Check out Magic Johnson aith former President Jimmy Carter from the game on Friday, pic via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2013.
- "Clayton Kershaw Changes the Script," via Mike Petriello at FanGraphs.
That, really, is what is at the heart of what makes Kershaw the nearly unquestioned best pitcher in baseball. On a night where his fastball just wasn’t where it needed to be, Kershaw seamlessly changed the plan in the middle of the game to use his “lesser” pitches, and not only was it “good enough,” it was phenomenal.
- Should we be worried about Hyun-Jin Ryu? Via Ken Gurnick at MLB.com, "Dodgers keep eye on Ryu in bullpen session: Game 3 starter wears compression sleeve but says elbow is 'fine'".
For example, Ryu worked out this week with a compression sleeve on his left elbow. He also threw a bullpen session Friday with team surgeon Neal ElAttrache, medical director Stan Conte and manager Don Mattingly watching.
Ryu generally does not throw bullpen sessions between starts, and especially not two days before a start. He appeared to throw without discomfort.
Asked about his arm after Game 1, Ryu said he was "fine" and that he was wearing the sleeve to "keep my arm loose."
Hopefully, there is nothing to see here.
- Tony Jackson at Dodger Scibe writes a "A frame-by-frame breakdown of (Friday's) seventh inning".
- This sounds like an immensely stupid trade idea. Via Peter Gammons, "One Assistant GM’s Rays, Dodgers Trade Proposal".
This is the way baseball executives pass the time: if the Rays decide this winter that it’s time to trade David Price, the first team everyone thinks of are the Dodgers. “They can afford him, and having Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke and Price would be unbelievable,” says one assistant GM. “I could see a deal with (SS) Corey Seager, (OF) Joc Pederson (17-year old LHP) Julio Urias and Chris Withrow. Tampa might do that.”
- "Restoring the Dodger Way," via Howard Bryant at ESPN.
Think, people. Think. Rosen, the Dodgers' chief marketing officer, implored the staffers in the months before the season began to respect the game's traditions but not to limit their thinking to traditional Opening Day celebrations of bunting and speeches. He wanted his people to think bigger, broader, and grander, to consider this day on par with Super Bowl halftime shows and the opening and closing ceremonies at the Olympics and the World Cup. For more assistance and creative energy, the Dodgers worked with Dick Clark Productions, which had produced the Golden Globes, the American Music Awards, and the Miss Universe pageant. After all, this was Los Angeles. The city that invented the entertainment industry, Rosen reasoned, should be able to pull off an afternoon worth remembering.
- "Slain fan's brother: I wielded a chair", via an AP story on ESPN.
At the same time, Robert Preece told San Francisco-based KGO-TV he swung a chair in the melee after another, larger group of people came up behind them, the station reported on Thursday. He described the chair as an aluminum beach chair that was a gift from his father from Dodger Stadium and said he used it to protect his brother.
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