The Chronicles of Joc - It's Happening

It was announced earlier today that Joc Pederson would get his very first start for the Dodgers this afternoon.  He would take over for a slumping Yasiel Puig in centerfield, and would bat seventh in the lineup.

And with that, the only way to appropriatey describe how excited the Dodger fanbase became is to show the below GIF.

Oh, yeah!  IT'S HAPPENING!

So in honor of the explosion of joy that can only come from extreme optimism, I shall record Joc's day for posterity.  Stay tuned for the "Chronicles of Joc."

First, during batting practice Joc met another former rookie phenom, via a tweet from the @Dodgers.

During BP: @yungjoc650 meets @Bharper3407 #KCancer14 pic.twitter.com/rOLOu3AU5X
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 3, 2014

Fast forward to the game and we get Joc's very first at-bat of the evening.  While facing Doug Fister with two out in the second inning, Joc worked the count to 2-2 and fisted a high-'n-tight fastball for a bloop single to centerfield.  He ably muscled the ball and records his very first Major League hit.  Watch it here.  To the right is a GIF via the Dodgers on tumblr.

Woo Hoo!

In the fourth inning Joc came up to the plate for his second at-bat of the day.  With Juan Uribe on first base and two outs in the inning, he worked the count full and struck out swinging on a slow dropping breaking ball.  Whiff!

In the sixth inning, Joc came up with to the plate after Juan Uribe whacked a two-run home run to left centerfield and walked.  He was eventually forced out at home on Dee Gordon's soft grounder to the pitcher.  Joc is now 1 for 2 with a single and a walk.

Joc then opened up the eighth inning to lead off against reliever Xavier Cedeno.  He swung at the very first pitch and grounded meekly to the second baseman.  And with that he finishes up going 1 for 3, with a single and a walk.

Oh, well.  Joc's evening wasn't quite the thing of legends, but at least the Dodgers won and he was able to knock out his very first hit.  Hopefully, there'll be more fruitful returns in the future.

Now, listen to him speak a bit before the game about his first at-bat on Monday and about joining a tight-knit clubhouse.

Video Link:

Pic at the very top via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2014.

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A Belated Welcome to the Blue for Alexander Guerrero

It dawned on me last night that I had neglected to properly welcome Alexander Guerrero to the Dodgers.  I had originally reasoned that since he played for the club during the season opening series against the Diamondbacks in Australia, there was no need to welcome him to the Blue like I normally want to do.  Then it dawned on me, Guerrero had yet to really play in front of True Blue Dodger fans (with all due respect for Dodger fans down under), so his recent promotion is his real homecoming.

With that in mind, I would like to extend a Blue Heaven welcome to Alexander Guerrero.

Alex Guerrero's path to the Majors has been fraught with peril, intrigue and violence.  Like Puig he was a Cuban defector, so we may never truly know what he had to go through to escape.  Then, rumors swirled that he had signed with the Dodgers in early September 2013, but that was delayed.  His agents at the time were not licensed and authorized by MLB, so he switched agents to Scott Boras and eventually signed with the Dodgers in late October.

He soon started his professional career in the Dominican Winter League, but was hampered a bit by hamstring issues.  Still, he showed some skill with the bat, and quickly rose up the Dodger ranks throughout 2014.  In late May something crazy happened.  A scuffle with teammate Miguel Olivo in Albuquerque resulted in Guerrero losing a piece of his ear.  To put it bluntly, Olivo Tyson'd Guerrero!  I kid you not.  Check out my original story about that here. 

Guerrero had to have surgery to salvage his ear, went through a long recovery and returned to the Isotopes roster on July 10th.  He has since been impressive at the plate.

As you know, he was called up to the Dodgers as a part of the first wave of September call ups yesterday, and got into the game as a pinch-hitter against Gio Gonzalez in the fifth inning.  Guerrero struck out swinging.  I'm certain he'll get plenty of at-bats like that for the remainder of the season, and might get a spot start to provide some rest for the starters.

In celebration of Alex Guerrero's promotion to the Dodgers I made the above fantasy cards for him.  I used photographs grabbed from Jon SooHoo's photog blog and the 1959 Topps Baseball card designs.

