Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers
Dodger general manager Farhan Zaidi will answer fan questions live on the Dodgers’ Twitter account at 11 a.m. on Friday. With Spring Training just around the corner, it’s a perfect time to check in. Tweet your queries to @Dodgers with the hashtag #AskFarhan.
— Jon Weisman
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By Jon Weisman
Lefty reliever Daniel Coulombe said he had absolutely “no idea” that he was going to get called up to the Majors in September, and considering he began 2014 with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga, who can blame him for his surprise?
At FanFest on Saturday, I asked Coulombe to reflect what he’ll take from the experience into 2015, when he will be competing for a spot in the Dodgers’ Opening Day bullpen.
By Jon Weisman
Bill Haselman, who managed the Dodgers’ Single-A Great Lakes affiliate in 2014, will move to manage Single-A Rancho Cucamonga in 2015, succeeding P.J. Forbes, who has resigned for family reasons.
Haselman returns to the California League, where he won a 2013 title with Class A Inland Empire (Angels).
The Dodgers have not yet announced the new manager for Great Lakes. Forbes has managed 11 seasons in the minors, the past two with the Dodgers.
“While we wish P.J. and his family all the best, we now look forward to welcoming Bill Haselman to Rancho Cucamonga,” Quakes vice president and general manager Grant Riddle said at the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes’ website. “We’re familiar with Bill from his earlier time in the league and we’re excited to get him in a Quakes’ jersey and welcome him to the Quakes’ family.”
By Jon Weisman
Mickey Hatcher’s two World Series home runs in 1988 are well known, as is the fact that he only hit one regular-season homer that season. But do you remember the significance of that one homer?
It didn’t come until September 23, but it was a big one. In the season’s 154th game, Hatcher broke a scoreless tie in the eighth with a three-run shot at San Francisco to give Orel Hershiser his 23rd and final victory of ’88.
The win also reduced the Dodgers’ magic number in the National League West to two. Los Angeles clinched a tie for the division title the next day, and wrapped up the division outright on September 26.
You’ll recall that Hershiser went 10 innings in his next and last start of the regular season, at San Diego, to break Don Drysdale’s record for consecutive scoreless innings. If not for Hatcher’s homer, might Hershiser, who threw 112 pitches in his 3-0 shutout victory against the Giants, have gone extra innings in this one?
Footnote: How many games did Hatcher play in during the 1988 regular season? Answer: 88.
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A busy week, and now it’s February … pitchers and catchers in 18 days.
– Jon Weisman
From the greatest to the youngest, this year’s FanFest inside Dodger Stadium was a wonderful time.
Ken Gurnick of MLB.com recaps the event, and in a separate story, captured Zack Greinke’s typically candid assessment of the state of things. More photos from the event are at LA Photog Blog.
– Jon Weisman
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By Jon Weisman
Add Mike Bolsinger to the group of new Dodger pitchers who knew Clayton Kershaw when.
Like Brett Anderson, Bolsinger’s knowledge of Kershaw dates back to their high school playing days.
Bolsinger, a righthander who turned 27 on Thursday and is seven weeks older than Kershaw, played on the McKinney High School team that topped Kershaw’s Highland Park High team for the 2006 state title in Texas.
Bolsinger recalled during a chat at FanFest today that under the tournament rules, there was a coin toss to determine whether the championship showdown would be a single game or a three-game series. McKinney won the coin toss, and wisely chose to go for the longer series rather than do-or-die against Kershaw, who went undefeated in his senior season.
“He pitched the first game and won,” Bolsinger said, “and we won the next two.”
A little inside baseball at City Hall: @YasielPuig reaches up for the throw from councilman Tom LaBonge. pic.twitter.com/bA7n3UaA8P
— Dodger Insider (@DodgerInsider) January 30, 2015
By Jon Weisman
Yasiel Puig was filled with insouciant musings during today’s conclusion of the Dodgers’ Pitching in the Community caravan, and Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com captured it in an entertaining piece. Here’s an excerpt:
… Puig looked strong, but had no idea how much he weighs with 27 days left until the first full-squad workout.
Perhaps somewhere between 255 and 260.
“Whatever weight I come in, it doesn’t matter,” Puig said, citing teammate Juan Uribe as an example by calling him a “gordito,” exaggerating his weight and saying, “He saves us every game at third base.”
