Blog Kiosk: 4/29/2016 - Dodgers Links - Outfield Analytics and Dee Gordon is Suspended

Here's a great pic of two old Dodgers, Don Newcombe and Manny Mota.  Photo via @Dodgers on twitter.

As for the game... Well, I don't really wanna talk about it.  Maeda was good until he ran out of gas in the seventh inning.  Pedro Baez couldn't get an out when he needed it.  Heck, the schlub balked in a run.  Then to make matters worse, the Dodgers offense continues to press.  They could only muster three runs in the loss.

Oh well, we get swept by a team managed by our old skipper, and that's got to make him feel pretty good.  Via Ken Gurnick at MLB.com:

"We just got outplayed," manager Dave Roberts said, and not by just any team, but the one managed by his predecessor as Dodgers manager, Don Mattingly. It was the first series sweep in Los Angeles in Marlins history.

Of course, last nights game wasn't the biggest news of the evening.  What really got folks talking was the revelation that Dee Gordon, a man so beloved even after being traded to Miami, has tested positive for PED's and is suspended for 80 games.  Wha...?

Wow, Dee Gordon got 80 games for testing positive for exogenous Testosterone and Clostebol

— Eric Stephen (@truebluela) April 29, 2016

To make matters worse, he likely failed testing weeks ago (maybe during spring training) and was in the midst of an appeal that he only dropped right after last nights game.  That certainly adds insult to injury.

The Dee Gordon announcement came tonight because he only just dropped his appeal and wanted to tell his teammates what happened.

— Tim Brown (@TBrownYahoo) April 29, 2016

He claims that he did not knowingly ingest the illegal substances (per his recent statement), but the damage is done.  He's just a case of another false (failed) hero.  Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodgers History: In 2005 Eric Gagne, who was on the DL, is suspended and fined for two games.  He had heckled home plate umpire Bill Hohn; in violation of a rule saying that an DL'd player may not take part in any activity during the game.

Congrats, Jared Goff!... Boo, Jared Goff!

Take a look at the #1 pick of the 2016 NFL Draft and presumed quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams.

Yeah, the guy's a Giants fan.

Don't believe me?

Check out some of the stuff he's tweeted in the past.

(Tweet Link)

OK.  Bumgarner's a great pitcher.  You don't need to be a Giants to recognize that.  But, how about this:

(Tweet Link)

Ugh...

He also grabbed a souvenir Baseball at a ballgame between the Giants and Braves - which is pretty cool.  It came from a ground rule double off the bat of Brandon Crawford in May of 2015. (Tweet link here and here)  That's Jared holding the ball while sitting in the bleachers in the pic on the left.

But then there's this classy tweet:

(Tweet Link)

I don't know what to say.

Photo above grabbed from Goff's Instagram.

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Padres Series Starts Friday - Scheduled Autograph Sessions, Pregame Info and Other Stuff!

The next homestand starts tomorrow against the San Diego Padres, 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.

---------------

Friday, April 29th at 7:10 PM
RHP Cesar Vargas vs. LHP Alex Wood
SNLA / AM 570 (Eng.), KTNQ 1020 AM (Span.)

Tonight's game starts at 7:10 PM.  Auto gates open at 4:40 PM, and stadium gates open at 5:10 PM.  It is Friday Night Fireworks, so fans will be able to go down onto the field after the game to watch the spectacle.  The evenings fireworks theme will be set to Prince’s greatest hits.

DJ Adam will provide musical entertainment in the right-field plaza and Hair Feathers will be in the left-field plaza from 5:00 PM. to 7:00 PM.  Also, Orel Hershiser will greet fans in the left-field pavilion from 6:40 PM to 7:00 PM (via twitter).

Casting for a Dodgers Superfan

This seems like fun.... So, I figured... Why not post it here.

I received an email just a bit ago, and now I'm sharing it with you.

Liz Lewis Casting is looking for a fanatic Dodger fan for something... What it is exactly, I dunno... Maybe an commercial...  It seems like fun, though.

Check out the flyer they sent me below.

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2016 Bowman Baseball - The Dodgers Base Cards

Bowman Baseball cards are now official on the market.  This is a prospect driven set, and as you might expect it's filled with some of the best and brightest the Dodgers have in their minor league system.  In fact, the prospect portion of the base set includes a couple players who are getting their first official licensed cards.  They are pitcher Yadier Alvarez and outfielder Starling Heredia.  Check them all out below.  Go here for a complete checklist.

Yadier Alvarez is an 19 year old pitcher from Matanzas, Cuba.  He had signed an $16 million bonus with the Dodgers last year.  Starling Heredia is from the Dominican Republic, and he signed a reported $2.6 million bonus last year, as well.  He was just 16 years old.

Base Set

The Adrian Gonzalez card is a red parallel and the Trayce Thompson is a silver parallel card.

#40 Clayton Kershaw                            #46 Adrian Gonzalez

Blog Kiosk: 4/28/2016 - Dodgers Links - Neutered Dodgers Lose 2 to 0

The Dodgers have just provided an early peak at the 1981 World Series Tri-MVP bobblehead that they'll be giving out on Saturday, July 2nd.  It features Pedro Guerrero, Steve Yeager and Ron Cey.  Go here to see the Dodgers entire promotional schedule.

As for last nights game, the Dodgers got stymied.  Scott Kazmir was solid in his seven innings of work.  He had gotten bitten early in the first inning, allowing four hits that resulted in two early runs.  Then, Kazmir settled down and scattered three hits over the next six.  Per Jack Baer and Joe Frisaro at MLB.com:

"The cutter was good, the fastball command was good," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said about Kazmir. "He started throwing his change later and that was good as well. It was down. He gave us 110 pitches, something like that. He gave us some length tonight, which we needed.

The Dodgers offense, on the other hand, was not good.  They continued to be befuddled by the Marlins.  Per Doug Padilla at ESPN:

“You could see guys pressing a little bit,” manager Dave Roberts said. “You could see some hard contact out there, but when (hits) aren’t falling, you start looking at your last three, four games. Some guys are looking at their average and not getting hits. When I feel like you need to get a hit, it gets tougher. I think guys are coming out of the strike zone a little bit more than they used to.”

All they could muster were two hits, and the only potential rally came on three walks in the eighth inning that could not be cashed in.  With the bases loaded, Yasiel Puig struck out and Adrian Gonzalez flied to right to end their only threat.  The Dodgers went out with a whimper; losing 2-0.  Below are more links to check out:

• Corey Seager is now on twitter.  Follow him here: @coreyseager_5.  His very first tweet was a photo of socks.  
• Via Cut4, "Let's watch Corey and Kyle Seager express their sibling rivalry through R.B.I. Baseball 16."  This is awesome.