Dodgers Blue Heaven: Blog Kiosk: 5/9/2017 - Dodgers Links - Bellinger, Wood and a Vin Scully Signing

Tuesday, May 09, 2017

Blog Kiosk: 5/9/2017 - Dodgers Links - Bellinger, Wood and a Vin Scully Signing

What a fantastic photo of Alex Wood pitching under a blood red sky.

Last night Alex was fantastic in his five innings of scoreless work. He allowed only two hits while striking out eleven batters on 88 total pitches. Per Ken Gurnick at MLB.com:

"I felt good tonight, had all three [pitches] going and was on the same page with Yas [catcher Yasmani Grandal]," he said. "Obviously helped we had a lot of runs. When you get leads like that, you have to smell blood in the water. Just happy the result was there and hope to continue to be consistent and get ready for the next one."

Photo above via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2017. Go here to check out more pics bu Jon from yesterdays game. Below are more links to check out:

This Day in Dodgers History: In 1983 Ron Cey returned to Dodger Stadium for the first time since being traded to the Chicago during the offseason. Cey went 3-for-4 with three singles and a run scored but his Cubs lost, 4-3.
Happy Birthday, Alex Farmer & Aaron Harang!
Podcast: The Bullpen with David Aardsma and James the Greek speak with Eric Gagne. It starts at about the 45 minute mark. (podcast link)
Video: Dave Roberts speaks about Alex Wood's performance and the Dodgers' overall offense after beating the Pirates 12-1 in series opener. (video link)
Video: Kelli Tennant caught up with Chris Taylor after hitting a grand slam and 3 runs in Dodgers' 12-1 series opener against Pirates. (video link)
At the same time, minor league pitching prospect Leo Crawford was named Midwest League Pitcher of the Week, per the Great Lakes Loons on twitter. He pitched six innings of one-hit ball with five strike outs and just one walk.
Cody Bellinger was named the National League Player of the Week for the period ending May 7. Per a Dodger press release:

Bellinger hit .429 (9-for-21) with eight runs scored, a double, one triple, three home runs, 12 RBI and a stolen base over five games to claim his first career Player of the Week Award, and the first for a Dodgers position player since teammate Adrián González was awarded NL weekly honors on April 13, 2015. Among his NL counterparts, Bellinger finished the period first in RBI; tied for first in slugging percentage (1.000); tied for second in home runs; tied for third in batting average and runs scored; fourth in total bases (21); and tied for fifth in extra-base hits (5).

Per Tracy Hackler at The Knight's Lance; "Four Years Later, First Autograph Cards of Cody Bellinger are Heating Up the Hobby."
Per Andrea Canales at ESPN; "Jaime Jarrin and Vin Scully spoke the same language: baseball."

Responsibility didn't mean the job couldn't sometimes be fun. Scully purchased a book sold as a traveler's bible and used the restaurant recommendations inside it to visit new places with Jarrin in every city the Dodgers visited.

"We spent a lot of time on the road having dinner together," Scully recalled. "I just thought of him as one of my closest friends and still do, even though life has separated us a great deal. He's a wonderful human being."

Dodgers prospect Jack Murphy wrote a column for Next Level Ballplayer; "Having A Tough Day? Try Using This Commonly Used Phrase by Professional Ballplayers…"

That’s the life that all baseball players chose. We get to play sports for a living. That’s a gift. Most of us are thankful for every day we get out there on the field. It’s not something we take for granted. The boys of summer are truly a blessed group. But some days the game beats you down. And for those days, we have the shirts.

They are simple shirts. Plain with one phrase: “It’s All Part of It”. When you get sent down, flight at 6 am. Game in NH at noon. Eight-hour bus to Binghamton, NY postgame. You can whine. You can bitch. But guess what? It’s all part of it. This was the life we chose.

I don't often highlight private signings, but this one is too good not to share. I got the below flyer this morning. As you can see, Vin Scully is scheduled for a private signing in June. Go here for information. This is a very pricey signing opportunity -- ranging from $349 to $699 per each autograph.