Below are the career Minor League statistics for him, via Baseball Reference:

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2014 Topps Chrome - The Dodger Insert Cards

Following up on yesterdays post, here are all of the Dodger insert cards that can be found in packs of 2014 Topps Chrome Baseball card packs.  I'll have photos of the autographed & relic cards tomorrow.

1989 Topps Chrome Set Checklist

#89TC-CK Clayton Kershaw                               #89TC-YP Yasiel Puig

Blog Kiosk: 9/2/2014 - Dodger Links - Pederson's Debut and an Interview with Urias

Roberto Hernandez took the mound for the Dodgers yesterday, but labored as he surrendered four home runs on five hits.  The ball was jumping and carrying off the National bats like they were hitting beach balls in the stands at Dodger Stadium.  Just about any ball hit in the air looked dangerous, and unfortunately for the Dodgers they hit less of them then their counterparts.

The Dodgers offense was anemic once again.  After Kemp's two-run home run in the first inning they didn't record another hit until Kemp singled in the seventh inning.  They did attempt a rally thereafter, but it just wasn't enough.

Of note, the two Dodger newbies came into the game with differing results.  Yimi Garcia pitched two innings in relief, and gave up just a single and struck out one.  He was fantastic.  The photo above is of Yimi, via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2014.  Go here to check out a bunch of pics from yesterday.  Joc Pederson had an exciting pinch-hit at-bat in the ninth inning.  There were two runners on base with the Dodgers down two, so he had an opportunity to be a difference maker.  Unfortunately, after working the count full, he struck out looking on an off-speed hanging slider out-and-away.  On this holiday afternoon, mighty Casey struck out.

The Dodgers lost 6 to 4, and maintain 2.0 game lead over the Giants.  Oy Vey!  I feel like I'm having a heart attack.  Now, below are some links to check out.

• Via Michael Lananna at MLB.com, "Top prospect Pederson among LA's September callups."

"I'm excited," Pederson said. "It's a dream come true. But it's now time to help the team win."

After last nights game he shared his thoughts about his game ending at-bat.  Via Eric Stephen at True Blue LA, " Joc Pederson on his first AB: 'It was pretty special.'"

"That's a thing as a little kid you're chasing in a game, and it came in my first at-bat, so I thought it was pretty special," Pederson said. "Unfortunately it didn't go the way I want."

• I'm super envious.  The Albuquerque Isotopes gave away this cool hat (as seen on the right) to fans during yesterday's last game of the season, pic via Isotopes on twitter.  The Dodgers need to give something like this away.
• Peter Gammons notes that if Hanley doesn't sign with the Dodgers then he'll likely be best suited for the American League.  He can be an occasional DH.  It's also less likely that Matt Kemp gets traded if Hanley leaves the Dodgers.
• Via Eric Stephen at True Blue LA, "Dodgers extend affiliation with Ogden through 2016."
• Via David Brim at Dodgers Digest, "Investigating The Hyun-Jin Ryu Rest Effect."

One thing that is said often about Ryu, especially during broadcasts, is that he pitches better with long rest than he does with four days of rest. It makes intuitive sense, since the pitching schedule in Korea involves longer gaps between starts. His W-L record is usually the first thing cited, which we know is irrelevant. But looking beyond that, Ryu has a 3.52 ERA while pitching with four days of rest and 2.71 ERA while pitching with five or more days of rest through his young career. There’s some truth to this. Pitching well on regular rest is especially important since Ryu will need to do so during the playoffs.

• Check out this great interview with Julio Urias by Brian Tabije of http://www.ieprosports.com/ about his season with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes and what helped him to accelerate his strikeout count.  This is from just a few days ago.

Video Link:

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Welcome to the Blue, Joc and Yimi! - The First Round of September Call Ups

It's September 1st, Labor Day, and besides an afternoon of barbecue and family it is also a time when every Major League team expands their roster.  This afternoon, as reported widely on the 'net, the Dodgers have called up several players.  They include Alexander Guerrero, Tim Federowicz and Chris Perez (who returns from a rehab assignment).  Furthermore, coming up to the Dodgers for the very first time in their professional careers are star outfield prospect Joc Pederson and righthanded reliever Yimi Garcia.

UPDATE: Per a Dodgers press release, Carlos Triunfel has been designated for assignment to make room for Joc. 

