Blog Kiosk: 8/13/2013 - Dodgers Links - Greinke Would Trade Ellis, Puig and His Adjusments, and Unsung Heroes

Both Clayton Kershaw and Jerry Hairston visited the set of the TV show Modern Family, yesterday.  Pic via twitter @Dodgers.

• So, if Zack Greinke were GM he'd trade AJ Ellis.  Check this story out written by Ken Rosethal at FoxSports.

“The first thing I’m doing is trading you and signing Brian McCann,” Greinke said, referring to the Atlanta Braves’ catcher, who is a free agent at the end of the season.

• "Overthinking It: Yasiel Puig Adjusts to the Adjustments," via Ben Lindbergh at Baseball Prospectus.  This is a very detailed and statistical look at the ever-evolving Puig at the plate.

Suddenly the Francoeur comp seems more silly than scary. Francoeur has never walked 11 times in a 10-game stretch, as Puig now has, and he didn’t come close to doing so in his rookie season. What’s really scary, and also exciting, is how quickly Puig altered his approach to correct a pattern that wasn’t working. Your move, major leagues.

• "Why Don Mattingly Gets Credit for the Dodgers' Success," via Howard Cole at LA Weekly.
• "MLB Notebook: LA's story becoming historic: Led by Kershaw, Dodgers' turnaround paralleling that of 1914 Braves, " via Roger Schlueter at MLB.com.
• "The Unsung Heroes of the Dodgers Crazy Run," via Dave Cameron at FanGraphs.  He has special praise for Mark Ellis and Hyun-Jin Ryu.
• Did you know that the Dodgers recently changed their logo?  Really... they did!  I'll let LA Taco tell you all about it.
• "Shut the Door, Have a Seat: Kenley Jansen Is Simply Awesome," via Michael Baumann at Grantland.
• Andrew Kallick at Kings.NHL.com shares an interview done with Dodgers catcher Tim Federowicz at the end of the hockey season.  Tim had just watched his first Kings hockey game.

LAKings.com: Have you noticed any similarities between being a catcher and a goaltender?

A: I was kind of watching their technique in between periods. It’s kind of funny. We do some of the same stuff, same type of stretches. A lot of the same techniques, it’s pretty cool. They drop down to their knees a lot to try to block the puck from going in the goal. We do the same when pitchers throw balls in the dirt. I’m sure they do a lot of drill work with it. It’s kind of cool to see the other end of it.

• John Thorn at Our Game (a noted Baseball historian) shares an old article that names Joe Jackson as, "The Man Who Might Have Been the Greatest Player in the Game". 
• Cuba's best hitter has reportedly just defected, via Matthew Pouliot at Hard Ball Talk.  He's a 1st Baseman, so I would be surprised if the Dodgers make a play for him.

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