Welcome to the Dodgers, Jose De Leon!

Woo Hoo!

It's about frick'n time!  I had made the above two fantasy cards weeks ago (in anticipation of this), and was worried that I might not be able to share them til next year.

Word has hit the street that the Dodgers will be calling up 24-year old righty Jose De Leon to pitch this coming Sunday against the Padres.   Via a tweet by Bill Shaikin:

#Dodgers have called up Jose De Leon. He is expected to arrive tomorrow.

— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) September 2, 2016

Born in Isabela, Puerto Rico, Jose De Leon was originally drafted by the Dodgers in the 24th round of the 2013 draft out of Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  Currently, he is ranked by MLB Pipeline as the clubs current #2 prospect and the 35th overall in in the game.  Baseball America ranks De Leon as the games 25th best overall, and Baseball Prospectus has him as the 38th best.  Below is a snippet of their notes on him:

Vintage Dodgers Newsletter - Dodgers Line Drives - May 1951, Vol. 10, #12

I like the title of this newsletter.  It states in bold letters, "Experts Predict Pennant for Dodgers", and it highlights the opinions of several members of the traveling press corps.  As we know know, unfortunately, the Dodgers fell short of that goal.  Their season ended when Bobby Thompson walloped an walk-off homer off of Ralph Branca during a final three-game series to decide the pennant. 

As for the rest of the newsletter (click on any pic to embiggen), it features the following:

• Four Dodger youngsters are noted as potentially being high-impact players for the club.  They are starting pitcher Clyde King, third baseman Rocky Bridges, outfielder Hank Edwards and outfielder Don Thompson.
• They also announce a brand new post game show for Dodgers broadcast hosted by Happy Felton.  At the time, Felton was already hosting a pregame show called the "Knothole Gang" that featured kids working out and practicing with Dodger players.  This new show would be broadcast after each home game and be titled, "Talk to the Stars".  Fans would call in to ask direct questions to two Dodger players.

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Blog Kiosk: 9/2/2016 - Dodgers Links - Lux, Buehler, Seager, Puig and Vin Scully to be Broadcast on Channel 5

Finally!

We have some good news regarding televised Dodgers games.  Per Tom Hoffarth at the OC Register, local channel KTLA 5 will simulcast six Dodgers games towards the end of the season.  This will allow fans of Vin Scully to listen, watch and experience the last six games broadcasted by him:

The package of simulcasts will start with the final weekend of home games against Colorado, which run Sept. 23-25 and includes Friday’s Vin Scully appreciation night. KTLA will also have the pregame ceremony starting at 7 p.m. to honor Scully. The Sept. 30-Oct. 2 games in San Francisco end the regular season.

Should the Dodgers make the playoffs, the team expects to make arrangements for Scully to call the games on KLAC-AM (570) radio while they will be televised by a national carrier (ESPN, Fox or TBS).

This far from assuages the anger and frustration that many fans, who have been unable to watch Vin and the Dodgers over the past three season, feel.   That being said, this is an fantastic gesture, and it's greatly appreciated.  But make no mistake, there remains a dark stain.

Graphic above via @Dodgers on twitter.  Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodger History:  In 1971 Astros outfielder Cesar Cedeno hit an inside-the-park home run against the Dodgers when infielder Jim Lefebvre and right fielder Bill Buckner collided while trying to catch a short fly.  In 1979 Manny Mota became Baseballs all time pinch-hit leader at 145.  In 2003 Eric Gagne set a Major League record for consecutive saves over a two season period at 55.  It was also his 47th consecutive save to start a season.