Sunday, September 04, 2016

Blog Kiosk: 9/4/2016 - Dodgers Links - De Leon, Kershaw, Puig, Bellinger and Josh Reddick


It's great to see Josh Reddick turn on the heat.  Last night he recorded his first three hit game for the Dodgers - knocking out two singles and his first home run in Blue.  Per AJ Cassavell and Ken Gurnick at MLB.com:
"Took long enough," Reddick said of his home run. "I finally got it out of the way. Just to contribute, that's something I've wanted to do for a month now. I hope I'll be able to do it the rest of the year."
Reddick is on a little four game hitting streak.  Over that period he has recorded seven hits in thirteen at-bats, but only one extra base hit (yesterdays home run).  During his first 23 games as a Dodger he was slashing a woeful .139/.200/.152/.352, with just eleven hits in 79 at-bats.  Although we certainly have yet to see the best Reddick has to offer you've got to like that he's starting to perform.  Via Rich Hill when speaking about Reddick's evening:
"That was awesome. Get used to seeing it here. It's exciting."
Photo above via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2016Go here to check out more pics taken by Jon from yesterdays game.  Below are more links to check out:
  • This Day in Dodgers History:  In 1924 the Brooklyn Robins (Dodgers) sweep their fourth consecutive doubleheader on four consecutive days.  I kid you not!  In 1966 the Dodgers become the first team in Major League history to draw two million fans both at home and on the road.  In 1969 Willie Davis' 31 consecutive game hitting streak streak ends at the hands of Padres. 
  • Jody Wahl at Dodgers Nation put together a nice biographical timeline on Vin Scully.  Check out Part 1 consisting of Vin's early years (1949 to 1969) here.
  • Via Doug Padilla at ESPN; "Jose De Leon ready for the Vin Scully treatment on Sunday." 
“Like I always say, you can only control what you can control,” De Leon said. “They have a plan and I had to be ready to call me when they did. What I was really thinking about was that I needed to be in L.A. this year because I wanted Vin Scully to call my games. That is a good thing.”
"Felt good, was able to warm up and sit in between innings and everything, stuff that had kind of bothered me in the past," Kershaw said, "it's fun to kind of pitch in a game setting again, kind of have a normal game type situations, definitely fun to be out there again."

The key will be how Kershaw feels tonight and over the next few days but he remains hopeful.

"Feels good right now and hopefully it stays this way through the night," Kershaw said, "the last few times when I've pitched at times it is after, so once I cool down, kind of sit for a little bit, it will stiffen up, so as long as I am okay doing that tonight, it will be a good test and should be good to go for my next one.
Video: Ryan Walton at True Blue LA shares a video of Clayton talking about his outing (link here).
Pics:  Jill Weisleder/LA Dodgers 2016 was at the game and shares a bunch of pics on Jon SooHoo's blog (link here); including the photo on the right.
  • It was the Brewers!  Per Jeff Todd at MLB Trade Rumors; "Brewers Won Claim For Yasiel Puig; Trade Talks Involved Ryan Braun."  I think it's likely they'll be more discussions about it over the winter.
  • Via Matthew Moreno at Dodger Blue; "Yasiel Puig Informed Of Expectations In Meeting With Teammates, Dave Roberts."
“I was talked to by my teammates and they explained what they need from me. That’s really what I was looking for, was to talk with teammates, talk with everyone, and having that understanding of what’s needed from me to succeed on this team,” Puig said through an interpreter. “Now I’m going to get to work and hopefully you’ll see the success of 2013.”
  • This mornings Baseball America email report includes a snippet on Dodger prospect first baseman Cody Bellinger (link here):
Bellinger, the Dodgers’ No. 1 prospect at midseason, got a promotion to Triple-A Oklahoma City for Saturday’s game at Omaha. He didn’t get there in time to start but still got into the game. He walked in the seventh and got his first hit and RBI in the ninth on a single to center field. Bellinger, a standout first baseman, has plus power and clearly stands as the heir to Adrian Gonzalez.
For his part, the 22-year-old Rios, a sixth-round draft pick in 2015, traversed three levels this year, finding his most success at Rancho, where he homered 16 times in 42 games with a .394 on-base percentage, .712 slugging percentage and 1.105 OPS.
“He looks like a black hipster, hippie dude,” Morgan Toles said. “Or like a logger. Like Paul Bunyan, a lumberjack. My mom hates it. I’m actually glad that he shaved it down. Because he had been growing that thing for a minute. We’re like, ‘You’ve got to figure it out. You look homeless.’”
  • Via Jon Paul Morosi at MLB.com; "Dodgers prospect primed for Israel's WBC qualifier: Kremer is first Israeli in Minors after being drafted by LA."
"He lives in both worlds," Kurz said this week. "Among Israelis, he is a real Sabra [native-born Israeli], and among Americans, he is a real Yankee. All the people involved in baseball in Israel keep close track of his career, and we are very proud of him, even though he didn't grow up here."
  • Via AJ Cassavell at MLB.com; "Oh my! Enberg calling last series at Dodger Stadium: Padres broadcaster got professional start at Los Angeles TV station."
"I abhor the term retire," Enberg said. "I'm not retiring. As Junior Seau said, I'm graduating."

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