Welcome to the Blue, Pablo Fernandez! And Hector Olivera, Too!

It had been a poorly held secret that the Dodgers had locked up slugging infielder Hector Oliver and relief prospect Pablo Fernandez.  Well, now it's official.  After recently attaining both a visa and coming to California to complete a team-physician physical they are now Dodgers.  With regards to Hernandez, via a Dodger press release:

Fernandez, 25, has a 32-30 career record with 40 saves and a 3.59 ERA in 177 games (21 starts) in seven seasons with Holguin (2007-14) and Matanzas (2012-13). The Cuban fan favorite has been a staple in the league's All-Star Game during his career, garnering the most All-Star votes in 2013-14 and earning both the win and MVP honors at the 2011-12 game.

The 6-foot-1, 185-pounder had his best season in 2011-12, earning recognition as the Series Nacional Pitcher of the Year with a league-leading 1.52 ERA and going 7-4 with a club-record 18 saves in 95.0 innings over 35 appearances with Holguin. That season, Fernandez closed out the first extra-inning no-hitter and third combined no-hitter in Cuban history with a 1-2-3 10^th inning on March 13, 2012 to preserve a 1-0 win.

Fernandez last pitched during the 2013-14 season, posting an 8-8 record with six saves and a 2.83 ERA in 27 games (one start). He issued only 10 walks in 57.1 innings in 2013-14 and excluding intentional walks, he has issued only 87 walks in 414.0 career innings, less than five percent of his 1751 batters faced.

The Dodgers brass had this to say about the recent signings:

"We are excited to be adding two players to our organization that have consistently demonstrated their talent in Cuba as well as in international competition," said Dodger President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman. "We look forward to adding them to our organization and are confident they will be able to contribute to the Dodgers in the near future."

In celebration of Fernandez's signing with the Dodgers I made the above fantasy card for him.  I used a photograph grabbed online at CubaDebate.cu/Ricardo López Hevia and the 1972 Topps Baseball card design.

Below are his career stats from Cuba, via Baseball-Reference:

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Back in March I had made a "Welcome" post for Hector Olivera, so I'll link to that here.  There is a fantasy Baseball card I created, some background, links and videos of him.  I would also suggest checking out Jon Weisman's post on the trade here.

As you may know, Olivera is the big fish in this announcement.  He is thought to have signed a six-year contract worth over $60Million, and there were rumors of an affordable seventh year added on should any arm problems related to his elbow occur.  Fortunately, via Jon Heyman on twitter that doesn't appear to be the case.

olivera elbow said to be fine, despite previous rumors. he'll go to arizona to get games in before joining #dodgers.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) May 19, 2015

What we should expect is that he'll likely find his way to Los Angeles before the season is over.  Whether that is sooner or later is dependent on how quickly he acclimates himself to the game.  I suspect they'll give him ample time to get his swing in order and plenty of work on the field to truly see what he can do.  If he ends up whacking the cover off the ball then someone is going to get traded to make room for him.

Per a Dodger press release:

Olivera, 30, has a .323 career batting average with 96 home runs and 433 RBI, appearing primarily at first base and second base, in 10 seasons with Santiago from 2003-2014. During the course of his career, Olivera has posted a .407 on-base percentage, while drawing more walks (367) than strikeouts (251). He stole a career-high 21 bases in 22 attempts in 2007-08 and has 55 steals in his career.

The 6-foot-2, 220-pounder has posted a batting average of better than .340 on three occasions, while hitting double-digit home runs in five consecutive seasons from 2007-08 through 2011-12. During the five-year period between 2006-11, Olivera was one of the most durable and productive players in Cuba, ranking among the league leaders in games played (432, 5^th), runs (406, 2^nd), hits (563, 4^th), doubles (122, 1^st) and total bases (899, 4^th). In the 90-game Serie Nacional season, Olivera has recorded career-best marks with 17 home runs (in 60 games in 2011-12), 71 RBI (in 84 games in 2008-09) and a .353 batting average (in 84 games in 2007-08). He last played in 2013-14, hitting .316 with seven home runs and 38 RBI in 73 games.

Hopefully, he's as polished as his resume suggest. 

As you can see below I made another fantasy card for Olivera, but it's far from my best work.  Since I am pressed for time and far too busy, this will have to do. 

Below are his career stats from Cuba, via Baseball-Reference:

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It's Time For Dodgers Blackout - #ITFDB

This morning I was going through my news feed when I decided to take a moment to watch a couple of videos before trudging along through another day at work.  Oftentimes, I'll fill my head with useless minutia just to give me something to talk about at the water cooler.  Anyway, just before I got started YouTube put up one of those advertisements that I usually gloss over.  This time, however, I found myself a bit captivated.  Instead of a commercial about car insurance, I was regaled with an anti - SportsNet LA/Dodger/press/Blackout campaign. 

