Daily Distractions: Vin Scully tackles a new medium; Manny Ramirez; links.

Posted on June 19, 2013 by J.P. Hoornstra

Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully will be “tweetcasting” during the second Dodgers-Yankees game today. (photo by J.P. Hoornstra)

Vin Scully didn’t make the trip to New York with the Dodgers. A shame, really.

Scully teased us last year with the idea of being behind the mic for a Dodgers-Yankees interleague series in the Bronx. Indeed, he’ll be broadcasting to us this afternoon. Just not from behind a microphone.

Scully will take over the Dodgers’ Twitter account during the second game of today’s doubleheader against the Yankees. They’re calling it a “Tweetcast,” whatever that means.

I personally find the 140-character limit to be a challenge sometimes. Scully, who once had aspirations of being a sportswriter, might master the medium quicker than most of us who Tweet every day. Should be interesting either way.

I can’t remember ever having to rush these through just to beat first pitch. Game 1 (Hyun-Jin Ryu vs. Hiroki Kuroda) of today’s doubleheader is on Channel 9 (KCAL). Game 2 (Chris Capuano vs. Phil Hughes) on Prime Ticket at 4 p.m.

Some bullet points for a hump day:
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All-Star manager Bruce Bochy would have a ‘hard time picking somebody’ like Yasiel Puig.

Posted on June 18, 2013 by J.P. Hoornstra

Bruce Bochy, the manager of this year’s National League All-Star team, would have a hard time picking Yasiel Puig on the merits of a six-week major-league career.

The San Francisco Giants manager explained why this afternoon on the MLB Network Radio channel on SiriusXM with hosts Jim Bowden and Casey Stern:
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Daily Distractions: Contemplating Kershaw contracts; Dodgers-Yankees; Yasiel Puig.

Posted on June 18, 2013 by J.P. Hoornstra

Clayton Kershaw is looking for a lot of money in his contract extension. But we knew that already, right? (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)

Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers are talking about a contract extension. One side or both might be getting antsy.

At least, that’s often the case when the terms of a deal are leaked to the media: To achieve something that negotiation cannot.

Kershaw said the leak came from the Dodgers’ camp, not his. Regardless, there’s not a whole lot we can read into the reports on CBSsports.com and FoxSports.com, mainly because the two stories differ on the dollar amounts being discussed and the likelihood of a deal happening in the near future.

If — and this is a fairly big if — Kershaw is seeking “about $225 million,” as CBSsports.com reports, he probably wouldn’t prefer the 10-year or 12-year contract structures mentioned on FoxSports.com, which would almost certainly lock in Kershaw to a longer term than he’s seeking. Those terms were more likely to have been proposed by the Dodgers. Again, this assumes the two reports are both drawing their separate information from reliable sources.

Is it wise to invest 12 years in a 25-year-old pitcher who has already thrown more than 1,000 major-league innings? In any player?

These are legitimate questions here. The Dodgers have probably asked them internally. At some point, we might discover what conclusion they reach. Does Kershaw think he’s worth 12 years and $300 million? Ask him yourself in about an hour.

Some bullet points for an Autistic Pride Day:

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Dodgers pitcher Chris Withrow made an impression in his debut game.

Posted on June 13, 2013 by J.P. Hoornstra

Chris Withrow went from a minor-league starter to a major-league reliever, a jittery ball of nerves to a statistic, booed briefly when he gave up the game-tying run in the seventh inning Wednesday then golf-clapped off the Dodger Stadium mound following his major-league debut.

A whirlwind, to be sure.

“It was still a lot of fun,” the 24-year-old pitcher said after the game. “Definitely to get out there and get my feet wet was an awesome experience. I wish my results were a little better. When you come into a game, it’s 4-3, you want to hold the lead. I wasn’t able to do that so i didn’t get my job done.”
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Daily Distractions: Taking a moment to appreciate The Brawl; nicknaming Yasiel Puig.

Posted on June 13, 2013 by J.P. Hoornstra

Mark McGwire and Kirk Gibson aren’t talking about the 1988 World Series in this photo, but isn’t it fun to imagine they are? (Associated Press photo)

Like Yasiel Puig’s arrival last week, The Brawl has been a gift to the media that keeps on giving.

Accuse us of glorifying violence, I don’t care. It was a rare occasion and one that’s been examined from a lot of angles. Searching for the words in the moment, some of us in the media not typically prone to hyperbole rose to the level of hyperbole (before remembering that, no, the 1984 Braves-Padres brawl was much worse, even when it’s set to the “Benny Hill” theme song).

Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com hopes The Brawl inspires baseball’s rulemakers to forbid players from leaving the benches and bullpens during a fracas. Still others couldn’t get over the number of coaches involved who filled out our baseball card collections in the 1980s. One piece exploring this topic concludes with God admonishing Ryne Sandberg. The gift that keeps on giving.

