Dodgers Announce Spring Broadcast Schedule
by Eric Stephen on Feb 9, 2010 1:48 PM PST
in Media
2 comments
The Dodgers are showing more spring training games on television than ever before in 2010: 11 games on Prime Ticket, and three more on KCAL. From the Dodgers:
In an effort to provide more Spring Training games to fans than ever before, PRIME TICKET’s "Camelback Vision" telecasts will air with minimized production, as is appropriate for the atmosphere of Spring Training.
If this is anything like the online broadcasts in 2009, this will mean most of the action will be seen from a camera behind home plate, with minimal zooming and few cuts to other cameras. Still, 14 out of 32 is a good amount of spring games on television.
Vin Scully will broadcast all three games on KCAL. The Prime Ticket broadcasts will alternate between the broadcast teams of Eric Collins & Steve Lyons, and Charley Steiner & Rick Monday. Here is the full schedule (all times Pacific):
| Day | Date | Time | Opp | Location | TV | Radio |
| Fri | 3/5 | 12:05pm | CWS | Glendale | KABC/KHJ/DRN | |
| Sat | 3/6 | 12:05pm | CWS | Glendale | Prime | KHJ/DRN |
| Sun | 3/7 | 12:05pm | Chi | Mesa | KABC/DRN | |
| Mon | 3/8 | 12:05pm | SF | Scottsdale | KABC | |
| Tue | 3/9 | 12:05pm | Col | Glendale | Prime | |
| Wed | 3/10 | 12:05pm | AZ | Glendale | Prime | |
| Thu | 3/11 | 12:05pm | KC (ss) | Surprise | ||
| Fri | 3/12 | 12:05pm | Cin | Glendale | Prime | |
| Sat | 3/13 | 12:05pm | AZ | Tucson | KABC/DRN | |
| TBD | Taiwan | Taiwan | ||||
| Sun | 3/14 | 1:05pm | Tex | Glendale | Prime | KABC/KHJ/DRN |
| TBD | Taiwan | Taiwan | ||||
| Mon | 3/15 | 1:05pm | LAA | Tempe | ||
| Tue | 3/16 | |||||
| Wed | 3/17 | 1:05pm | CWS | Glendale | Prime | |
| Thu | 3/18 | 1:05pm | Chi | Glendale | Prime | |
| Fri | 3/19 | 7:05pm | SD | Peoria | KABC/DRN | |
| Sat | 3/20 | 1:05pm | Tex (ss) | Surprise | KHJ | |
| 7:05pm | SD (ss) | Glendale | Prime | KABC/DRN | ||
| Sun | 3/21 | 1:05pm | Cle | Glendale | KCAL | KABC/KHJ/DRN |
| Mon | 3/22 | 1:05pm | LAA (ss) | Glendale | Prime | |
| 1:05pm | Mil (ss) | Maryvale | ||||
| Tue | 3/23 | |||||
| Wed | 3/24 | 7:35pm | Oak | Phoenix | KABC/DRN | |
| Thu | 3/25 | 1:05pm | Mil | Glendale | Prime | |
| Fri | 3/26 | 1:05pm | KC | Glendale | Prime | KABC |
| Sat | 3/27 | 1:05pm | Sea | Glendale | KCAL | KHJ/DRN |
| Sun | 3/28 | 1:05pm | Cin | Goodyear | KABC/DRN | |
| Mon | 3/29 | 1:05pm | Cle | Goodyear | KABC/DRN | |
| Tue | 3/30 | 1:10pm | Col | Tucson | ||
| Wed | 3/31 | 1:05pm | SF | Glendale | ||
| TBD | Cin (ss) | Vegas | KABC/DRN | |||
| Thu | 4/1 | 7:10pm | Cle | Dodger Stadium | KABC/KHJ/DRN | |
| Fri | 4/2 | 7:05pm | LAA | Angels Stadium | KABC/DRN | |
| Sat | 4/3 | 1:05pm | LAA | Dodger Stadium | KCAL | KABC/KHJ/DRN |
KABC 790 AM, KHJ/La Ranchera 930 AM, Dodger Radio Network
For more information, go to Dodgers.com/spring.
2 comments | 0 recs |
Jon Weisman breaks down Frank McCourt
by meercatjohn on Feb 9, 2010 9:51 AM PST
in News
46 comments
with a killer Frank McCourt Interview in which he seems to ask just about every question you could think of. We may not like or agree with the answers, we may think he's still hiding some information or being coy, but Jon asked the right questions.
46 comments | 0 recs |
A quick glance at 4 different Top 15 Dodger Prospects List
by bhsportsguy on Feb 9, 2010 12:12 AM PST
6 comments
3 respected publications have finished their list of top Dodger prospects and True Blue LA had a vote for their Top 15 prospects too. How does this all shake out?
