Blog Kiosk: 2/20/2011

• Vin Scully will be broadcasting on Opening Day- from the radio booth. From a Dodgers press release.

  Vin Scully, who is entering an unprecedented 62^nd season broadcasting Dodger baseball, will call six innings of the Dodgers’ home opener on TalkRadio 790 KABC on March 31. Scully will broadcast innings one through three and seven through nine, with Rick Monday and Charley Steiner handling the duties during innings four through six in typical postseason format. The Dodgers take on the San Francisco Giants at 5:00 p.m. on Major League Baseball’s Opening Night on ESPN. (Photo Credit: Phil Bath/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images)

• Here is a great article regarding America's first black umpire in professional Baseball in 1885, via Syracuse.com. (Hat Tip: Baseball Musings)
  
• Per Vin Scully is my Homeboy, Tommy Lasorda will be giving the 2011 commencement address at my alma mater Cal State Fullerton on May 21st.
  
• Edgar gets Bill Walton's signature.
  

The Field Looks Horrible

As some of you know, the Dodgers had their second race event at Dodger Stadium this winter at Dodger Stadium. The Monster Truck Jam came in on Saturday and looks to have totally decimated the field as the rain poured last night. I'm sure the Dodger ground crew did a great job preparing the field for the event, but I can't help feel a little dismayed. With giant trucks pounding the dirt while a storm unleashed on the Southland the field looks like a muddy mess only a Woodstock burnout hippy could enjoy. Check out some pics below found on TwitPic. From my understanding, at one point fans were briefly evacuated as lightening became a threat.

(Pic Link: TwitPic)

(Pic Link: TwitPic)

(Pic Link: TwitPic)

Day 4 Spring Training Notes

Here are some Spring Training Notes from day 4 from the Dodgers.

(Pic Link)

• CAUTION FLAG IS OUT: Pitchers and catchers hit the cages for their workout this morning as cold temperatures and a sopping wet field forced the troops inside at Camelback Ranch – Glendale. The most exciting debut of the afternoon belonged to two-year old Dreson Ethier, who took some hacks at a wiffle ball in the Dodger clubhouse, displaying the trade-mark leg kick of his father and a bit more speed on the bases (which in this instance was a tight circle on the carpet). Alas, the curly-haired toddler showed his wares from the right-side instead of Dad’s left, baffling the peanut gallery, including Ted Lilly, Hong-Chih Kuo, Hiroki Kuroda and Jon Garland.

(pic link: DylanHernandez Twitpic)

• PITCHING ON A FULL TANK: Starter Chad Billingsley threw his second bullpen of the spring along with Jonathan Broxton, Matt Guerrier, Travis Schlichting, Jon Link, Scott Elbert, Luis Vasquez and Javy Guerra. Non-roster hopefuls Ron Mahay, Lance Cormier, Oscar Villarreal, Roman Colon and Jon Huber also took turns on the hill.

• NO HELMETS IN THIS COCKPIT: This morning, Dodger youngsters John Ely, Dee Gordon, Kenley Jansen and Trayvon Robinson took several high tech head shots for the Major League Baseball Players Association so their likeness can be used in two upcoming video games. The first will be 2K Sports’ “Major League Baseball 2K11” and the second is “MLB The Show 2011” for Sony PlayStation. Over the last few years, each of the Dodgers have had their head scans done for these and other video games.

• THE GRAND MARSHALL: Dodger Special Advisor to the Chairman Tommy Lasorda is expected to arrive in Arizona tonight and will begin his 62^nd season with the organization. The Hall of Fame skipper belongs to 17 different Halls of Fame and in 2005 he was the honorary starter at the California 500 NASCAR race in Fontana.

(Pic Link: Dodgers Twitpic)

(Davey Lopes w/basestealers Furcal, Gwynn, Gordon, Robinson and Oeltjen under cloudy skies)

• POLE POSITION FOR PRIME: The Dodgers would like to welcome broadcast partner PRIME TICKET to Camelback Ranch. Broadcasters Vin Scully, Steve Lyons and Eric Collins will call 100 Dodger games this season on the network, which is entering its 15^th season with the team. In addition to the PRIME team, video aces Lauryn Lukin, Greg Taylor and J.D. Pruess arrived from the Dodgers’ in-house Sports Lab. Over the next few days, the guys and their team will shoot the videos seen on the DodgerVision board all season long.
• JUST MISSED DAYTONA: The Dodgers would like to recognize Spring Training Instructor Maury Wills, who has been at Camelback Ranch since the beginning of the week, schooling the pitchers and catchers on bunting and baserunning. Wills first came to Spring Training with the club in 1951 at the age of 19. Wills’ first camp was in Vero Beach, but the Dodgers actually trained in Daytona Beach prior to three seasons (1915, 1916 and 1946).
• AND THEY’RE OFF!: Tomorrow is the official reporting day for position players, but several of them have already arrived at Camelback Ranch – Glendale. Today, familiar faces Ivan DeJesus and Juan Castro stopped by the clubhouse before an optional work out on the minor league side.