Dodgers Blue Heaven: Blog Kiosk: 9/25/2018 - Dodgers Links

Tuesday, September 25, 2018

Blog Kiosk: 9/25/2018 - Dodgers Links - Magic Number is Now Five

Last night the Dodgers defeated the Diamondbacks, 7-4, to drop their magic number to five games, with just five games to go.

The win was far from an easy victory. Fortunately, David Freese was on point, as he knocked in the first two Dodger runs of the evening. Per Ken Gurnick at MLB.com:

"I really like the at-bat quality, and he's gotten big hits for us, but tonight was probably the biggest, the home run that tied the game up," said Roberts. "He's a leader, doing things the right way, and guys tend to follow him. When we're talking about approach and having a plan as a team, he's all in. He's all that we had hoped for."
...
"You understand what this organization is trying to do and you get called upon to help out," said Freese, part of the club's right-handed-hitting platoon. "You do whatever Dave asks of you. You need to be productive and help the team, and so far, I think I've done a decent job of doing my thing and filling my role. This never gets easy, but we're all professional hitters and we're handling it pretty well."

Photo above of David Freese high-fivin' Clayton Kershaw via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2018 at Dodger Insider. Below are more links to check out:

This Day in Dodgers History: In 1941 the Dodgers won their first NL pennant in 21 years when they defeated the Braves in Boston, 6-0. In 1956 Dodgers hurler Sal "The Barber" Maglie no-hit the Phillies at Ebbets Field, 5-0. At 39 years old he became the oldest pitcher to throw one. You can listen to the last inning of Maglie's no-no (as called by Jerry Doggett with Vin Scully) here. In 1974 Dr. Frank Jobe performs the first ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction surgery on Dodgers pitcher Tommy John's left elbow. The revolutionary procedure would soon be known as Tommy John Surgery.
Happy Birthday, Dave Walsh!
Podcast: Dodgers Digest - ‘Dugout Blues’ episode 247 – First place, playoff push, Ryu, Urias (Podcast Link).
This would be crazy. Per Eric Stephen at SB Nation; "Here’s how we can get a 4-team tie between the Brewers, Cardinals, Dodgers, and Rockies."
Per Rowan Kavner at Dodger Insider; "Dodgers’ Machado, Grandal named finalists for Silver Slugger Award."
Ha Ha! Per Steve Adams at MLB Trade Rumors; "Bobby Evans Out As Giants’ General Manager." This is worth noting, via a tweet from Henry Schulman:

Ned Colletti is NOT going to be returning to the #SFGIants organization to replace Bobby Evans, I'm told.
— Henry Schulman (@hankschulman) September 24, 2018

Per Ron Cervenka at Think Blue LA; "The Kenley Factor."

Dave Roberts: “I think with Kenley, I’ve always had confidence in Kenley, and I think that at times the results haven’t been there, the consistency for Kenley. But I do realize that for us to win the division and beyond, we’re going to need him at the back-end. So I think a big part of it is the manager has to have confidence in him.”

Via Gary Livacari at Baseball History Comes Alive; "Another Edition of Baseball Odds and Ends: Talk About a “Bad Day at the Office!”"

On September 22, 1925, Brooklyn pitcher Burleigh Grimes accounted for seven outs in just three plate appearances. I don’t know if that’s any kind of a record, but I do know it’s definitely a bad day at the office! And we can’t excuse him because he was a pitcher. He was an excellent hitter with a lifetime .248 average including two seasons in which he topped the .300 mark. Here’s what happened on that memorable day:

In a 3-2 12-inning loss to the Cubs, Grimes hit into two double plays in his first two at-bats. He followed this by hitting into a 6-4-3-2 triple play. That’s seven outs in just three plate appearances!

Tomorrow is the official release date for Panini's 2018 National Treasures Baseball set, and The Knight's Lance shares a bunch of preview pics to gawk over. Go here to check them all out. Below are cards of Justin Turner and Walker Buehler.