Dodgers Blue Heaven: Blog Kiosk: 5/2/2015 - Dodger Links

Saturday, May 02, 2015

Blog Kiosk: 5/2/2015 - Dodger Links - Scully, McCarthy and Kenley Jansen

Pedro Guerrero shared the above photo of himself with Vin Scully on twitter yesterday. He wrote:

One my favorites of me and Vinny. They made me wear the rubber shirt to get rid of my winter belly.

Isn't Vin's sequenced sweater and pants just fantastic? Below are some links to check out:

Via Joe Resnick at AP, "Empty stadium would be weird for Scully."

"My first thought was that it's historical, if not hysterical," Scully said. "But it would be very awkward for me. I rely a great deal on the crowd — because to me, the crowd adds all the necessary atmosphere. So not to have the crowd would be like missing your front tooth."

Via JP Hoornstra at Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, "What’s next for Brandon McCarthy? Tommy John surgery history shows mixed results."

The takeaway, then: For major league pitchers 31 and older attempting to return from their first Tommy John surgery, the majority (58.9 percent) did not pitch 100 games after their return. The odds of reaching that milestone are even lower for starters than relievers. Some never pitched in the big leagues again.

This is the reality facing McCarthy and the Dodgers, who signed the pitcher to a four-year, $48 million contract in December.

Via Harold Uhlman at Think Blue LA, "Kyle Farmer makes debut with Tulsa Drillers."
Look who heading to Rancho Cucamonga to begin his rehab assignment, via the @Dodgers on twitter:

Hey @RCQuakes, @kenleyjansen74 is on his way! pic.twitter.com/Wo4nnnjElv
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) May 1, 2015

When Kenley Jansen does come back there's no guarantee he'll automatically slot in as the closer. Via J.P. Hoornstra at Inside the Dodgers, "Dodgers might not use Kenley Jansen as their closer when he returns from the DL."

“I’m not sure what we’ll do,” he said. “The way our bullpen works right now, I think that’s what we’ll — as long as Kenley’s healthy and able to go back-to-back, and we’re not trying to protect him in any way. At some point I think that’s what we’d like to get to. Now is that the first time out or second time out? I don’t know if we’re going to be able to do that, if we’re going to be able to ease him back in, or if it just jumps right into that.”

Here's an early peek at two of the bobbleheads the Dodgers are giving out this season. On the left below is the Kenley Jansen bobble being given out on Thursday, June 4th and on the right is the Juan Uribe bobble being given out on Saturday, July 11th.