Blog Kiosk: 11/28/2014 - Dodger Links - Maury Wills and Puig's Nike Cameo

1956 was a banner year for Dodger pitchers, as evidenced in the International News press photo above that was found on eBay.  Featured is Don Drysdale with his Rookie of the Year award and Don Newcombe with his Cy Young and MVP awards.  They were given their awards on opening day at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn on April 18, 1957.  Go here to check out this photo on eBay.

Below are some links to check out:

• Listen to Wednesday's Dodger Talk with Kevin Kennedy and David Vassegh, here.
• Via Ken Gurnick at MLB.com, "Dodgers serve community with 'Season of Giving.'

"Commitment to and investment in the Los Angeles community is woven into the fabric of who we are," said LADF executive director Nichol Whiteman. "Our ability to support youth and families is a direct reflection of our ownership, players, coaches, front office and our fans, and we are proud to be able to make the holidays a bit brighter for many in need."

• Via Cary Osborne at Dodger Insider, "Seasons: Maury Wills' 1962 - not to be taken away."

No one can take that away from Wills, who in 1962 had one of the most memorable seasons in Dodger history. He likes to call it happenstance. The year that Dodger Stadium opened, the Dodgers opened their minds to a new brand of baseball. The Dodgers finished their run at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in 1961. Wills reasons that since the screen in left field was only 251 feet away from home plate at the Coliseum, the Dodgers relied more on the longball and didn’t want to run the risk of making outs by attempting to steal. Thus, Wills stole 35 bases in 1961. The new Dodger Stadium freed him up to have a record-shattering 1962.

• After just claiming off him of waivers earlier this month from the Padres, the Dodgers traded infielder Ryan Jackson for cash to the Royals the day before Thanksgiving, via Steve Adams at MLB Trade Rumors.  Pretty savvy, eh?  The Dodgers get him for nothing, then trade him for cash.
• Yasiel Puig shares his little cameo in a new Nike commercial, as seen on his instagram.

A video posted by puigyasiel (@puigyasiel) on Nov 11, 2014 at 7:31am PST

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Welcome to the Blue, Juan Nicasio!

The Dodgers brass continues to build up some depth in the bullpen; thereby addressing holes in the roster that proved fatal last season.  Via a tweet from the Dodgers, they trade for Rockies RHP Juan Nicasio in exchange for cash or PTBNL.

Dodgers acquire Rockies RHP Juan Nicasio for a player to be named later or cash considerations and designate IF Ryan Jackson for assignment.
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) November 24, 2014

Juan Nicasio had been a starter, but was converted to a reliever during the middle of the past season.  Via a Dodger press release:

Nicasio, 28, was 6-6 with a 5.38 ERA 33 games (14 starts) for the Rockies last season, his fourth in the big leagues. During the second half of the season, Nicasio appeared exclusively out of the bullpen and posted a 3.48 ERA in 19 games, including a stretch in September when he allowed just one run in nine games (9.2 IP).

The native of the Dominican Republic owns a career mark of 21-22 in 88 career games (69 starts), all with Colorado from 2011-14. In 2013, Nicasio established career highs in wins (9), starts (31), innings (157.2) and strikeouts (119). In his career at Dodger Stadium, the right-hander is 2-2 with a 3.63 ERA (14 ER/34.2 IP) and a .244 opponents' batting average in seven games (six starts).

Nicasio throws primarily a hard fastball and slider.  Since becoming a reliever batters have hit just .227 against him; while seeing his strike out rate, walk rate, WHIP and FIP improve.  Via Steve Adams at MLB Trade Rumors:

Nicasio has averaged about 93 mph on his heater throughout his career, and a look at his velocity chart (courtesy of Fangraphs) from 2014 shows that his fastball jumped to nearly 95 mph when pitching out of the ‘pen late in the season.

BTW, Juan Nicasio has had some bad luck with injuries.  In  2011 Nicasio was struck in the head with a batted ball that almost took his life.  While pitching against Nationals, Ian Desmond hit a line drive that went straight for Nicasio's head and caused him to fall awkwardly.  As a result of losing his balance, he fell on the ground and fractured a vertebrae in his neck.  Then the following year, he twisted his knee while fielding a groundball that resulted in arthroscopic surgery.  He has been healthy since then.  Below is a video of Nicasio getting hit with the ball.

Video Link:

In celebration of Nicasio's arrival to the Dodgers I made the above fantasy card for him.  I used a photograph grabbed from a photo from Zimbio (Doug Pensinger/Getty Images North America) and the 1987 Topps Baseball card design.

Below are the career stats for Juan Nicasio, via Baseball-Reference:

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Blog Kiosk: 11/17/2014 - Dodger Links - Pederson's Car Sold and Valenzuela's Statue

Check out Fernando Valenzuela gazing upon a statue of himself that was erected this past weekend at Charros de Jalisco's ballpark in Guadalajara.  Photo via @charrosbeisbol on twitter.  As you can see, it features him looking to the heavens as he prepares his pitch.

