Spring training’s a month away

Here’s a video of Dodgers VP for planning and development Janet Marie Smith talking about the stadium renovations.

At ESPN LA Mark Saxon points out that on the day camp opens the Dodgers have six veteran relief pitchers, four utility/bench players, eight starting position players and seven starting pitchers. That’s a far cry from the last few years when there were deals for starting pitchers being done seemingly up to Opening Day. Presumably they’ll deal a starter, hopefully for a fourth outfielder. Saxon gets off a good line, noting that there are a bunch of players whose health is best described as “improving.”

Trainer Sue Falsone might have more interesting media sessions than manager Don Mattingly.

Should we start getting excited yet?

Update: ESPN has released the Sunday Night Baseball schedule through July 21, and the May 5 Dodgers – Giants game at AT&T Park is included on the list. As David Pinto points out, there’s only one Yankees – Red Sox game on the schedule, which is a welcome change as far as I’m concerned. The Angels have two games scheduled, at Texas and the White Sox.

Update: Jon has some parting thoughts about both Stan Musial and Earl Weaver at the old site.

27 thoughts on “Spring training’s a month away

  1. Here’s the column: http://www.latimes.com/sports/baseball/mlb/dodgers/la-sp-plaschke-don-mattingly-20130120,0,7990.column

    Since Plaschke actually quoted Mattingly directly I have a little more faith he got it right. He does quote Colletti saying it would be resolved.

    “There shouldn’t be anything read into that, it shouldn’t be an issue,” he said of the failure to pick up the option. Mattingly “knows how close we are, he knows how we feel about it, and it will be addressed at some point, I just can’t tell you when.”

    Colletti added that “We’re in a good place, we get along, we respect each other, it will all get worked out.”

    • That link didn’t take for me. Try this one: http://tinyurl.com/a9ybmuw

      “I’m sure when I come to Spring Training there will be some limits put
      on me for some things. I’m not trying to be 100 percent for the first
      game of Spring Training. I’m trying to be 100 percent for the first game
      of the season.”

    • I feel comfortable going in with Cruz at 3rd (not so much Handley as SS with his defense). He apparently made some adjustments in his approach to the plate, though hard to see him sustaining his .320 babip.

    • For some weird reason, Milton Bradley being only 34 makes me feel young. It seems like so long ago.

  2. I am excited and ready for the season to begin, however, I am still troubled be some of the injuries and some of the positions. Namely, second base and catcher along with a 4th outfielder.

        • I was thinking of the other six position players. In any event, I detect no Ellis love from your side. To put it into perspective, Mellis had an OPs+ of 93 last year, not that much below our beloved Carroll the year before (99). AJ had a 118, the highest for a Dodger catcher since Lo Duca in 2001!

  3. Pretty glaring error in Saxon’s article when he failed to realize that the starting 9 would then include one of his 5 starting pitchers.
    Also, why is Nick Punto such a lock to make the roster? With Hairston and Schumacher, he would seem to be the odd man out.

  4. Not doing anything to improve the area where I sit (baseline VIP, didn’t need improving anyway) but expanding the concourse is the best thing they could have done for the level