Blog Kiosk: 9/2/2015 - Dodger Links - Jansen, Pederson and a Dodger Class Act

I love this pic of five former Dodger players hanging out with the organization.  From L-R: Steve Yeager, Don Newcombe, Orel Hershiser, Ron Cey and Nomar Garciaparra.  Photo above via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2015.

Below are more links to check out:

• ICYMI, pitcher Joe Wieland has been recalled to the Dodgers.  Via a Dodger press release:

Wieland made one start for the Dodgers, taking the loss on May 6 at Milwaukee, and went 10-5 with a 4.59 ERA in 22 games (21 starts) with Triple-A Oklahoma City this year. The 25-year-old has appeared in 10 career big league games (eight starts) with the Dodgers and Padres (2012, 2014), going 1-5 with a 5.98 ERA. He was acquired by Los Angeles from San Diego in a five-player trade on Dec. 18, 2014, which also netted the Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal.

• This is a classy thing to do.  Via Jesse Rogers at ESPN, "Dodgers send rubber, dirt from mound to Jake Arrieta to honor no-hitter."

"Really nice gesture," Arrieta said of the Los Angeles Dodgers. "They sent a bucket of dirt from the mound, and they dug up the pitching rubber, which weighed 60 pounds. That's something I'll cherish as much or more than anything I've been given throughout the process."

• Via Mark Saxon at ESPN, "Dodgers bullpen is getting its act together fast."

"People just, I'm sorry, talk s--- about us," Jansen said. "They just don't understand this game sometimes. You can ask the hitters. They're going to go through bad streaks. You're going to go through bad streaks. Since the beginning, I told everybody that I like this bullpen. The guys that we have are pretty special."

• That Pederson home run off Bumgarner last night was like redemption.  Hopefully it's a big step in the right direction.  Via Steve Bourbon at MLB.com, "Pederson shakes off slump with big fly."

"I'm just trying to have some more rhythm and stay calm. Just nice and relaxed. See the ball and hit the ball. It sounds so simple but it's not," Pederson said. "The adjustment this offseason was to make the barrel more upright to be consistent. At the start of the year it was good. But you lose things, go down some wrong roads, struggle a bit and you adjust. Like I said, it's a learning process."

• Paul Lukas at UniWatch shares his most recent flea market find, and it's really strange... and awesome... but mostly strange.  Check it out here.

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Welcome Back to the Blue, Justin Ruggiano!

Just before Monday evenings waiver wire deadline (thereby making the acquired player eligible for the postseason) the Dodgers made a trade with the Seattle Mariner's to bring back a former Dodger farmhand.  They picked up current minor league outfielder Justin Ruggiano, "along with cash considerations, in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations."

Ruggiano was originally drafted by the Dodgers in the 25th round of the 2004 draft out of Texas A&M.  (Check out his rookie card in Dodger Blue above)  He immediately excelled and found himself with the Double-AA Jacksonville Suns the next year.  Then he was bundled with Dioner Navarro and Jae Seo to Tampa Bay in 2006 for Toby Hall and ex-basketball player Mark Hendrickson.  BTW, the President of the Rays at that time is current Dodger President Andrew Friedman.

This trade, along with the other trade last night bringing outfielder Chris Heisey back into the Dodger fold, creates a bit of a glut in the outfield.  Nevertheless, it provides some insurance and depth considering how fragile some of our players currently are, i.e. Carl Crawford and Yasiel Puig.  Jeff Todd at MLB Trade Rumors also tells us another good reason why Friedman decided to pull off this trade:

While Ruggiano failed to match his productive 2014 in the early going, he wasn’t actually that bad, putting up a .214/.321/.357 batting line over 81 plate appearances. And he’s slashed .296/.385/.514 with ten home runs in 205 plate appearances at Triple-A since being outrighted.

