Blog Kiosk: 7/23/2019 - Dodgers Links - Stadium Upgrades

Holy Moly! The upcoming changes at Dodger Stadium look awesome. It'll be a $100 Million renovation that will include a new center field plaza -- two acres of food concession stands, beer garden/sports bars, a children’s play area, the relocated Jackie Robinson statue and a permanent home for the “Legends of Dodger Baseball” plaques.. Per Arash Markazi at the LA Times:

“We’re finally going to have a front door with this entertainment plaza we’re building below and beyond the pavilions,” said Stan Kasten, Dodgers president and chief executive. “It’s going to act like a two-acre tailgating area pre- and postgame.”

“This is all meant to be a celebration of the Dodgers and Dodgers history and provide fans with the kind of amenities that you see at new ballparks without changing our postcard view,” (Janet Marie) Smith said. “We relish the beauty of this place and want to preserve that. I know when fans hear we’re renovating the pavilions the first thing they ask is what’s going to happen to the wooden benches. The answer is they’re staying in place. None of those things that fans love will change. We’re just improving the experience.”

Click on any pic to embiggen. Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodgers history: In 1939 the Dodgers once again used yellow-colored baseballs during a game at Ebbets Field. This time it was against the Cardinals, and Brooklyn lost the game, 12-0. In 1962 Jackie Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. You can listen to his induction speech here. In 1974 Steve Garvey, who was a write-in candidate, had a single, double and an RBI during the All-Star Game in Pittsburgh. He would be named the MVP of the game. In 1975 Willie Crawford and Lee Lacy hit pinch-hit home runs in the ninth inning in a loss against the Cardinals, 5-4. The homers tied a Major League record for pinch-hit homers in the same inning.
• Happy Birthday, Hod Ford, Paul Chervinko, Pee Wee Reese, Don Drysdale, Nomar Garciaparra, Larry Barnes & Hung-Chih Kuo!
• Audio: Chris Taylor joined Fred Roggin and Rodney Peete at Hollywood Park Casino yesterday to talk about how he is healing from his wrist injury, thoughts on the Dodgers season, and more! (Audio Link)
• Congrats! Via Lisa Johnson at Beyond the Bricks -- "(Gavin) Lux Named PCL Player of the Week." 
• Via Brian J. Love and Michael L. Burns at Popular Science -- "What’s really behind baseball’s recent home run surge." 
• Maybe she's spilling the beans here, but it appears there'll be a Sandy Koufax statue coming soon, via a tweet by Alanna Rizzo:

One of the many new features coming to Dodger Stadium: The new centerfield entry at Dodger Stadium will be home to sculptures of Jackie Robinson and Sandy Koufax and will house a display to celebrate the Legends of Dodger Baseball.

— Alanna Rizzo (@alannarizzo) July 23, 2019

• BTW, Alanna has just launched a foundation, per twitter:

Incredibly excited to announce the official launch of my foundation, @GuidrysGuardian! My goal is to save as many dogs off of our streets & in high kill shelters as possible. You can help. Thank you for your support. Want #Yankees at #Dodgers tickets? Listen to this video. pic.twitter.com/kEOsxYnlhN

— Alanna Rizzo (@alannarizzo) July 5, 2019

• Yes, this right here. Per Jon Weisman at Dodger Thoughts -- "The 2017 Dodgers built a championship bullpen. They lost anyway."

So following an effective regular season and NLDS and a dominant NLCS, Dodger relievers delivered five World Series games of supreme effectiveness. 

That leaves, of course, the infamous Games 2 and 5. These were group disappointments on a colossal scale, but from a bullpen construction perspective — which, I remind you, is today’s topic — the two main culprits were the two best relievers, Jansen and Morrow, who along with Kershaw gave up the most critical, lead-surrending runs.... 

The point here is only that in confronting the most unreliable part of any major-league team (the bullpen), the 2017 Dodgers nailed it. You can’t ask for more than what they had. If your bullpen sails through the regular season, makes its way into 15 playoff games, does its job in 13 of them and dominates in 12, you’ve built a championship bullpen. 

• Lastly, here's Shaq in a mosh pit, via a tweet by Bryce Dixon:

Shaq entering mosh pit is the funniest thing I’ve seen today 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/gzTSUmnoaI

— Bryce Dixon (@dixonbryce1) July 20, 2019

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