Raul Mondesi was at Dodger Stadium on Sunday as a part of Viva Los Dodgers. He was there for a clothes drive and signed autographs for fans. Pic above via the Dodgers on tumblr. Check out a bunch of photos from Sunday featuring Mondesi via Jon SooHoo here.
- Dan Le Batard at ESPN The Magazine reminds us why we should continue to be patient with Puig with a piece titled: "Let's cut Yasiel Puig some slack." He provides some funny examples of 'culture shock' stories from other foreign born players.
- Via Ken Gurnick at MLB.com, "Dodgers still hope Beckett can make start."
With regards to his ankle: "It's a little sore this morning," Mattingly said. "I think he's frustrated, honestly. He felt his stuff was good, his arm felt good. Right now, nothing's changed [about his chances to start]. The next couple of days will tell us."
- Via Eric Stephen at True Blue LA, "Dodgers lose first instant replay challenge of season."
The Dodgers issued their first challenge of the year under MLB's new instant replay system, but manager Don Mattingly's challenge was denied in the seventh inning. A.J. Ellis was thrown out at home plate by Hunter Pence for the third out of the inning, a call that was upheld after review.
- Via Ron Cervenka at Think Blue LA, "Lost in Quakes hype and hoopla, Lindsey Caughel continues to impress."
“I definitely think that Caughel would be the front-runner [to be the first promoted to Double-A Chattanooga] just because of what he did last year and how he pitched in this league last year,” said Quakes pitching coach and former Dodger pitcher Matt Herges. “I expect him to pitch even better this year. He was a late send-down (to the Advanced Single-A level) in spring training, so I’ve got to believe that he’d probably be the first guy [to be promoted].”
- BTW, per a Dodgers press release, they made a minor trade with the Indians over the weekend. They acquired left-handed pitcher Colt Hynes from Cleveland in exchange for minor league right-handed pitcher Duke von Schamann. Hynes was added to the 40-man roster and optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque. To create room on the 40-man roster, the Dodgers designated outfielder Mike Baxter for assignment. This appears to be a depth trade. The Dodgers wanted another left-hander in AAA as a backup plan.
- Via Ken Gurnick and Earl Bloom at MLB.com, "Puig out of lineup following X-ray, MRI."
"It was pretty swollen this morning when he came in," manager Don Mattingly said. "We'll see. I don't think we expect it to be anything major."
- Steve Dilbeck at the LA Times tells us that Puig just has a thumb ligament strain.
- RJ at RBI Collecting shares some of his autograph "gets" at Rancho Cucamonga; including Beckett, Pederson and Urias.
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