Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Another Lefty Causes Dodgers' to Chat on Twitter


Dodger fans finally have something positive to talk about, and so do the players.  In fact, following the announcement that Scott Kazmir is officially a teammate several players took to twitter to celebrate.

Kinda...

Much of the starting staff, including one of the catchers, decided to have a little bit of fun.  Check out what fellow lefty Brett Anderson had to say:
AJ, of course, had to get in on the act.

Then out of the Blue, Clayton came on:
The lone righty in the bunch decided that this signing calls for some serious intervention. 

Could a case be made?
I don't think this situation calls for any kind of "affirmative action" to the starting staff.  Although, there is that outside possibility that the Dodgers could still go after Japanese right-hander Maeda.

And finally, Kazmir ingratiates himself to the team and it's fans with the below tweet.
On a side note, I'm still waiting for the other lefty's in the group to chime in.  I'll let you know if Alex Wood or Hyun-Jin Ryu let their voices be heard.

BTW, I had so much fun making fantasy cards for Scott Kazmir I decided to make another.  You can see that at the very top.  I used a photograph by Rob Tringali/Getty Images North America taken during an Angels photo day in 2011 and the 1982 Topps Baseball card design.  Frankly, this entire post is just an excuse to put up this card.

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* Dodgers Blue Heaven home page *
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Welcome to the Blue, Scott Kazmir!


Finally!  A deal that gets done.

The Dodgers announced today that they have just (officially) signed 31-year old free agent left-handed pitcher Scott Kazmir.  So we won't have a cancelled deal here.  It is a three-year contract, at $48 million and according to Jon Heyman on twitter he has an opt-out agreement after year one. 

This signing gives the Dodgers a very heavy left-handed starting rotation (Kershaw, Anderson, Wood & Ryu).  He throws a four-seam and two-seam fastball in the low-90's, a mid-80's slider, a change in the loow 80's and an curveball.  BTW, Michael Beller at SI noted that Kazmir started to throw his curveball with more regularity last season (link here).  Also, Dustin Nosler at Dodgers Digest put together a nice write-up on Kazmir recently that is worth checking out here.

Per a Dodger press release:
Kazmir, 31, has a 98-90 career record with a 3.96 ERA in 272 games (271 starts) in 11 big league seasons, all in the American League, with the Rays (2004-09), Angels (2009-11), Indians (2013), Athletics (2014-15) and Astros (2015). The three-time All-Star (2006, ’08, ’14) has posted double-digit victories in seven of his 11 MLB seasons and has averaged nearly a strikeout per inning during the course of his career with 1,474 Ks in 1,553.1 innings, including a career high and AL-best 239 strikeouts in 2007 with Tampa Bay.

In 2015 with Oakland and Houston, Kazmir combined to post a 7-11 record with a 3.10 ERA in 31 starts, ranking among the AL’s best in ERA (4th), opponents’ batting average (.237, 15th) and WHIP (1.21, 15th). He produced a 43.4 groundball percentage and forced an average of 0.84 double plays per 9.0 innings, the eighth-highest mark in the AL.
In celebration of his hiring I made the above two fantasy cards of him.  On the left, the photograph was taken by Scot Tucker/SF Bay and I used the 1979 Topps Baseball card design.  On the right, the photograph was taken by Christian Petersen/Getty Images North America and I used the 1974 Topps Baseball card design.

Below are his career statistics as a player and a manager, via Baseball-Reference:


* Please follow on twitter @ernestreyes *
* Dodgers Blue Heaven home page *
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Blog Kiosk: 12/30/2015 - Dodger Links - Yimi, Frankie and Happy Birthday to You Sandy


Happy Birthday, Sandy!

Today is his 80th birthday, so I figured I'd begin this kiosk with a vintage AP Press Photo of Koufax gleefully decimating the Yankees.  Check it out above.  This pic recently sold on eBay (link here).  The photo is the aftermath of his 15th strike out of the evening during Game 1 of the 1963 World Series in New York.  The Dodgers easily beat the bombers 5-2 that day, and went on to sweep them to become World Champions.

BTW, earlier this month I wrote several post featuring every Sandy Koufax card and memorabilia item from his playing days.  Check them out here: Part 1 (1955-1959); Part 2 (1960-1962); Part 3 (1963-1964); Part 4 (1965-1967).   

Below are more links to check out:
  • You gotta check these all out.  Dan Glickman at the Hall of Very Good shares a great list of some of the best links of 2015.  They are all worth a read.
  • I'm sure you heard that Yimi Garcia was in a little car accident in the Dominican Republic (link here) recently.  No worries, though.  He tells us, via his twitter, that he and his family are doing fine.

  • Newest Dodger prospect Frankie Montas continues a tradition that I hope never ends.  On his twitter (@frankmontas) he replaced his profile pic with a fantastic photoshop creation.  Check it out on the right.  He credited McCarthy and Anderson for the inspiration.
  • Alex Campos at Dodgers Way is absolutely right; "Dodgers Did the Right Thing With Chapman."  The front office is in a "damned if they do, damned if they don't" situation, so why worry.  They should stick to the plan (as they have been) and move forward as best they can.  I firmly believe they were right to move past Chapman, and I am truly excited about the future of the franchise. 
  • Night Owl Cards shares a final look at his wallet card (link here).  I too didn't keep up with sharing pics of my wallet card, but I promise to put up a photo of it soon.
  • Listen to former Dodger GM Fred Claire talks scoutables.com and Baseball with Clubhouse Chatter:


* Please follow on twitter @ernestreyes *
* Dodgers Blue Heaven home page *
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