Moving Towards 10,000 Followers for Cody Bellinger - #FollowCody #CodyLove

(Bellinger, pic via Puig on twitter)

Spring Training isn't just about practice and preparation.  It's also about playing... And I don't mean the gameplay kind of thing.  What I mean is that sometimes a little bit of fun is needed in the clubhouse and there's no better time to play around than during spring training (Kirk Gibson notwithstanding).

So far, we've been treated to only an handful of photos and stories about the fun; such as the upcoming ping pong tournament.  But one event recently hit social media, and I thought it was worth pointing out this afternoon. 

This past Friday we found out that fast-rising prospect Cody Bellinger has been tasked with boosting his twitter follower-ship, and with the help of his teammates and the fans he will hopefully fulfill his goal.   

From what I can tell, Cody is trying to reach 10,0000 followers. He currently sits at 4,770.  So, if you haven't already done so please go here to join in on the fun: @Cody_Bellinger. 

To motivate you further, a hashtag meme was started by, I think, Justin Turner, via the following tweets:

I'll make you a deal @Cody_Bellinger I'll give you a follow on here if you change your Twitter handle to #CodyLove

— Justin Turner (@redturn2) February 26, 2016

Everyone make sure you go give @Cody_Bellinger #CodyLove a follow on Twitter! Great dude, big pop, bright future!!! #LA @Dodgers

— Justin Turner (@redturn2) February 26, 2016

#CodyLove is now a thing!


Best yet, AJ Ellis, during all the hubbub, was kind enough pass along a childhood photo of the kid on twitter, and I couldn't help but make a fantasy Baseball card using it.  Check it out below.  The main pic was taken by Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2016. 

So get going Dodgers Fans!  Go to your twitter now and follow the kid.  And if you don't use twitter then what's wrong with you!  Join it now and help move his chart (as seen below) higher!

(Bellinger and Roberts, pic via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2016)

Pic at the very top via Jon SooHoo @Dodgers on twitter.

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Dodgers Notes from Spring Training: Full-Squad Workout #5

Throughout Spring Training the Dodgers PR department sends out helpful daily notes from Camelback Ranch, and I am happy to pass them along.  See what they've written below.

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(Kershaw, pic via Zachary P. Lucy on twitter)

AN EXTRA DAY: The Dodgers held their fifth full-squad workout of Spring Training today, celebrating Leap Day with team defense work (pop-up priorities) and live batting practice. In team history, the Dodgers have had only one player born on Leap Day, right-hander Ed Appleton, born Feb. 29, 1892. Appleton went 5-12 with a 3.25 ERA in 48 games (13 starts) in two big league seasons with Brooklyn in 1915-16.

FIRE-BALLERS: Kenta Maeda joined young guns Julio Urias, Chris Anderson and Jose De Leon in throwing live BP today, while Clayton Kershaw, Joe Blanton, J.P. Howell, Kenley Jansen, Alex Wood, Carlos Frias, Yimi Garcia, Matt West, Adam Liberatore, Josh Ravin and Ian Thomas all threw regular bullpens.

• Garcia, 25, enters his third big league campaign after an impressive 2015 campaign with the Dodgers, during which he went 3-5 with one save and a 3.34 ERA in 59 games (one start). He was dominant early in the year in the late innings, helping to fill the void while Kenley Jansen was on the DL, and finished the season ranked among the NL’s best relievers in WHIP (0.95, 5th), opponents’ batting average (.199, 16th), opponents’ on-base percentage (.242, 4th), strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.60, 3rd) and strikeouts per nine innings (10.87, 15th).

(Yimi and Dave, pic via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2016)

(Lasorda, pic via Camelback Ranch on twitter)

MAKING THE LEAP: Right-handed pitcher Yaisel Sierra took in the Dodgers’ workout today at Camelback Ranch and is expected to be in uniform shortly following the completion of the immigration process. Sierra, 24, was signed by the Dodgers to a six-year contract last Sunday and pitched five seasons in Cuba’s Serie Nacional with Holguin (2010-14) and Sancti Spiritus (2012), going 16-21 with 25 saves and a 4.23 ERA in 131 games (25 starts). Sierra, who was ranked No. 13 on Baseball America’s Top 20 Cuban prospects list, pitched for the country’s gold-medal winning national team at the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games.

THE OPENING ACT: The Dodgers’ Cactus League opener is just three days away (!) and yesterday, Dodger manager Dave Roberts named three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw the starting pitcher for Thursday’s game against the White Sox, as well as Opening Day 2016 in San Diego. The Opening Day nod will be Kershaw’s sixth consecutive Opening Day start, leaving him one shy of the Dodger franchise record (7), shared by Don Drysdale (1958-61, ’63, ’65, ‘69) and Don Sutton (1972-78). Fernando Valenzuela (1981, 1983-86, ’88) and William “Brickyard” Kennedy (1894-96, 1898-1900) are the only other members of the franchise to tally at least six Opening Day starts. 

• Kershaw has three Opening Day victories, trailing just Drysdale (5) and Sutton (4).

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Blog Kiosk: 2/29/2016 - Dodgers Links - Urias, AGon and Sandy Koufax

Kenta Maeda greets Tommy Lasorda in the photo taken above by Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2016.

Below are more links to check out:

• There was a little bit of an kerfuffle over the weekend about the news that Koufax would no longer be a Special Assistant to the team.  Speculation ensued, and gossip spread that something happened.  Well, that's not the case at all.  He released a statement about the situation, via a tweet by Alanna Rizzo:

Statement from Sandy Koufax: pic.twitter.com/7FeOmwy8Sa

— Alanna Rizzo (@alannarizzo) February 28, 2016

• Via Ken Gurnick at MLB.com, "Kershaw: Koufax 'cares for us as a team.'"

"Whether or not he's officially here, he's still around," Kershaw said of Koufax, who has ended his three-year stint in the front office but visited the club on Friday. "I don't think it will change much for me. Sandy cares about us as a team, and I think he will be around when he can, and he'll watch our games."

• Via Eric Stephen at True Blue LA, "MLB Draft 2016: Dodgers will have nearly $10 million in bonus pool money to spend."
• Via Doug Padilla at ESPN, "Mound visit: Getting to know Dodgers pitching prospect Julio Urias."

Earliest memory: "I always remember the first baseball glove I ever received, and the first pair of spikes. My grandfather visited the United States and he came back and gave me the glove with the pair of spikes. I still have the glove at home."

• This is just the case of the same problem, different day.  Via Ken Gurnick at MLB.com, "Gonzalez sits out workout with neck discomfort."

"It's the same thing I've been dealing with and we had it looked at over the offseason and we know exactly what it is," said Gonzalez, the most consistent bat in the Dodgers lineup since he arrived in 2012.

"There's not much we can do about it. It's a bulging disk and it's too risky to operate. Just pain management. I wasn't smart with the base-running drill. I have to stay away from things that irritate it."

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