Sometimes social media isn't a good thing. As a prime example, check out some of the questions asked of Ryu during the Dodgers brief "Ask Me Anything" session on twitter yesterday. Fans asked a question using the #AskRyu hashtag and Ryu would respond to some of them.
At first glance, it seemed like a great idea. Have Ryu spend a little bit of time with the fans while not putting too pressure on him on his first day on the job. Heck, it started out as a fun way to meet and greet a new face, but instead soon devolved into a "twitter-mess". Check out what I mean below.
First, Ryu answered a question with the directness of a confident pitcher.
Soon, the questions came in fast and furious. Twitter was a flutter. Fans from coast to coast, and from sea to sea jumped in. And of course, the jokers came in to pounce.
ESPN Reporter Beto Duran tweeted this pic from Dodger Stadium yesterday. As you can see, they have removed much of the concrete from the field level seats and are in the process of digging out a new clubhouse for the players. Furthermore, Duran notes that this is a $100Million makeover.
If you don't already know the details, Eric Stephen at True Blue LA has a complete breakdown of Hyun-Jin Ryu's contract.
Dodger Pulse has a bunch of photos from the recent Dodgers Mall Tour in West Covina that was held this past Saturday. Go here to see them.
Topps tweeted a preview pic from an upcoming 2013 Baseball product (Retro Mini's) that uses a 1972 Topps vintage design for an autographed card. See it at right. If you look closely you'll see a Matt Kemp card along the right border. Click on the pic to embiggen. BTW, go here to see the Kemp Retro Mini base card.
Jeff Sullivan at FanGraphs analyzes the Zach Greinke signing and what it means to the market. I found this to be the most interesting comment:
Additionally, in Greinke’s exposure to the National League with the Brewers, he was caught by some exceptional pitch-framers,
and the numbers suggest that Greinke derived a considerable benefit.
The purest evaluation of a pitcher isolates him from all other
variables, and catchers are among them. We don’t know nearly enough
about this to say that Jonathan Lucroy and Martin Maldonado helped Greinke by X runs, but there might be something there. A.J. Ellis‘
framing numbers, by comparison, are not good. It’ll be better for
Greinke to pitch in the NL Los Angeles instead of the AL Los Angeles, as
it was better for him to pitch in Milwaukee, but the catchers are going
to be different.
Here's some tabloid kind of stuff. TMZ has a pic of Josh Beckett being paddled around by his "hot" wife.
Via Net Income at NetDaily, they mention that Monday was the dedication of an Ebbets Field flagpole at the new Barclay Center.
Dale Murphy's only daughter makes an impassioned plea in support of her fathers induction into the Hall of Fame at The Hall of Very Good.
COED blog has the ultimate guide to what I like to call the "Year of Kate Upton". Check it out.
Ball Caps Blog notes that the Baseball Solstice falls on Christmas this year.
First of all, I wanted to start by announcing that the Dodgers are holding a meet and greet with Hyun-Jin Ryu and the Korean community tomorrow afternoon. It will be from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM at the front plaza of the Wilshire Park Place/Radio Korea Building at 3700 Wilshire Boulevard. (between Oxford and Serrano, east of Western Avenue) See more information here.
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As you probably know, the Dodgers held a press conference this afternoon to formally introduce Hyun-Jin Ryu to the masses. It was part photo opportunity, part PR blitz complete with the very first real Ryu Baseball card (as opposed to my fake fantasy cards I make on photoshop). Check out the pic below tweeted by the Dodgers PR department. They apparently handed out the card to attendees.
Just before they took the stage, Ned Colletti, Scott Boras, and another unknown person gathered around Ryu as he signed the contract. Pic via @Dodgers on twitter.
Somewhere in the middle, Ned Colletti did a belly flop off the stage. I like to imagine that it was a glorious crash with mangled bodies and the sound of a loud thud to accentuate the situation. Instead, it was likely a little trip that apparently wasn't recorded for our viewing pleasure.
Anyway, Hyun-Jin Ryu spoke to the masses and even answered a few questions. Unfortunately, it was difficult to get an answer in English since the interpreter fumbled his way through the interview. Nevertheless, we were able to gather some tidbits like:
He grew up watching Chan Ho Park and is excited about following in his footstep as a Dodger
His goals for next season is to win 10 games or more with a 2.00 ERA
Ryu also wants to win more games than Chan Ho Park over his career
He likes to use his fastball and change-up to get hitters out
He's eager to learn the hitters and is confident that once he does he will succeed
One great bit of levity was when Magic Johnson blurted out a response to Ryu when he mentioned that he hopes to learn English soon so he can communicate with his teammates.
