Rainout! What a Bummer

This was probably the most anticipated game of the entire season, so naturally the Baseball gods decide to rain on our parade. 

It has just been announced that tonight's match-up between the Dodgers and Yankees has been postponed.

Tonight's @Dodgers-@Yankees game has been postponed. It will be made up tomorrow as a split DH (1 pm, 7 pm ET).
— MLB (@MLB) June 18, 2013

Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times provides more information regarding watching tomorrows split doubleheader on TV.

First game tomorrow will be on KCAL. Second game will be on Prime Ticket.
— Dylan Hernandez (@dylanohernandez) June 18, 2013

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Blog Kiosk: 6/18/2013 - Dodger Links - Urias, Puig and a 5th Grade Dodger fan stuck in Giants Country Stands Tall

Check out Yasiel Puig in the MLB FanCave, pic via twitter @YasielpuigPuig.

• Jason Parks at Baseball Prospectus provides a brief look at Dodgers 16-year old prospect Julio Urias.

Listed at 5’11’’, the southpaw is actually closer to 6’1’’, with a projectable frame and a present fastball that routinely touches 95 mph on the gun. From an easy, repeatable delivery, Urias works 91-93 with the heater and has two secondary pitches that he can drop for strikes in any situation. While it’s easy to get excited about a would-be high school sophomore pitching in a full-season league, the real excitement comes from the reality that Urias is a very legit talent on the fast track to prospect fame.

• Via Mike Oz at Big League Stew, "Young Dodgers fan ‘stands tall’ against Giants-loving classmates in fifth-grade graduation speech".  This is just awesome! You must watch the video!
• Eric Rodriguez at The Sports Quotient writes, "Delving Into Yasiel Puig’s Unbelievable Debut Week".
• Via Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated, "Yankees and Dodgers give rare spice back to interleague play".
• Ben Reiter at Sports Illustrated writes, "A scout's take on game's big mystery: how to get Yasiel Puig out".

"You've got to go in on him, go in on those hands because big strong guys want to get their arms away from them," says the scout, who was granted anonymity by SI.com so that he could speak freely. "That's where you have to start. He's got to prove to me he can handle that ball. He kind of leans over the plate, maybe you can straighten him up a bit." 

• Gwen Knapp at Sports on Earth writes, "Puig: A Hollywood-style Rookie".

Look into the 22-year-old Puig's future, and you'll see hallucinations. You'll imagine a latter-day Willie Mays, maybe start constructing a Cooperstown plaque from just 13 games in a Dodgers uniform. You'll know it's absurd, but the brain just goes there, on autopilot at the sight of him. Until Puig arrived, it didn't seem possible that an outsider would pity L.A., with its pricey roster sundered by injuries. But the city's joy over him seemed hard-earned, a form of restitution.

• Jon Weisman is back at Dodger Thoughts and shares a interview with Alex Belth of Bronx Banter.
• Via Mark Saxon at ESPN, "Is an Andre Ethier trade inevitable?".
• Holy Moly!  Gellman at Sportscards Uncensored writes about the Puig effect on the rising prices of 2013 Bowman Baseball cards.  Wow!  Puig really is selling for some unbelievable prices.

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A Blue Heaven Chat with Riley Breckenridge of Puig Destroyer

It sure seems like the past couple of weeks has been all about Yasiel Puig.

And, why not?  The Dodgers have been in the dumps, so anything that can divert our attention, even for a little bit, would surely be welcomed.  As it happened, Puig ended up being much more than a temporary departure from our losing ways.  He has become the "next big thing".

Heck, Yasiel Puig's greatness even spawned a new band called Puig Destroyer, and last week the very first track from their first recording went live.  Listen to it at the very bottom.

Well, being an aging metalhead myself, I decided to reach out to a band member for a fun interview.  So, a big Blue Heaven thank you to Riley Breckenridge for taking the time to answer some questions, via email. As you'll notice, I tried to be funny, but that's just not my forte.  Anyway, check out the chat below.  BTW, bandmate Ian Miller also gave an interview to Decibel Magazine that you can check out right here.  You can also get a Puig Destroyer T-shirt here, follow them on twitter here, and as proof of their Baseball fandom bona fides check out their Baseball blog called Productive Outs.

Now, on to the interview.

Thank you for taking the time to answer some questions regarding your new band, Puig Destroyer.

Q:  Obviously, as a die-hard Dodger fan the idea of a Puig inspired band makes so much sense.  I wonder, though how did this entire concept come together?

A:  It's silly, really. The name "Puig Destroyer" came up, in passing, during a discussion of Puig on an episode of the weekly Productive Outs podcast that I do with my good friend Ian Miller. There's an awesome grindcore band called Pig Destroyer that we're both fans of, and I said something along the lines of "There should be a grindcore band called Puig Destroyer". Nine days after that utterance, we are that band. I sent Ian the drum track for "One Man, Five Tools" the next day, he wrote a bass line for it immediately, I enlisted my good friend (and Giants fan) Mike Minnick from Curl Up and Die to do vocals, and Ian pulled Jon Howell (his bandmate in Kowloon Walled City) to play guitar. We'll have an EP done fairly soon.