And oh, the photos.

Take a moment to appreciate it all before the MLB-induced discipline squashes the moment today.

Some bullet points for a Thursday morning:
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Postgame notes: Hanley Ramirez and Yasiel Puig are healthy enough to play.

Posted on June 13, 2013 by J.P. Hoornstra

The Dodgers lost a game they could have won for the second time in three games against the Arizona Diamondbacks, 8-6 in 12 innings on Wednesday night.

They entered the series 7 ½ games behind the first-place Diamondbacks and finished 8 ½ back. They might have lost their manager, a coach, and some players to MLB-issued suspensions, depending on how the league metes out discipline Thursday for the massive brawl on Tuesday night.

If the Dodgers want to reach .500 by the All-Star break, they will need to win at least 19 of their next 29 games.

But hey, at least they’re getting healthier.
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Dodgers sign top draft picks Chris Anderson, Tom Windle, two others.

Posted on June 12, 2013 by J.P. Hoornstra

Chris Anderson (foreground) and Tom Windle (background, right) visited Dodger Stadium on Wednesday.

The Dodgers signed pitchers Chris Anderson and Tom Windle, their top two picks in the First-Year Player Draft last Thursday. Both signed for the assigned slot value — Anderson for $2,109,900 and Windle for $986,500 — and will report to the Dodgers’ facility in Glendale, Ariz for a week of training. They will then be assigned to Single-A Great Lakes.
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No suspensions today, but some hindsight to be found among Dodgers, Diamondbacks.

Posted on June 12, 2013 by J.P. Hoornstra

Dodgers hitting coach Mark McGwire, right, confronted Arizona Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson, left, in yesterday’s brawl. (Getty Images)

Any fines and suspensions that Major League Baseball plans to levy on the participants in Tuesday’s brawl between the Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks will have to wait until tomorrow.

That doesn’t mean that players and coaches on both sides weren’t anticipating it Wednesday.
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Dodgers, Diamondbacks confirm they’ll open 2014 season in Australia.

Posted on June 12, 2013 by J.P. Hoornstra

The Sydney Morning Herald published this image of what the 40,000-plus seat Sydney Cricket Ground might look like if converted for baseball.

The Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks confirmed Wednesday that they will begin the 2014 season with a pair of games in Sydney, Australia. The news was first reported last October by the Sydney Morning Herald.

The games will be played Saturday, March 22 and 23, 2014 at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Dodgers president Stan Kasten said that his team will play a spring training game in Arizona on Sunday, March 16 and fly from Phoenix to Sydney that night. After a day off Tuesday, the Dodgers will work out Wednesday, then play an exhibition game against an Australian team on Thursday. There may be a second exhibition game Friday — Kasten said “I don’t think we need it” — and leave for Los Angeles at the conclusion of Sunday’s game.

“It’ll be a long trip but we hope well worth it,” Kasten said.
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Yasiel Puig scratched from lineup with strained right shoulder.

Posted on June 12, 2013 by J.P. Hoornstra

Yasiel Puig was hit in the nose by an Ian Kennedy pitch on Tuesday night. He remained in the game. (Associated Press photo)

As Dodgers manager Don Mattingly told reporters that young phenom Yasiel Puig might be feeling some effects from Tuesday night’s brawl with the Arizona Diamondbacks, out on the field Mattingly’s worst fears might have come to fruition.

Puig took only a handful of batting-practice swings before angrily gathering his bats and walking to the dugout, tossing them into the bat rack, then retreating to the Dodgers clubhouse with team trainers following behind.

The Dodgers sent out a revised lineup about an hour and a half before their game against the Arizona Diamondbacks without Puig, who has a strained right shoulder and is described as day-to-day.
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Inside the Dodgers

Los Angeles Dodgers and Major League Baseball with J.P. Hoornstra

Daily Distractions: Vin Scully tackles a new medium; Manny Ramirez; links.

All-Star manager Bruce Bochy would have a ‘hard time picking somebody’ like Yasiel Puig.

Daily Distractions: Contemplating Kershaw contracts; Dodgers-Yankees; Yasiel Puig.

Dodgers pitcher Chris Withrow made an impression in his debut game.

Daily Distractions: Taking a moment to appreciate The Brawl; nicknaming Yasiel Puig.

Postgame notes: Hanley Ramirez and Yasiel Puig are healthy enough to play.

Dodgers sign top draft picks Chris Anderson, Tom Windle, two others.

No suspensions today, but some hindsight to be found among Dodgers, Diamondbacks.

Dodgers, Diamondbacks confirm they’ll open 2014 season in Australia.

Yasiel Puig scratched from lineup with strained right shoulder.