Blog Kiosk: 10/8/2014 - Dodger Links - Thanks for a Great Season

Things started out well for the Dodgers.  They had MVP candidate Clayton Kershaw on the mound and the Dodger Jobu all gussied up and pretty in the clubhouse.  Unfortunately, the Baseball gods struck us down with its mighty hammer and gave us the blues.  The pic above is via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2014.  Go here to see more photos of his from yesterday.

I won't bother recounting any details of the Dodgers loss, or provide explanations as to why it happened.  I just think that's all a big waste of time right now.  Instead, I'd like to take this brief moment to say thanks to the team for a wonderful season of Dodger Baseball.  Most of all, I'd like to say thanks to all of you for visiting my little blog.  It's been a fun year and and I promise next year will be even better.

As you might have guessed, posting is likely to decrease over the coming days and weeks (maybe), but I won't be disappearing.  Baseball collecting never ends and I suspect this winter will be filled with plenty of Dodger news.

BTW, the LA Kings hockey season officially starts tonight, so we've (assuming your a fan) got that to immediately look forward to.  Go Kings Go!

Check out some links below:

• Read Don Mattingly's postgame interview with the press after Game 4, here.

I mean, Holliday hits the ball barely out of reach of Dee, Peralta hits the ball and it hits off Hanley's glove, and then had a curveball there. So at the end of the day, I think it's not really a situation that you try to change too much or manipulate too much.

• Via Ken Gurnick at MLB.com, "Right-hander Beckett announces plans to retire."

"I just don't see me going through that rehab and coming back to pitch at this point in my life," he said.

• Yasiel Puig was playing through an ankle issue, Via Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times.  His benching for Game 4 suddenly make a lot of sense. He had difficulty getting around on the fastball due to his ankle.
• Via Chris Olds at Beckett, Panini America recently announced they will be released a card set called Panini Classics.  Check out some preview pics here.  To the right is an autographed Clayton Kershaw card.
• Here's the first bit of Dodger winter news.  Per Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish on twitter, Brian Wilson has already told the Dodgers that he will exercise his $9Mil option for 2015.  No kidding, eh?

Sources: Brian Wilson has informed #Dodgers that he will exercise his player option for 2015.
— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) October 8, 2014

• I'm not sure if this is indicative of anything, but it is concerning, via a tweet from Eric Stephen:

In last week, Dodgers have lost 3 from player development: De Jon Watson (AZ), Roy Clark (Atl), Rafael Chaves (pitching coordinator, Phi)
— Eric Stephen (@truebluela) October 7, 2014

• Via the LA Kings, "Discovery Cube LA Partners with LA Kings to Celebrate the Science of Hockey in a Permanent New Exhibit."

“The Science of Hockey” will debut in early 2015 at the new Discovery Cube Los Angeles (DCLA) as one of the most technically advanced sports-themed exhibits in the world. Announced for the first time today by representatives from the Discovery Science Foundation (DSF) and the Kings Care Foundation, the permanent destination attraction will combine hands-on hockey learning focused on the skills of the sport with unique participatory experiences that explain the scientific realities of the game.

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Dodgers Singing the Right Tune - They Sign Roy Clark to Shore Up Front Office

The Dodgers have gone country.

Really... They've gone to the eastern reaches of Virginia to snag away an executive with the Washington Nationals.  His name is Roy Clark, and I hear he's mighty good with a banjo and a fiddle (I jest).

Seemingly with billions of dollars at their disposal, the Dodgers continue to build a strong foundation.  They appear to be using a three-pronged approach that includes adding veterans to help the team win now, shoring up their farm system to create talent for the future, and adding the right personnel to implement their plans. 

As a friend once told me,

Prior Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance

The Dodgers look like they've taken that saying to heart.

From a Dodgers press release:

"We are pleased to bring in someone of Roy's experience and his strong track record of evaluating potential Major League players," said Colletti. "He has been an integral part of the success of Atlanta and Washington."

In his role with the Dodgers (as a National Crosschecker), Clark will be helping to scout amateur talent throughout the country as well as evaluating the club's current minor leaguers.