6 comments | 0 recs
Happy Hooton Hears Hall Call
by Eric Stephen on Feb 8, 2010 11:16 PM PST
in Vin Scully's Lords of the Ravine
19 comments
Congratulations to Burt "Happy" Hooton, who was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame Monday night. Hooton, who grew up in Texas and went to college at the University of Texas, was acquired by the Dodgers at age 25 via a trade with the Cubs, for pitchers Geoff Zahn and Eddie Solomon. Hooton was a mainstay in the Dodger rotation for nine seasons, and holds the Dodger franchise record for playoff starts (11) and wins (six).
Hooton finished second to Gaylord Perry in the 1978 National League Cy Young award voting, when he won a career-high 19 games with a 2.71 ERA and 130 ERA+. He was at his best in the 1981 postseason, going 4-1 in five starts, with an 0.82 ERA, winning elimination games in both the division series and league championship series. In addition to winning the 1981 NLCS MVP, Hooton also won the clinching Game 6 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium.
Hooton's signature pitch was a knuckle curve, a pitch he learned almost by accident. He told the San Antonio Express-News the origin came from a former Hall of Famer:
Burt Hooton recalls sitting at home one summer afternoon in Corpus Christi in 1964, watching Dizzy Dean and Pee Wee Reese provide the television play-by-play for the major league game of the week.
On the mound for the Chicago White Sox was knuckleball hurler Hoyt Wilhelm, throwing a nasty pitch that floated toward the plate like a drunk butterfly.
Hooton, then 14, was intrigued.
“The wheels started turning in my head,” he said Monday night. “I had Pony League practice that afternoon, and I went out before the coaches did and messed around with the kids that had already shown up.”
But instead of fluttering when he threw it with his knuckles curled atop the baseball, it spun and dropped. Angry, he kept throwing harder and harder. The ball spun harder — and dropped just as hard.
Hooton didn't realize it until later, but he'd discovered a pitch more devilish than anything Wilhelm was lobbing at hitters.
In ten seasons with the Dodgers, Hooton rode his knuckle curve to a 112-84 record, with a 3.14 ERA (113 ERA+) in 322 games, including 265 starts. He won't warrant a spot in the Walter O'Malley Suite of Vin Scully's Lords of the Ravine, but he was an important part of Los Angeles Dodger history.
19 comments | 0 recs
Dodger Decades: Best of the Aughts (to have won a World Series *grumblegumble*)
by Dr. Geek on Feb 8, 2010 4:22 PM PST
91 comments
Another Dodger decade come and gone, and with it many great moments and memories. With catchers and pitchers reporting soon, along with the green-lit construction of a new wing to Dodger Stadium commemorating the Lords of the Ravine, the staff at TrueBlueLa has its hands full.
Still, I propose a poll be done gathering the top five Dodger moments of the past decade, if it hasn't been done on this site already. Below is a small sampling of such moments. Do forgive me if I have forgotten any moments (or any errors); it is 1:30am, afterall. And now, for your consideration:
Milwaukee Brewin' - On May 23, 2002, Shawn Green rolls out more than just the kegs against the Brewers, going 6-6, with four homeruns, seven RBIs, and a record breaking 19 total bases.
Bobbleslam - Hollywood officially becomes Mannywood on July 22nd, 2009, as Manny Ramirez hits a grandslam in the bottom of the 6th. Oh, did I mention this was a pinch-hit homerun? And that he did it with an injured hand? On his bobblehead night? With the ball ricocheting all over the Mannywood section?
Gagné Gags 'Em - Between 2003 and 2004, Éric Gagné saved a record 84 straight games. Amazingly, over half the outs recorded during that streak came via strikeout.
The Mark Loretta Blooper Reel - Perhaps the weakest bench member on a 2009 Dodger team that won 95 games, Mark Loretta silenced us all, if only for a few hours, by hitting a game-winning, bases loaded line drive off Cardinals' reliever Ryan Franklin in Game 2 of the 2009 NLCS.
Lima Time - José Lima pitched a five-hit shutout against the St. Louis Cardinals on October 9, 2004, marking the first Dodger playoff win since 1988. Even though it was a day game, many members of the Cardinals staff were undoubtedly distracted by the lights. Melissa Lima's head-lights.
The Kids Are Alright - 2007 saw the emergence of several notable rookies from the Dodger farm system, among them a young bison by the name of Matt Kemp. Eventually, the Dodger organization began placing more faith in the core group of youngster, leading to two straight NLCS appearances in 2008 and 2009.
4 + 1 - Jeff Kent! J.D. Drew! Russell Martin! . . . Marlon Anderson? Marlon Anderson! Nomar Garciaparra!