Most importantly, even during his MLB time this year, Ruggiano continued to hit lefties hard, as he has throughout his career. He’ll presumably be looked upon as an option against southpaws in Los Angeles. The Dodgers were in need of another right-handed-hitting outfield bat down the stretch after seeing both Yasiel Puig and Kike Hernandez go down to injuries in recent days.

Against left-handers in Seattle he was slashing .263/.349/.474, and in his career he is slashing .266/.331/.505.  Surprisingly, he's been hitting a bit better against right-handers while in Triple-AAA Tacoma this year.  He is hitting .319/.404/.496 against right-handers and .250/.348/.550 against left-handers.  So, maybe Freidman figures he's found a potential diamond in the rough.

Via Jeff Morosi on twitter, both he and Chris Heisey will be at Dodger Stadium for tonight's game.

Justin Ruggiano and Chris Heisey expected to be at Dodger Stadium and on active roster for tonight's #Dodgers game.

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) September 1, 2015

In celebration of Ruggiano's return to the franchise I made the above fantasy card for him (see on the right).  I used a photograph grabbed from Mariner's photo day this past Spring (Christian Peterson/Getty) and the 1972 Topps Baseball card design.

Below are his career stats, via Baseball-Reference:

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Blog Kiosk: 9/1/2015 - Dodger Links - A Couple of Trades and Kiké Hernandez 's Magic Banana Suit

The magic of the banana knows no bounds.

With the game tied in extra innings, Kiké Hernandez came out of the clubhouse to provide some good luck.  Via Matthew Moreno on twitter:

Kiké put on the banana suit/jacket around the 12th, Friedman told him to go back to the dugout and that he would pay his fine.

— Matthew Moreno (@MMoreno1015) September 1, 2015

It obviously worked.  The Dodgers beat the Giants on a walkoff single by Adrian Gonzalez in the 14th inning, 5-4.

Pic above via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2015.  Go here to check out more photos taken by Jon from yesterday's game.  Below are more links to check out:

• Ah, crap!  Via Mark Saxon at ESPN, "Enrique Hernandez could be out for weeks with hamstring strain." In Hernandez's place is catcher Austin Barnes.  BTW, with it being roster expansion time the Dodgers have also called up Joe Jackson, Joel Peralta and Mike Bolsinger from the minor leagues.
• Check out the cover of the September issue of Dodger Insider magazine, via Jon Weisman at Dodger Insider.  A pic of it is on the right.  Clayton Kershaw is on the cover.
• Via David Schoenfield at ESPN, "How bad baserunning has hurt the Dodgers."  This story makes me wonder if this is the Dee Gordon effect. That's not to say we never should have traded Gordon.  After all, we've benefited greatly from the players we got, but it's clear that his prowess on the basepaths have been sorely missed.
• Sometimes they come full circle.  Per Jeff Todd at MLB Trade Rumors, "Dodgers To Acquire Justin Ruggiano."  As you may know, Ruggiano was originally drafted by the Dodgers before being traded to Tampa Bay a couple of years later.  Here's the gist of why this trade is likely being done:

Most importantly, even during his MLB time this year, Ruggiano continued to hit lefties hard, as he has throughout his career. He’ll presumably be looked upon as an option against southpaws in Los Angeles. The Dodgers were in need of another right-handed-hitting outfield bat down the stretch after seeing both Yasiel Puig and Kike Hernandez go down to injuries in recent days.

• Jeff Todd also adds that the Dodgers have reacquired Chris Heisey from Toronto.  Wha...?
• It is welcome news that he is being reconsidered, but as stated in the following article it's likely to come to pass.  After all, Joe did take the money.  Via Chris Cwik at Big League Stew, "Shoeless Joe Jackson Museum says MLB has come to a decision on reinstatement." UPDATE: Via Shawn Anderson at the Hall of Vary Good, "Shoeless Joe to Remain Banned from Baseball."