Below are some links to check out:

• Mark Townsend at Big League Stew has more on Joc Pederson's car.  It has been sold on eBay for $1,200.00.  He also tells us a bit about the seller, who had purchased it from the winner on fan appreciation day in Albuquerque.
• Via Adam Berry at MLB.com, "Puig comes up big in Tokyo."  You can also check out a bunch of pics from the game at Tokyo, here, from Dodger Insider Jon Weisman.

"The way they were attacking Yasiel in the first three games and really not giving him too much to hit, to put him in front of [Rockies first baseman Justin] Morneau was an opportunity for him to see some pitches. It worked out," MLB manager John Farrell said. "They threw the ball in the strike zone, and he responded with three hits tonight.

• Via J.P. Hoornstra at Inside the Dodgers, "Dodgers senior VP Josh Byrnes on Billy Gasparino, Ryan Jackson."

“Billy’s great,” Byrnes said. “Great resume as a player, scout; crosschecked for a long time. I think the skills we’re looking for — a good evaluator, running a draft. using all that information to make that decision.”

• Via Cary Osborne at Dodger Insider, "Adrian Gonzalez on the offseason, Julio Urias, baseball in Mexico and Canelo Alvarez."

“Julio is a young man who is an excellent pitcher. He pitches about 95 mph. He has a great curve as well. A lot of people feel that he has the potential of being one of the greatest pitchers in the Major Leagues,” Gonzalez said. “He’s a great guy, simple and very attentive. Even though I’ve known him for a short time, I hope we can start a great friendship. Our team expects a lot from Julio.”

• Via Jim Callis at MLB.com puts together a team-by-team breakdown of top performers in the 2014 Arizona Fall League

Best Prospect: After a rough AFL performance in 2013, shortstop Corey Seager played much better the second time around, batting .281/.354/.472 with a league-best 10 doubles. The 2014 Minor League leader in hitting (.349) and doubles (50), he'll produce for average and power but will likely have to move to third base. .

• Via TheThinGwynn at Gaslamp Ball, Topps is issueing a Johnny Manziel San Diego Padres autographed Baseball card.

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Blog Kiosk: 11/4/2014 - Dodger Links - AGon, Billingsley and Farhan Zaidi

Here's a selfie shared yesterday afternoon by actor William Levy with Hanley Ramirez and former Major Leaguers Luis Castillo and Edgar Renteria.

Below are some links to check out:

• For the second time in his career Adrian Gonzalez won Mexico's National Sports Award as a professional athlete, via La Oficion (Spanish).
• This is just another feather to put on his cap.  Via Dave Cameron at FanGraphs, "The 2014 FanGraphs Player of the Year: Clayton Kershaw."  He's gonna need a couple of new trophy cases once the winter is done.
• Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports revealed that a source is saying that A's assistant GM Farhan Zaidi is talking to the Dodgers.  Eric Stephen at True Blue LA tells us a bit about him; "Farhan Zaidi reportedly talks with Dodgers about front office job."

Zaidi has been with Oakland for 10 years, with 2014 his first season as assistant general manager. The 37-year-old has a Ph.D in economics from Berkeley and a bachelor of science at MIT. His specialty is statistical analysis, which he used in Oakland to evaluate players in the draft, in free agency as well as trade targets.

He also assists in arbitration cases and minor league contracts, and analyzes data from advance scouts to present to the coaching staff. This is essentially a lot of the duties currently performed by Dodgers assistant GM Alex Tamin.

• Jon Weisman at Dodger Insider writes, "Chad Billingsley’s legacy a dividing line for Dodger fans," and I couldn't agree more with his assessment. 

It’s not definite that Billingsley has played his last game as a Dodger, but if he has, he leaves with a 3.65 ERA, 110 ERA+ and 16.9 WAR in 1,175 1/3 innings, according to Baseball-Reference.com. In 57 seasons of Los Angeles Dodger history, only 10 pitchers have a better adjusted ERA (minimum 1,000 innings), and only 14 accumulated more WAR.

• Jon also tells us that the Dodgers claimed infielder Ryan Jackson off of waivers from the Padres.  Jackson missed most of the 2014 season due to wrist surgery.  He is noted for being a great infielder, but having a weak bat.
• Via Ron Cervenka at Think Blue LA, "Darwin Barney – A low risk / high reward proposition."
• Here's some minor Dodger news.  Via Mark Polishuk at MLB Trade Rumors, "Dodgers Re-Sign Barry Enright."
• Here is AJ Ellis' response to Clayton Kershaw's award filled evening last night:

Clean haircut. Trimmed side burns. Pressed suit! Shoes matching socks AND belt! TIE! @ClaytonKersh22 you've changed! pic.twitter.com/2i7jfBbGbj
— AJ Ellis (@AJEllis17) November 4, 2014

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