Oh... One other thing. The Dodgers tweeted the below pic of Ryu doing the "Gangnam Style" dance. I'm both embarrassed and giddy about it. After all, I refuse to believe that Gangnam Style is out of style.
The Dodgers have officially made Zach Greinke a member of the Dodgers. Woo Hoo!
Below is from the Dodger press release, and the pic above was tweeted by the Dodgers - as it includes some mighty fine photoshop work. I'm envious, and I assure you that I'll be making it into a fantasy Baseball card really soon. Now, on to the press release:
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers today
announced the signing of right-handed pitcher Zack Greinke to a six-year
contract. The announcement was made by Dodger General Manager Ned
Colletti.
“As we set out this offseason to add a
front line pitcher who is capable and proven, Zack was the one we zeroed
in on,” said Colletti. “We are very pleased to add a second pitcher who
has won a Cy Young award to this rotation and organization. We believe
he brings a lot to this team and to a pitching staff that was already
very good.”
Greinke, 29, will enter his 10th Major
League season in 2013 after pitching for the Royals (2004-10), Brewers
(2011-12) and Angels (2012) during the course of his career. He went a
combined 15-5 with 3.48 ERA in 34 starts for the Brewers and Angels last
season and finished the campaign on a five-game winning streak, going
5-0 with a 2.04 ERA (13 ER/57.1 IP) in his last eight starts after Aug.
24.
In 2011, his only full season in the National
League, Greinke tied a career high with 16 wins and his .738 winning
percentage (31-11) in 62 starts during the last two seasons ranks third
in the Majors, trailing only Justin Verlander (.759) and Jered Weaver
(.745). Greinke is one of just 13 Major League pitchers to reach 400
strikeouts (401) since the start of the 2011 campaign and has averaged
9.40 strikeouts per 9.0 innings in that span, the sixth-best mark in the
Majors.
In 2009 with the Royals, Greinke won the
American League Cy Young Award by a wide margin after going 16-8 with a
Major League-best 2.16 ERA. That season, he was named to the AL All-Star
team and ranked among the big league leaders in quality starts (26, T-2nd), complete games (6, T-2nd), shutouts (3, 2nd) and strikeouts (242, 3rd). All of those numbers represent career bests.
The 6-foot-2, 200-pounder is 91-78 (.538) with a 3.77 ERA in 272 career
games (231 starts) and has posted double-digit wins in five consecutive
seasons, ranking among the Major League leaders in wins (70, T-8th), strikeouts (1007, 5th) and quality starts (109, 10th)
since 2008. During the course of his career, Greinke has been tough
against right-handed hitters, limiting them to a .244 batting average, a
.291 on-base percentage and a .373 slugging percentage.
In the field, Greinke has not committed an error since July 16, 2010, a
span of 76 games, and posted a .984 career fielding percentage, which
is the eighth-best mark among pitchers since 2004.
Greinke is a native of Orlando, FL, and he was selected in the first
round (sixth overall) of the 2002 First-Year Player Draft by Kansas City
out of Apopka (FL) High School. He was named the Gatorade National
Baseball Player of the Year following his senior season, when he went
9-2 with a 0.55 ERA (4 ER/65.0 IP) and 118 strikeouts.
Greinke and his wife, Emily, make their home in Orlando, FL.
Yesterday, I posted up a card creation I made of Zach Greinke on a 1987 Topps Baseball card, and was so smitten with myself I had to let everyone know how much I liked it. Well, imagine my embarrassment when I realized I made a glaringly obvious mistake.
Thanks to Fernando, I shall never forget. Worse yet, I apparently misspelled his name at least 10 times on this blog. My "red face" is just now starting to fade.
Now I know how the Baseball card manufacturers feel when they screw up something so easy.
In hopes of redeeming myself, below is the "correct" version. I wonder which one is more rare?
UPDATE II: It sounds like Magic Johnson jumped the gun here. According to Ken Gurnick at MLB.com, the deal is still pending a physical that is expected to be completed today.
UPDATE IV: OK, this is my last try... dammit. I misspelled his first name. It's "Zack".
You gotta love being around in our day and age. Within hours of finding out about the Dodgers signing Hyun-Jin Ryu we already have a couple of photos of him wearing Dodger Blue available to look at. Tweeted last night by Ryu is himself in his new threads.
BTW, you can follow Hyun-Jin Ryu on twitter at @vrcjjongi. It's all in Korean, so unless you know the language it is likely not to be entertaining. Of course, sometimes you don't need to know what's being said to be entertained. You'll see what I mean in a moment. For now, check out the number Ryu will be wearing. He will be #99.
As for being entertained when not understanding the language, check out the pic below. It was tweeted by Ryu 4 days ago, and I can't stop laughing. What the heck!
