Blog Kiosk: 8/25/2014 - Dodger Links - Some Odds and Ends from the Weekend

Kevin Correia served up some beachballs yesterday afternoon before finally getting pulled from the game after just three innings of work.  Overall, he served up three home runs and seven runs total.  What disaster!

Adding insult to injury, the Mets recorded a triple play against the Dodgers in the sixth inning - all thanks to a far too aggressive Yasiel Puig.  Watch it below

Video Link:

This is the second triple play against the Dodgers this season.  The Cleveland Indians did it against us in July.  You would think this would be a bad omen, but as Jon Weisman at Dodger Insider explains it isn't.  The last time this happened to the Dodgers was in 1955; when they won their first World Series in franchise history.

BTW, Correia is expected to go to the bullpen once Ryu comes back, so we won't have to (hopefully) witness that again.  Also, I should note that Adrian Gonzalez continues his hot ways.  After leading the Dodgers with two hits, a home run and five RBI's in Saturday's victory, he recorded another three hits on Sunday; including a double.  The photo at the very top of Adrian was taken by Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2014.  Go here to check out more photos from yesterday.

Fortunately, this recent loss did not hurt us in the standings.  The Dodgers are 4.5 games ahead of the Giants.  Now, below are some links to check out:

• ICYMI:  Hanley Ramirez was reinstated to the Dodgers roster.  Erisbel Arruebarrena was optioned to Rancho Cucamonga.  Arruebarrena should only be down for a short while.  He will definately be back up when the rosters expand.
• Via Dustin Nosler at Dodgers Digest, "Chris Anderson’s late-season improvement reason for optimism."

The Dodgers made some mechanical changes with Anderson’s delivery a couple months ago, which could account for the improvement. One thing that hasn’t changed is his velocity. When I saw him in person, he was sitting at 93-96 MPH and topped out at 99 MPH. Friday night, Anderson hit 97 MPH a few times. As a pitcher who will live off his fastball, this is encouraging. He also has improved his off-speed pitches as the season has progressed. His slider will always be his go-to secondary offering, but his changeup has improved to the point where it could be a usable third pitch.

• Roberto Baly at Vin Scully is My Homeboy shares his experience getting Erisbel Arruebarrena's autograph on Saturday at Frank & Sons.
• With the Dodgers seemingly set to leave their AAA home, Night Owl Cards shares his list of Top-10 successful Dodgers to have gone through Albuquerque from 2009 to 2014, and it's not exactly a list filled with notable names.  No wonder the Dodgers want to move.
• Nick Diunte at Baseball Happenings writes a great obituary on former Dodger Dick Teed who passed away recently.
• Via Harold Uhlman at Think Blue LA, "Is Matt Campbell the next Paco Rodriguez?"

Campbell joined the Loons on June 20th and soon made his mark with the Dodgers affiliate. In his first five games, he had six scoreless innings giving up three hits while walking one and striking out five. On the season he has now pitched 29 innings over 22 appearances with an ERA of 1.55 and a WHIP of 1.00. He has struck out 36 and walked 8. He has yet to serve up a home run.

• Via KUNR public radio, "Bob Motley, Last Surviving Negro League Ump, Recalls Baseball History."  Listen and learn.
• Watch a talk about the Negro Leagues and Kansas City Monarchs via Phil Dixon on CSPAN.  He speaks about the history of the Monarchs, the longest-running franchise in the history of baseball’s Negro Leagues. Mr. Dixon talks about the significance of the Kansas City Monarchs to the baseball world, fielding a number of future Hall of Fame players and inspiring several new innovations to the game, including the use of lights for night games. The Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum hosted this event.  Video here.
• BTW, before the start of Sunday's game, Clayton Kershaw was presented with the trophy for the Warren Spahn Award for the 2013 season.  This award is given to the best left-handed pitcher in MLB by the Oklahoma Sports Museum.  Below is a photo of him holding it.  This is the second time he has won the Warren Spahn Award.  He also won it during his first Cy Young season in 2011.

(pic via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2014)

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Blog Kiosk: 8/21/2014 - Dodger Links - Beaten by Stults

Man-O-Live, Eric Stults was impressive in his start last night, er... Wait... He's not a Dodger anymore.... What?... Oh.... That sucks...

The Dodgers got beat by a former Dodger named Eric Stults, and I find myself saying, "that figures."  He held the Dodgers in check for five innings, giving up just four hits, walking one and striking out five.  The Dodgers pitcher, Roberto Hernandez, was less impressive in his third start in Blue - against weaker competition even.  He gave up eight hits and allowed four runs in his five innings of work.

That wouldn't have been too bad if the Dodgers offense was able to do anything against the Padres, but that was not to be.  Their relief crew held us in check as they continue to be impressive.  I'm telling ya, the Padres will be good sooner than later.  Their pitching is not the reason they are in the dumps this season.  It's their offense.  It sucks.  But they have a good foundation to work with, and with their recent signing of Don Welke to be their VP of Scouting Operations, I suspect they will only get better.

BTW, the kid in the photo above flew 3,000 mile to meet the Dodgers.  Who he is?  I haven't a clue.  Photo above via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2014.  Go here to see a bunch of his pics from yesterday.

• Hey!  I was quoted on Bloomberg.  Via Todd Shields and David McLaughlin, "Dodgers TV Row Fuels Unease Over Comcast-Time Warner Deal."

“Sports fans are getting clobbered,” said Hal Singer, a Washington-based economist with consulting firm Economists Inc. “Either you’re denied access to the content because your distributor won’t carry it at the ridiculous price, or you’re forced to incur the switching costs” to change providers. 

That's not me, of course.  I am quoted further down in the story.

• ICYMI:  Zack Greinke's scheduled start for today has been pushed back a couple of days.  He will pitch on Saturday, instead.  Today's starting pitcher will be Clayton Kershaw.  Ken Gurnick on twitter notes:

Greinke elbow tenderness not serious, Mattingly said. Had MRI two weeks ago.  Similar to irritation Greinke had Spring of 2013.
— Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) August 20, 2014

• Via Evan Bladh at Think Blue LA, "Brooklyn Dodger alum Dick Teed passes at age 88."  RIP, Dick Teed.
• Chris Olds at Beckett shares some preview pics for 2015 Topps Tribute Baseball cards; including a Yasiel Puig autographed card on the right.  It is set come out on February 19, 2015.
• Via David Young at True Blue LA, "Position-by-position home run records of the Los Angeles Dodgers."  David puts together a list of Top-10's by position.

• Chris Olds at Beckett also provides an early look at Topps 2015 MLB Chipz.  See the Clayton Kershaw Chipz on the left.
• Via Mike Petriello at Dodgers Digest, "Attention, Japan: Yasiel Puig Is Coming For You."  He'll be playing in a tournament in Japan in November.
• Puig Destroyer has a new album coming out, and they have released a song titled "Mike Trout" that you can listen to here.  As grindcore goes, this one is more palatable to the masses.
• Bill Simmons and Rembert Browne of Grantland just posted their story about visiting the National: "A Visit to the 2014 National Sports Collectors Convention."  Check it out.

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