Greinke is Moving On

Aaugh!  Damn you Dave Stewart!

The wait is now over.  According to Ken Rosenthal on twitter, and confirmed by local beat writer Steve Gilbert, Zack Greinke has decided that he will be playing a little southeast of us.  Zach Greinke will be a Diamondback.

Can confirm the @Ken_Rosenthal report about #Dbacks in agreement with Greinke.

— Steve Gilbert (@SteveGilbertMLB) December 5, 2015

After spending the last three years rooting for Zack I will now have to boo him at every turn.

Booooooooooo!

On a positive note, at least he's not a Giant.

BTW, Ken Rosenthal reports that it's a six year deal at $206 million.  That's $34.33 million a season.  Additionally, Jon Heyman reports that the Dodgers maxed out at $31 million a year, and Ray Ratto says the Giants were at six years and $195 million ($32.5 million per).  Also, as compensation for losing Zack, the Dodger will gain an extra draft pick from Arizona in 2016, so all is not lost.  It'll be placed somewhere between the 1st and 2nd rounds. 

For what it's worth, some folks are saying that the Diamondbacks swooped in from nowhere in the last minute.  I don't believe that for a second.  I have no doubt that Arizona had been in the thick of it since the beginning, and that Rosenthal's scoop earlier today was just preparation for the eventual news.  After all, a team doesn't decide to spend this kind of money on a single player on a whim.  They certainly had protracted talks with Greinke and his people.  Via Charlie Wilmoth at MLB Trade Rumors:

Still, Greinke to the Diamondbacks makes a fair amount of sense, and not just because of their ten-figure new TV deal. As FanGraphs’ August Fagerstrom pointed out earlier this week, Arizona already qualified as a sleeper team for next season. The Diamondbacks already had a solid offense headed by two top talents in Paul Goldschmidt and A.J. Pollock, and an excellent defense headed by Pollock, Nick Ahmed and Ender Inciarte. The chief reason they only won 79 games last season was their pitching staff, which rated 27th in MLB in fWAR. Their rotation already looked likely to improve somewhat next season with a full season of Patrick Corbin, but adding Greinke provides a much bigger shot in the arm. With Greinke in the fold, the Diamondbacks obviously have a much better chance of contending — not only because of the direct impact Greinke will have on their roster, but because they’ll be keeping Greinke from competing against them.

On the Dodgers front, they are already looking elsewhere, via a Ken Rosenthal tweet:

Sources: #Dodgers “intrigued” by Cueto. Interested in Iwakuma. Reached out today to agents for Cueto, Kazmir, Samardzija.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 5, 2015

Photo at the very top via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2015.

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Vintage Conlon Photo - Brooklyn Catcher Rowdy Elliott at RMY Auctions

RMY has an auction of vintage press photos currently up for sale and it includes an amazing collection of original Charles Conlon photographs.  There are over 450 of them; including 25 different Brooklyn players.  BTW, this RMY Auction ends this weekend, so if you want to add one to your collection you'd better get going. 

As you may know, Charles Conlon is regarded as one of the great Baseball photographers and is well known for his 1910 action photograph of Ty Cobb sliding hard into third base.  See it on the right.

Since this grouping of Conlon photos is rare to come by I thought I would take a moment to write about some of them.  I'll start with the above 1920 Conlon portrait photograph of onetime Brooklyn catcher Harold Bell "Rowdy" Elliott.  See the auction link here.

I was drawn to this Dodger because I had never heard of him and with a nickname like "Rowdy" I figured there's got to be something interesting there.  As it were, my curiosity was satisfied and I was saddened by my research.  

Rowdy Elliott, as he was commonly known, played ball for 23 years - one of which for Brooklyn in 1920.  He was noted for being an average hitter and a good defensive backstop.  Rowdy knew how to handle pitchers, but he also was a bit of a curmudgeon.  Per an entry in Pete Cava's book "Indiana-Born Major League Baseball Players":

Team officials accused him of "not doing his best, dissipating, playing off sick, leading younger players astray and doing nearly everything not intended to promote the best interest of a club, " according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

(Claxton, 1916 Zee-Nut)

That sure fits the bill for someone name Rowdy.  However, his skills on the diamond quickly lead to a player-manager position with the Oakland Oaks of the PCL at the tender age of 25.  While there he made Baseball history by unwittingly managing one of the first African-American ballplayers on a white ballclub.  His name was Jimmy Claxton and as the story goes he brought along paperwork indicating that he was of Native-American descent.  Unfortunately, Claxton's ruse was found out a few days later, and he was soon let go from the team.  Via Tom Hawthorn at The Tyee:

He got to pitch briefly in two games for the Oaks on the same day before being released after about six days on the roster.

"No reason was given," he once said, "but I knew."

