Dodgers Blue Heaven: Blog Kiosk: 3/6/2018 - Dodgers Links

Tuesday, March 06, 2018

Blog Kiosk: 3/6/2018 - Dodgers Links - Some Odds and Ends

Just another fantastic spring photo of a Dodger signing for fans.

Photo above via Camelback Ranch on twitter. Below are more links to check out:

This Day in Dodgers History: In 1938 the Dodgers received first baseman Dolph Camilli from the Phillies for an outfielder named Eddie Morgan and $45,000. Camilli would spend the next six seasons in Brooklyn -- slashing an overall .270/.392/.497/.889 with 139 home runs, 572 RBI's and an WAR of 29.1. He would also be named the NL MVP in 1941. In 1948 the Dodgers traded second baseman Eddie Stanky to the Boston Braves. Stanky famously yelled at Phillies coach Ben Chapman during a game the season prior due to his racist insults directed at Jackie Robinson.
Happy Birthday, Frank Gatins, John McMakin, George Mohart, Doug Podbielan, Greg Hannahs, Terry Adams & Marcus Thames!
Yu Darvish is pitching against the Dodgers in todays spring matchup. Per a tweet by David Vassegh:

Dave Roberts had a good morning laugh when I asked him if the Dodgers will be looking for Darvish tipping his pitches today.
— David Vassegh (@THEREAL_DV) March 6, 2018

ICYMI: This past weekends game against the Giants including one strange quirk. Broadcaster Chris Berman managed the Giants. Via Jon Shea at SF Chronicle; "Chris Berman (guest) manages Giants in loss to Dodgers."
This is some Dodgers news -- tangentially. A Dodgers sabermetrician Baseball analyst named Ben Zuazmer correctly predicted 20 or 24 Oscar winners. Per Mark Molloy at The Telepgraph; "How a Harvard maths graduate correctly predicted 20 Oscars winners."
I kinda agree, but it's tough to say no to an afternoon game when your vacationing for Spring Training. Via Bill Shailin at The LA Times; "Kenley Jansen thinks one key part of Dodgers' spring training 'doesn't make any sense.'"

The notion might be romantic to fans, but All-Star closer Kenley Jansen says he has a better idea: more night games.

If the Dodgers want to exploit every possible edge in pursuit of winning the World Series, Jansen said, they ought to make the Cactus League resemble the regular season environment as much as possible.

"We play at 7 o'clock at night" during the season, Jansen said. "This doesn't make any sense."

Vin Scully has not disappeared. Far From it. Instead, he is a man about town. He recently was a keynote speaker for an little league opening day in Simi Valley. Per Melissa Simon at the Simi Valley Acorn; "Vin Scully inspires on opening day."

Scully mixed in a series of life lessons with stories from years past to inspire the players at the annual kickoff. The key lessons: respect, humility and no complaining.

“You’ll have good days and you’ll have bad days, but always remember . . . as teammates, you will win as ‘we’ and you will lose as ‘we,’” the baseball legend said.

“If you keep some of those thoughts in mind as you play, I think you’ll be happy with yourself, your mom and dad will be proud and you will have done something that’s not easy.”

Squash? Really? Dodgers owner Mark Walter is branching out into other sports endeavors. Via InsideSportsDesk; "LA Dodgers owner funds PSA’s $1m prize money squash event."

“My wife, Kimbra, and I are supporting the growth of squash in Chicago for three reasons,” Walter said. “We want to raise money for MetroSquash, a terrific charity, and allow the kids to hit the court. We want to give this tremendously talented and highly diverse group of athletes the recognition they deserve. And, we want to show off Chicago as a home for world-class sports.”

I fear this will be bad news for card collectors. Via Rich Mueller at Sports Collectors Daily; "Topps Pondering Company Split, Sale?"
Panini's blog The Knight's Lance shares over 100 preview pics from their upcoming 2018 Donruss Baseball card set -- coming out tomorrow. As you can see below, Cody Bellinger is the spokes-model for this product. Go here to check out more preview pics.