Happy Birthday, Al Campanis! He would have been 97 today. The photo above was found on eBay and features him as skipper of the Newport News Dodgers (1950). Portsmouth Cubs infielder Pep Rambert is seen wearing a kilt as he jokes with the days umpires. He is poking fun at the Dodgers new uniform; which includes shorts.
- Via Baek Byung-yeul at the Korea Times, "Ryu: big leagues were no major adjustment".
''I would like to give myself 99 points out of a 100. I took one point out because I think I could have prepared better for the tiring major league season, which involves a lot of travelling and adjusting to time zones. Ninety-nine also happens to be my jersey number,’’ he said.
- You must check out Emma at Dodger Blue World's blog post. She shares a whole bunch of photos from her recent visit to the Sports Museum of Los Angeles. Awesome!
- Via Ken Gurnick at MLB.com, "Torre has the favorite in Breeders' Cup Classic: MLB exec, former manager part-owner of morning-line favorite Game on Dude".
- Via Mark Saxon at ESPN, "The costs and benefits of pursuing Masahiro Tanaka".
Tanaka, who turned 25 today, had a 1.27 ERA for the Rakuten Eagles over 212 innings and there are scouts who think he has the best split-finger fastball in the world. He’s not the power pitcher Yu Darvish is, but some scouts say he has better command and 24-0 (in a highly competitive league) is 24-0.
- Alexander Guerrero will begin Winter League play next week, via a tweet from Gigantes Del Cibao. Translated: "Official: Alexander Guerrero Cuban will be in uniform @GigantesSFM this Thursday, Nov 7 against @TigresdelLicey.
Oficial: Cubano Alexander Guerrero estará en uniforme de @GigantesSFM este jueves 07 contra @TigresdelLicey. #CaemeAtras
— Gigantes Del Cibao (@GigantesSFM) November 1, 2013
- Via Ron Cervenka at Think Blue LA, "Is the writing on the wall for Dee Gordon?"
- Via Scott Andes at Lasorda's Lair, "Dodgers Sign Fabio Martinez Because The Lookouts Need Players". He is noted for a great fastball, but lacks control.
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