Day Two of the Freeway Series: Angels at Dodgers. Kenta Maeda makes his Dodger Stadium debut.
Ross Stripling is (for now) the Dodgers’ fifth starter. He’s never pitched above AA levels, and he will make his first MLB start April 8 in San Francisco.
Day Two of the Freeway Series: Angels at Dodgers. Kenta Maeda makes his Dodger Stadium debut.
Ross Stripling is (for now) the Dodgers’ fifth starter. He’s never pitched above AA levels, and he will make his first MLB start April 8 in San Francisco.
NPUT
John Oliver thinks the Yankees are elitist in their ticket policies.
What qualifies a royalist to talk about baseball?
My win – loss prediction for the year 90-72. Where that gets us is anyone’s guess. Thoughts?
I like 90.
91-71 has a nice ring to it and splits the difference.
92-70 feels about right. 42 in the first half and 50 in the second.
Or something like that.
Being a pessimist, I’ll take 95-67.
Well, Ross as one thing in common with Clayton (never having pitched above AA).
What’s worse than being subjected to GBA, in lieu of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame?” Having Steiner as the vocalist, perhaps?
Opening Day roster announced.
Starting pitchers: Kershaw, Scott Kazmir, Kenta Maeda, Alex Wood and Stripling
Relief pitchers: Jansen, Chris Hatcher, J.P. Howell, Joe Blanton, Pedro Baez, Yimi Garcia, Coleman
Infielders: Adrian Gonzalez, Chase Utley, Seager, Turner, Hernandez, Culberson
Outfielders: Yasiel Puig, Joc Pederson, Crawford, Van Slyke, Thompson
Catchers: A.J. Ellis, Austin Barnes
Disabled list: McCarthy, Montas, Anderson, Bolsinger, Ethier, Grandal, Guerrero, Kendrick, Ravin and Ryu
For anybody who enjoys sandlot ball – literally – see http://tinyurl.com/hdv5j9v
Reminds me of softball on Kwajalein.
Kwajalein looks lushly green, especially compared to the Atacama.
Part of it is. The end where married housing was built has actual grass and trees.
I think I’d feel really claustrophobic on an atoll.
You got vacation time every six months. I flew back here in 1976 to see the only preseason NFL game ever played in Hawai’i. It’s a five-hour flight. Friends went to Ponape on their time off.
No question it’s ripe for claustrophobia, though. 2 1/2 miles long, about half-a-mile wide.
Via ESPN: Dodgers: 2B Howie Kendrick and C Yasmani Grandal both will begin the season on the DL. Kendrick has a strained muscle in his left calf and Grandal has a right forearm strain.
I wasn’t feeling too good about our team prior to the Freeway Series.
I try not to bemoan or even celebrate too much what happens in spring training. We certainly have a tough row to hoe starting Monday. Even in the best of years we are destined to suffer through at least 70 losses.
Trout says hello to Zach Lee.
Well, Lee can console himself with the realization that Trout’s done that to a lot of guys. Trout has been in the league since 2011, every full season since 2012. He’s never finished below 2nd in MVP voting in those four seasons.
Yeah, in his four full season since age 20 he has average more the 9 WAR per year. His top four comps in BR are Mickey, Frank, Ken and Hank.
Where is Charlie Steiner? It is Nomar and Orel and some voice that is new to me tonight.
Haven’t heard Steiner for some time, and am hoping he’s been abducted, with Dodgers unwilling to pay ransom. The new guy, can’t recall his name, is pretty good.
I don’t think Charley’s gone. The new guy may be Joe Davis.
We can still hope. Unlike Steiner, Davis appears to do his homework, and his voice is not so grating.
I spoke too soon. Gameday is now up, for those away from their television sets.
It’s also watchable on MLBTV, and some people say the streaming quality has improved dramatically, though I don’t notice much difference.
Today’s Dodger lineup at Angels:
Crawford LF
Utley 2B
Turner 3B
Gonzalez 1B
Puig RF
Seager SS
Pederson CF
Van Slyke DH
Barnes C
(Wood P)
Apparently no Gameday for today’s game, so we’ll just have to keep talking here between NCAA games.
Game is on MLB Network
We may have lost another member of our group. In my email yesterday I wrote that I didn’t understand why Disqus closed comments when it did. I got this from Audit:
One less whiner, I guess.
RIP
It was pointed out to him before–I know; I did it–that you actually have other things going on that require your attention. And that this blog doesn’t pay you real well. Further, that you deserve credit for stepping up and doing it, not such mindless criticism.
He either will not or cannot understand. Bon voyage.
Wow. That makes no sense to me. You have always been clear about the role of this site, and I have always understood it to be for those of us who grieved the passing of Dodger Thoughts and wanted somewhere to go to keep us from losing our minds during the season. Emphasis on The Season. I am so grateful you are still willing to do this. Otherwise where would I go?
Howard Cole boldly predicts where the Dodgers will end up.
Toronto broadcasters critiquing Phlablo’s contract and his benching for Jeff Shaw’s son.
More base-ball aujourd’hui en Estade Olympique.
From a few days back. But good stuff.
http://dodgers.mlblogs.com/2016/03/25/the-outside-stuff-on-yasiel-puig/
http://dodgers.mlblogs.com/2016/03/24/the-inside-stuff-on-justin-turner/
Heavy blow to the Snakes, A.J. Pollock fractured his elbow. Let’s hear it for depth.
Pollock’s a very fine player, difficult to replace. Inciarte was their depth, but he’s a Bravo now.
That awful Snake FO should have seen this coming and never traded Inciarte.
/takes tongue out of cheek/
Everybody knows you don’t trade “impact players.”
Other teams have players who get injured?
LOL! Surprise!
So the Angles are using a DH and we are having the pitcher hit.
Vin talking about how 1988 is receding deep into the mists of time.
Heck of a long time. 28 years is about half the time I have been a fan of the Bums since 1958, when I was a kid on the Islands in 1958.
I prefer Bums over the Bums. The Donald and I are different that way. But nice to know I have a long term fan.
My earliest Dodger memory is the 1956 Series, which they should have won.
For me it’s been since 1961, so 28 years is almost half of that. To be fair, the early part of that time really spoiled me.
Law said that Maeda’s arm speed betrayed his pitches, but Albert certainly didn’t see that change coming.
Joc Pederson
2015 season: .210, .346, .417, .763; K’d 170 times in 585 PA (29.1%) and in 480 AB (35.4%)
2016 exhibition: .291, .350, .45, .805; K’d 22 times in 60 PA (36.7%) and in 55 AB (40.0%)
In a small sample, he has a higher batting average and is striking out at a greater rate.
Very strange spring numbers as he experiments with different approaches.
I like his latest stance with his front foot slightly more closed and his heel on the ground. He no longer takes those deep breaths before getting into the box either. For the first time in awhile, he looks comfortable at the plate.
Seager on the other hand looks like he hasn’t played too many games of late which of course he hasn’t.
See that Roenicke landed with the Angels.
Did he set an unofficial record as shortest time as a Dodger coach?
Probably now in a better position to assume a managerial role. (Scioscia now in his 17th year!)
Getting close. Getting excited. Maeda looks sharp, yes?
Let’s see how he deals with the two lead off singles, but yes.
Puig looked awful good in that AB.
Maeda with the Zach-like defense!