Blog Kiosk: 2/26/2018 - Dodgers Links - Some Odds and Ends

Not only did we witness a fantastic Cactus League debut for staff ace Clayton Kershaw on Sunday, but we also saw two All-Star brothers play against each other for the first time -- Corey and Kyle Seager. Per Rowan Kavner at Dodger Insider:

“It’s really cool,” Corey said of playing against his brother. “It’s hard to think about, just because it’s him. You’ve been around him your whole life, watched him play a ton. It’s still weird. You still kind of feel like a fan in the stands watching, even though you’re in the dugout. It’s a really cool moment.”

Photo above via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2018. Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodgers History: In 1952 Dodgers all-star pitcher Don Newcombe is sworn into the Army to serve in the Korean War. The 26-year old would miss the next two seasons, and struggle on the field his first year back in 1954. Then, he would go on to regain his old form over the next two seasons by winning a collective 47 games and leading the Dodgers to its first World Series championship in 1955.
• Happy Birthday, Preacher Roe, Ron Negray & Matt Luke!
• BTW, it is being reported that fan-favorite Manny Mota is now at Camelback Ranch. The 80-year old is expected to be there for a week as an guest instructor.
• Via KSBY6; "Former Dodger, Steve Sax visits Santa Maria," and they share a video from the event.
• Per Natalie L. Camacho at SCUN; "Dodgers and Campanella Foundations Continue to Support CSUN Physical Therapy Students."
• There have been a bunch of Dodger minor league signings of late. Per Steve Adams at MLB Trade Rumors; Dodgers Claim J.T. Chargois From Twins." He is a righted-handed reliever, and was immediately placed on the 40-man roster. 

The 27-year-old Chargois was Minnesota’s second-round pick out of Rice back in 2012 but has seen his development slowed by multiple injuries throughout his career, including Tommy John surgery and a stress reaction in his elbow this past season. When healthy, Chargois features a mid-90s fastball that can scrape triple digits. He’s dominated throughout his minor league tenure when healthy, working to a career 1.91 ERA with 10.5 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9, but his injuries have limited him to just 113 1/3 innings in the minors and another 23 in the Majors, where he owns a 4.70 ERA and a 17-to-12 K/BB ratio.

Per Eric Stephen at True Blue LA; "Dodgers sign Rocky Gale to minor league deal." He's a catcher with an non-roster invitation to major league camp.

“He receives well,” manager Dave Roberts said. “We’ll see how it all plays out, but we’re happy to have him.”

• Via Clint Evans at Dodgers Bluepen; "Andre Ethier Has Some Interesting Comments On His Future." He wants to still play. Unfortunately, there hasn't been any takers yet.
• This continues to be a bad situation. Via Eric Stephen at True Blue LA; "Don’t expect SportsNet LA to be added to other distributors any time soon."

“We’ve made a fair offer,” a Charter spokesperson told True Blue LA last week. “DirecTV is simply not interested in carrying the Dodgers.”

I guess this is our consolation prize. Via Tracy Bloom at KTLA5; "KTLA to Broadcast 5 Dodgers Games This Season."

• Via Bill Plunkett at the OC Register; "‘Lost season’ brings Trayce Thompson to an uncertain future with Dodgers."

“He’s probably one of the happiest to turn the page on 2017,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts says of Thompson’s difficult year. “It was just one of those things where anything that could go wrong did go wrong for Trayce.”

Dodgers GM Farhan Zaidi calls it “a lost season for him in ’17.” But it really began in 2016.

• Bill Ladson at MLB.com shares his recent interview with Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten:

MLB.com: What is the biggest thing that you are worried about?

Kasten: Injuries. Because of our depth, we handle them better than many other teams. Too many injuries can sink any team. There's very little we can do proactively about it, even though we work very hard in the training room and with our analytics people about anticipating injuries, preventing injuries and then finally treating injuries. But still, if you have a bad run of luck, that could even sink the best of teams.

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