Monthly Archives: February 2013

Feb 26

Request for info

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Who among you guys and gals has paid out your $110 bucks for MLB.TV on the computer in the past? I posted this on Facebook the other day, and I’m wondering how it’s worked for others.

So I’m thinking of subscribing to MLB.TV to watch games on the desktop this season until I look at the blackout restrictions for my zip code (and state, for that matter):

The below-listed Club(s) is within the searched home television territory, and MLB.TV is subject to blackout for all regular season live games for these Club(s):

Oakland Athletics
Seattle Mariners
San Francisco Giants
San Diego Padres
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Los Angeles Dodgers

Cool. I can watch all the games for all the teams I have no interest in whatsoever, but anything on the West Coast is verboten. Keep your $109.99, MLB.TV.

What a load of BS. Like I’m gonna hop a plane and fly over to watch the game so I can’t be given access to it on TV lest I hurt the paid gate.

As you can see, I’m annoyed by this. Has anyone tried it?

Update: Jon SooHoo has posted a number of great pictures from today’s activities at Camelback Ranch on his official Dodgers Photo Blog.

Update: Dodgers – Angels Gameday.

Feb 23

Exhibition Game #1

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“Juan Uribe had the first hit for the Dodgers, a line single, and Andre Ethier the first extra-base hit, a triple off left-hander Leyson Septimo.”

Well might you ask “what the hell is Juan Uribe doing in the lineup at all?” A question, unfortunately, that I can’t answer.

Kershaw started, gave up two runs in two innings, and came out for Belisario. He too gave up two runs in the Dodgers’ eventual 9 – 0 loss to the White Sox.

Zack Greinke and Hyun-Jin Ryu make their Dodgers exhibition debut Sunday against the White Sox at noon PT on Gameday Audio.

Update: Ownership in the form of Mark Walter and Stan Kasten was present for the game, and had some thoughts for Barry Bloom of MLB.com:

Expectations are high now for the Dodgers, and criticism could follow if they don’t win.

“I suppose people will say we were foolish or something and maybe they’ll even be right, if that’s the case,” Walter said. “I know Stan is going to do everything possible for the long term. We know that you can’t be a perennial strong team, strong franchise, without a farm system and player development. Stan is going to build that.

“I feel that especially in L.A., where there’s been a down period we’ll say, we needed to do something to tell the fans we cared and wanted to be back. Whether that results in a World Series ring right away or not, there’s really no guarantee of that. But it does tell people we care a lot.”

Feb 14

Scully “slams” Piazza!

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Steve Dilbeck at the LAT has dug up the incriminating KTLA interview Vin did with Mike Piazza before he was traded to Florida which Piazza has claimed permanently damaged Piazza’s reputation with the LA fans. I dunno, but I don’t hear Vin saying anything which Piazza objected to at the time, and certainly nothing which would have sent the fans into fits of outrage.

Update:

PRIME TICKET will televise games Feb. 25 against the Cubs, Feb. 28 against the Angels, March 7 against Texas and March 18 against Arizona. Scully will be at the microphone for all four games. The Dodgers previously announced that Scully would handle KCAL 9 games on March 17 against Milwaukee and March 26 against Colorado.

Feb 12

Pitchers & Catchers Report

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If there’s a more magical phrase than that to a baseball fan, it can only be “Game Seven.”

Anyway, the Dodgers’ Spring Training Camp in Arizona opens today for those two groups of players. The rest of the team arrives on Saturday. Here’s the official schedule.

Chad Moriyama has several wonderful pictures at his place, including ones of the Dodgers’ spring training caps (!). Gotta maximize revenue opportunities, I guess, but specific caps for training camp?

I’m preoccupied with a new dog, but I’ll start up the blog in earnest as the whole squad gets to Camelback Ranch, honest.

Bonus Training Coverage: The Vatican (!) just released video of John Paul II taking batting practice from 1987 while on an American tour. This took place in California.

Note: There’s some speculation as to whether that’s really Pope John Paul II, based on the English fluency of the hitter and the lack of interest the spectators are taking in his swings. Who knows? It’s a fun video.

Update: Jon found this article at Fox Sports about our new #2 guy Greinke. Apparently he’s a pretty decent judge of baseball talent; so says his previous manager with the Brewers, and Ned Colletti agrees. Greinke met with Stan Kasten, Colletti and Mattingly before signing and they talked baseball:

“The conversation went three hours and could easily have gone longer,” Colletti said. “We talked about our draft — he knew Seager. We asked him to go through our lineup, and he went through all of our hitters’ strengths and weaknesses.

“I looked at Donnie, he looked at me. Zack was dead on.”

That’s kind of fun to know.

Feb 01

New fan rewards program announced

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For those who live a little closer to Dodger Stadium than I, this might be of interest to you.

The Dodgers on Thursday announced the launch of a comprehensive engagement program that will reward fans for supporting the club online, via social media and at Dodger Stadium. The free Dodgers Rewards program is the first of its kind in Major League Baseball and offers fans the chance to win prizes by supporting the team through an array of digital activities, including merchandise purchases online, checking into games through MLB.com’s At the Ballpark mobile app and interacting online at dodgers.com and on the Dodgers’ official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.

[snip]

“We are creating an interactive rewards portal for all things Dodgers,” said Lon Rosen, the Dodgers’ executive vice president and chief marketing officer. “Being a sports fan is about passion and competition, and we believe through this platform we are entering the next phase of fan loyalty with the ultimate goal of rewarding our fans for their support.”

The first prizes include game tickets to the April 1 game with the Giants and an autographed baseball from Sandy Koufax.

Update: One of the commenters at MSTI sent along a super picture of the Dodger Stadium rehab project as it looks this week.

Update: Chad Moriyama has thoughts on the 2013 projection of results by Dan Szymborski‘s ZiPS system, which I confess I’ve never heard of. Moriyama thinks the system has some surprises on the low side but is overall pretty good at guesstimating how the Dodgers’ 2013 roster will perform.