Blog Kiosk: 5/15/2019 - Dodgers Links - Pederson Hit His 100th

Congrats, Joc!

Last night he hit 100th career home run, and it was a timely one. With the Dodgers trailing, Joc came up in the third inning with a man on and hit his homer (watch it here) to give the club a lead that they would not relinquish. Per Ken Gurnick at MLB.com:

“I didn’t know it was the 100th when I hit it, but it did help the team win a ballgame, so it was pretty cool,” said Pederson, who has more home runs than singles (10). He is the 29th Dodger to reach the century mark 

“Every time he’s in the box he’s a threat,” manager Dave Roberts said of Pederson. “Credit to our guys and the game plan.

The Dodgers now lead the National League West by 4.5 games -- their biggest lead of the season. Photo above via Josh Barber/Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Insider. Go here to check out more pics from yesterdays game. Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodgers History: In 1956 the Dodgers purchase starting pitcher Sal "the Barber" Maglie from the Indians. Maglie would go on to have a terrific season with the Dodgers. He went 13-5 with an 2.87 ERA, a 139 ERA+, and come in second behind Don Newcombe in both Cy Young and MVP voting. In 1965 the Dodgers are one-hit by Cubs pitcher Dick Ellsworth, but nevertheless win the game, 3-1, on a three-run homer by Al Ferrara in the eighth inning. In 1998 the unthinkable happened. The Dodgers traded their franchise catcher Mike Piazza and infielder Todd Zeile to the Marlins for Gary Sheffield, Bobby Bonilla, Charles Johnson, Jim Eisenreich and Manuel Barrios. This is when I knew the News Corp/Fox ownership of the Dodgers was a big mistake.
• Happy Birthday, Alex Verdugo, Jack Corcoran, Jimmy Wasdell, Al McBean, Bill North & Josh Beckett!
• Video: Watch Clayton Kershaw Help a Fan Hit a Home Run During Million Dollar May on the The Ellen DeGeneres Show (Video Link).
• Audio: Listen to James Loney on Dodger Talk chat about his retirement and best moments as a Dodger (Audio Link)
• Via Matthew Moreno at Dodger Blue -- "Dodgers Legend Manny Mota Honored By Yasiel Puig At 3rd Annual Wild Horse Children’s Foundation Poker Tournament."
• I approve of this. Via a tweet from David Vassegh:

James Loney told us last night on #DodgerTalk that he has talked to #Dodgers a couple times about a role in player development and believes "I think we're going to get something done." Loney has a good relationship with Andrew Friedman from when he played in TB.

— David Vassegh (@THEREAL_DV) May 14, 2019

• This is step one. It remains to be seen what other steps will be taken. Per a tweet thread by Bill Shaikin:

MLB will investigate during the leave. Under the collective bargaining agreement, the leave can be extended at the end of the 7 days.

— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) May 14, 2019

• BTW, right-handed pitcher JT Chargois has been called up to Los Angeles from Triple-A Oklahoma City to replace Urias on the roster.
• In light of yesterday's Julio Urias News, this story from February needs more exploration. Per Jessica Quiroli at All Heels On Deck -- "Dodgers After Dark: The Sexual Assaults MLB Never Investigated, A Team's Culture Unexamined." (Hat Tip: Stealing Home at All Trade Bait, All the Time)

(An incident from 2014) Dodgers minor league players Alex Verdugo, James Baldwin and Julio Urias, were preparing for the regular season with the Dodgers at Camelback Ranch, the team’s spring training facility. Verdugo and Baldwin partied with the women at a Hampton Inn near the stadium, including the one who was underage. Nick Francona, then assistant of player development for the Dodgers, said Urias was present earlier, but wasn’t included in discussions about the incident.

“Urias was apparently with the group at some point during the evening, but people went to great lengths from the onset to avoid having his name involved at all and didn’t even want to ask him any questions about it,” Francona explained. 

Per the police report, as the night went on, the girl became violently ill and vomited on a bed. And, as has been widely reported, the other two girls began beating her up. One of the players filmed the girl’s beating, then posted the video to social media. The girls asked her to leave. (It gets worse from here)

• Via Ron Cervenka at Think Blue LA -- "Right-hander Mitchell White promoted to Triple-A OKC."
• This mornings Baseball America Prospect Report makes note of Will Smith:

Smith had four hits in six at-bats while driving in four runs for Triple-A Oklahoma City. He had two singles and two doubles in his first four-hit performance of the season. The Dodgers’ No. 5 prospect needed a breakout night, as he has had one hit or less in 10 of his 12 games prior to Tuesday. Smith swings a bit uphill, which has helped him hit for more in-game power yet has also increased his swing and miss as well.

• Check out Kershaw playing some ping pong against Ellen below, via a tweet from the Dodgers:

Who you got? @ClaytonKersh22 or @TheEllenShow?

“If I win, do I not get to go on the show?”

“No, you get to go on, but we just give you bad lighting.” 😂 pic.twitter.com/ixQpaiQqWl

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) May 14, 2019

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