“I have reviewed our records concerning the responses of both Commissioner (Bart) Giamatti and Commissioner (Fay) Vincent, who declined to reconsider Mr. Jackson’s case,” Manfred stated in a letter to Marcley. “I agree with that determination and conclude that it would not be appropriate for me to re-open the matter.”

I think this should settle things.  If they won't consider Joe Jackson for reinstatement then they sure as hell won't consider Pete Rose.

• This is super ridiculous, and hilarious.  Via Tyler Durden at Zero Hedge, "The "Chicago Cubs No Hitter" Indicator Spells Doom For The Market."

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2015 Panini Immaculate Baseball - The Dodger Base Cards

Panini's high-end Immaculate Baseball set came out last week, and it's filled with a bunch of Dodger autograph and memorabilia cards.  Go here for a complete checklist.  As you likely now, the set is unlicensed by MLB, so team logos are nowhere to be found.  A box cost about $200 and consist of only one pack of six cards.  You are guaranteed that five of those cards are either have an autograph, memorabilia piece or both.

Below are pics of all the Dodger players found in the base set.  The "Rookie Materials Autograph" cards are numbered as if it's a part of the base set, so I have included it below. 

#2 Clayton Kershaw                                    #17 Yasiel Puig

Blog Kiosk: 8/31/2015 - Dodger Links - Scully, Kendrick and a Cuban Sleeping Near Dodger Stadium

I'm certain this is not news to any of you.  Vin Scully will continue with the Dodgers for the 2016 Baseball season.  Per a Dodger press release:

“I talked it over with my wife, Sandi, and my family and we’ve decided to do it again in 2016,” Scully said. “There’s no place like home and Dodger Stadium and we look forward to being a part of it with all of our friends.” 

It'll be his 67th season with the franchise.  On a sad note, Vin also said that next season may very well be his last.  Via Eric Stephen at True Blue LA:

"I would say realistically, and I don't want any headlines, but I would say realistically that next year would be the last year," Scully said. "How long can you go on fooling people? I would say, 'Dear God, if you give me next year, I'll hang it up."

The photo above via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2015.  Below are more links to check out:

• Wha...? Via Adrienne Bankert at ABC7.com, "Cuban baseball player sleeps outside Dodger Stadium in hopes of making his dreams a reality."  This is either the most absurd thing ever, or Loah Linares is brilliant.  I'm leaning towards absurd.

"If I didn't know how great a baseball player I know I am, I wouldn't be here trying to show off my skills to somebody," Linares said.

Watch the youtube video below featuring Linares.  I can't help but think we're all being trolled.

Video Link:

• Via Eric Stephen at True Blue LA, "Dodgers notes: Howie Kendrick needs extra time, the plan for 3B, Corey Seager."

"Howie has kind of plateaued a little bit, where he can run 90-95 percent but isn't yet all the way there," manager Don Mattingly. "We were kind of hoping he'd be playing baseball by Sunday, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen. So it's probably a few extra days for Howie."

With regards to Seager, Mattingly acknowledged that he's though about him coming in to play 3rd base.

• Via Mike Petriello at Dodgers Digest, "A.J. Ellis Picking Up The Slack For Yasmani Grandal."
• I got a good laugh at this.  Via Sax at Sons of Steve Garvey, "Angels Announce New "No-Hit The Dodgers Night" Promotion For Sept 7 Game."

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Giants Series Starts Tomorrow - Scheduled Autograph Sessions, Pregame Info and Other Stuff!

The next homestand starts tomorrow evening against the San Francisco Giants, and several former Dodgers are scheduled for an autograph session with fans.  Below are the scheduled autograph opportunities and other odds and ends for this upcoming homestand.

They are offering a BBQ Pulled Pork Dodger Dog this homestand, a world-famous Dodger Dog topped with smoked BBQ pulled pork and Levy’s tangy BBQ sauce. The BBQ Pulled Pork Dodger Dog will be on sale at the Think Blue BBQ located in the left-field plaza.

