Blog Kiosk: 2/14/2015 - Dodger Links - Truck Day, the Drillers and a Dodger Black Out

Yesterday was Dodger Truck Day as they packed up all of the things they'll need for Spring Training at Camelback Ranch.  Photo above via @MLB on twitter.  Via Ken Gurnick at MLB.com, Dodgers' offseason dealmaking extended to Truck Day."

The annual ritual was expanded this year because of a new marketing arrangement with shipper UPS, which streamlined the packing process of uniform trunks and luggage by palletizing the equipment so it would be easily loaded by forklifts.

"We used to do it by hand and had to arrange it like a puzzle," said equipment manager Mitch Poole. "Now it's all organized. It's a lot faster and easier."

Below are some more links to check out:

• Via Ron Cervenka at Think Blue LA, "Vin Scully links Hideo Nomo and Craig Counsell together forever."

“Watching Hideo Nomo pitch to Craig Counsell is like watching two guys hanging from a window sill,” said Scully during a televised Dodgers – Diamondbacks broadcast several years ago.

• As you know, the Tulsa Drillers are the Dodgers new AA affiliated ballclub.  Meet their new manager Razor Shines in this article by the Drillers, here.

Drillers: What can you say to give the fans an idea of what they can expect to see on the field in 2015?
Shines: "Well first of all, the Dodgers organization is (as classy) as it can be. I can assure you that the first year the Dodgers are working with the Drillers they're going to put a competitive baseball team here. They're going to put class people here - the players are going to be good people. And not only good people, but they're also going to be good players. And the organization again, from top to bottom, is going to make sure the Drillers are welcomed into the Dodgers family. I can assure you of that."

• Via Michael Hiltzik at the LA Times, "Why I'm glad the Dodgers may be blacked out again this season."

The fans need to remember that when the long green is at stake, the teams are businesses that don't give a Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance's damn about them. That crucial awareness acts as a vaccine against the virus of gimme that pro sports teams spread in their local communities. The owners and their leagues demand tax abatements, public stadium funding, and all sorts of other handouts because, you know, they truly belong to the people.

• I thought I would also pass along the news that the cable merger between Comcast and Time Warner, that some say will drive a cable deal for Dodger fans, may fall apart.  Via Zach Epstein at Yahoo Tech, "Comcast’s customer service is so bad that it might end up undoing the TWC merger."  

Between you and I, I want the merger to fall apart.  It's the kind of monopoly that we will all dread.  Cable companies are the worst, and there is nothing more I'd like to see (other than a Dodgers Championship) than strict regulation of that industry.

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Yasiel Puig is a PlayStation Hero - Now you can Play Against Puig

Yasiel Puig is one of the most gifted ballplayers in the game.  He's an All Star outfielder, a potential MVP candidate and an fan favorite throughout the league.  Puig is also an active gamer, and will soon grace the cover of this seasons MLB15 video game.  So, it shouldn't be a surprise that he has been tapped to join Sony as a PlayStation Hero.

What exactly is a PlayStation Hero, you ask?

Per the PlayStation blog:

Hi PlayStation Nation! I’m extremely excited to announce PlayStation HEROES, a brand new initiative that will give PS4 owners the chance to play celebrities and professional athletes in the games of their choosing, with nearly all funds raised going to charity. This is not a one-time event – gamers will get the chance to challenge celebs every month.

Winners will play some of the biggest PS4 games with cultural icons from the sports and entertainment worlds, online via PlayStation Network and in person. Here’s how it works: PS4 owners will purchase and download digital themes and other items via an official PlayStation HEROES app, with each dollar spent providing you with a sweepstakes entry to win one of the celebrity gaming sessions. Ninety percent of the purchase price of those items will help aid some amazing charitable organizations including Make-A-Wish, The USO and The V Foundation for Cancer Research. To celebrate PlayStation HEROES and kick start our support for these incredible causes, we’re donating $100,000 to each charity.

That sounds like a great program, and for a lucky few a once-in-a-lifetime experience. 

I can't imagine how fun it would be to play Puig in MLB15.  I wonder if he'd let me be the Dodgers.

Anyway, this evening Sony kicked off this new program with a star-studded event in New York City during NBA All Star weekend, and Yasiel Puig is in attendance to meet a cartoon version of himself.  After all, you can't be a video game hero unless you are animated.  Check him out in the below photo.

Yup, that's him as an robotic-armed superhero.  Best yet, Sony has a fun cartoon of PlayStation Hero Yasiel Puig and his fellow cohorts - Stephen Curry, Snoop Dog and Shaun White.  Watch it below.

BTW, the app will be available for download on the PS4 on February 24th, but you can pre-order starting today.

