Dodger Stadium Openers: Facts & Figures

Are you sure Benny the Jet stole home during the home opener?

    * Justin Upton’s .832 career OPS at Dodger Stadium is best among those Arizona hitters with at least 50 plate appearances there.
    * Of Mark Reynolds’ 82 career AB at LA, 34 have ended in Strikeouts, a 59% contact rate. Reynolds’ career line at LA is .183/.264/.280.
    * LA’s Andre Ethier has posted a .972 OPS vs. Arizona, including a .570 SLG, compared to his career marks of .853 and .489, respectively.

Start Fernandomania: Fernando Valenzuela, 1981 (thank you, Jerry Reuss!)

► During the top of the fifth inning today, Levy Restaurants will provide complimentary new Farmer John Smoked Sausages to eat in the press box in addition to the usual fare of Dodger Dogs.

pitched the home opener and struck out 11. Did the really even happen?

Reported by Gurnick.

Disabled Dodgers catcher Brad Ausmus had an MRI and examination by Dr. Robert Watkins on Monday, and received an epidural injection for a pinched nerve in his lower back.

since 2001 at the home opener? Man, Broxton will change that today after Kershaw goes 8 scoreless (this is a purely selfish prediction from a fantasy standpoint)

I miss the foul territory, the Dodgers really screwed up the sight lines for the fans in those great seats. I’ve sat down there since they added the box seats and I would never pay for a ticket there. It is actually dangerous because you have your view blocked so easily and line drives still get smoked in that area.

The final two teams to play their first home game this season will also be the final two teams to play their last home game this year.

Jim Callis BA Chat regarding Heyward:

I was on a website the other day that was discussing Jason Heyward. One of the posters mentioned that he believed Heyward was one of the weakest No. 1 prospects in recent memory. Not only do I not agree with that, but I suspect he’s one of the stronger No. 1 prospects in recent memory. If you ranked Baseball America’s No. 1 prospects from the last 10 years, where would Heyward finish?
      Chris Scott
      Winchester, Va.
Let’s stack Heyward up against the No. 1 prospects from the past decade: Rick Ankiel (2000), Josh Hamilton (2001), Josh Beckett (2002), Mark Teixeira (2003), Joe Mauer (2004 and 2005), Delmon Young (2006), Daisuke Matsuzaka (2007), Jay Bruce (2008) and Matt Wieters (2009). While Heyward would definitely rank No. 1 in fanfare received as a prospect, let’s ignore all the hype swirling around him and focus solely on talent.
Heyward hit .323/.408/.555 as a 20-year-old in high Class A and Double-A (and a three-game cameo in Triple-A) last season. The only position players to top his performance were Matt Wieters (1.053 OPS) and Mark Teixeira (1.005 OPS), both as 22-year-olds in high Class A and Double-A. Jay Bruce had a .962 OPS but didn’t control the strike zone close to as well as Heyward did.
Among the hitters, I’d take Heyward second. I’d put Wieters No. 1 because of the positional value he has as a catcher, and I’d put Heyward ahead of Teixeira for having a comparable performance while two years younger.
It’s more difficult to compare Heyward to the pitchers. Matsuzaka arrived in the United States with the reputation for having six pitches that graded as plus at times (not even counting the mystical gyroball), as well as a track record of sterling success in the Japanese majors and international play. Beckett was spectacular in 2001, going 14-1, 1.54 with 203 strikeouts in 140 minor league innings before an impressive September callup. Ankiel was nearly but not quite as good in 1999, and he was two years younger than Beckett.
For me, Heyward would rank third among the last 10 No. 1 prospects, behind Wieters and Beckett. You could make an argument that Heyward could go as high as second and as low as fifth or maybe sixth. This much is certain: He’s not among the weaker No. 1 prospects in recent memory.

Here is the link, not sure if it is behind pay wall or not.

Yesterday I was invited, along with 9 other members of the Indians
Internet community, to attend the Indians home opener. We sat at a
newly created area called the Tribe Social Deck. It’s a private area
located at the base of the left field bleachers (beside the home run
porch) with a live TV and radio feed so that we could look at replays.
We were given an Indians media guide along with some press releases,
and got to talk with Rob Campbell (Indians PR) and Curtis Danburg
(Director, Communications and Creative Services). The Indians are
looking to use this as the “press box” for the Indians social media
community, and will be hosting members of the community there
throughout the season. I think it’s the first area of its kind in
Major League Baseball, and hopefully it catches on. It was a great
opportunity to network with other members of the Indians web
community.

was that Allison Iraheta, of American Idol fame (?), will be singing God Bless America during the 7th inning stretch.

Okay, so you all know I’m a velocity buff (it’s so exciting to watch). Just wondering if anyone else is concerned that Kershaw has been parked in the 92-93 range lately? Maybe he’s still building arm strength, but I miss those 95s on the scoreboard. They are true game changers.

on the club, heading into the first week:

“Joe was probably more confident about them than I was…I didn’t see a lot of crispness at the end of spring training.”

(on Colin Cowherd…I know, I know)

from the D-Backs:

Jackson LF
Drew SS
Upton RF
LaRoche 1B
Reynolds 3B
Young CF
Johnson 2B
Snyder C
Kennedy P

tickets for $50 on Stub Hub….tempting.

per Dylan Hernandez:

Torre: Ethier is in the lineup today

Furcal, SS
Kemp, CF
Ethier, RF
Manny, LF
Loney, 1B
Blake, 3B
DeWitt, 2B
Martin, C
Kershaw, P

I love seeing Blake, Dewitt in the lineup order

in case I am away from my computer, game preview will be up at 10:30, game chat thread at 12:45.

http://www.truebluela.com/2010/4/13/1418437/the-home-opener-is-here-vin-scully