Dodgers Blue Heaven: Blog Kiosk: 7/23/2015 - Dodger Links

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Blog Kiosk: 7/23/2015 - Dodger Links - Pederson, Anderson and Bolsinger

What perfect symmetry. Heck, what perfect pitching!

Mike Bolsinger has been fantastic. Yesterday afternoon he went seven strong innings; allowing only three hits and a lone run on a ground ball out in the third inning. He used his magic powers (a rascally breaking ball) to fool and befuddle Braves batters, so much so that they resorted to playing mind games with him. From their dugout they tried to bruise his ego by basically calling him a wussy for throwing too many curveballs. Via Carlos Collazo at MLB.com:

"If you're showing me you're not hitting a pitch, why would I go to something else?" Bolsinger said. "That's baseball. If you show me you're not doing something, I'm going to keep attacking your weaknesses."

And Bolsinger said that was definitely the case against the Braves, as the scouting reports have shown that the team struggles against offspeed offerings. That, combined with the fact that Bolsinger felt good with his curveball and slider as early as his pregame bullpen session, led to Atlanta seeing 61 offspeed pitches out of the 98 that he threw.

"For Mike, it's a matter of being able to get the ball to both sides of the plate a little bit with his fastball," said Dodgers manager Don Mattingly. "And then that sets up the breaking ball."

That's what I call good pitching... And good game calling on the part of Grandal. The above photo is via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2015. Go here to check out more pics from him from yesterday's game. Below are some links to check out:

Congrats Fernando! Via Yvonne Carrasco at Dodger Insider, "As American as Fernando: Valenzuela becomes U.S. citizen."
Via Tyler Kepner at the NY Times, "Dodgers’ Joc Pederson Hits Homers That Travel, but He Has a Long Way to Go."

“The thing is trying to understand when a pitcher is trying to pitch around you and not give you anything to hit,” McGwire said. “Instead of getting yourself out, accept those walks, and don’t try to force the issue. That’s the way, at this level, you’ll knock down your strikeouts.”

Pederson said something similar, stressing the importance of reading the pitcher’s intentions. But he does not sound eager to cut down on his swing to slap more singles. Pederson wants to maximize damage when he connects.

“I like to slug,” he said. “I take aggressive swings. I swing and miss because of it, and I think I still have a lot to improve.”

Via Harold Uhlman at Think Blue LA, "Jordan Paroubeck still waiting to make debut with AZL Dodgers."
This is very good news. Via Carlos Collazo at MLB.com, "MRI results show no Achilles tear for (Brett) Anderson."

"Take it day by day," Anderson said. "But just the drastic difference between today and yesterday -- which was surprising, but is a positive. Hopefully I can continue on that path, and [hopefully] it was just kind of a fluke deal where it grabbed and bothered me and I'm able to go out for the next one."

Via Harold Uhlman at Think Blue LA, "Loons Alex Verdugo ready for next step."
This is funny stuff. Check out these fantasy Baseball cards that meld Hip-Hop musicians with vintage Baseball cards at "Straight Out of Cooperstown" here. (Hat Tip: Justin Block at HuffPost Sports) My favorite card is easily the one below.