Dodgers Notes from Spring Training- Day 6

Manny Mota doing some signing near his trusted bike, pic via twitter @poloascencio.

Throughout Spring Training the Dodgers PR department sends out helpful daily notes from Camelback Ranch, and I am happy to pass them along.

• THE GANG’S ALL HERE!: All 62 players (20 non-roster invitees) have reported to Dodger camp with position players reporting for physicals this morning at Camelback Ranch – Glendale. The full squad will start workouts tomorrow leading up to Los Angeles’ first Spring Training game a week from today on March 5 at 1:05 p.m. against the White Sox. The Dodgers’ first home game at Camelback Ranch will be the following day against the Giants.

• THROWING IT OUT THERE: Dodger pitchers switched up their routine today and threw their bullpens on the Major League side with Chris Capuano, John Grabow, Matt Guerrier, Todd Coffey, Javy Guerra, Scott Elbert, Kenley Jansen, Ramon Troncoso, Ronald Belisario, Will Savage, Alberto Castillo, Josh Wall, Matt Chico and Stephen Fife on the mounds. Last year, the Dodgers ranked among the Major League leaders in strikeouts (1,265, 4^th), ERA (3.54, 5^th) and opponents’ batting average (.241, 5^th).

(Javy Guerra signing for a fan, via Jon SooHoo twitter @Dodgers)

• RACE BASETRACK: This morning, Dee Gordon, Davey Lopes and Maury Wills took their speed offsite to the Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale for a Dodgers Magazine photoshoot. The Spring Training edition of the magazine featuring the three speedsters will be available at the club’s first home Cactus League game on March 6. The trio has stolen a combined 1,167 bases over the course of their careers with Wills (490) and Lopes (418) ranking first and second in franchise history. Gordon tied for second among Major League rookies last season with his 24 steals and became the first Dodger since Harvey Hendrick on June 12, 1928 to steal three bases in an inning, doing so in the seventh inning on July 1 against the Angels.

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(Dee Gordon, Maury Wills & Davey Lopes, photo credit Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)

• NOTHING MINOR ABOUT IT: Today, 51 Dodger minor leaguers opened early camp ahead of pitchers and catchers reporting on March 3 (the full group of 160 players reports on March 9). Last season, six of the Dodgers’ seven minor league affiliates ended the season with winning records and the teams’ cumulative .543 winning percentage (414-349) was the second highest behind only Texas’ .565 mark (431-332). In addition, four of the seven clubs reached the postseason and the AZL Dodgers won the Arizona Summer League championship.

• REMEMBERING THE DUKE: Today marks the one-year anniversary of the death of Hall of Fame outfielder Duke Snider. The All-Star center fielder won two World Series championships in his 16 seasons with the Dodgers from 1947-62 and ranks as the franchise’s all-time leader in home runs (389) and RBI (1,271). Last season, the Dodgers wore a No. 4 uniform patch and held a special bobblehead night to honor the memory of one of the franchise’s all-time great players.

(Maury Wills, pic via Twitter Jon SooHoo @Dodgers)

• I’VE SEEN YOU BEFORE: More familiar faces arrived at Camelback Ranch – Glendale this morning with members of the Dodgers’ Marketing and Community Affairs departments arriving in Arizona. Erik Braverman, Greg Taylor, Tom Darin, Erick Vazquez and Jonathan Dietrich will be in town for the next week gathering footage for various Dodger Media Network shows and asking questions of the players that will air on the big board this season, while Cindi Adler, Laura Levinson and David Brennan will assist with the collection of autographs on Wednesday to help with donation requests throughout the greater Los Angeles community.

• BRING YOUR SPIKES: On Wednesday, the Dodgers will hold their annual open tryout here at Camelback Ranch – Glendale, hosted by the amateur scouting department. The tryout will take place from 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. and potential prospects can call 323-224-1512 for details and instructions.

Blog Kiosk: 2/27/2011

Matt Kemp takes a stroll, pic via Twitter @PaulVizzle.

• Check out this great story from Eric Stephen at True Blue LA on what the typical day is like this early in Spring Training. Great stuff.
  
• This is just a helpful reminder. If you are not checking out Dodger photographer Jon SooHoo's website daily then you are really missing out. Here are some random pics from Spring Training on the 26th. Then the 25th. The 24th. The 23rd. The 22nd.
  
• Filed under "Getting to Know a New Player" Tony Jackson tells us a little bit about starter Chris Capuano.
• Old Time Family Baseball looks at the assorted food tweets of Tommy Lasorda. That man sure loves to eat.
  
• Andre Ethier got a little testy with reporters on his first day at Camelback Ranch, via Tony Jackson ESPN.

  Ethier eventually got around to saying he feels fine now, but not before responding to a friendly greeting of, “Did you have a good winter?'' with a curt, “We're not here to talk about that.'' He later responded to another question about why he was being so abrupt by saying, “I'm not your buddy. You're not my buddy. We're not going to sit here and have a bar-type conversation.''

• Jon Weisman at Dodger Thoughts points to interesting article featuring the proposed dome stadium planned by O'Malley in Brooklyn.
  
• "Why Do Managers Wear Uniforms?" via Mental Floss (Hat Tip: Rob Neyer)

  According to John Thorn, the official historian of Major League Baseball, it goes back to the earliest days of the game.
  

• Stacie Wheeler at Lasorda's Lair shares her top 10 favorite Baseball films.
• Here is a great editorial by Chris Lamb at the LA Times about Jackie Robinson and his trip to his very first Spring Training in Florida.

  Robinson stayed up into the early hours of the morning bitterly recounting what he and his wife had been through, seething over what the Greyhound bus driver had called him. "He was very annoyed and hurt," Rowe later remembered. "He had been called a 'boy.' This man had become a 'boy.'"

