Tag Archives: Josh Wilker

Feb 03

Keeping busy in their spare time

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We often joke about the Dodgers and their community efforts, ever since Jamie McCourt made her ill-fated “Dreamfields” comment a few years ago, but the scope of what the organization does for the community is pretty massive.

To get a grasp of it, check out their 2011 Community Report.

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  • Josh Wilker, again. Tragic news regarding one of his inspirations.
  • Cincinnati slugger Joey Votto will become a free agent after the 2013 season. David Schoenfield of ESPN.com’s Sweet Spot speculates that the Dodgers will be one of six teams in most dogged pursuit of Votto at that time — if they can wait that long.
  • Scott Andes of Lasorda’s Lair chronicles the long list of injuries the Dodgers suffered in 2011.
  • Casting has more or less just gotten underway for pilots under consideration for the 2012-13 TV season. For Variety, I wrote a story about how familiar female names are dominating the early going: Kirstie Alley, Roseanne Barr, Jami Gertz, Judy Greer, Marcia Gay Harden, Anne Heche, Reba McEntire, Rhea Perlman and Sarah Silverman. Some might call it “proven veteran leadership.”
Feb 02

Durocher Day

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Dodger Thoughts commenter Bob Hendley passed along this photo of Leo Durocher and Laraine Day with his mother-in-law in Santo Domingo during Spring Training. 1948. Very cool.

Speaking of Durocher: Variety reported Wednesday that Christopher Meloni has been cast to play Durocher in “42,” the upcoming feature film starring Chadwick Boseman as Jackie Robinson and Harrison Ford as Branch Rickey.

For more on Durocher, check out chapter 57 of 100 Things Dodgers Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die: “The Head-Spinning, Allegiance-Shifting, Authority-Defying Leo Durocher.”

Elsewhere …

  • Josh Wilker of Cardboard Gods: still writing, still wonderful.
  • Today in Jon SooHoo: Pitching in his first major-league game in Canada on May 17, 2001, Eric Gagne gets a standing ovation from fans in Montreal. In that game, Gagne allowed two solo homers in the first inning, then pitched two-hit, shutout ball over the next five innings, striking out seven and walking none — but the Dodgers lost, 3-1.
  • Steven Cohen, one of the well-funded Dodger bidders, is pursuing a minority share in the Mets for the time being, according to Bill Shaikin of the Times. If Cohen ended up winning on the Dodgers’ front, he would then sell that Mets share. Shaikin notes that “Cohen has cleared a Major League Baseball investigation, the people said, which could bode well for his chances in the Dodgers sweepstakes.”
  • “The Verducci Effect,” which states that young pitchers who have large increases in innings pitched will decline the following year, is built on faulty methodology, concludes Derek Carty of Baseball Prospectus.
  • Former Dodger pitcher Vicente Padilla is facing legal problems in Nicaragua over child support payments. That could prevent him from reporting to Spring Training on time, although the amount in question has been reported to be only $4,200.
  • Instant-replay reviews in sports aren’t as cut-and-dry as you might think, writes David Cohen in his column for Variety.
  • Here’s a cute follow-up from Volkswagen to last year’s awesome kiddie Darth Vader ad for the Super Bowl.