Matt Kemp was the center of attention at Dodger Stadium, getting the last laugh in the Dodgers’ fifth straight loss. The game story is here. The box score is here.
Kenley Jansen had a strong reaction to former teammate Dee Gordon‘s 80-game PED suspension.
Yasmani Grandal was traded to the Dodgers in December, part of the three-team trade that sent Matt Kemp to San Diego and Jimmy Rollins to Los Angeles. (Getty Images)
Yasmani Grandal made his Dodgers debut Tuesday. Coincidentally, it came against the same team that employed him the last three years, the San Diego Padres.
“It’s funny,” he said before the game. “I was going through a scouting report and my wife was like, ‘I barely even know these guys.’ I know maybe half the team. (Will) Middlebrooks, (Yonder) Alonso, (Alexi) Amarista, (Jedd) Gyorko. I know the infield. That’s a good way to put it.”
To hear A.J. Ellis tell it, Grandal might have been selling himself short.
Continue reading “Yasmani Grandal is ready to make the Padres pay.” »
The view from the top of #DodgerStadium into downtown #LA on a perfect day for baseball.
#OpeningDay #Dodgers pic.twitter.com/3mfzDBN31S
— Clay Fowler (@Clay_Fowler) April 6, 2015
The clouds have parted, Clayton Kershaw is warming up and Matt Kemp is in the building — on the other side this time. Otherwise it looks, smells and feels like Opening Day.
Here are the lineups for the Dodgers and Padres for the 1 p.m. game:
Continue reading “Opening Day 2015: Dodgers, Padres lineups.” »
A couple pregame notes from Camelback Ranch:
1. Two days after throwing his last bullpen session, Brandon League told reporters that he’ll undergo an MRI on his right shoulder. In all likelihood he will begin the season on the disabled list. That brings the unofficial tally of disabled Dodgers to four: League (15-day DL), Hyun-Jin Ryu (15); pitchers Brandon Beachy and Chris Withrow are both on the 60-day DL.
2. Matt Kemp is not in the Padres’ lineup today.
3. The Dodgers were one of five teams (along with the Diamondbacks, Blue Jays, Tigers and Phillies) that lost money last year, according to Forbes.
4. Juan Nicasio is starting this “bullpen game,” but the Dodgers still see him as a reliever. This is not, by all accounts, an attempt to stretch him out as a starter.
Here are both lineups for the 1 p.m. game at Camelback Ranch:
Continue reading “Dodgers spring training 2015: Lineups, pregame notes vs. Padres.” »
Associated Press photo
PEORIA, Ariz. — Will Ferrell pitched for the Dodgers today.
I already wrote about that here, but the sentence bears repeating. It’s not every day I get to write that.
Still, lest we forget, Garth Brooks got a total of 46 at-bats in spring training for the Padres (1998/99), Mets (2000) and Royals (2004). Kevin Costner went 0-for-3, scored a run and committed an error in a 2002 game for the San Bernardino Stampede against the Seattle Mariners. Billy Crystal batted leadoff for the Yankees in a 2008 spring game (against Paul Maholm). Tom Selleck got one spring at-bat in 1991 for the Tigers as he prepared for his role in Mr. Baseball. And Chad Gaudin pitched to Tom Verducci once. I talked to Gaudin about that after the game. I’ll share his thoughts here tomorrow.
Here’s what else happened today:
Continue reading “Dodgers spring training 2015: Joc walks off the Padres, Matt Kemp, Will Ferrell, Ryu, etc.” »