Kim Ng officially took the position of Senior Vice President of Baseball Operations with MLB today, working with Joe Torre in New York, and will end her nine-plus year tenure with the Dodgers one spring training concludes. Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times has some reaction from Ng:
"This was an extremely difficult decision for me. I've been with this organization for almost half my career. That was a big factor. I just walked in the door with Sandy Koufax. That is one of the things I will miss."
and Ned Colletti:
"It's a truly great opportunity for Kim and one that will undoubtedly broaden her experience," Colletti said. "She has played a huge part in the successes we've had over the last several years, and her departure will certainly be a loss. I am extremely grateful for all that she's done for me and for the department."
The Dodger game notes had a brief statement about Ng as well:
Congratulations to Dodger Assistant General Manager Kim Ng, who has accepted a position as Major League Baseball’s new Senior Vice President for Baseball Operations. The Dodgers would like to thank Kim for her nine years of service and wish her nothing but the best in her new position in New York.
Dodgers' VP of Communications Josh Rawitch wished Ng well on Inside the Dodgers:
It's also somewhat ironic that on International Women's Day, Ng becomes (I believe) the highest-ranking female in the history of the game of baseball. How cool is that? Of course, I hesitate even writing about her gender because frankly, I think it's a tired story and an easy one to fall back on when someone is looking for an angle to write about. Kim deserves to be recognized as a top-notch baseball executive, independent of the fact that she's a minority as both a woman and an Asian. She just gets it and she goes about her business in the most professional manner you could ever imagine. She's a great leader, a great baseball mind and she will be a huge asset to the league.
On the field, the Dodgers head to Phoenix to face the Milwaukee Brewers at Maryvale Stadium. John Ely gets the start for the Dodgers, while old friend Takashi Saito gets the start for the Brewers in what will essentially be a bullpen game for Milwaukee.
Lineups
Dodgers | Brewers | |||
RF | Gwynn | 2B | Counsell | |
C | Navarro | DH | Kotsay | |
DH | Ethier | LF | Braun | |
CF | Kemp | 1B | Fielder | |
LF | Gibbons | 3B | McGehee | |
2B | DeJesus | CF | Dickerson | |
1B | Mitchell | SS | Cruz | |
SS | Castro | C | Nieves | |
3B | Miles | RF | Gindl |
Also pitching for the Dodgers today are Ron Mahay, Travis Schlichting, and Javy Guerra. Hiroki Kuroda and Luis Vasquez were among the pitchers to get some work in this morning at Camelback Ranch in a B game against the Seattle Mariners. Shaikin passed along the information that Kuroda struck out six in his 4 1/3 innings of work, but also allowed three runs on five hits, including two home runs.
Minor leaguers in uniform today for the Dodgers are C Matt Wallach (wearing #92), IF Corey Smith (97), IF Christian Lara (87), IF Jaime Pedroza (90), RHP Steven Ames (no number given), RHP Francisco Felix (91), LHP David Pfeiffer (89), RHP Stuart Pomeranz (98), RHP Javier Solano (95), and RHP Merkin Valdez (96).
Steve Lyons of Fox Sports has several spring training capsules up, with the latest on Ramon Troncoso and Matt Guerrier.
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There have been a number of good Fan Posts in the last day or two. BHSportsGuy outlined his impression of the situation between Bud Selig and Frank McCourt, while Rawhide Blue and Nolij each gave extensive reviews of their time at Camelback Ranch. G.Scott has a review of his trip as well, plus several roster thoughts.
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Game Time: 12:05 p.m. PST
TV: None; no Dodgers radio broadcast today, but Brewers' audio is available online