Mr. Walk-Off - Milton who? In another highlight from 2009, Andre Ethier provides yet another reason, if Kirk Gibson wasn't enough, for Dodger fans to stay for all six innings of a Dodger game: six walk-off hits, three coming in the way of homeruns.
Finley and Goliath - With the bases loaded in the bottom of the 9th, against the hated San Francisco Giants, Steve Finley hits a bases-loaded, two-out grand slam as the Dodgers clinch the 2004 NL West title. Jason Schmidt then wins the last game of the season.
Cora Trumps Tiger; Goes All 18 - I'll let the endlessly talented Jon Weisman of "Dodger Thoughts" tell it best, like he always does.
Cycling On the Hudson - On April 13, 2009, Orlando Hudson becomes the first Dodger to hit for the cycle since Wes Parker in 1970 and the first to hit for a cycle at Dodger Stadium. What a fabulous start to a 2009 Dodger season.
Beltre Belts Balls - In 2004, Adrian Beltre ties the then-record single season mark for most homeruns by a third baseman with 48 dingers. No cup jokes, please.
Loney and the Windy City - Exorcising the playoff ghosts of Jeff Kent and J.D. Drew, James Loney hits a silencing homerun against the Chicago Cubs in Game 1 of the 2008 NLDS. The following day, this obit appears in the local Chicago papers: "Deceased - All and any Cubs' hopes of ever winning a World Series. Time of death: 5:19PM, October 1st, 2008"
Perhaps Another Moment Not Listed Above? - ___________________________________________________
91 comments | 0 recs
Kevin Goldstein likes Dee and Chris
by bhsportsguy on Feb 8, 2010 8:52 AM PST
271 comments
271 comments | 2 recs
Breaking news: LA Dodgers third baseman and Indianola (Iowa) native Casey Blake tells me he'll probably play this season without the beard
Adam Wilson of the Indianola Record Herald brings us devastating news. A nation weeps.
2 days ago
Eric Stephen
32 comments
0 recs
Brian Giles To The Blue Came Out Of The Blue
by Eric Stephen on Feb 7, 2010 10:32 AM PST
in Roster
80 comments
Dodger news never sleeps, often when you don't see it coming. Shortly after midnight last night, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com broke the news via Twitter that Brian Giles had signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers, making him the 25th non-roster invitee to big league camp at spring training. With the signing of Reed Johnson earlier this week, it seemed like the pursuit of Giles was over. But here he is. Giles will make $550,000 if he makes the club, with up to $200,000 in incentives:
- $25,000 for 150 PA
- $25,000 for 200 PA
- $50,000 for 250 PA
- $50,000 for 300 PA
- $50,000 for 350 PA
Mike of Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness has an interesting take, noting the Dodgers may have been four years too late in signing Giles. Sure enough, general manager Ned Colletti's courting of Giles before the 2006 season made an impression. "Brian felt it was a good opportunity to contribute on a playoff-contending team," said Joe Bick, the agent for Giles, "and he's comfortable with Ned after getting to know him during his free agency four years ago."
Giles, who turned 39 on January 20, had microfracture surgery on his right knee in 2007 (an operation that fellow non-roster invitee Alfredo Amezaga underwent on his left knee last season), and was hampered by arthritis in that knee last year, limiting him to a .191/.277/.271 season which ended for him on June 18. Giles is hopeful his knee will allow him to rebound this year, as he has not experienced any setbacks in his offseason conditioning, but he won't really know until spring training how it will respond to the daily grind. Bick noted Giles was willing to sign a minor league deal to share the risk:
Brian wanted to sign a minor league contract, wherever he signed, so as not to put any team at risk until he knows for certain how his knee will respond this spring. If all works out as we hope, all well and good. If his knee doesn't respond as we hope, then he'll be the first to let people know he can't do it; they won't have to tell him....If he's incapable physically of playing the game to his standards, he'll willingly walk away.
If Giles isn't on the roster by April 4, he can ask for his release. Giles has worn uniform number 24 since joining the Pirates in 1999, but that number is retired here in Dodgertown, in honor of Walt Alston. Giles wore number 22 from 1996-98 with Cleveland. Bick said there has been no discussion yet regarding uniform number.
If anything, this transaction is a testament to the information age. Ten days ago, a commenter named Ryan Francis on Dodger Thoughts (scroll down to 3:32pm) said he, while at the "Select-A-Seat" event for season ticket holders, saw Giles working out and running sprints in the outfield. Bick confirmed that Giles was examined by the Dodgers' medical staff on that day as well. Not so long ago, we would learn of a transaction like this in the notes section of the newspaper, or maybe even in the fine print of the transactions section buried deep in the sports section. Now, not only do we have beat reporters delivering news of a minor league transaction after midnight, we have the full details of the deal by the next morning. This is a great time to be a fan.
80 comments | 0 recs |
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