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Friday, May 10, 2013

Welcome Back to the Blue, Scott Van Slyke!


The Dodgers game of musical chairs continue.  Coming off a spectacular April where he was the recipient of the Dodger Pride Award for the month, AAA slugger Scott Van Slyke will take his bat to Los Angeles for another shot at The Show.  Returning to Albuquerque will be Elian Hererra.  Per a Dodger press release:
The Los Angeles Dodgers today selected the contract of outfielder/first baseman Scott Van Slyke (#33) from Triple-A Albuquerque and optioned infielder/outfielder Elian Herrera to Triple-A Albuquerque.

Van Slyke, 26, was leading the Triple-A Pacific Coast League with a .397 batting average, nine homers (T-1st), 32 runs scored (T-1st), a .503 on-base percentage and a .733 slugging percentage in 34 games with the Isotopes. He was also tied for second in the league with 30 RBI. Van Slyke appeared in 27 games with the Dodgers last year, batting .167 (9-for-54) with two homers and seven RBI in his only MLB experience.

Herrera made just one appearance after being recalled on Tuesday, starting Wednesday’s game against the D-backs in left field and going 1-for-3 at the plate.
Last year, Van Slyke made his debut in Dodger Blue, but failed to impress.  Although, he did slug a couple of homers, and recorded his very first hit against the SF Giants.  So there's that.

I thought it would be fun to share a video I found of Scott Van Slyke in the Dodgers clubhouse after his first Major League hit as he faces a little bit of hazing.  Check it out below.

Video Link:

Here are his career stats, via Baseball-Reference:


Pic Credit Above: Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2012

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Here are April's Dodger Pride Award Winners - Minor League Players of the Month for April

The future of the Dodgers rest with the players in the minor leagues.  So, if you want to get a glimpse at how the Dodgers might perform down the road it's best to look there.  Fortunately, the Dodgers make note of who are the best young studs by awarding their best players every month, called the Dodger Pride Awards.  Here are April's award winners, via a Dodgers press release:

Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes
(credit: Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers)
Pitcher - RHP Chris Withrow did not allow a run in eight relief appearances for the Isotopes in April, going 2-0 while striking out 14 and walking five in 9.2 innings. The 24-year-old limited opponents to a .125 batting average and did not allow a hit in three road appearances (3.1 IP). Overall, the Odessa, Texas, native is holding right-handers to a .160 batting average (4-for-25) and has excelled with runners in scoring position, limiting the opposition to a .188 average (3-for-16). Withrow was selected by the Dodgers in the first round (20th overall) of the 2007 First-Year Player Draft.

(credit: Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers)
Player - 1B/OF Scott Van Slyke's eight homers led the Pacific Coast League during April and he also ranked among the league leaders in nearly every offensive category during the month, including batting average (.419, 3rd), runs (24, T-3rd), hits (39, 2nd), extra-base hits (16, T-1st), total bases (72, 1st), RBI (26, 4th), on-base percentage (.477, 5th), slugging percentage (.774, 2nd) and OPS (1.251, 2nd). To start the month, the slugger strung together a 10-game hitting streak from April 4-13, hitting .559 (19-for-34) during that span and recorded 13 multi-hit performances in April, including six games with three or more hits. Van Slyke made his Major League debut last year after being drafted by the Dodgers in the 14th round of the 2005 First-Year Player Draft.
UPDATE: BTW, recent rumors suggest that Van Slyke is about to brought up to the Dodgers.  If this is the case it is likely Adrian Gonzalez will go on the DL due to his aggravated neck.

Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts
(credit: Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers)
Player - OF Joc Pederson ranked tied for seventh in the Southern League with a .304 batting average while hitting a Southern League-leading six home runs in 24 games in the month of April. Pederson also ranked among the league's best in several other offensive categories, including RBI (16, 6th), hits (28, T-3rd), doubles (7, T-5th) and stolen bases (7, T-6th) while leading the league in both slugging percentage (.620) and OPS (1.001). The 21-year-old posted a 17-game hitting streak from April 7-24 and hit safely in 19 of 24 April games. Pederson was named the Southern League Offensive Player of the Week for April 15-21, batting .407 (11-for-27) with five RBI in seven games during the stretch. The Palo Alto native was selected by the Dodgers in the 11th round of the 2010 First-Year Player Draft.

(credit: Jon SooHoo0/LA Dodgers)
Pitcher - RHP Zach Lee posted a 2-1 record with 2.42 ERA, striking out 23 against seven walks in five April starts. Lee posted quality starts in three out of five April games, allowing just one earned run or less in four of those starts. On the year, Lee ranks sixth in the Southern League in ERA (2.15), ninth in innings (37.2) and 10th in strikeouts (30). The 21-year-old was selected 28th overall by the Dodgers in the 2010 First-Year Player Draft.

Single-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes
(Ogden Raptors)
Player - 1B O'Koyea Dickson batted .305 (29-for-95) with three home runs and 16 RBI in 25 April games. Dickson ranked among the best in the California League in both doubles (9, T-3rd) and hits (29, T-5th) last month. The 23-year-old is in his third professional season after being selected by the Dodgers in the 12th round the 2011 First-Year Player Draft.

