Dodgers Blue Heaven: Blog Kiosk: 5/24/2019 - Dodgers LInks

Friday, May 24, 2019

Blog Kiosk: 5/24/2019 - Dodgers LInks - Some Odds and Ends

In honor of this weekends Memorial holiday I thought it apt to share the above 1945 AP photograph of a couple Brooklyn Dodgers in military baseball gear. This was grabbed from VintageBall.com. Per the descriptor on the reverse:

Former Dodgers in the Pacific -- A pair of former Brooklyn Dodger Pitchers, Hugh Casey (left) and Cletus "Boots" Poffenberger (right), talk over the situation before opposing each other in a baseball game, somewhere in the Pacific. Casey's team won the game, 2 to 0. Casey is a Navy Chief Specialist and Boots is a Marine Private First Class.

Below are more links to check out:

This Day in Dodgers History: In 1947 Carl Furillo hit a three-run pinch-hit first inning home run against the Phillies at Ebbets Field. The early pinch-hit at-bat only occurred because Philly manager Ben Chapman (yeah, that guy) chose to use his right-handed starting pitcher for Brooklyn's first two batters only -- Pee Wee Reese and Jackie Robinson. Then substituted in a lefty for the next three batters. In 1973 the Dodgers and Mets play a 19-inning marathon at Dodger Stadium that takes a then-club record five hours and 42 minutes to complete. The Dodgers lost, 7-3. Outfielder Willie Davis would collect six hits -- tying a NL record. In 2000 sixteen Dodger players and coaches are suspended (a total of 60 games for players and 24 games for coaches) for a fighting incident at Wrigley Field that resulted in numerous players jumping in the stands on May 16th.
Happy Birthday, Wilmer Font, Billy Otterson, Fred Jacklitsch, Joe Oeschger, Gus Felix, Clancy Smyres, Ellie Rodriguez, Carlos Hernandez, Jason Grabowski, Jae Weong Seo, Brad Penny & Andrew Toles!
I am proud to be a LA Kings fan! Yesterday the NHL reinstated defenseman Slava Voynov, a convicted wife beater, that would allow him to begin playing in the league this coming season, after serving the remainder of his one-year suspension (41 games). The Kings are not happy about it. They released a statement yesterday affirming that Voynov will never wear a Kings uniform again -- via Gann Matsuda at Frozen Royalty:

“Today, the NHL arbitrator rendered a final decision on further discipline to Slava Voynov. From our perspective, the player will not be playing for the Kings. We will now determine the impact of the arbitrator’s decision on our rights to the player and consider our options going forward.”

This is significant and a testament to the Kings front office sense of character. From day one they've been firm in their conviction that his actions are incompatible with their organization.

That being said, I would add that you shouldn't compare Voynov with Urias. It's apples and oranges -- at least, that's what were lead to believe given the little bits of news that has leaked so far. Voynov violently beat his wife to a degree that she needed medical attention, was charged with “corporal injury to spouse with great bodily injury,” plea bargained, was jailed, and then self-deported to Russia.

For the second day in a row Gavin Lux is highlighted in Baseball America's Prospect Report:

Lux had a four-hit game for the second consecutive night in a row. Double-A Tulsa’s shortstop had three singles and hit a solo home run in the sixth inning. The leadoff hitter came around to score three times while extending his hitting streak to 10 games.

Via The Japan Times -- "Former BayStars pitcher Yujo Kitagata joins Dodgers on minor league deal."

The Saga Prefecture native joined the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks on a developmental contract in 2014, but left the team the following year before landing in the independent league.

“I wanted to play baseball at the top level so I was happy to get the invitation,” Kitagata said earlier this month. “I want to prepare well so I don’t have any regrets.”