Dodgers Notes from Spring Training: Pitchers & Catchers Workout #5 - All Players Accounted For

Throughout Spring Training the Dodgers PR department sends out helpful daily notes from Camelback Ranch, and I am happy to pass them along.  See what they've written below.

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(Boomer, DeLury, Wallach, Corrales and hidden Mattingly, pic via Jon SooHoo)

TURN UP TUESDAYS: Today marked the fifth day of workouts for pitchers and catchers at Camelback Ranch – Glendale. Position players report tomorrow, with the first full-squad workout of 2015 scheduled for Thursday.

• Zack Greinke, who was given a lubricating injection in his right elbow on Thursday, February 19, returned to the mound today and threw his first “official” bullpen of the spring.
• Sergio Santos and newly acquired right-hander Dustin McGowan also threw their first “official” bullpens of the spring.
• Erik Bedard, Juan Nicasio, Brandon League, Adam Liberatore, Josh Ravin, Carlos Frias and Hyun-Jin Ryu all threw their scheduled bullpen sessions today.

ROLL CALL: With first full-squad workouts scheduled for Thursday, all position players have already reported to camp early for voluntary workouts. Carl Crawford, who reported to camp today, and Howie Kendrick and Alex Guerrero, who reported late yesterday, brought Camelback Ranch to full capacity at 60 players for Spring Training.

(Pic via Camelback Ranch on twitter)

TORNEO DE BEISBOL DE VALENCIA: The Dodgers, in collaboration with the City and State of Valencia, Spain, are hosting the second annual Early Bird U19 National Baseball Team event in the 2015 Torneo de Beisbol de Valencia. The tournament, which consists of six nations, started today and will continue until March 1. Juan Garcia Puig, Dodgers international scout and coach of the local baseball team, Valencia Astros, helped coordinate the event with the full support of the Confederation of European Baseball. All parties involved in the event envision that the tournament becoming an annual event that will come to be the official opening of the baseball season in Europe. Spain took home the gold over Germany in the first Torneo de Beisbol de Valencia last year.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!: The Los Angeles Dodgers would like to wish Dodger Stadium organist Nancy Bea Hefley a Happy Birthday. Hefley joined the Dodgers as the organist in 1988 and through the years, she has amassed a repertoire of more than 2,000 songs and she maintains a spreadsheet of every anthem performer she has accompanied at Dodger Stadium.Go here to check out my post featuring a Blue Heaven Nancy Bea Hefley Baseball card set.

SCORPION ALERT: A few days ago, a pair of scorpions were spotted on the White Sox side of camp and today they reached the Dodger side, stinging Public Relations maestro Jon Chapper on his left arm. The scorpion, who had been hiding out in Chapper’s jacket sleeve, survived the altercation and sent Jon scampering to the training room. Luckily, Chap was treated promptly with an ice wrap and is not expected to miss any time.

(A Dodger Fanaticos, pic via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2015)

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A Fantasy Baseball Card Set on Nancy Bea Hefley's Birthday

For those Dodger fans that still appreciate a good organ at the ballgame today is quite notable.  It is Nancy Bea Hefley's birthday.  Congrats!

In celebration I made the above fantasy card for her.  I used a photo taken by Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2012 and the 1987 Topps Baseball card design.  And since I was supremely bored at work during my lunch hour this afternoon, I decided to make a Nancy Bea Hefley Baseball card set that includes photos grabbed from her twitter account.  Check out her twitter here.  It includes numerous photographs of her with other celebrities.

Now, all you have to do is print them out, stick them on cardboard and trade them with your friends.

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Vintage Dodger Goodies at Hake's Auction House

Spring wouldn't be the same for this fanatic Dodger collector without a big auction to fawn over.  After all, this time of year isn't just about watching my favorite team get prepared for the hard and long slog of the upcoming season.  It's also time for me to check out my pocketbook in hopes of finding some room to bid on my next vintage acquisition.  Unfortunately, I doubt I'll be making any big buys right away, but I can dream, can't I?

Hake's Americana just opened up their newest auction and it includes several wonderful Dodger collectibles.  Check out some of my favorites below.  BTW, I'll have another post up tomorrow of some vintage Negro League items featuring a couple of notable Dodgers, so stay tuned for that.

(Auction Link)

I absolutely love the above banner.  It touches all the bases.  It evokes Dodger pride with the undeniable desire to beat the living "you know what" out of your opponent.  Although, I do admit that it's a bit harsh. 

