Jan 22

Open Thread #7

Update: Ernie Banks passed away today. The Hall of Famer and former Cub was 83 years old.

Baseball America has a recap of the Dodgers’ offseason moves, with some attention paid to the minor leaguers.

Aside from the Cubs, the Dodgers’ top three prospects are as strong as any other organization’s in baseball. Corey Seager, a shortstop for now who likely moves to third base, is one of the most talented hitters in the minors. Center fielder Joc Pederson is a 2015 Rookie of the Year frontrunner, while teenage lefthander Julio Urias has the makings of a future ace, combining plus stuff with feel for pitching beyond his years.

After the vaunted trio, the Dodgers farm system is in a better place than it was a year ago because of the emergence of depth beyond them. Their top 2014 draft picks—first-round righthander Grant Holmes and outfielder Alex Verdugo — both had strong debuts and look like potential impact talents.

We’re less than a month away from pitchers and catchers reporting. They do that on Feb. 19 and have their first workout Feb. 20. Position players report Feb. 24 and have their first workout Feb. 25.

Aug 31

Game 137, 2014

Dodgers at Padres, 1:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA, FSSD

Hyun-Jin Ryu brings his 13-6 record and his 3.28 ERA to the mound after two weeks on the DL with strained backside muscles. Before he got hurt Ryu had 39 strikeouts in his last 38 2/3 innings overall while walking just six. I don’t think anyone expects that level of excellence in his first appearance back.

Facing Ryu will be Eric Stults, who’s 6-14 with a 4.63 ERA but has a 3-1 record and a 2.43 ERA in five starts in August.

Juan Uribe will come off the DL today or tomorrow. Chris Perez will also come off on Monday. As to callups from the minors Mattingly is being coy, other than agreeing that Joc Pederson deserves to come up when rosters expand September 1.

Lineup when available.

Yep. The first pass had Matt and Yasiel both playing CF with a big hole in RF.

Aug 24

Game 132, 2014

132 was my company number in boot camp way back in 1972 at the now-closed Recruit Training Center in San Diego.

Mets at Dodgers, 1:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA

Bartolo Colon will start for the Mets, but the big news is that according to Fox Sports he’s been placed on revocable waivers (see here for a discussion of what that means), so tomorrow’s start might be his last wearing the Orange and Blue. He’s 11-10 with a 3.85 ERA on the season.

The Dodgers send Kevin Correia out to make his third start as a Dodger. He’s 2-0 with a 4.09 ERA in the NL after coming over from the Twins and 7-13 with a 4.87 ERA overall.

In news from the farm, multiple news sources are reporting that the Dodgers will move their AAA affiliation from Albuquerque to Oklahoma City next season. A Dodger-affiliated buyers group is finalizing a deal with the current owner of the OKC Redhawks, which announced it was selling its five minor league properties earlier this year.

Oklahoma City’s elevation is 1,201 feet, while Albuquerque’s is 5,312 feet. The reasoning seems to be that trying to judge players’ skills when they play their home games at the same elevation as Denver is difficult and can lead to disappointment.

In other AAA news,

With a stolen base Saturday night, Dodgers No. 3 prospect Joc Pederson did what no other player has done in the Pacific Coast League since 1934.

Already leading the league with 32 home runs, Pederson swiped his 30th base of the season to become the first 30-homer, 30-steal player in the PCL since Angels Minor Leaguer Frank Demaree did it 80 years ago.

Lineup when available.