Video Link:

Photo at the very top via Puig's instagram.

Yasiel Puig on stage at the #PlayStationHeroes event in #NYC pic.twitter.com/OyyiV8xsCQ
— Gamers in Beta (@GamersInBeta) February 13, 2015

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Former MLB Commissioner Happy Chandler had No Love for Leo Durocher

The other day I featured a personal letter currently for sale at Legendary Auctions that was written by MLB Commissioner Happy Chandler that addressed his role in integrating Baseball (you can check out that post here).  He expressed obvious displeasure at having his role diminished by history.

In addition to that letter is more correspondence that is of interest to Dodger fans.  In a 1988 letter to former Dodger executive and GM Buzzie Bavasi he let us know that he is not in favor of admitting former Dodger manager Leo Durocher into the Hall of Fame.  In fact, he was adamant that Durocher was not eligible.  He writes:

Leo Durocher made me more trouble during my time as Commissioner than all the other Baseball players in both the Major Leagues.  I frequently talked with Rickey about him, and his need for discipline.  Rickey promised me that he would take care of him, but after numerous failures on Rickey's part, I asked him to turn him over to me.

I do not think he is eligible for the Hall of Fame.

As you know, Leo Durocher was eventually admitted into the Hall in 1994 as a part of an Veteran's Committee vote.

It's likely that Chandler, when considering eligibility, was referencing Durocher's friendships with known gamblers, book-makers and mobsters.  After all, association with gambling is a big no-no, and Durocher's dalliances with this crowd became headline news during his managing days.  Nevertheless, Durocher was never banned (unlike Joe Jackson or Pete Rose), so he was in good standing.

Of special note, Chandler writes a bit about former Dodger PR executive Harold Parrott.  He wrote:

Harold Parrott came and cried to me with respect to his fine, which was deserved.  I rescinded it because he made me think that I was causing his family to starve.  He repaid me by being nasty to me all the days of his life.

Parrott was Durocher's ghostwriter in a regular column in the Brooklyn Eagle, and got into trouble with Chandler when he penned a piece criticizing him.  At the time there were wild accusations about Durocher and Yankee owner Larry MacPhail's connections to gamblers, but the league chose to only come down hard on Durocher.  Parrott's article called that a double-standard.

If you are not familiar with Harold Parrott you can watch the movie "42" for some context.  He was the small fellow with glasses who always seemed to be hanging around Harrison Ford's character Branch Rickey.  A picture of him, as played by TR Knight, is on the left.

Check out the letter below, and check out the auction here.

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The 2015 Dodger Bobblehead Schedule is Now Complete

With the start of Spring Training just days away the Dodgers finished up their boblehead schedule for the 2015 season.  They announced the final four Dodger bobblehead give-aways today.

In addition to the six already announced bobbles (Kershaw, Gonzalez, Jansen, Wills, Uribe and Puig), Sandy Koufax, Justin Turner, Fernando Valenzuela and Vin Scully will get their own this season. BTW, Justin Tuner will be getting his very first Dodger bobblehead.  Below is a complete schedule:

• Tuesday, May 12th vs. Miami: Clayton Kershaw Bobblehead
• Saturday, May 23rd vs. Colorado: Adrian Gonzalez Bobblehead
• Thursday, June 4th vs. St. Louis: Kenley Jansen Bobblehead
• Monday, July 6th vs. Philadelphia: Maury Willis Bobblehead
• Saturday, July 11th vs. Milwaukee: Juan Uribe Bobblehead
• Wednesday, July 29th vs. Oakland: Yasiel Puig Bobblehead
• Thursday, August 13th vs. Cincinnati Reds: Sandy Koufax
• Tuesday, September 1st vs. San Francisco: Justin Turner
• Wednesday, September 16th vs. Colorado: Fernando Valenzuela
• Wednesday, September 23rd vs. Arizona: Vin Scully

Go here to check out the Dodger complete promotion schedule.

Also announced are two new movies to be aired at Dodger Stadium as a part of their 3rd Annual Dodger Stadium Movie Series.  They will show "The Lego Movie" on Saturday, June 20th and "Back to the Future" on Saturday, August 18th.  Both movies are free for all attendees at the conclusion of that afternoons game.  Fans in the outfield pavilions can come onto the outfield grass to watch the movies.

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Blog Kiosk: 2/13/2015 - Dodger Links - Moncada and Kershaw

I can't wait for the action to hit the field.  So when I ran into this fantastic action photograph on eBay I knew I had to share it.  Check out the auction here.  Featured is June 1, 1958 Chicago Sun-Times press photo of LA Dodger shortstop Don Zimmer evading a sliding Lee Walls of the Cubs to complete a game-ending double play.  As an added bonus, Hall of Fame umpire Jocko Conlan is in the foreground.

