Blog Kiosk: 9/3/2015 - Dodger Links - Utley, Turner and Oklahoma City Won their Division

Congratulations to the Triple-AAA Oklahoma City Dodgers for clinching the PCL American North Division title last night.  Via Robert Emrich at MiLB.com:

"It was relaxed," Oklahoma City coach Johnny Washington said of the atmosphere prior to the game. "They understood what needed to be accomplished today and they came out ready to play.

And did they ever!  They defeated Iowa by the score of 11-3, on the backs of a pair of home runs by Andy Wilkinsand Chris Heisey and a two-RBI double by Corey Seager. 

The photo above via @okc_dodgers on twitter.  Below are more links to check out:

• Guess who's coming for a cup of coffee?  Via Steve Adams at MLB Trade Rumors, "Dodgers To Promote Corey Seager."  The Phenom is coming!
• Via Steve Bourbon at MLB.com, "Mattingly dismisses Marlins rumors." 
• Utley, you're a Dodger now!  He hit his first home run in Blue last night to help the Dodger sweep the Giants in a 2-1 victory.  Per Ken Gurnick at MLB.com:

"I definitely wasn't trying to hit a home run there, just hit it hard and see what happens," he said. "Obviously, it was the winning run, and that definitely means a lot, especially with Clayton on the mound. I've played a lot of games against him and I thought he was a very good pitcher. Now that I'm playing behind him, I realize he's an extremely good pitcher."

• ICYMI:  The Dodgers recalled outfielder Scott Schebler.  There are now 31 players on the active roster.  Via a Dodger press release:

Schebler, 24, made his Major League debut on June 5 against the Cardinals, going 1-for-3, during a brief, one-day recall with the Dodgers, and batted .241 with 13 home runs and 50 RBI in 121 games with OKC this year. The Iowa native was selected by the Dodgers in the 26th round of the 2010 First-Year Player Draft and was the organization’s 2013 Branch Rickey Minor League Player of the Year.

• Eric Lichtblau of the NYT confirms that Buster Posey is a bad man; "In Sharing Baseball’s Joys, Mourning Something Lost."  (Hat Tip: Sax at Sons of Steve Garvey)
• Via Ron Cervenka at Think Blue LA, "Is Joc Pederson fixed?"
  

  “There’s not one certain way that you have to hit. You take the knowledge from myself or whoever it may be – the stuff they’re passing on to you – and you make it your own, and that’s what Joc’s trying to do right now,” said McGwire. “We’re trying to calm the swing down, not feeling like you have to swing at a hundred and fifty percent all the time. If he can get in that box and feel like he’s swinging about seventy percent, good things are going to happen. It’s all about being patient. This kid, the sky’s the limit for him. I’m his biggest backer and I love him to death and the thing is, he works his rear end off.”

• Via Jeff Todd at MLB Trade Rumors, "Extension Candidate: Justin Turner."
  

  It’s questionable, to be sure, whether he can maintain the power surge that has pushed his isolated slugging mark to over .200. Turner’s 15.6% home run per flyball rate in 2015 may be unsustainable — that’s a career-best by a significant margin — but he has obviously learned something about driving the ball that seems likely to stick. Building off improvements in his contact profile that were evident in his 2013 numbers with the Mets, the 2015 version of Turner makes hard contact in approximately one third of his plate appearances while generating the same soft contact rate (10.8%) as Paul Goldschmidt and Miguel Cabrera.

• This is pretty cool.  Via Shawn Anderson at the Hall of Very Good, "Rockford Peaches Honored at Site of Old Stadium."
• Via Night Owl Cards, "A decade in blue, who knew?"  He takes a look at some of the cards of the longest tentured Dodger - Andre Ethier.

* Please follow on twitter @ernestreyes *

* Like Dodgers Blue Heaven on facebook *

* Dodgers Blue Heaven home page *