Blog Kiosk: 6/17/2013 - Dodgers Links - Puig in the FanCave

Yasiel Puig visited the MLB FanCave today.  Check him out above trying out a new bat, pic via twitter @MLBFanCave.  Check out his reaction to the new band Puig Destoyer, here.

• Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers are nearing a new contract, per Ken Rosenthal at Fox Sports.

The Dodgers have made progress on a seven-year extension for Kershaw, and the dollar amount will be above the $180 million the Tigers awarded Verlander, according to major-league sources. The contract would be the largest for a pitcher in baseball history.

• Kershaw is not happy that the above negotiations have gone public.  Per Dylan Hernandez at the LA Times, "Clayton Kershaw upset about report on contract talks with Dodgers".
• It sounds like Puig is here for good.  Via a tweet from Dylan Hernandez.

Even if/when Kemp and Crawford return, Puig will probably remain in major leagues, according to Mattingly.
— Dylan Hernandez (@dylanohernandez) June 16, 2013

• The Dodgers organization was involved in another bench-clearing brawl.  This time it was in Albuquerque against the Cardinals AAA club from Memphis.  Via Mark Townsend at Big League Stew.
• Joel Sherman at the NY Post writes, "Dodgers gambled big on phenom Puig based on just one BP session".

“I wanted the player,” White remembered during a phone conversation. “And I will tell you how badly I wanted him: I would rather he come to us with the talent I saw and fail to turn those tools into anything than go someplace else and succeed. I couldn’t have lived with that.”

• "Fifty years later, Downing recalls '63 season fondly: Southpaw was key factor in Yanks' pennant, had front-row seat for historic Series," Via Lyle Spencer at MLB.com.

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Blog Kiosk: 6/15/2013 - Dodgers Links

Puig's bat.  Pic via twitter Patrick O'Neal.

• "Dodgers have mixed reactions to suspensions," via Steven Petrella at MLB.com.

 "You can't really predict how it's going to end," said Greinke, who was fined for his role in the melee. "It could be an accidental thing that starts it over again. If something is done on accident, it could be misinterpreted. Emotions are going to be a little higher. You hope nothing happens, but people make mistakes. And people might make mistakes on purpose."

• Diamondback also comment on suspensions, via Jack Magruder at Fox Sports Arizona.

"The last thing I wanted to do was get suspended. I know he’s a little chicken(expletive). I didn’t want to fight,” Montero said of Greinke. 

• Via Howard Cole at LA Weekly, "It's Official: Don Mattingly is the Losingest Manager in L.A. Dodgers History".
• "Dodgers claim catcher John Baker from Padres, option him to Triple-A," via Eric Stephen at True Blue LA.
• The Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation will be at Vallarta Supermarkets with family-friendly activities, prizes and Dodger alumni who will meet and sign autographs for fans.  This Sunday, Al “The Bull” Ferrara will be on hand in Baldwin Park to meet and sign autographs for fans from 12:00 pm. to 2:00 p.m., 13940 Ramona Ave., Baldwin Park, 91706.
• Democrats soundly defeated Republicans 22 to 0 in the annual Congressional Basball game on Thursday.  Louisiana Democrat Cedric Richman threw a complete, 3-hit shutout.  BTW, he wore a Dodger Blue Jackie Robinson jersey.  See pics at Talking Points Media.

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Now You Can Hear Puig Destroyer

Earlier in the week I had briefly mentioned in a Blog Kiosk a new music project underway that includes Riley Breckenridge of Thrice.  This new band would be called Puig Destroyer and it includes other grindcore musicians such as Mike Minnick (Curl Up & Die) on vocals, Ian Miller and Jon Howell (Kowloon Walled City).

Well, the first track of the 5-song EP has just been released on bandcamp.com and it's everything I expected.  BTW, the song is called "One Man, Five Tools", and the voice of Vin Scully makes a brief appearance at the end.

If you don't already know, grindcore isn't for the faint of heart.  It is the an extreme hardcore sound.  From a wikipedia description:

It draws inspiration from some of the most abrasive-sounding music genres – including extreme metal, industrial music, noise music and the more extreme varieties of hardcore punk. Grindcore is characterized by a noise-filled sound that uses heavily distorted, down-tuned guitars, grinding overdriven bass, high speed tempo, blast beats, and vocals which consist of incomprehensible growls, or high-pitched shrieks.

Yeah... So, it's definitely an acquired taste.  The 18-year old version of myself would have loved this stuff.  20+ years later, I'm not so sure.  Nevertheless, it had my head bobbing, banging and throbbing like I was the long-haired Hessian of my youth.

Man-O-Live... To be young again.

Go to this link to hear it.  Be sure to turn up the volume to get the full effects.  Really!... You won't regret it!  Oh, and here are the lyrics:

One Man, Five Tools
speed power, fielding contact
a cannon for an arm

one man, five tools

speed power, fielding contact
a cannon for an arm

one man, five tools

fuck the walk, destroy the ball
crush smash kill... annihilate

one man, five tools

Awesome!

Here is the song below:

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