The last thing I would ever want to do is hang or poison anybody.  "Sink San Francisco," though?  I'm all up for that.

Hilariously, the banner makes the point of singling out specific teams, but when it comes to the team up north it acknowledges that our hate extends to the entire bay area.  Awesome!

(Auction Link)

The above award featuring an Native American wearing war bonnet w/arms crossed was presented to Jackie Robinson by his post-Dodger employer Chock Full O' Nuts (The South Jersey Division Shareholders) in 1960.

(Auction Link)

These next items are as oddball as you can get.  Above is a convex Brooklyn Dodger name plate for a bicycle.  I am unsure if this was for a bike branded and sold for Dodger fans or an item a fan would add to his/her bike after the fact.  Below is a celluloid flip pin that celebrates the 1942 Dodgers.  It was made by Tip Top Bread - a brand notable for making a scarce Jackie Robinson Baseball card set in 1947, a tough regional card set featuring every MLB team that same year and bread labels that are almost impossible to find.  Both of these items shown here are entirely new to me. 

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Blog Kiosk: 2/24/2015 - Dodger Links - Ethier, Jansen and Twitter Conversaion Worth Checking Out

Spring training is for getting down to the business of preparing for the season, but that doesn't stop the boys from having a bit a fun.  Check out Darwin Barney and Jimmie Rollins, both early arrivals to Camelback Ranch, joking around while taking some grounders.  The photo above via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2015.  Go here to check out a bunch of photo's from Jon from yesterday.

Below are some more links to check out:

• Via Chad Moriyama at Dodgers Digest, "Brandon McCarthy & Molly Knight had a insightful Twitter convo while you were sleeping."
• Adam Nodiff at Baseball Professor profiles Adrian Gonzalez.
• Via Dustin Nosler at Dodgers Digest, "Dodgers miss out on Yoan Moncada, possibly to spend big on July 2."  The object of everyone's affection signs with the Red Sox.  Some are wondering why not the Dodgers and I think Dustin provides a good explanation as to why.

Yes, it’s disappointing Moncada isn’t going to be a Dodger anytime soon. But, the front office has a plan and is always ahead of the game. It feels the potential to land more players who might not be as good as Moncada (but are still solid prospects) outweighs using the one chance they have to go over their bonus pool.

• Via Ken Gurnick at MLB.com, "Mattingly expects Ethier will be 'professional.'"

"I never expect Andre to be a problem," said Mattingly. "He's always professional. Understandably, guys aren't happy when they aren't playing as much as they want. He was a pro about it and wasn't a problem."

• Rich Mueller at Sports Collectors Daily shares some sneak peek photos of Topps 2015 Triple Threads Baseball card set.  Check them all out here.  On the right is a look at a Clayton Kershaw sapphire parallel base card.
• GCRL shares even more Steve Garvey Baseball cards; including some great oddballs.  Check it out here.
• Vie Eric Stephen at True Blue LA, "Kenley Jansen, on crutches, reports to Dodgers camp."

"It shocked me because I thought it was a minor thing. So many things are getting into your head, because you really don't know the answers until getting the MRI," Jansen said. "The X-ray scared everybody. But the MRI gave me good news that it wasn't a big thing."

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Dodgers Notes from Spring Training: Pitchers & Catchers Workout #4

Throughout Spring Training the Dodgers PR department sends out helpful daily notes from Camelback Ranch, and I am happy to pass them along.  See what they've written below.

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(Warning!  Pic via @LKRBOI on twitter)

A CASE OF THE MONDAYS: Today marked the fourth day of workouts for pitchers and catchers at Camelback Ranch – Glendale. Position players report on Wednesday, with the first full-squad workout of 2015 scheduled for Thursday.

• David Aardsma, Brett Anderson, J.P. Howell, Paco Rodriguez, Pedro Baez, Mike Bolsinger, Yimi Garcia, Julio Urias, Zach Lee, Chris Anderson and Chris Reed all threw their second “official” bullpens of the spring.
• A couple more position players reported to camp early for voluntary workouts, including Andre Ethier and Jimmy Rollins.