"Roy is an excellent talent evaluator and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Dodgers," said Dodger Vice President, Amateur Scouting Logan White. "He's a terrific addition and I'm looking forward to teaming him with Paul Fryer and John Green as National Crosscheckers."

Clark previously was the Nationals' Vice President of Player Personnel and oversaw the club's drafts from 2010-12, which included the selection of Bryce Harper with the first overall pick in 2010. In Washington, Clark was instrumental in overhauling the club's player development system, stocking the organization with talented prospects and earning the Nationals recognition from Baseball America as the best minor league system in baseball in 2012.

On a side note, isn't it weird how much our Roy Clark looks like Roy Clark, the country musician?  It's like the man from Hee Haw found the fountain of youth (he is 80 years old) and decided on a new vocation as a Baseball stud.  Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case.  After all, what else would you expect from the man who sang, "Yesterday, When I Was Young".

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Blog Kiosk: 11/13/2013 - Dodgers Links - Seager's Potential, Mattingly Likely to be Extended and Dodgers Add an Executive

I came across this great vintage original Type I photo taken by former Dodgers team photographer Barney Stein of Pee Wee Reese dining with Dodgers GM Larry MacPhail in 1942 on eBay. 

• Via Tyler Emerick at MLB.com, "Seager not deterred by pressure of potential".

"I don't look at what other people are doing, because I can't control it," said Seager of where he was drafted. "I'm just trying to get better, especially here, because I believe that playing with better players makes you want to improve. So I'm not worried about anything else, I have no expectations coming here, I just want to see where I compare to everybody else's top guys and just have fun."

• FYI, The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, the Dodgers High-A minor league club, will now air it's games on FOX Sports AM 1350 starting next season, via Mike Lindskog at MiLB.
• Via Joseph Werner at ESPN.com, "Comparing greatness: Kershaw vs. Koufax".
• Via the LA Kings, "Tickets To the 2014 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series Game At Dodger Stadium Go On Sale To The Public On Tuesday, November 19".  As a Kings season ticket holder, I already have my tickets.  I'll be sitting on the Top Deck.  Sometime in the next few weeks they'll be unveiling their team jerseys.  I desperately hope that the Kings wear those Dodger themed jersey's they wore last year.  See what I mean here.  They are the coolest looking jersey's I have ever seen.
• The Dodgers add another executive, via Keith Law on twitter.

The rich get richer - Roy Clark has left the Nationals for the Dodgers.
— keithlaw (@keithlaw) November 12, 2013

Craig Calcaterra at Hardball Talk tells us more about Roy Clark.

He joined the Braves when they were a laughingstock in the late 80s and helped build arguably the best pipeline of talent in all of baseball over the course of 20 years. When he joined the Nationals at the end of the 2009 season they were thought of as a laughingstock too. They are no longer.

• The 2013 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects set officially releases today.  Check out this pic of the Yasiel Puig rookie card available in it, on the right.  Pic via @Toppscards on twitter.
• So, a 10-year old child was denied Halloween candy by a neighbor who disliked her Dodger uniform costume.  Say it ain't so.  Via Monica Rosales at the Sonoma News, "When grownups bully over baseball".  I get that this really sucks for the kid, but I don't know if I'd say it's bullying (like the kind that truly ruins people).  I think that's a stretch.  It certainly lacks neighborliness.  (Hat Tip: Jonathan Garza at WCB Sports)
• Via Christopher Jackson at Examiner.com, the Dodgers signed a veteran minor league catcher - JC Boscan.
• Congrats, Clint Hurdle!  He won the NL Manager of the Year Award, yesterday.  Don Mattingly came in 2nd, with 2 - 1st place votes.  Via BBWAA.
• "Mattingly says talks on a contract extension are “going good”, via Tony Jackson at Dodger Scribe.
• As I've said many times, just ignore all of the supposed rumors you are hearing.  They are like a meal that taste worse with every bite.  On today's plate is FoxSports Jon Morosi with a side of Mariners and Matt Kemp.

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