Blog Kiosk: 2/21/2017 - Dodgers Links - Some Odds and Ends

Clayton faced batters for the first time this Spring as he got on the mound on Monday to throw live batting practice to Dodger hitters.  Per Ken Gurnick at MLB.com:

"This day is always not the most fun. It's about as low-adrenaline as you can, and you have to try to be competitive," he said. "Overall, it went OK, and I got it out of the way and can pitch in a real game now. You've got to get your work in. It's necessary. You can't go bullpens into a game, you need to face hitters before a game. It's the same progression since I've been here."

BTW, On Saturday Kershaw was named this seasons Opening Day starter for the seventh straight year.  This honor ties a Dodger franchise record held by both Don Drysdale and Don Sutton. 

Photo above via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2017.  Go here to check out more fantastic pics taken by Jon from Monday.  You can also check out pics from Sunday (here), Saturday (here), and Friday (here).  Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodger History:  In 1957 Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley trades minor league franchises with Phil Wrigley of the Cubs.  Brooklyn trades the Ft. Worth club (Texas League) in return for the Los Angeles Angels (Pacific Coast League).
• Happy Birthday, Ted Savage, Sam Fletcher & Norman Plitt!
  
• Video:  Alanna Rizzo caught up with Dodgers manager Dave Roberts to talk about the goals for spring, updates the status on Hyun-jin Ryu and more. (Video Link)
• Video:  Joc Pederson joins Chris Rose and Kevin Millar to talk about offseason fun and his goals for the 2017 season. (Video Link)
• BTW, the Dodgers made the Chase Utley and Franklin Gutiérrez signing official over the long weekend.  Per Ken Gurnick at MLB.com:

(Pic via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2017)

"Ultimately, the goal for many of us is to win a championship and I feel we have the pieces in place to do that here," he said. "As a player, you take a lot of pride in how you play and what you accomplish. It's no secret I'm not getting any younger. I understand if I want to be part of a winning organization, I might have to take this kind of role. I'm up for it, up for the challenge and I'm excited about it.

"I'm very happy I landed back here. I try not to look too far ahead. I had a great time last year attempting to fit in with this great group of guys and we had a fairly successful season."

• ICYMI, the Dodgers traded recently acquired Vidal Nuño to the Orioles for minor league right-handed pitcher Ryan Moseley.  This trade opened up room for Gutiérrez  on the Dodgers 40-man roster.  Per a Dodger press release: 

Moseley, 22, made his professional debut last season with the Orioles’ Single-A Aberdeen IronBirds, going 0-1 with four saves and posting a 3.20 ERA (7 ER/19.2 IP) in 12 relief appearances. Moseley posted a 1.12 WHIP and limited batters to a .191 average, including a .091 mark (2-for-22) against lefties. The Lubbock, TX, native was originally selected by the Orioles in the eighth round of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft out of Texas Tech University. 

• Via Nicolas Stellini at FanGraphs; "Clayton Kershaw Pitched Like a Reliever."

One of the great injustices of baseball is that Kershaw hurt his back last year, because we’ll never know if he would have been able to keep up that sheer lunacy over the course of a full season. His 1.69 ERA in 149 regular-season innings was lower than Pedro Martinez‘s 1.74 in his ridiculous 2000 campaign. 

• Ron Cervenka at Think Blue LA tells a story about; "Kershaw being Kershaw."  He recounts his past Thursday activities that includes a fun time signing autographs for fans at Camelback Ranch.
• Big trouble for Raúl Mondesí.  Per Dominican Today; "House arrest for ex LA Dodgers slugger 'embezzled' US$4.2M."
• Per Joseph Yeh at The China Post; "Ex-Dodger Kuo signs minor league contract."

Former Taiwanese Major League pitcher Hong-Chih Kuo confirmed Friday that he had signed a contract with the minor-league San Diego Padres. 

• Per Jorge Martin at CSUN Today; "Dodgers and Campanella Foundations Nurture CSUN PT Program."

The CSUN Department of Physical Therapy has a longstanding partnership with the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation and the Roy and Roxie Campanella Foundation. The foundations have joined together for the past four years to provide Roy and Roxie Campanella Scholarship to CSUN physical therapy students in the renowned doctorate program, which started with five scholarships at its inception before growing to its present number of 20 for the 2016-17 academic year.

• Via Doug Padilla at ESPN; "Advice from Pujols, Cano pushing Yasiel Puig in right direction."

“You just have to focus on what you have to do, and if you focus, things get easier,” Puig explained, his eyes wide open, his thinner faced relaxed. “That’s the reason great ballplayers have been successful, like Harper, Trout, Robinson Cano and Pujols. They have seen results because they focus, and that’s what I’m trying to do now.

• Uh... What?  Per Ken Gurnick at MLB.com; "Gagne pondering comeback at age 41."

Gagne said his fastball has climbed into the 90s and the changeup that made hitters look so foolish is back as well.

"I feel great. It's almost scary," he said.

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