Blog Kiosk: 9/19/2015 - Dodger Links - Greinke, Seager and Joc Pederson

Above is Joc Pederson with his big brother Champ.  As you a may know, Champ Pederson has Down Syndrome.  As a part of an initiative that will give 31% of all proceeds to Best Buddies, the Dodgers will exclusively sell unique and limited caps made by New Era that you can see above.  It says "Live Like a Champ."  Below is a closer view.  They are available only at Dodger Stadium.  BTW, Joc wears #31 and he apparently designed the cap.

Via CBSLA.com:

“It’s exciting that the Dodgers and New Era are supporting my family and Best Buddies as well. It’s something I’m passionate about and it brings us together as a family,” Joc said.

Champ also had plenty to say about his younger brother, Joc.

“Well to see my brother in my hat well I think it’s good if he likes it. I just want him to like it, because it’s something my mom and I created together. But I think it’s great”, Champ said.

Photo above via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2015.  BTW, the Dodgers "Magic Number is now at 8.  Go here to see more pics from the press conference.  Below are more links to check out:

• Here's a fun and adorable original cartoon featuring Zack Greinke drawn by Kawaii Baseball Cards: "Underneath the Cap."  (hat tip: r/istarnie on reddit)
• Via Lyle Spencer at MLB.com, "Greinke's comfort level on display in LA."
  

  "I pitch good at home," Greinke said. "I'm just more comfortable. Sometimes on the road things aren't as comfortable.

• Via Brandon Lennox at True Blue LA, "Scott Barlow strikes out 11, puts Quakes on brink of Cal League title."
• Yeah, what's up this this?  Via Dylan Hernandez at the LA Times, "On the Dodgers, hamstring injuries appear to be contagious."
• Via Jon Weisman at Dodger Insider, "How does Corey Seager do it?"
  

  On adjusting to the Majors so rapidly:
  “Luck,” Seager said. “I don’t know. There’s always an adjustment. There’s so much more information up here, you can kind of shorten that adjustment period, because you kind of have an idea what’s coming.”

• Via Eric Stephen at True Blue LA, "Dodgers' Jharel Cotton, Ralston Cash, Rob Rogers, Matt West to pitch in Arizona Fall League."
• This isn't good news.  Via David Seideman at Forbes, "Signs Of A Baseball Card And Memorabilia Market Crash."  Frankly, I'm fearful of the same thing.

This sale and many others I saw in Chicago left me wondering if the industry had reached a shoe-shine boy tipping point.  Is this easy money a sign of irrational exuberance for a market about to crash or a textbook case of Adam Smith’s free-market based on supply and demand? My conclusion is that it is a bit of both and that before you liquidate your 401K to buy Babe Ruth cards, you had better weigh the long-term risks and rewards.

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Blog Kiosk: 7/28/2014 - Dodger Links - A Sweep of the Giants and Should the FCC Get Involved?

Woo Hoo!  Dodgers swept the Giants this weekend.  They now find themselves with a 1.5 game lead over the gnats.  The top play of the afternoon was Dee Gordon scoring on the wild-pitch strike out to Adrian Gonzalez in the top of the 5th inning.  Watch it here.  The photo above of Dee scoring via @MLB on twitter.  The Dodgers would then quickly score two more runs to take a 4 to 2 lead.  They would eventually win the game 4 to 3.

BTW, the Dodger got key offensive contributions from the #4 to #7 batters in their lineup.  They recorded 6 hits; including a run-scoring triple by Crawford, a run-scoring single by Uribe and a pair of hits by both Hanley Ramirez and Matt Kemp.  It appears the "Boys in Blue" are taking it to another level for the second half of the season.

Of special note, Matt Kemp is looking very good at the plate.  He looks comfortable and is starting to lay off pitches out of the zone.  As a result, he is starting to hit the ball square and being rewarded for his patience with some timely hits.  Unfortunately, we have yet to see any real power, but that is to be expected.  Considering the kind of shoulder injury he was dealing with you shouldn't expect him to hit like the old Matt just yet.  It's likely we won't see anything like that until this time next season.  In the meantime, he's accepted the reality that he can't drive the ball like he used to and is happy to just "hit 'em where they ain't."

Check out a bunch of photos from yesterdays game via Jon SooHoo here.  Below are some more Dodger links:

• Via Eric Stephen of True Blue LA on twitter we learn that Cuban Alex Guerrero is now back up with the Albuquerque Isotopes.  It may be only a matter of days before he returns to the Dodger roster.  Maybe his bat will act as another spark to the Dodgers offense.
• Check out a couple Dodger prospect eyewitness scouting reports from Baseball Prospectus of Tom Windle and Rob Rogers; here and here.  (Hat Tip: Chris Rodriguez on twitter)
• I love Ethier's attitude.  Via JP Hoornstra at the Daily Breeze, he said:

“We have a chance to possibly achieve something here. That’s above everything else,” he said. “It makes everything worth going through.”

• Via Ken Gurnick at MLB.com, "Colletti says trade for top-tier pitcher is unlikely."

"We may not do anything. We still have a club with upside to it," said Colletti. "There's still more from this club as it's constituted. But historically, we've been active in July and August, too. We'll see what we can do.

"I think we have the players here that can win."

• Pedro Guerrero has a dirty mouth; via his twitter:

Is it a hundred to nothing yet vagiants? jajajajajajajajaja
— PedroGuerrero (@PedroGuerreroLA) July 26, 2014

• Via Larry Brown Sports, "Reno Aces and Albuquerque Isotopes in major brawl (Video)."  This was no shoving match - It was a rumble!  Larry Brown has a couple of videos of the melee. Per Eric Stephen at True Blue LA, 10 players were ejected (4 Isotopes and 6 Aces); including Cuban Erisbel Arruebarrena. He will definately get a huge suspension, so you shouldn't expect him in LA for quite some time.  Another video of the incident can be seen here.  BTW, the day after this fight Arruebarrena was reassigned to Single-A ball, via JP Hoornstra at Inside the Dodgers.
• Via Joe Flint of the LA Times, "FCC should help reach deal to end Dodgers TV standoff, lawmakers say"

Seven members of Congress led by Rep. Tony Cardenas are calling on the FCC to mediate an agreement between Time Warner Cable and distributors.

"Consumers deserve the opportunity to watch their program of choice," Cardenas wrote to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. "The ongoing stalemate between Time Warner Cable and other pay-TV providers has reached a point where mediation by the FCC is necessary."

Co-signing the letter with Cardenas were Democratic House members Lucille Roybal-Allard, Judy Chu, Alan Lowenthal, Linda Sanchez, Janice Hahn and Julia Brownley.

I'm not sure if this is a great idea, but I guess anything is worth a try.

• In an obvious move to reduce the chances that PED ballplayers make the Hall of Fame, they decide to cut short the eligibility period from 15-years to 10-years, via an Associated Press report on ESPN.
• Oh, boy!  This is a major Fan Foul!

My buddy saw this guy at the game today. I don't know what to say. pic.twitter.com/3dnCr4addX
— Dave  (@gggiants) July 28, 2014

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