Dodgers Blue Heaven: Blog Kiosk: 7/30/2019 - Dodgers Links

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Blog Kiosk: 7/30/2019 - Dodgers Links - Some Odds and Ends

Here's an up-close look at a Dodger stealing home. Featured above is a INP press photo, dated May 16, 1946, of Dodger great Pete Reiser (eBay auction link). Per the descriptor on the reverse:

The Dodgers great base stealer Pete Reiser shows his style in this sequence of photos at Ebbets Field today. With Stan Rojak at bat, Reiser makes his dash for home. He leads the league in steals and stealing home has become his specialty.

BTW, this photograph was part of the famed George Michael Collection of vintage baseball sliding pics. Below are more links to check out:

This Day in Dodgers History: In 2004 the Dodgers received Brad Penny, Hee Seop Choi and Bill Murphy from the Marlins for Paul Lo Duca, Guillermo Mota and Juan Encarnacion. In 2014 the Dodgers received infielder Darwin Barney from the Cubs for Jonathan Martinez and cash. In 2015 as part of a 3-team trade the Braves sent Bronson Arroyo, Luis Avilan, Jim Johnson, Jose Peraza and Alex Wood to the Dodgers; the Dodgers sent Zachary Bird, Hector Olivera and Paco Rodriguez to the Braves; the Dodgers also sent Victor Araujo, Jeff Brigham and Kevin Guzman to the Marlins; and the Marlins sent Mat Latos and Mike Morse to the Dodgers.
Happy Birthday, Vic Davalillo, Casey Stengel, Chuck Ward, Johnny Rizzo, Carl Doyle, Paul Minner & Ricky Horton!
BTW, tomorrow is Day 1 of the National Sports Card Collectors Convention ("The National") in Chicago. Go here for details about the show. There are over 100 athletes and guest signing at the convention. Additionally, just about every card manufacturer, auction house and high-end dealer in the country will be there. It's an event and a spectacle, and one of these days I'll make a trip east to attend.
Per Ken Gurnick at MLB.com -- "Maeda roughed up, Joc pulled as Dodgers falter." The experiment at first base has not been good.

But the frustration of repeated mistakes boiled over for Pederson, who grounded out sharply to first base to cash in Will Smith’s leadoff double in the eighth inning with the Dodgers trailing, 6-0. Pederson stopped one-third of the way to first base and tossed his bat aside. For the bottom of the eighth, Tyler White played first base.

“It is what it is,” said Pederson. “I think that it was unprofessional. I let the emotions get the best of me, and I need to be better than that. There’s no single thing [that led to the frustration], combination of things.”

Manager Dave Roberts called Pederson on it.

“Got to run the ball out,” said Roberts. “I think there’s a certain way to play the game. I didn’t see the effort there.”

Should you believe the hype? Per Jon Morosi on twitter:

Sources: #Dodgers likely to add a reliever by tomorrow afternoon, as they continue discussions on #Pirates closer Felipe Vazquez and #Tigers closer Shane Greene, among others. @MLB @MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 30, 2019

The Dodgers continue to pick up some minor pieces. Per Connor Byne at MLB Trade Rumors -- "Dodgers Sign Tyler Thornburg."

The 30-year-old Thornburg has gone through a sharp, injury-caused fall from grace since a brief run as one of the game’s top relievers. Thornburg debuted with the Brewers in 2012, but it took until 2016 for him to enjoy what looked like a breakout season. That year, Thornburg recorded a sparkling 2.15 ERA/2.83 FIP with 12.09 K/9 and 3.36 BB/9 in 67 innings.