BTW, the photo was once a part of the George Michael collection.  For those who don't know, George Michael was a legendary sports broadcaster.  He had a weekly Sunday night sports highlight show on NBC in the 80's called "George Michael Sports Machine," and just about anyone obsessed with sports who didn't have cable watched it.  For many of us it was the only way to see a full slate of highlights from sporting events throughout the country.  Well, in the hobby he was known to be one of the more prolific collectors of action (specifically sliding plays) press photographs in the country, and the photo above is a classic example of what he chased after.

Below are some more links to check out:

• Here's your cute story of the day.  Via Ken Gurnick at MLB.com, "Kershaw goes eephus in proposal to wife."  Gurnick tells us all about how Kershaw proposed to his wife.
• The Dodgers are hot on Moncada's trail, via a tweet from Ken Rosenthal yesterday:

Source: Moncada worked out today for #Dodgers in Clearwater, FL. A number of the team’s top executives were in attendance.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 12, 2015

• Dave Cameron at FanGraphs ranks, "The Best Transactions of the 2015 Off-Season," and the Dodgers occupy 4 of the top 10 spots.
• Via Ron Cervenka at Think Blue LA, "Could Dodgers be hoping to right a wrong with Ramon Troncoso?"
• I know.  I hate linking to this guy, but here ya go.  Via Bill Plaschke at the LA Times, "Arrogance and greed are keeping Dodgers fans in a TV blackout I know.

Everyone is arrogant, everyone is wrong, and everyone is now blaming the whole mess on a couple of slow-moving marriages that were supposed to clean it up, but have only made it worse.

• Here's a prospect report.  Via Dustin Nosler at Dodgers Digest, "2015 Dodgers prospects: Best Tools."

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Nerds Rule the Roost - Dodgers Seeking Mathematically Inclined Baseball Analyst

"All these guys who run these organizations who talk about analytics, they have one thing in common -- they're a bunch of guys who have never played the game, and they never got the girls in high school, and they just want to get in the game."

-Charles Barkley

The battle between the jocks and nerds is alive and well, apparently.  Over much of the past decade we've had to endure the whiny platitudes of Ivy League sophisticates as they school us on how best to evaluate the game.  All the while, musclebound meat-heads screamed blood murder.  After all, aren't they the ones who actually play the game, and aren't they the only ones with opinions that matter?

Obviously, no.

This week we saw the loudest voice in sports make a fool of himself (once again), and I can't say I didn't enjoy it.  It was like witnessing a real-life version of "Revenge of the Nerds," and realizing that Ogre is actually a tall and bald former basketball player. 

Clearly, there are those that continue to feel threatened by statistical and information analysis.  But have no fear, folks.  The movement to better understand the intricacies of the game will not be abated.  Instead, it'll expand.

In fact, the Dodgers, one of the leaders in this new way of thinking, are working to do just that.

The Dodgers are now actively looking to beef-up their front office with a Baseball Research and Development (R&D) group, and have placed several job opening announcements seeking math-orientated professionals to join their ranks.

Go here to check out the job opening postings for a Research and Development Analyst and an R&D Intern.  The deadline for applying for both jobs is on Sunday, February 22nd.  Here is what the posting for the analyst job says:

The Los Angeles Dodgers are seeking an entry-level analyst for the team's Baseball Research and Development (R&D) group.  Our current focus is on identifying highly-talented, mathematically-oriented candidates as we seek to build and maintain an industry-leading analytics team.

Job Functions: 

• Developing core components of the R&D roadmap 

• Modeling and analysis to support one or more forward-looking research projects 

• Testing, automation, and implementation of mathematical and statistical models 

• Independent research and evaluation of new techniques and technologies 

• Data collection and ad hoc queries to support model development 

• Preparing reports and presentations to disseminate model results

Basic Requirements/Qualifications:

• B.S. or M.S. in mathematics, statistics, computer science, operations research, or a related quantitative-field 

• One to three years of experience building and validating mathematical and/or statistical models, preferably in Python, R, MATLAB or STATA 

• Computer programming experience 

• Experience with writing and optimizing SQL queries 

• Knowledge of the state of the art within the public baseball research community 

• Desire to work in a collaborative team environment

BTW, these aren't the only jobs the Dodgers are looking to fulfill right now.  There are a whole bunch of openings currently; including Ball Boy/Girl, Bobblehead Character, DodgerVision Crew Member, Concession Stand Attendant, et al.  Go here to check them all out.

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