Shohei Otani, the fire-balling high school Japanese pitching phenom, has opted for a career in the MLB, according to the Associated Press. Otani, a 6-foot-4 right-hander who has thrown a fastball between 99 and 100 mph, has been scouted by several major league teams including the Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox. The 18-year-old Otani said “I think I ... Read More »
The Dodgers are “front-runners” for the services of Japanese high school phenom Shohei Otani, according to the Japanese media. Meanwhile, stateside, Alex Speier of WEEI and Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News both confirm the Dodgers interest in the 18-year-old, who stands 6’4″ at 190 pounds. —– Logan White and the Dodgers scouting department has been cultivating a relationship ... Read More »
Eric Stephen of True Blue LA reports that the MLB has suspended Don Mattingly two games for “excessive arguing”, but Matt Kemp escaped unharmed. Don Mattingly got what he expected on Saturday, as the Dodgers manager was suspended for two games for his argument with umpires and subsequent ejection on Thursday in Pittsburgh. But more importantly Matt Kemp, who was ... Read More »
In case you’ve been living under a rock or something, Dodgers fans are rightfully concerned that Matt Kemp might be in a bit of hot water after yesterday’s game, where he bumped/ran into/pushed back an umpire or two during a heated argument with basically the entire crew. “Let’s go, Dre!” Those apparently were the words that got center fielder Matt ... Read More »
Yahoo! Sports: Jeff Passan writes about MLB‘s ridiculous blackout policy. I wrote about my issues with it here. —– FanGraphs: Dave Cameron‘s “Stat Nerd NL All-Star Roster” includes A.J. Ellis and Clayton Kershaw, but Andre Ethier just misses. —– Baseball Prospectus: Doug Thorburn dissects the slide step and doesn’t think it’s worth implementing. It is my contention that most pitchers ... Read More »
As I watched Houston Astros catcher Jason Castro get absolutely lit up in a home plate collision with Mat Gamel of the Milwaukee Brewers, I wondered to myself why this aspect of baseball was even necessary. I’m obviously not the first person to suggest this, and I’ve read all the criticism of writers who have previously suggested such rule changes, ... Read More »
NotGraphs: Jeremy Blachman has a humorous take on my complaints regarding the MLB‘s blackout rules. The sad thing? His list of rules isn’t that much more amusing than the real ones. The Hardball Times: Chris Jaffe on the 50th anniversary of Dodger Stadium. A.J. Ellis Facts: A.J. Ellis, cult hero and internet meme. Read More »
Kevin Gross, the judge in charge of the Los Angeles Dodgers sale in Delaware Bankruptcy Court approved the sale of the team to Guggenheim Partners today. Gross approves #Dodgers sale. — Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) April 14, 2012 Of course, it didn’t go off without a hitch, because … MLB. Bottom line: MLB tried a Hail Mary to get around the ... Read More »
The amount of bidders in the Los Angeles Dodgers ownership saga was recently cut to three, setting up a showdown that is set to be resolved on April 1st. The three finalists: a group led by hedge-fund billionaire Steven Cohen and Los Angeles billionaire and philanthropist Patrick Soon-Shiong; a group led by Magic Johnson and veteran baseball executive Stan Kasten; ... Read More »
The Los Angeles Dodgers bidding group of Stanley Gold/Disney Family has been reinstated by the MLB. Stanley Gold and the family of the late Roy Disney were reinstated to the Dodgers bidding on Monday, leaving five parties in contention to buy the team. The decision was disclosed by two people familiar with the sale process but not authorized to comment. ... Read More »
Alan Casden will not be the next owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, as he had his ownership bid rejected by Major League Baseball. Casden, a Beverly Hills real estate developer, was not invited to Monday’s meetings between Dodgers bidders and two committees of major league owners. The six bidding groups at the meetings: hedge-fund billionaire Steven Cohen and longtime ... Read More »
Los Angeles Dodgers: Reliever Blake Hawksworth had surgery on Wednesday to remove bone spurs and scar tissue. Probably going to be a bit late to Spring Training. Los Angeles Dodgers: Clayton Kershaw was named the 2011 Sportsman Of The Year by the Los Angeles Sports Council. Well deserved. —– Los Angeles Times: Tom Barrack‘s interest in purchasing the Dodgers confirmed. ... Read More »
MLB and the MLBPA recently agreed on a new collective bargaining agreement that will ensure labor peace through 2016. In light of the recent troubles of the NBA and NFL, this seems like a welcome change of pace. However, with this CBA comes a lot of changes to the MLB, and I don’t think all of them are positive. So ... Read More »
Chad Moriyama Dodgers, Sabermetrics, Scouting