It's certainly is not your run-of-the-mill commercial.  In fact, it clearly is a fan made video, and said fan must have paid some money put it up on their advertising rotation.  Otherwise, I would never have seen it.  For that, I thought it was worth sharing.  Check it out below.

Video Link:

The guy above is Brian McDaniel and he is on twitter. 

The Dodgers are destroying, but Greed is keeping 70% of fans from being able to enjoy one of the best teams LA has ever had.  #ITFDB

— Brian McDaniel (@brianfmcdaniel) May 13, 2015

@BillShaikin please continue to press the issue of Dodgers' broadcast, you're the only reporter who's taken this seriously IMO.  #ITFDB

— Brian McDaniel (@brianfmcdaniel) May 18, 2015

I have no idea if McDaniel's campaign will lead to anything, but I love the determination.  BTW, McDaniel also calls for a fan "blackout" of not just the Dodgers but of the press/media/bloggers - who, in his mind, have not been the pressing the issue strong enough.  Of course, that includes this little blog, so I endeavor to do better.  (On a side note, I'm hardly read enough to cause a dent, though.)

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Blog Kiosk: 5/19/2015 - Dodger Links - Bolsinger, De Leon and Julio Urias

Initially, I was going to remark about the carefully wrapped hand that Roy Campanella appears to be systematically undoing.  Then I noticed the fellow overlooking the Hall of Fame catcher, and realized that it's longtime Dodger manager Walter Alston.  He just looks so young I barely recognized him. 

The United Press photo was taken during the early part of the 1954 season when Alston was a rookie manager for the Brooklyn Dodgers.  He could not have known at this time that he would eventually lead the club to their first championship the following season, so I imagine the concerned look on his face was filled with thoughts of a doomed rookie campaign. 

I'm sure he wondered, "how could the Dodgers manage without their star backstop?"

No worries though, his job would be safe as he guided the team to a 92-62 record.  Unfortunately, that wasn't enough to win the division, so they would have to wait 'til next year.

I found the photo on eBay.  Check out the auction here.  The caption on the reverse says:

 "MANAGER MULLS OVER MANGLED MITT.  New York: Walter Alston (left). Brooklyn Dodger Manger looks down at the injured catching hand of Roy Campanella, his number one backstop, in the dressing room before the start of the May 11 night game between Flatbush's Faithful and the Milwaukee Braves.  Campanella, whose hand was operated on last week, is in uniform to do some running exercises designed yo keep him in shape until the injured paw allows him to take up his catching chores again.  The National League's Most Valuable Player in 1953 is expected to return to duty in about two weeks."

Below are some more links to check out:

• Via Pedro Moura at the OC Register, "Dodgers' Mike Bolsinger creates buzz without power."

He loves to pitch, loves to learn about pitching, loves to theorize how he might be able to last with inferior velocity. He read about Greg Maddux taking ordinary catch sessions seriously, and so he started to, too.

In the bullpen before his starts, he used to do a standard warmup, and then he started feeling like he was getting in an inordinate amount of trouble early. This spring, he increased the intensity of those bullpens and liked how he felt when games began.

• Via Eric Stephen at True Blue LA, "Jose De Leon promoted to Double-A Tulsa." 
• Via Ken Gurnick at MLB.com, "Urias to have elective surgery with Dodgers' support."

"Obviously, one of our main intentions -- independent of the procedure -- is to protect Julio and limit his workload," said (Gabe) Kapler. "We're mindful of pitch and innings totals for every pitcher in our organization. Our aim is to take a long view approach to Julio's progression with laser sharp focus on long-term health. A blow midseason made sense to us."

• Via Mike Axisa at CBS Sports, "Report: Dodgers' Don Mattingly, Reds' Bryan Price to be All-Star coaches."
• With the trade of Dee Gordon over the winter this should come as no surprise.  Via Bill Shaikin at the LA Times, "They've become the no-go Dodgers."

Andrew Friedman: "For us, we don't have as many pure base-stealing threats, but we have a lot of depth up and down the lineup, so it's even more important for us not to run into outs. We have eight guys that can really handle the bat, so the risk-reward isn't there."

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2015 Panini Prizim Baseball - All the Dodger Insert Cards

Here is a final look Panini's 2015 Prizm Baseball card set.  Below are all of the Dodger insert and autograph cards that can be found in packs.  Go here to check out all of my past post on this set.

There is a Paul Lo Duca autograph card on the checklist, but I have yet to see one online.  As soon as one pops up I'll updated this post.

• Prizm Signatures Baseball - #18 Paul Lo Duca

Autographs Prizms

#30 Corey Seager

Blog Kiosk: 5/18/2015 - Dodger Links - Some Weekend Odds and Ends

Here are some of the players from my youth.  From L-R: Kenny Landreaux, Pedro Guerrero, Steve Sax and Mike Marshall.  The photo was taken by Dodger photographer Jon SooHoo at the Old-Timers Game luncheon on Saturday.  Go here to check out more photos by Jon of the event.

