Blog Kiosk: 6/6/2017 - Dodgers Links - Some Odds and Ends

Tommy is looking well.

Last night Tommy Lasorda returned to Dodger Stadium after having surgery on May 25th to replace his pacemaker, and as you can see he looks like the picture of health. Per Eric Stephen at True Blue LA:

“He looked good tonight,” manager Dave Roberts said. “To see him out here watching a baseball game is good for all of us.”

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

• This Day in Dodgers History: In 1944 the Brooklyn Dodgers received infielder Eddie Stanky from the Cubs for Bob Chipman. In 1957 the first fog out in major league history occurs during a game at Ebebts Field against the Cubs. After an 86-minute delay the game is halted during the second inning. In 1988 the Dodgers signed amateur free agent slugger Raul Mondesi out of the Dominican Republic. In 1990 the Dodgers recorded their 8,000th franchise victory as they defeat the Braves, 7-5. In 1994 Mike Piazza hit the longest home run ever recorded at Joe Robbie Stadium in Florida. It was off Mark Gardner and is estimated to have traveled 477 feet. In 2006 the number six plays a huge part in the day. The Dodgers, on the sixth day of the sixth month of the sixth year of the century score six runs in the sixth inning during the sixth game of the current homestand.
• Happy Birthday, Fresco Thompson, Jeff Williams & Mark Ellis!
  
• Video: Hyun-Jin Ryu addresses the media about his performance against the Nationals. (video link)
• Video: Dave Roberts speaks to the media about Hyun-Jin Ryu's conviction and focus after going through 7 innings against the Nationals. (video link)
• Via JP Hoornstra at Inland Valley Daily Bulletin; "Source: Dodgers to call up utility player Mike Freeman."

The left side of the Dodgers’ infield has been down a man since third baseman Justin Turner strained his right hamstring May 18. Turner is expected to begin a minor league rehab assignment later this week.

• Per Jeff Sullivan at FanGraphs; "Clayton Kershaw Is Still Experimenting."

When Kershaw has dropped down, the overwhelming majority of the time, he’s thrown the same pitch. But now there’s something new in there. Four curveballs are scattered among the orange and red. Thames was the recent recipient of one of them. Kershaw’s experiment went on hiatus, but then it came back, and it had been tweaked. Kershaw now looks more like Rich Hill than he had, and Hill was his specific inspiration for even trying this in a game.

• Holy Moly! Per Chris Cwik at Big League Stew; "Dodgers affiliate erases sexist event that objectified women from site."

It shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that a sports team is hosting an event that comes off as both tasteless and sexist, but few clubs are this blatant about it. The Ogden Raptors, an affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers, were planning to host what they are calling “Hourglass Appreciation Night.” It had nothing to do with sand or time.

• Via Daniel Starkand at Dodger Blue; "Oklahoma City’s Trevor Oaks Named Pacific Coast League Pitcher Of The Week (May 29-June 4)."
• Fandom is crazy, man! It can cause you to do the irrational, but can at the same time save your life. Watch this great video about a Nashville Predators fan with terminal cancer who was given six months to live in 2014. So, she declared, "I’m not going anywhere until my team wins the Cup" and packed her bags from LA to Nashville to root for her favorite team -- the Nashville Predators. Watch it here at WSMV.com. (Hat Tip: Greg Wyshynski at Puck Daddy)
• Per John Tomase at Tufts Now; " Hits on the Diamond: As advanced statistical analysis takes over baseball, Tufts-bred data crunchers are storming the big leagues."

Which brings us to Tufts. For years, the Jumbos watched from the sidelines while peers like Amherst, Haverford and Colby supplied brainpower to teams across Major League Baseball. At last, Tufts is catching up. In fact, you’ll now find Jumbos in front offices throughout the big leagues.

Mike DeBartolo, A06, for instance, is the director of baseball operations with the Washington Nationals. Then there’s Peter Bendix, A08, the director of baseball development with the Tampa Bay Rays. Matt McGrath, A11, works in player development with the Dodgers. Ethan Bein, A17, hadn’t even graduated when he landed a job as an analyst with the Brewers. Greenhouse, meanwhile, serves as the Cubs’ assistant director of research and development. And more are on the way.

“It’s nice to see Tufts have more of a presence,” DeBartolo told me recently. “It’s obviously a great school, but it has also put a lot of emphasis on fostering that creativity and interest in baseball on the part of all these students, where it’s a passion.”

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