By 1918 service in WWI came calling.  He was an Fireman, Third Class, in the Navy and served on the USS Destroyer Ringgold.  Then Elliott returned to Oakland a year later.  In 1920 he was sold to Brooklyn and helped the team steam towards a National League pennant.  Although he was far from being the primary catcher, he did get into 41 games.  One of which was catching a major portion of the record setting 26-inning contest against the Boston Braves on May 1st (boxscore here).  

After that season he returned to the minor leagues and bounced from one team to the next until his retirement from the game in 1929 at the age of 39.  All the while his life appears to have been in shambles.  His wife Helen Kearns, sister of Jack Kearns, former manager of boxer Jack Dempsey, had divorced him in 1924, and he was soon penniless by the time of his death in 1934 - five years after retiring from the game.

Rowdy Elliot had fallen out of an apartment window under questionable circumstances and died of his injuries in the hospital.  One source indicated that he was intoxicated at the time.  He was 43 years old.  Being unable to find relatives willing to take his body he would have been buried in a potters field if not for the donations of a few friends.

Rowdy Elliott was no doubt besieged by demons.  He was wild, and he liked the drink.  At the same time, he was skilled enough to play the game for over two decades; including one as a Dodger.

I'll leave you with this one quote by Elliott found in an 1920 issue of Our Navy from this time as a Dodger during the 1920 World Series: 

My idea of Baseball psychology is to hit the old pill on the nose and run like hell.  When you make an error in the field hit it so hard the next time up that it breaks their feet.  If the fielders are dangerous try to hit it over the fence.  When in doubt hit it again.  That's the only higher Baseball I know."

Hopefully I will be able to take some time to write about a couple of more Dodger ballplayers found in the RMY Auction over the ensuing days.

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Blog Kiosk: 12/4/2015 - Dodger Links - Some Odds and Ends as we Wait for Greinke

I can't get enough of these vintage Brooklyn Robins checkerboard flannel uniforms.  They're fantastic.  Featured above is an original International Film Service press photo of the two Robins/Dodgers backstops tasked with handling the pitchers during the 1916 World Series, as found on eBay.  On the left is Otto Miller and on the right is John "Chief" Meyers.  Best yet, there are a couple of gentlemanly chaps in the background with their own version of an early-20th century photobomb.

Below are more links to check out:

• Via Jeff Sullivan at FanGraphs, "One More Thing That Zack Greinke Does Well."

The real impressive thing about Greinke is how well-rounded he is. He’s an incredible pitcher, sure, and that’s what’s most important, but a part of that comes out of his preparation. He’s also just about unparalleled in terms of his focus, and his control over himself. He pairs his pitching stuff with his pitching intelligence. For a pitcher, he’s become a pretty good hitter, doing plenty to help his own case. And Greinke is an outstanding defender. I don’t think this counts as some sort of revelation — Greinke’s won back-to-back Gold Glove awards, and he’s won those for a reason. But we can go a little bit deeper. Greinke’s terrific in the field. It saves him several runs every year.

• Awkward!  Considering that rumor about the Dodgers highest paid player (Kershaw) asking Dodger management to trade Puig this bit of news about an upcoming MLB tour in Cuba should be interesting, via a tweet from Tim Brown:

Clayton Kershaw and Yasiel Puig are among players expected to travel to Cuba for MLB/PA goodwill tour later this month.

— Tim Brown (@TBrownYahoo) December 3, 2015

• Stealing Home at All Trade Bait, All the Time shares his bounty from a fellow card blogger; including a fantastic real-life fantasy Baseball card of Vin Scully. 
• Tim Wallach has officially been announced as the Marlins new bench coach, via Ken Rosenthal on twitter:

#Marlins announce coaches: Bonds (hitting), Menechino (asst. hitting), Wallach (bench), Bundy (OF), L. Harris (3B), B. Schneider (catching).

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 4, 2015

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2014 & 2015 Panini Black Friday - All the Dodger Cards

As I was preparing this post featuring the Dodger Panini Black Friday cards given away at local cards shops to eager collectors this past weekend it came to my attention that I never wrote about the promos that were given away last year.  So, this post will include the Panini Black Friday Dodger cards from this year and the last.  First, let's start with 2015.

I have yet to see a complete checklist that includes all the relic and patch cards that are available.  If a Dodger player is included I'll update this post.  In the meantime, check out the base card and Panini Collection card that is available below.  The autographed Pederson card is a parallel to its base card and is numbered to only ten copies.

2015

#48 Joc Pederson

Welcome to the Blue, Turner Ward!

With Mark McGwire moving down to the southern pastures of San Diego the Dodgers found themselves in need of a new hitting coach. Apparently, they have located their man.  Via a tweet from Buster Olney and an article by OC Register report Bill Plunkett, Turner Ward will now man the position. 

Sources: Turner Ward will be the Dodgers' new hitting coach.