Joc Pederson is probably the most anticipated call up of the bunch.  He is considered to be the Dodgers top minor league prospect, and will likely have the eyes of the world watching every step he takes.  He is a lefthanded slugger with five legit tools.  He can hit for average, hit for power, has excellent speed on the basepaths, has a great defensive centerfield game and a solid arm strong enough to cause baserunners to think twice.  It should be exciting to see if he can move his game to the Major League level.  Unfortunately, you shouldn't expect to see him play much this month, but he'll surely get a bit more than just a cup of coffee.

Yimi Garcia is a righthanded reliever who has recorded some impressive Minor League numbers.  This season in Albuquerque he struck out 69 while only walking 18.  Last year, while in Chattanooga, he did even better.  He struck out 85 and walked only 14 batters. His best pitch is clearly a slider that he uses to punch batters out.

BTW, it has been also been reported by Pedro Moura of the OC Register that Carlos Frias, Miguel Rojas and Erisbel Arruebarrena will be called up to the Dodgers tomorrow.  So, stay tuned for confirmation of that later on.

In celebration of Joc's and Yimi's promotion to the Dodgers I made the above fantasy cards for them.  I used photographs grabbed from Jon SooHoo's photog blog and both the 1964 and 1968 Topps Baseball card designs.

Below are the career Minor League statistics for Joc Pederson, via Baseball Reference:


Below are the career Minor League statistics for Yimi Garcia, via Baseball Reference:


UPDATE:  Via a Dodger press release on these call ups:

The Los Angeles Dodgers today recalled catcher Tim Federowicz (#26), right-handed pitcher Yimi Garcia (#63) and infielder/outfielder Alex Guerrero (#7) from Triple-A Albuquerque and selected the contract of outfielder Joc Pederson (#65) from Albuquerque. The club also reinstated right-handed pitcher Chris Perez from the 15-day disabled list (bone spurs, right ankle) and designated infielder Carlos Triunfel for assignment.

Federowicz has appeared in 18 big league games in two stints with the Dodgers this year, but tore up the Pacific Coast League with a .328 batting average, 26 doubles, 14 homers and 48 RBI in 78 games with Albuquerque. The 27-year-old posted a .297 batting average with runners in scoring position (22-for-74) for the Isotopes this season.

Garcia, 24, will be making his Major League debut after going 4-2 with five saves and a 3.10 ERA in 47 appearances with Triple-A Albuquerque. He limited right-handed hitters to a .200 batting average (28-for-14) and posted a 2.84 ERA (6 ER/19.0 IP) in 14 games after the All-Star break. The native of the Dominican Republic is in his sixth professional season after being signed as a non-drafted free agent on Jan. 29, 2009.

Guerrero will be making his first appearance on the big league roster since appearing in both games Down Under during MLB's Opening Series in Sydney. The 27-year-old hit .329 with 15 homers and 49 RBI in 65 games with Albuquerque, including a .356 batting average with runners in scoring position (26-for-73).

Pederson, who is making his first appearance on the Major League roster, was honored as the 2014 Pacific Coast League Most Valuable Player, the league's Rookie of the Year and as an outfielder on the All-PCL Team, after becoming just the fourth player in the 112-year history of the Pacific Coast League to post a 30-home run/30-steal season. The 22-year-old batted .303 with 30 steals (T-7th, PCL), 17 doubles, four triples, 33 homers (1st, PCL) and 78 RBI in 121 games with Triple-A Albuquerque this year.

Perez last pitched in a Major League game on Aug. 3 against Chicago-NL and made five rehab appearances with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga.

Triunfel played in 12 games in five stints with the Dodgers this season, his first year with the organization.

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2014 Topps Chrome - All the Dodger Base Cards

Topps released their 2014 Topps Chrome set last week, and I've got pics of all of the Dodger base cards to share with you.  Check them out below.  Go here for a complete checklist of the set.  As you can tell, this set is just a super-shiny chrome version of the Topps Series 1 & Series 2 flagship Baseball card set, but it does include a new card for Cuban infielder Erisbel Arruebarrena. 

Of special note, there are a couple of new Dodger variation cards for Yasiel Puig and Hyun-Jin Ryu.  You can see those at the very bottom.  The Ryu card is especially funny.  It shows Ryu goofing on BFF Yasiel Puig with a tap on the head with his bat.

#14 Alex Guerrero

#20 Hanley Ramirez                      #26 Erisbel Arruebarrena