True Blue LA podcast episode 2117: Albert Pujols is a Dodger

In a move that was genuinely stunning, the Dodgers signed a 41-year-old Albert Pujols, a move even manager Dave Roberts called “surreal.”

They also traded for Yoshi Tsutsugo, and this week on the podcast we make sense of why it actually made some sense that the Dodgers needed a pair of sub-.200 hitters, especially after mounting injuries further depleted the club’s position player depth.

Also, despite the injuries the Dodgers found their footing on the field, following a 5-15 skid with a pair of winning streaks.

Note: we recorded this Wednesday morning. Three wins ago.

Send us any questions you might have by email to tblapodcast@gmail.com, or tweet us at @ericstephen or @jacobburch. Special thanks to producer Brian Salvatore for all of his work behind the scenes.

Dodgers rewind

With several low-hit games of late by Dodgers starters, we looked back at 1937, when Brooklyn got consecutive starts of zero or one hit, the first by Fred Frankhouse.

In his game, on August 27, Frankhouse pitched a complete-game with no hits allowed, though he only pitched 7... innings in a game that was called with the Dodgers up 5-0. Frankhouse in his 13-year major league career was a perfectly average pitcher, with a 100 ERA+, including a 103 ERA+ in 507 innings from 1936-38 with the Dodgers.

Frankhouse before joining Brooklyn was once traded for former Dodgers pitcher Burleigh Grimes, a future Hall of Famer. Frankhouse in his final MLB season was accused of using a spitball, which was by then outlawed. He responded by hitting batter Harry Craft in the head, then bowed to the booing crowd at the end of the inning.

After his career ended, Frankhouse and his wife retreated to Pennsylvania, where they ran a Christmas tree farm that was in use for over five decades.

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