is an unquestioned ace and worth every penny the Texas Rangers paid for him. In hindsight, it was a really good deal. Tanaka is a younger, better version of Hiroki Kuroda. That isn’t a straight race-based comparison. Tanaka is a little smaller than Kuroda, but their deliveries and arsenals are similar -- well, at least their first four pitches. If you want a non-Japanese comparison, a guy like Dan Haren, Anibal Sanchez or Johnny Cueto might suffice. Haren is particularly apt because, like Tanaka, he relies on a split-fingered fastball as one of his out pitches. But if you want a better physical comp, Sanchez or Cueto is the correct choice.

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