Pitcher - LHP Michael Thomas led the California league with eight saves in the month of April, going a perfect 8-for-8 in save opportunities. The left-handed reliever posted a 0.87 ERA (1 ER/10.1 IP) while limiting opposing batters to a .184 batting average and striking out 15 without surrendering a walk in 10.1 innings. The Maryland native is in his third professional season after being selected in the 35th round of the 2011 First-Year Player Draft.

Single-A Great Lakes Loons
Player - C Tyler Ogle batted .338 (22-for-65) with four homers and 15 RBI in 22 April games, leading the Great Lakes Loons in all three categories. Overall, the 22-year-old ranks fifth in the Midwest League with a .463 on-base percentage and is hitting .309 in 30 games, including a .296 mark with runners in scoring position (8-for-27). The Portland, Maine native is in his third professional season after being selected in the ninth round of the 2011 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Oklahoma.

Pitcher - RHP Carlos Frias posted a 3-0 record with a 1.14 ERA (3 ER/23.2 IP) and 21 strikeouts in four April starts, tying for the most wins in the Midwest League. Overall, the 23-year-old has posted a 0.91 ERA (1st, Midwest League) and is limiting opposing hitters to a .210 batting average, having yet to allow a home run in 29.2 innings this season. Frias is in his seventh professional season after signing with the Dodgers as a non-drafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic on Jan. 3, 2007.


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Brooklyn Likes Ike - A Vintage Scorecard


It's been awhile since I've trolled through eBay for some vintage Dodgers goodness.  Thankfully, I found something uniquely great.

Featured here is a 1956 vintage Dodgers scorecard printed up by the King County Republican Party in New York to promote the reelection of Dwight D. Eisenhower - or Ike.  This scorecard was made for the upcoming World Series against the Dodgers and Yankees; as evidenced by the reverse (below).

The fact that a Baseball scorecard was used for Ike's reelection is so perfect.  As you may know, he was a huge Baseball fan.  He once said, via Baseball Almanac:
"When I was a small boy in Kansas, a friend of mine and I went fishing and as we sat there in the warmth of the summer afternoon on a river bank, we talked about what we wanted to do when we grew up. I told him that I wanted to be a real major league baseball player, a genuine professional like Honus Wagner. My friend said that he'd like to be President of the United States. Neither of us got our wish."
Not only that, Baseball surrounds his greatest letdown.
"Not making the baseball team at West Point was one of the greatest disappointments of my life, maybe my greatest."
I couldn't find much information about his favorite Baseball team, but I did find an interesting quote that comes from a talk with Dodger hurler Don Newcombe.
"I think I know how much you (Don Newcombe) wanted to win a World Series game. I for one was pulling for you, but I suggest that when you think over this past season you think of the twenty-seven games you won that were so important in bringing Brooklyn into the World Series."
So, maybe, at the very least, he followed the Dodgers.
(ebay auction link)

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Blog Kiosk: 5/10/2013


Yesterday, Vin Scully received a Lifetime Treasure Award.  In the pic above is Vin and his wife Sandy, via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2013
"We're as disappointed as any fans are about the slow start and the difficulty we've had so far," Kasten said. "I'm expecting it to turn around and I'm looking forward to it, because nights like the ones we've had in the last couple weeks are tough for all of us."
(tweet link)
(twitter link)
  • I found this to be awesome.  Fernando Tatis, who hit two grand slams against Chan Ho Park of the Dodgers in one inning has been showing off his artistic skills with MS Paint on twitter, via J_Boyd of Inside Stl.
  • "Judge Issues Temporary Restraining Order in Bryant Auction Case," via Sports Collectors Daily.


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* Dodgers Blue Heaven home page *

2013 Bowman Baseball - Dodgers Base Cards

Now that I've featured some of the more exciting Dodger cards in this season Bowman set, I've now got pics of all of the Dodgers base cards in the set.  Check them out below.  To see my previous post featuring 2013 Bowman go here.  I'll have the various insert cards to show on Monday.

#8 Hanley Ramirez                           #91 Clayton Kershaw

#120 Josh Beckett                                #142 Matt Kemp

#171 Paco Rodriguez                          #176 Adrian Gonzalez

#213 Andre Ethier                              #218 Hyun-Jin Ryu

Bowman Prospect Cards

#BP34 Jeremy Moore                                #BP61 Zach Bird

Chrome Prospect Cards

#BCP34 Jeremy Moore                             #BCP61 Zach Bird

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Move Over Dodgers, We've Got Playoff Hockey to Watch!

In not so surprising news, tonights Dodgers game against the Marlins will not be shown on Prime Ticket.  I say not so surprising because this is the third time this season that the Dodgers have been forced off of their home cable channel.  When you consider that Fox is losing the Dodgers next season to Time Warner, their lack of loyalty to the team isn't all that surprising.

In the Dodgers place will be the first round NHL playoff game of the LA Kings.  It will be Game 6, and the Kings have an opportunity to finish off their opponent for good.  Since I'm a huge Kings fan and I plan on being at the game in the Staples Center this news doesn't affect me at all.  Nevertheless, below is a graphic with the alternative channels.  More info can be found here.

Oh.... Go Kings Go!

BTW, as reported by Eric Stephens at True Blue LA, Charter customer will not get the game at all, and only Time Warner cable customers with HD can watch the game.

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* Dodgers Blue Heaven home page *