Collection: Fans of the Game- Corbin Bernsen

The great Roger Dorn.

This is my 2004 Playoff Honors"Fans of the Game" autographed card of Dodger fan Corbin Bernsen.

I really wish card companies made more of these cards. It would great to find out and chase after the cards of some of the more notable Dodger fans. Just don't make a Kardashian card. Khloe Kardashian claims to be a Dodger fan. I would hate to have to add that to my collection. On the other hand, I would kill for a Alyssa Milano card.
I love this scene from the movie Major League.

Video Link:

Hunt Auctions: Some Dodger Uniforms

Hunt Auctions is running their monthly internet auction right now and they feature several vintage Dodger uniforms that caught my eye. Check them out below.

Here is a Pedro Guerrero professional model Dodgers jacket. It has all of the appropriate tags that denote Major League use. I think I'd look pretty good in this.

(Auction Link)

This is a 1983 Kenny Landreaux professional model Dodgers uniform. I love the 25th Anniversary patch on the sleeve.

(Auction Link)

Here is a 1983 Mike Marshall professional model Dodgers jersey.

(Auction Link)

2012 Topps Baseball- Dodgers Insert Cards

Following up on my earlier post, here are some of the Dodgers insert cards from the 2012 Topps Baseball card set that I received in my group case break. I'll feature the Golden Greats set of Jackie Robinson and Sandy Koufax in future post.

This is a Timeless Talents card featuring Matt Kemp with Willie Mays.
Look how they compare.
The mini cards fashioned after the 1987 Topps set are very cool looking. Unfortunately, only Andre Ethier is available in Series 1.
I love that Topps uses the same kind of card stock used in the vintage 1987 set.
Here are the Golden Moments insert cards of Matt Kemp and Clayton Kershaw. These cards just do not look right. Obviously, they are geared to include a relic or signature, but just look odd and incomplete on their own. They should have added some additional flare to make them look more attractive.
Dee Gordon is a part of our Gold Future.

Dodgers Notes from Spring Training- Day 5

Chad Billingsley sits with Tony Kinkela of Dodgers on Demand, via Twitter @JessRosales1.

Throughout Spring Training the Dodgers PR department sends out helpful daily notes from Camelback Ranch, and I am happy to pass them along.

• THE ARTISTS: As we near the first full squad workout, 80% of the starting rotation fired bullpens today as Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, Ted Lilly and Aaron Harang took the mound along with Jamey Wright, Fernando Nieve, Angel Guzman, Wilfredo Ledezma, Josh Lindblom, Nathan Eovaldi, Chris Withrow, Scott Rice, Ryan Tucker and Michael Antonini.

(Pic Credit: Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)

• SORE HORSE(S): A couple of Dodger non-roster pitchers were nursing injuries today as right-hander Shane Lindsay (right shoulder soreness) has yet to throw a bullpen this spring. RHP Ryan Tucker (stiff neck) was able to loosen up and throw his scheduled bullpen session.

• THE DESCENDANTS: The Dodgers would like to welcome former right-handed reliever Tom Niedenfuer to Camelback Ranch-Glendale. Niedenfuer led the Dodgers in saves in both 1984 and 1985 and his 64 rescues from 1981-87 rank 10^th in franchise history. Of the hurlers ahead of Niedenfuer on the list, six amassed their totals after he did, including the top three of Eric Gagné (161, 2002-2006), Jeff Shaw (129, 1998-2001) and Todd Worrell (127, 1993-97). Other include No. 6 Jay Howell (85, 1988-92), No. 7 Jonathan Broxton (84, 2006-11) and No. 9 Takashi Saito (81, 2006-08). Current closer Javy Guerra is tied for 26^th on that list with 21 saves.

• MY WEEK WITH PSYCHO: The Dodgers would like to welcome PRIME TICKET’s Steve Lyons, who arrived at Camelback Ranch today to shoot several pieces that will air throughout the season. Lyons will be in Arizona until March 2, interviewing Don Mattingly, Matt Kemp, Clayton Kershaw, Dee Gordon and Mark Ellis, among others. Lyons is beginning his eighth season as a member of the Dodger broadcasts, providing analysis alongside Eric Collins for all road games outside of the National League West. “Psycho” also provides analysis for PRIME TICKET’s “Dodgers Live” pre and post-game shows, where he breaks down the games with Patrick O’Neal, Jim Watson and Chris McGee.

(Pic Credit Jon SooHoo/ Los Angeles Dodgers)

• THE TREE OF LIFE: The Dodgers would like to wish a very happy birthday to former outfielder and first baseman Matt Luke, who turns 42 today. Luke wore Dodger Blue in 1998 and 1999, hitting 12 home runs in just 237 at-bats. Currently, he is a member of the Dodgers Alumni Association, making community appearances and hosting autograph signings on behalf of the club.

• 9 AM IN LOS ANGELES: This Saturday, March 3 at 10:00 a.m. fans can purchase a limited number of Opening Day tickets as well as single-game regular season tickets at Dodger Stadium and on Dodgers.com. Prices on many advanced individual tickets for the 2012 season after Opening Day have been reduced as much as $20 per ticket. The Dodger Stadium gates will open at 9:00 a.m. and the annual On Sale festivities will include music, trivia and contests, hosted by AM 570 Fox Sports Radio. Additionally, fans that purchase at least one ticket at Dodger Stadium at the On Sale event will receive a Dodger gift.

• THE HELP: On March 1, the Dodgers will hold their annual open tryout here at Camelback Ranch – Glendale, hosted by the amateur scouting department. The tryout will take place from 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. and potential prospects can call 323-224-1512 for details and instructions.