Daily Distractions: A bad spring training pic as the Dodgers get down to business.

Camelback Ranch Glendale

That photo won’t make the Bad Spring Training TwitPics hall of shame, but that’s only because I didn’t post it on Twitter. It was the sight greeting everyone at Camelback Ranch on the first day of spring training Tuesday morning.

Tuesday was an inherently eventful day, typically droll as spring training days go but more exciting than the last four and a half months of no baseball. I posted the blow-by-blow on my Twitter account, which you can follow here if you’re not doing so already. The question of what the Dodgers will do with their eight starting pitchers dominated the dialogue. You can read all about that here.

Today marks the first day of workouts for pitchers and catchers. Manager Don Mattingly was in rare form, using humor to deflect questions about his expiring contract. Comparing himself to Philip Seymour Hoffman’s portrayal of former Oakland manger Art Howe on a one-year contract with the Moneyball A’s, he told reporters at Camelback Ranch, “I’m built better than that guy.”

There’s no contest, really (see here and here). Onto some heavier material, because we can’t get much lighter …

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Sizing up the upgrades to Dodger Stadium.

Dodger Stadium renovation

We’ve known for some time that Dodger Stadium was getting major renovations this off-season. On Tuesday we got a better idea of how sprawling the multi-year project is. More than any questions about how the fan experience will be improved — if you complained about it, the team was listening — one was left to wonder: Are they going to get this done in time for the first Freeway Series game against the Angels on March 29?

“I think we’re going to get it done by opening day,” team president Stan Kasten said. “The unforeseen is unforeseeable. It might bleed into the season.”

Check out these photos and judge for yourself. An artist’s rendering of the final product is above.

Continue reading “Sizing up the upgrades to Dodger Stadium.” »