Below are some more links to check out:

• Jon Weisman at Dodger Insider shared a fantastic video featuring Roy Firestone interviewing Vin Scully in 1990.  Check it out here.
• Via Steve Dilbeck at the LA Times, "Sandy Koufax says there's no need to worry about Clayton Kershaw."

"Everybody has their periods when things aren't right," (Koufax) said. "What is the rodeo saying? `There's never been a bull that hasn't been rode, never been a cowboy who hasn't been throwed.' There are some days — you're a human being — when it's just not there. But the good ones have a hell of a lot more good days than bad."

• Via Earl Bloom at MLB.com, "Beachy throws to hitters as recovery continues."

"We're just leaving it in the hands of the medical staff -- it's still their call," manager Don Mattingly said before Sunday's game against the Rockies at Dodger Stadium. "There's no timetable. We're just letting his elbow tell us when he's ready [to pitch in rehab games]."

• Via Ron Cervenka at Think Blue LA, "Bolsinger credits Yasmani Grandal for his success."

“There are times when I’m gripping the ball and I’m already gripping a curveball and he calls it because he knows that’s what I want to throw,” said Bolsinger. “So that tells you a lot about his character and the way he likes to have relationships with all of his pitchers and it shows in the field with all the guys pitching, everyone’s doing really well. I think all of the credit goes to the catchers in that one.” 

• Via Dan Arritt at ESPN, "Los Angeles Dodgers' Kenley Jansen returns to closer role, notches first save."

“One thing I tell myself is that I’m not going to think about it, because if you’re going to think about your foot, now you might do something wrong with your delivery and now you’re going to cause your arm to get hurt,” he said. “If something’s wrong with [the foot], if it breaks or something like that happens, it happens. I just go out there and don’t pay any attention to it and pitch.”

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Blog Kiosk: 5/16/2015 - Dodger Links - Ethier, Dodgers' Hello Kitty Plush Doll and a Fan Ejection?

Here is a fantastic vintage press photo taken by International News, dated March 1, 1954, that I ran across on eBay.  It features several Dodger greats getting some needed practice before the season starts.  After having an impressive rookie campaign the season prior, Junior Gilliam looks to be showing a couple of pitchers how to slide.  After all, all reports I've read indicate that Gilliam had a high Baseball-IQ, and just naturally seemed to understand every part of the game.  Below is what is written on the caption attached to the reverse:

SLIDE, JUNIOR, SLIDE--Vero Beach, Florida.....Second baseman Junior Gilliam slides in under the watchful eye of Field Director Al Campanis at the Dodgers training quarters as pitchers Don Newcombe and Joe Black watch.

Below are some links to check out:

• Via Ron Cervenka at Think Blue LA, "Dodgers announce rain-delay ticket offer for May 25-27 Braves series."
• ICYMI: Kenley Jansen has been reinstated from the DL and reliever Daniel Coulombe has been options back to AAA, via a tweet from @DodgersPR.
• Via Dylan Hernandez at the LA Times, "Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier is playing like old self."

"It's frustrating, but not everything's going to go good and go the way you want it to be," he said. "You have to grind through things. You're going to have ups and down, not only in the course of the year but in the course of your career. You have to figure out a way to ride them out and keep fighting and keep finding a way to improve and make adjustments."

• Here's an early peek at the Hello Kitty plush Dodger doll that is being given away to fans on Wednesday, July 8th against the Phillies.  Check out the Dodgers promotional schedule here.
• Benjamin Hill at Ben's Biz Blog recently visited Historic Dodgertown and shared a bunch of pics.  Check them out here.
• I wonder if this could potentially be big news for Dodger fans; especially to those who have been locked out due to the cable situation?  Via Timothy Burke at Deadspin, "Judge Grants Class-Action Status To Sports TV Blackout Antitrust Case."  Jon Brodkin at Arstechnica also writes about the lawsuit in more detail.
• This is for the Baseball history buffs out there.  Via Rich Mueller at Sports Collectors Daily, "(Masnori) Murakami to Return to U.S. for Autographs."  Masnori was the first Japanese born player to appear in the major leagues, and he has just finished a new book on his experiences.
• Via David Seideman at Forbes, "Weighing The Risks and Rewards of Investing In Today's Vintage Baseball Card Boom."
• During Thursday's game at the bottom of the ninth inning the home plate umpire is seen moving towards the fans behind him and looked to be motioning at a fan.  The initial reaction by most is that he tried to have a fan ejected from the game; which is rare but certainly within his purview.  I spent some time trying to find out about the incident and came across the below post on reddit, here.  It appears that the flash used by a fan was the problem.  DodgerFilms makes note of the incident at the 10:13 mark in this video here.

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