Friday, November 13, 2015

Brett Anderson to Stay Blue - Accepts Qualifying Offer


Dodger starter Brett Anderson had a decision to make.  Will he stay or will he go.

Now we have an answer.  According to a tweet by Buster Olney, he has decided to stay a Dodger:
What this means is that Brett Anderson will continue pitching for the club in 2016 for a salary of $15,800,000.00.  Via Jon Weisman at Dodger Insider:
Anderson, who turns 28 just before Spring Training, set a career high in innings (180 1/3) this year and had his best season since 2009, with a 3.69 ERA, a career-high 18 quality starts and an MLB-leading 66.3 percent groundball rate.
I gotta say that I'm happy to have him back.  He had a good season, and figures on being an important cog in the Dodger rotation next year.

BTW, Anderson commented just a moment ago on twitter about his decision:
And teammate Justin Turner welcomed him back:
In celebration of his decision to stay with the club I made the above fantasy card of him.  The photograph was taken by Dodger photographer Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2015 and I used both the 1972 Topps Baseball card designs.

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Blog Kiosk: 11/13/2015 - Dodger Links - Gordon, Ryu and Cricket at Dodger Stadium


Who are these bloke's in the photo above?

They are the international cricket all-stars who are scheduled to play an exhibition game at Dodger Stadium tomorrow evening.  Via David Wharton at the LA Times:
The Cricket All-Stars tour features 29 of the best players from the past two decades, with a roster including renowned batsman Brian Lara of Trinidad and Tobago and bowlers Wasim Akram of Pakistan and Glenn McGrath of Australia.

Warne, famed for his bowling skills, has come out of retirement to be one of the captains. Tendulkar has done likewise after a career that saw him help India to the 2011 World Cup and become the only player to complete 30,000 runs in international competition.
In other words, many of these guys are a big deal in the sport.  I don't know much about the game (except that matches can go on for days), but have always been fascinated by it.  After all, cricket is kind of like Baseball's long lost cousin from across the pond.  Go here to get tickets.

One other thing, why have I not seen any pics of what Dodger Stadium looks like as a cricket field?  I've search high and low online and I can't find a thing.  What's the deal with that?  Will someone please take some pics and post them online.

Photo above via Sachin Tendulkar on twitter.  Below are more links to check out:
  • Wow!  Dee Gordon has had a fantastic winter so far.  Not only did he end the season as the batting crown and stolen base winner, but he also took home the gold glove and silver slugger awards.  Congrats!  We may yet rue the day we gave up on his promise.  I also think it's fair to say that the Marlins are coming out smelling like roses on that trade right now.  Of course, we've yet to truly see the promise of Hernandez, Barnes, Hatcher and a future draft pick (assuming Kendrick goes elsewhere).  Still, Gordon's break-out does make me wonder what could have been.

I would say he exceeded our expectations," Zaidi said. "I think he exceeded everybody's expectations. That's a testament to him and his work ethic and his ability to improve. There were definitely people in our organization that felt like he had shown that ability to improve."
When the Dodgers traded Juan Uribe on May 27, long-time super utility player Justin Turner finally became a full-time starter. In the months since, Turner’s performance earned him praise, including from Dave Cameron on JABO, but it didn’t quite click for me just how good Turner had been until I looked at his offensive numbers from the past two seasons. Among hitters with at least 500 plate appearances since 2014, Turner has the 11th-best wRC+ (148), just behind Anthony Rizzo and ahead of players including Nelson Cruz, Jose Abreu, Michael Brantley, and the likely first selected fantasy third baseman in 2016 drafts, Josh Donaldson.
“He has been speeding up his rehab,” it wrote in a Thursday press release. “He’s been working really hard. On behalf of the player, we’d like to thank the fans for supporting him through his recovery so far. He hasn’t been down on himself, and things have gone well.”

Furthermore, U.S. agent Scott Boras told reporters that he has been throwing long toss from 90 feet and “should be ready to go for spring training.”

Video Link:

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