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Monday, August 31st at 7:10 PM
TBD vs. LHP Brett Anderson
SNLA / AM 570 (Eng.), KTNQ 1020 AM (Span.)

Monday's game starts at 7:10 PM.  Auto gates open at 4:30 PM, and stadium gates open at 5:00 PM.

Lakers rookie guard D’Angelo Russell will throw the ceremonial first pitch.

Multi-Grammy award winning, multi-platinum recording artist, producer and actor T-Pain will perform the national anthem acapella. T-Pain has a newly released single “MTSW” as he prepares his highly anticipated fifth RCA studio album “Stoicville: The Phoenix” which is scheduled for release in November. In addition to music he was in this year’s blockbuster film “Fast & Furious 7” and currently stars as a judge on MTV’s hit dance competition show “America’s Best Dance Crew: Road to the VMA’s.”

The Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation (LADF) will play host to 1,000 California Masons and their friends and families. As a result of a friendly fundraising competition among the region’s lodges, athletes in LADF’s Dodgers RBI program will receive nearly 2,000 baseball gloves for their 2016 season. The California Masons will present the check on field to Carl Crawford, a former RBI player, and they will throw the first pitch. 

Dodger alum Tommy Davis will sign autographs in the left-field plaza from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

• The Military Hero of the Game is U.S. Marine Corps Lance Corporal David Barrera.

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Tuesday, September 1st at 7:10 PM
TBD vs. RHP Zack Greinke
SNLA & MLB Network / AM 570 (Eng.), KTNQ 1020 AM (Span.)

Tuesday's game starts at 7:10 PM.  Auto gates open at 4:40 PM, and stadium gates open at 5:10 PM. The first 40,000 fans in attendance will receive a Justin Turner bobblehead.  See it on the left.

Turner invited a dear friend to throw Tuesday’s ceremonial first pitch, 8-year-old Luke Lang of Bellmore, NY. Luke’s first pitch will take place on the first day of national Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Luke was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (A.L.L.) on March 28, 2013 and first met Turner in July 2013 while Turner was with the Mets. This meeting marked the first time Luke was able to leave home since his diagnosis and hospitalization. Luke gifted Turner with a bracelet carrying his motto, “Losing is not an option,” and Luke was gifted with a signed bat from Turner. Since their first meeting, Luke has joined Turner at Dodger playoff games and Turner celebrated with Luke at Universal Studios one day after the Dodgers clinched the NL West. Last month, while the Dodgers were in New York, Turner surprised Luke at his Little League game. Luke will be joined by his parents, Rich and Jeannine, and brother Logan on Tuesday for his first pitch.

Dodger alum Matt Luke will sign autographs in the left-field plaza from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

• The Military Hero of the Game is U.S. Air Force Master Sergeant Alex R. Amavisca.
• The Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation (LADF) conducts silent auctions throughout the season featuring more than 25 signed pieces of memorabilia from Dodger players, coaches and alumni. Auctions will take place behind the Vin Scully press box on the club level. The items up for auction on Friday include a Clayton Kershaw autographed photo, Kike Hernandez autographed baseball and Zack Greinke autographed Dodger jersey. The auction will end at 8:45 p.m.

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Wednesday, September 2nd at 7:10 PM
TBD vs. LHP Clayton Kershaw

SNLA / AM 570 (Eng.), KTNQ 1020 AM (Span.)

Wednesday's game starts at 7:10 PM.  Auto gates open at 4:40 PM, and stadium gates open at 5:10 PM. 

Dodger alum Al Ferrara will sign autographs in the left-field plaza from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

• The Military Heroes of the Game are U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sergeant Daniel Escobedo and U.S. Army Specialist Nichole Hartford.
• The Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation (LADF) will play host to one of its education grantees, Partnership for Los Angeles Schools. 30 students and chaperones from Stevenson Middle School will be on hand for batting practice and meet and greet with Andre Ethier and will watch the game from a Dodger Stadium suite, which will include gift bags courtesy of New Balance and LADF.

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