(Dustin McGowan, pic via Jon SooHoo)

NEWEST DODGER: Today, the Dodgers announced the signing of free-agent right-handed pitcher Dustin McGowan to a one-year contract and placed right-handed pitcher Brandon Beachy on the 60-day disabled list (recovery from right elbow surgery). McGowan, who will wear No. 27, has a 25-27 career record with a 4.57 ERA in 158 games (68 starts) in seven big league seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2005-08, 2011, 2013-14. In 90 career relief appearances, McGowan has posted a 4-1 record with a 3.79 ERA and limited opposing hitters to a .224 batting average. The 32-year-old made a career-high 53 appearances (eight starts) for the Blue Jays last year, going 5-3 with a 4.17 ERA and his first-career save. McGowan started the campaign as a member of Toronto’s starting rotation and went 2-2 with a 5.08 ERA (22 ER/39.0 IP) in eight starts, before being added to the bullpen, where he was a solid contributor with a 3.35 ERA (16 ER/43.0 IP), a 1.16 WHIP and a .215 opponents’ batting average in 45 appearances.

(Orel Hershiser and David Aardsma, via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2015)

GOING FAST: The Dodgers announced two more Cactus League sellouts today, for March 13 (7:05 p.m. vs. Cincinnati) and March 14 (1:05 p.m. vs. Cleveland). The club had previously announced a sellout for the March 27 game vs. San Francisco. Tickets for both the Dodgers’ and White Sox’ Spring Training games at Camelback Ranch-Glendale are on sale now and record attendance is expected at the park this season. The Dodgers’ home Spring Training game schedule features a total of 15 games and tickets can be purchased online at Dodgers.com/Spring or via the phone by calling 800-905-3315. Single-game tickets are available for purchase at the Camelback Ranch-Glendale ticket office now and ticket office hours are 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. MT from Monday-Saturday. On game days, the ticket office remains open for 30 minutes following the conclusion of play. Single-game tickets start at just $9 and parking is always free at Camelback Ranch-Glendale.

A BULLDOG BEHIND THE MIC: The Dodgers would like to welcome the 1988 Cy Young Award winner and current club broadcaster Orel Hershiser to Camelback Ranch! Hershiser will be in town for the next few days shooting short interviews for SportsNet LA’s “Connected With” series with Dodger players and coaches, before returning next month to call games on the network. SportsNet LA will broadcast 31 Dodger Spring Training games, including the team’s three Freeway Series exhibition games against the Angels. The first live Spring Training telecast will be the Dodgers’ Cactus League opener against the White Sox on Wednesday, March 4 at 12:05 p.m. PT.

IN OTHER NEWS: Congratulations to Zaidi on winning the Dodger front office Oscar pool by correctly predicting 20 of 24 category winners in last night’s award ceremony…in a heated game of golf match play yesterday, the duo of Tim Wallach and Steve Yeager defeated Rick Honeycutt and Jose Vizcaino at The 500 Club in Glendale.

(Puig being Puig, pic via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2015)

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Scorpions Invade Camelback Ranch - They Stay on White Sox Side

Those are some nasty looking creatures, eh?

Over the weekend Camelback Ranch, home of both the Dodgers and White Sox, faced an invasion of a different kind.  As reported by ESPN Chicago reporter Doug Padilla, the White Sox training complex was littered with scorpions.  Photo above via Padilla on twitter.

Strangely, they appear to not have migrated over to the Dodger side of the facility.  Maybe someone skimped on pest control for the Sox side. 

This incident does have me thinking, though.  With the band AC/DC already scheduled to play a concert in September at Dodger Stadium this year, maybe they should look at booking the Scorpions too.  Heck, maybe an announcement like that is on the way and this incident was an elaborate way to get the word out.  Or maybe Arizona is just covered with these little menaces.

BTW, from what I understand these are giant desert hairy scorpions, whose bite is unpleasant but not particularly venomous.  On the other hand, if they found Arizona bark scorpions I'd be running for the hills. 

Hat Tip: Michael Clair at Cut4:

Pic at very top via Doug Padilla of ESPN Chicago on twitter:

UPDATE:  I apparently spoke too soon.  The Scorpions are migrating towards the Dodgers side of Camelback Ranch.  On Tuesday, February 24th Jon Chapper in the the Dodgers PR department got stung by a giant desert hairy scorpion on the arm.  It was hiding in his jacket sleeve, per Alanna Rizzo on twitter.

Scorpion that stung Dodgers official Jon Chapper. pic.twitter.com/of9Y2mdo8e
— Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) February 24, 2015

Chapper is going to make it.  He was touch and go. We're so thankful! #Dodgers. pic.twitter.com/iBema0IttR
— Alanna Rizzo (@alannarizzo) February 24, 2015

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