Blog Kiosk: 9/16/2015 - Dodger Links - Some Odds and Ends

So, how many of you stuck around to watch the end of last nights (or this mornings) game? 

I sure didn't.  I was safely tucked away in bed.  Sure, I had the television on, but make no mistake I slowly drifted into a slumber. 

As it turns out, the Dodgers and Rockies played 16 innings and finished up their match at about 12:30 in the morning.  That's a 5 hours and 23 minutes contest.  No doubt that was exacerbated by their egregious use of the bench.  According to Israel Fehr at Big League Stew they broke Major League records by using a combined 58 players and 24 pitchers in one game.  Via Zach Helfand at the LA Times:

"In this time of year, you don’t plan on running out of guys," Mattingly said. "We pretty much ran out of guys."

At the least the weather was good... Oh, yeah... It was a misty sprinkled filled evening... Sorry, my bad.  Hopefully tonight's game is better.

The photo above is via @Dodgers on twitter.  BTW, the Dodgers "Magic Number" is now at 11 - thanks to the Reds defeat of the Giants in extras.  Below are more links to check out:

• Via Ken Gurnick at MLB.com, "Dodgers shake up Minor League staffs."  Wow!  Not Stubbs!!

Among the 10 whose contracts will not be renewed are Triple-A Oklahoma City manager Damon Berryhill, who was named manager of the year in the Pacific Coast League earlier this month, and Double-A Tulsa manager Razor Shines.

In addition to Berryhill and Shines, Oklahoma City hitting coach Franklin Stubbs, Great Lakes pitching coach Glenn Dishman, Arizona Rookie League manager Jack McDowell, instructor Rick Rhoden, Great Lakes coach Angel Sanchez, Great Lakes hitting coach Jay Gibbons, Ogden hitting coach Darryl Brinkley and instructor Erik Bedard will not be retained.

"All our Minor League staff put forth a tremendous effort in 2015, and we appreciate all their work and dedication," said Gabe Kapler, Dodgers director of player development. "At this moment in time, we wanted to bring in some new voices in some key areas. Our changes should not be viewed as a reflection on any performance; they simply reflect that we are heading in a different direction."

• Via Ron Cervenka at Think Blue LA, "Schebler still not bothered by playing in shadow of others."

On Corey Seager: “He deserves all the attention he gets. I mean, look at what he’s doing,” Schebler answered about his very close friend and former roommate. “No… no, I don’t mind being [the] under-the-radar guy, that’s fine. But yeah, he deserves everything he gets.”

• I've wondered about this too.  Via Jon Weisman at Dodger Insider, "Dodgers platoon a lot, but not the most."  As Jon shows, the Dodgers used the platoon far more often under Manager Walter Alston.  Heck, you can maybe argue that they don't platoon enough today.

Seven of the top 10 platooning squads in Los Angeles Dodger history came along between 1961-1971, all under manager Walter Alston. The other three came from 1990-92, under Tom Lasorda. Perhaps oddly, despite the rise of sabermetrics in mainstream acceptance, no Dodger teams outside of 2004 and 2015 crack the top 20 in platoon advantage.

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Blog Kiosk: 2/14/2015 - Dodger Links - Truck Day, the Drillers and a Dodger Black Out

Yesterday was Dodger Truck Day as they packed up all of the things they'll need for Spring Training at Camelback Ranch.  Photo above via @MLB on twitter.  Via Ken Gurnick at MLB.com, Dodgers' offseason dealmaking extended to Truck Day."

The annual ritual was expanded this year because of a new marketing arrangement with shipper UPS, which streamlined the packing process of uniform trunks and luggage by palletizing the equipment so it would be easily loaded by forklifts.

"We used to do it by hand and had to arrange it like a puzzle," said equipment manager Mitch Poole. "Now it's all organized. It's a lot faster and easier."

Below are some more links to check out:

• Via Ron Cervenka at Think Blue LA, "Vin Scully links Hideo Nomo and Craig Counsell together forever."

“Watching Hideo Nomo pitch to Craig Counsell is like watching two guys hanging from a window sill,” said Scully during a televised Dodgers – Diamondbacks broadcast several years ago.

• As you know, the Tulsa Drillers are the Dodgers new AA affiliated ballclub.  Meet their new manager Razor Shines in this article by the Drillers, here.

Drillers: What can you say to give the fans an idea of what they can expect to see on the field in 2015?
Shines: "Well first of all, the Dodgers organization is (as classy) as it can be. I can assure you that the first year the Dodgers are working with the Drillers they're going to put a competitive baseball team here. They're going to put class people here - the players are going to be good people. And not only good people, but they're also going to be good players. And the organization again, from top to bottom, is going to make sure the Drillers are welcomed into the Dodgers family. I can assure you of that."

• Via Michael Hiltzik at the LA Times, "Why I'm glad the Dodgers may be blacked out again this season."

The fans need to remember that when the long green is at stake, the teams are businesses that don't give a Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance's damn about them. That crucial awareness acts as a vaccine against the virus of gimme that pro sports teams spread in their local communities. The owners and their leagues demand tax abatements, public stadium funding, and all sorts of other handouts because, you know, they truly belong to the people.

• I thought I would also pass along the news that the cable merger between Comcast and Time Warner, that some say will drive a cable deal for Dodger fans, may fall apart.  Via Zach Epstein at Yahoo Tech, "Comcast’s customer service is so bad that it might end up undoing the TWC merger."  

Between you and I, I want the merger to fall apart.  It's the kind of monopoly that we will all dread.  Cable companies are the worst, and there is nothing more I'd like to see (other than a Dodgers Championship) than strict regulation of that industry.

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