Check Out the 2014 Dodgers Spring Training Schedule - Home & Away Dates

This is turning out to be a busy Monday. 

The Dodgers just announced their home/away schedule for Spring Training at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, AZ.  Since the team is starting the season early with a couple of games against the Diamondbacks in Sydney, Australia in late March, the Dodgers will only be playing 21 games in Arizona.  They then finish up Spring Training with the annual freeway series match up against the Angels in Southern California.

Per a Dodgers press release:

The Dodgers will play a total of 24 Cactus League games this spring, in addition to an exhibition game against Team Australia in Sydney, Australia on Friday, March 21, the day before Los Angeles faces the Arizona Diamondbacks in MLB's Opening Series on March 22-23 at the historic Sydney Cricket Ground.

The Dodgers play 13 games at Camelback Ranch - Glendale, including 12 home dates. The club has at least one home game during each of the four Cactus League weekends, providing fans ample opportunity to make the five-hour drive or one-hour flight to the desert. Camelback Ranch features a state-of-the-art ballpark, six practice fields on the Dodgers side, including a replica Dodger Stadium field, walking trails, an orange grove and a two-acre lake.

After returning from Australia, the club will conclude their exhibition schedule with three games against the Angels March 27-29, including a pair of 7:10 p.m. games on March 27-28 at Dodger Stadium.

Below is a schedule.  Go here for more information.

*All Home Dates are in bold; (ss) – Split Squad

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Here are your 2014 Dodgers Coaching Staff

On the first day of the GM/Owner Meetings in Orlando, Florida the Dodgers announce who will be leading our team for the 2014 Baseball season.  As expected, Mattingly is back and Tim Wallach will be the bench coach.  Also, Lorenzo Bundy goes from being the AAA Albuquerque Isotopes manager to the Dodgers 3rd base coach.  Everyone else returns.  All that's missing, at this point, is an announcement regarding who will be the new trainer.

2014 Dodger Coaching Staff:

Don Mattingly - Manager (fourth season)
Lorenzo Bundy - Third Base coach (first season)
Chuck Crim - Bullpen Coach (second season)
Rick Honeycutt - Pitching Coach (ninth season)
Davey Lopes - First Base Coach (fourth season)
Mark McGwire - Hitting Coach (second season)
Tim Wallach - Bench Coach (first season, fourth on staff)
Ken Howell - Assistant Pitching Coach (second season, seventh on staff)
John Valentin - Assistant Hitting Coach (second season)
Manny Mota - Coach (35th season)
Steve Yeager - Coach (third season)

Below is some background on our newest coaching addition, Lorenzo Bundy, from a Dodgers press release:

Bundy joins the Dodgers' Major League staff after managing Triple-A Albuquerque for the last three seasons. Under Bundy, the Isotopes went 225-206 (.522) and tied a franchise record with 80 wins in 2012, when he was honored as the Pacific Coast League's Manager of the Year. Overall, the 54-year-old has managed 12 seasons in the minors in the Expos (1990-94), Marlins (1997) and Dodger organizations (2007-08, 2010-2013) and the 2014 season will mark Bundy's fourth time serving on a big league coaching staff after working as the Marlins' bench coach (1998), the Rockies' bullpen coach (1999) and the Diamondbacks' first base coach (2009). Bundy played eight professional seasons from 1981-89 with stints in the Texas, Pittsburgh and Montreal organizations in addition to playing in the Mexican League after he was originally selected by Baltimore in the 22nd round of the 1977 draft.

Pic at the very top via Jon SooHoo.LA Dodgers 2013

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Blog Kiosk: 11/11/2013 - Dodgers Links - Happy Veterans Day

Above is a great postcard sized card of US Navy - MLB ballplayers.  This card is a part of a 1975 set put out by TCMA.  On this Veterans Day, I thought I would mention a great website that takes a closer look at ballplayers in the military.  It is called "Baseball in Wartime", and go here to check it out.  There are a ton of photographs, biographies, etc.

• ICYMI: The Dodgers are starting their annual Holiday Mall Tour this weekend.  Go here for an updated schedule.
• BTW, the MLB GM/Owners meetings are happening right now in Orlando, Florida.  So, if there is a deal/trade to be had it will likely spawn from there.
• Via Scott Andes at Lasorda's Lair, "Tis The Season For Ridiculous Trade Rumors".  I think it's all ridiculous.  I firmly believe that you should never take any rumor seriously.  Most is just made up drivel.
• An old friend alert.  Via Mark Townsend at Big League Stew, former Dodger "Jose Offerman missing as federal lawsuit for 2007 bat attack heads to trial".  We are likely to never hear from him again.
• Summer Anne Burton at Every Hall of Famer draws a Tommy Lasorda HOF portrait.
• Via Tony Jackson at Dodger Scribe, "Yimi Garcia pitching well in AFL as 40-man roster deadline nears".

“I didn’t know what had happened,” Garcia said. “I had always thrown my fastball down the middle, and in the Dominican, you could get guys out that way, just blowing it by them. But I came back that next year, 2011 (at Ogden in the Rookie-level Pioneer League), and I started using my slider and my changeup a lot more.”

• Brandon Lennox at True Blue LA writes about the debut of newest Dodger Alexander Guerrero and his debut in the Dominican Winter Leagues.
• Murray Chass writes, "Anti-Morris Mob In Action".  For the record, I too believe Jack Morris should be in the Hall of Fame.
• The LA Kings 2nd bobblehead will be given out on Saturday, December 7th.  It will be of fan favorite Larry Murphy.  See it below.  The Kings complete promotional schedule can be seen here.

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