Clayton Kershaw is so good he even dominates during spring training. So far he has thrown in three games, pitched a total of six innings and has allowed no hits. Sure, I get that these games don't really count, but you gotta love the results. Per Ken Gurnick at MLB.com:
"To see him work both sides of the plate with his fastball, that was good to see," said manager Dave Roberts, who noticed that Kershaw pitched out of the stretch to the final batter he faced with nobody on base, just for practice. "Even when he's not right from pitch to pitch, he expects perfection. That's the competitor that is Clayton. We all have expectations, but none higher than himself."Kershaw adds:
"I feel good physically and feel like the ball is coming out OK, so I think I'm where I need to be," said Kershaw, who walked the first batter he faced on a 3-2 pitch. "Results really don't matter, but I guess it's good to see how hitters react to certain pitches, and if you're not giving up hits, that's a good thing."Photo at the very top via @Dodgers on twitter. Below are more links to check out:
- This Day in Dodger History: In 1966 former Dodger player and manager Casey Stengel is inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
- Happy Birthday, Ollie O'Mara, Carl Furillo, Al Gionfriddo, Dick Teed, Marv Breeding, Willard Hunter, Dick Allen & Juan Encarnacion!
- Via Doug Padilla at ESPN; "Dodgers aim to re-establish lost Dominican connection."
"The three years before this ownership took over, the Dodgers were last in international signings ... dead last," Kasten said. "And it was so ironic, because the Dodgers invented international scouting. So in my first year, I went back to Campo, and I saw that it had been the product of a change of philosophy. It just wasn’t up to the standards that it once was when it was a showpiece."
- Via Ken Gurnick at MLB.com; "Baez shut down as thumb injury lingers."
Baez, who has yet to appear in a game this spring, was injured Feb. 23 while pitching live batting practice when a comebacker struck the base of his right thumb. He took a few days off and resumed playing catch, but the discomfort has lingered and the Dodgers were concerned enough to shut him down and order further medical testing.
- Via ABC News7; "Yasiel Puig's Sherman Oaks home burglarized."
Eyewitness News confirmed that someone broke into the athlete's home and took approximately $170,000 in jewelry and other property. Los Angeles police said the exact dollar figure remains unclear.
- Panini America's blog shares a bunch of preview pics of their 2017 Donruss Baseball card set; including the Cody Bellinger card seen on the right. Go here to check out more cards. This set should be available in stores now.
- Via James Bisson at The Score; "Shawn Green Q&A: On Team Israel, early retirement, and Bautista's booming bat."
Q: How proud are you of Israel's start at the World Baseball Classic?
Green: It's really great to see what they're doing. Even just to qualify for the WBC was really exciting. I was a part of it four years ago as a player/coach. Everyone took a lot of pride in their heritage and representing Israel. I think 90 percent of the guys were minor leaguers. A lot of those guys are back, and they have the experience from four years ago and of the qualifier that they just won.
- Via Chris Landers at Cut4; "Five women playing baseball right now that you should be paying attention to." Some day this speech uttered by Leo Durocher in the film "42" will apply here:
Like it, lump it, make your mind up to it because (she's) coming! And think about this when your heads hit the pillow, (she's) only the first, boys, only the first. More are coming right behind him. They have talent and they wanna play! He lets that sink a moment.
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