Yasiel Puig is the Man About Town - He Held a Clinic for Young Ballplayers, Visits Sick Kids and is Named GQ's "Phenom of the Year"

Yasiel Puig has been very busy.  Heck, he's been all over Los Angeles.  He's been spotted everywhere; most notably at the Staples Center watching Lakers basketball.  It's his exploits with kids, though, that should be getting the headlines.

Yesterday, he visited Children's Hospital Los Angeles with Pau Gasol.  Jon SooHoo has a bunch of photos available to look through, here.

Then, on Monday, he lead a group of 50 youngsters in a Baseball clinic at Dodger Stadium.  See Jon SooHoo's pics, here.  Also, there is a great video of the event below.

Video Link:

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Today, we learn that GQ has named him the "Phenom of the Year".  Their newest issue has a nice spread on him; including the photos below.  They also spoke with his roommate and handler, Tim Bravo, and share some great quotes.  Go here to view it.

From a GQ press release:

“The Dodgers told me: Don’t let him get in trouble,” Bravo says. “You would never, never believe what it was like to be involved with Puigmania. We couldn't go anywhere without him getting mobbed.” And when it came to adjusting to life in the US, Bravo shares that there were a few things that took Puigaback: At first, he couldn't believe the big-league Gatorade selection—'Ay, Teacher, muchos colores de Gatorade!' He loved that he could watch The Three Stooges whenever he wanted.”

(Photo Credit: Martin Schoeller / GQ)

 (Photo Credit: Martin Schoeller / GQ)

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AJ's Excellent Australian Adventure

As you know, the Dodgers and Diamondbacks are schedule to open Major League Baseball in late March at the Sydney Cricket Grounds in Australia.  So, with Baseball on its winter break, why not send some folks down south to spread word about the event?   AJ Ellis and Diamondbacks pitcher Patrick Corbin were the lucky guys chosen for the promotional junket, and I'm sure their teammates are super-jealous.  What lucky duckies, eh?

In the land down under, it's the end of Spring with Summer fast approaching.  The sun is out and folks are enjoying the season with all the joy you'd expect.  Heck, even Baseball, Australian style, has begun anew.  It's the perfect environment to get Aussies excited for Major League Baseball.

Both Ellis and Corbin have been meeting fans, young players and the viewing public the past several days.  Check out some photo's I grabbed of their travels from social media.

Here's press conference featuring Ellis and Corbin with former MLB'er Justin Huber (member of Team Australia).  It was announced that both teams will play Australia's national team as a warm-up to the Opening Series match-up. BTW, they also did a Live Blog Chat for FoxSports Australia that you can view here.

(pic via @DBacks on twitter)

AJ met up with Peter Moylan in Sydney.  Moylan is a native Australian and spent most of last season with the Dodgers farm club in Albuquerque.

(pic via @Dodgers on twitter)

(pic via @Dodgers on twitter)

Here they are on Manly Beach.  There's a joke in there, somewhere.

(pic via @Dodgers on twitter)

Check out more pics at MLB's facebook page, here and here.

(pic via @SydneyBlueSox on twitter)

Here are a couple quotes from the the always quotable AJ Ellis.

"Trent Oelten was one of my favourite teammates when he was at the #Dodgers. Aussies play the game hard" AJ Ellis of the LA Dodgers
— Sydney Blue Sox (@SydneyBlueSox) November 19, 2013

AJ is right.  Baseball at the Sydney Cricket Ground will be special.  From my understanding the games are already sold out.  Check out a seating chart here.

"There are a lot of iconic fields in baseball, but playing at the SCG will be something really special" AJ Ellis of the #Dodgers
— Sydney Blue Sox (@SydneyBlueSox) November 19, 2013

And, below is a view of, I think, where the back stop will be at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

(pic via @DBacks on twitter)

And, here's a video.

Video Link:

Pic at the very top via @ABLeague on twitter

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Blog Kiosk: 11/20/2013 - Dodgers Links - Vin Scully, Colletti Speaks and Puig Visited CHLA

Yasiel Puig and Pau Gasol of the Lakers visited the Children's Hospital Los Angeles yesterday.  Pic via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2013.  See more pics here.

• Via Steve Rushin at Sports Illustrated: "My Sportsman: Sportscaster Vin Scully".  It's a great read.

Ruth was hated by McGraw, Pele is dissed by Maradona, and so on throughout history. Lather, rinse, repeat. But Scully is a secular saint, beyond reproach, St. Vinny of Wherever You May Be.

• I'd like to extend a big Blue Heaven congratulations to former Dodger Dave Roberts on being named the Padres bench coach for 2014, via @Padres on twitter.
• Ned Colletti, Dodgers GM, discusses the infield situation and the chances they trade for an outfielder on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM.  Listen to the audio here. 

• GCRL takes has been taking a look back at the various accoutrement's that have appeared on Dodger uniforms over the years.  This time, he takes a look at the black armbands they wore in honor of the slain Presidential candidate Bobby Kennedy in 1968 - "Black armbands for RFK".
• Jeff Zimmerman at FanGraphs shares, "2013 Disabled List Team Data".  Unsurprisingly, the Dodgers were near the top. 
• Jon Weisman of Dodger Thoughts also writes for Variety.  Check out his recent interview with Bill Cosby: "Bill Cosby’s Stories Provide Must-Read Memories". 
• Listen to Kings Hall of Famer Luc Robitaille speak with Jay Mohr on AM570 about the Dodger Stadium hockey game, here - "LISTEN: Luc Robitaille Talks Kings Vs. Ducks At Dodger Stadium".

"It's gonna be a lot of fun even for our fans here in Southern California, to have the oppurtunity to go to Dodger Stadium to see a hockey game; let's face it, it's not going to happen too often, not sure if it'll happen again."

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