Puig also glowed about Astros 5-foot-6 second baseman Jose Altuve, his teammate for an exhibition tournament throughout Japan in November and someone he credited with inspiring him to intensify his workout regimen this offseason.
“I don’t like working out,” Puig said. “It’s like you have to pay me to enter the gym.”
But Puig did, because he wants to steal more bases and he wants to limit the highs and lows of a six-month regular season. …
Jon SooHoo has more photos from the caravan at LA Photog Blog: first stop, second stop, third stop and fourth stop.
So what else is going on?
Always different to see the Dodgers away from the ballpark. #DodgersCaravan pic.twitter.com/segbL6KjZn
— Dodger Insider (@DodgerInsider) January 30, 2015
Howie Kendrick and friends getting in shape for 2015. #DodgersCaravan https://t.co/dGQHu0eHyE
— Dodger Insider (@DodgerInsider) January 30, 2015
It was revealed this morning online and makes its full public debut Saturday at FanFest. It’s the Dodgers’ 2015 slogan, “We Love LA.”
“Since 1958, the fans of Southern California have had a love affair with the Dodgers, our broadcasters and Dodger Stadium, and the feeling has been mutual,” said Dodger executive vice president and chief marketing officer Lon Rosen. “What better way to express our admiration to our fans for their overwhelming support than with this year’s slogan.”
— Jon Weisman
By Jon Weisman
For the first time, Hall of Fame broadcaster Jaime Jarrin and his son Jorge will form the broadcast team for the Dodgers’ Spanish radio broadcasts on KTNQ 1020 AM.
Pepe Yniguez and Fernando Valenzuela will be the Spanish broadcast team for SportsNet LA on television, with Manny Mota contributing on both radio and TV.
On the English-language side, the broadcast teams pick up where they left off, starting with Vin Scully on SportsNet LA for Dodger home games and select road games. Scully will simulcast the first three innings on KLAC 570 AM, with Charley Steiner and Rick Monday taking over on radio in the fourth inning.
For the other games, Steiner, Orel Hershiser and Nomar Garciaparra will work TV, with Monday joined by Kevin Kennedy on radio.
This is season No. 66 for Scully with the Dodgers and No. 57 for Jaime Jarrin. Monday is working his 23rd season behind the Dodger mic; Yniguez his 17th, Valenzuela his 13th and Steiner his 11th. Mota is in his sixth season as a Dodger broadcaster and 47th overall with the franchise.
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By Jon Weisman
Joe Wieland has already made it back. More than two years after July 2012 Tommy John surgery, the 6-foot-3 righthander pitched in four games for the San Diego Padres this past September, including an 84-pitch start September 24 that gave him his first big-league win.
The kinks, literally and figuratively, have been worked out, and having come to Los Angeles alongside Yasmani Grandal in the de facto three-way trade with the Padres and Philadelphia, Wieland is completely ready to take on 2015 as one of the new members of the Dodger pitching staff.
By Jon Weisman
As often as the top Dodger minor leaguers get recognized for their potential, I never get tired of it …
Maybe April 15th we'll all wear #42 with this Jackie Robinson replica jersey, presented by Bank of America. pic.twitter.com/sqdhNmH7Mw
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) January 29, 2015
Wrap yourself in greatness. Get your fleece blanket, presented by Security Benefit, April 29th. pic.twitter.com/gZ3Be07iSW
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) January 29, 2015
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By Jon Weisman
Pitchers Erik Bedard and Ben Rowen have officially been signed by the Dodgers to minor-league contracts with invites to big-league camp at Spring Training.
Make sure you check out the Dodgers’ guide to Saturday’s free FanFest at Dodger Stadium, which can be downloaded over at the official FanFest page. Above, you can see what will be the lay of the land. Again, this is the first year that FanFest is taking place on the Dodger Stadium field.
— Jon Weisman
What happens when three old friends in crisis fall into an unexpected love triangle? In The Catch, Maya, Henry and Daniel embark upon an emotional journey that forces them to confront unresolved pain, present-day traumas and powerful desires, leading them to question the very meaning of love and fulfillment. The Catch tells a tale of ordinary people seeking the extraordinary – or, if that’s asking too much, some damn peace of mind.
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