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) December 2, 2015

Ward was an twelve-year Major League veteran outfielder, the most recent hitting coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks and an inductee to the Mobile Sports Hall of Fame in Alabama.  He began his post playing career as a manager for an Pirates Class-A team.  Then, he managed the Mobile BayBears, the Diamondbacks Double-A club, in 2011 and eventually earned Southern League Manager of the Year honors.  In 2013 he became Arizona's assistant hitting coach and quickly transitioned to the head hitting coach position the following year.  In his second season as the Diamondback's hitting coach (2015) the team ranked second in runs and slugging percentage, third in batting average, on-base percentage and OPS.

He was only made available due to what appears to be an contract dispute with the club.  Via Craig Calcaterra at NBC Sports:

Ward was the Dbacks’ hitting coach for three years but left last month after a disagreement over the contract the club tendered him for 2016. Some have reported that Ward was lowballed by the Dbacks on his renewal.

Those of you with long memories will remember Ward as the fellow who got into a bit of a scrap with Dodger reliever JP Howell during a melee in 2013.  Zack Greinke had gotten hit with a pitch by Ian Kennedy, benches cleared and a raucous brawl ensued.  At one point, JP Howell and Turner Ward faced-off; with Ward getting the worst of it.  Howell was throwing right-handed upper-cut blows to Ward's midsection and eventually bent him over a railing.  Watch it below.

Howell vs Ward, 2013 pic.twitter.com/vPHMXa5UFv

— Vincent Samperio (@VinceSamperio) December 2, 2015

Yeah, that was one vicious scrap.  For his part in it he was ejected from the game, but not suspended.

In celebration of his hiring I made the above two fantasy cards of him.  On the left, the photograph by Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports and I used the 1986 Topps Baseball card design.  On the right, the photograph is by 2015 USA TODAY Sports Images and I used the 2015 Topps Baseball card design. 

Below are his career statistics as a player, via Baseball-Reference:

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Blog Kiosk: 12/3/2015 - Dodger Links - McGwire, Rizzo and AJ Ellis the Hunk

Talk 'bout breakin' up the play.

Check out this fantastic vintage "United Press" press photo, dated August 28, 1956, of Cubs outfielder Pete Whisenant with an aggressive slide against Dodger second baseman Charlie Neal.  To use hockey parlance, it looks like Whisenant hip-checked Neal off the base.  Fortunately, the missed opportunity to get the extra out didn't lead to a run, but the Dodgers did lose the game, 4-3.  Photo above via an eBay auction.

Below are more links to check out:

• I'm a huge AJ Ellis fan, so this is welcomed news. Via Mark Saxon at ESPN, "Catcher A.J. Ellis will return to Dodgers in 2016."

They retained one of the most popular players in the clubhouse, agreeing to a $4.5 million, one-year contract with catcher A.J. Ellis on Wednesday.

• BTW, AJ Ellis isn't just a catcher and positive clubhouse presence.  He is also a reality tv actor.  Via Robin Reed at Yahoo TV, "Dodger A.J. Ellis Makes House Call to Lisa Vanderpump on ‘RHOBH’"  There's a video to gawk at, and plenty of material to make you smile.  The best line of all was:

"The LA Dodgers have sent over this gorgeous hunk.  AJ Ellis who, ya know, let me play with his balls... or practice, at least."

• Via Bernie Wilson at Yahoo Sports, "Padres manager Andy Green names McGwire bench coach."

''As a player I pretty much went through anything a player could ever wish upon as far as success, and all the failures,'' he said. ''You learn how to be a man through adversity and failure. The game is built on failure. I know how to bust through that. ... I'm ecstatic about this new role. It's a great challenge for me, moving up in the game.''

• Wow!  According to Erika Owen at Travel + Leisure, Dodger Stadium is the 5th most Instagrammed place in the world.
• SportsNet LA/Dodgers Broadcaster Alanna Rizzo is the Hispanas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE) “HOPE Rising” honoree at their 26th annual awards dinner tonight.  Adrian Gonzalez is expected to introduce her to the masses.  Go here for more information about this event.  Per a Dodger press release:

“I am truly honored to be receiving the HOPE Rising Award,” said Rizzo. “When an organization like HOPE, that for 26 years has been working to advance and amplify the voice of Latinas, notices your work and the impact it has on others, it only elevates my commitment to continue to work harder to open the doors for young Latinas that follow in my footsteps.”

• This is a head-scratcher.  Via Jon Weisman at Dodger Insider, "Dodgers part ways with Juan Nicasio."

Nicasio led all Dodger relievers in 2015 in innings pitched, finishing the year with a 3.86 ERA, 1.56 WHIP and 10.0 strikeouts per nine innings. He had a 2.92 ERA through August 30, before allowing nine runs in his final nine innings and ending up off the Dodgers’ playoff roster.

• Via Eric Stephen at True Blue LA, "Dodgers reportedly hire Neil Rampe, Nate Lucero as new athletic trainers."

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