True Blue LA - Feb. 24: Royals 8, Dodgers (ss) 4Where The Dodger Dogs Are Always Grilledhttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/49563/truebluela_fav.png2018-02-24T16:08:52-08:00http://www.truebluela.com/rss/stream/168127812018-02-24T16:08:52-08:002018-02-24T16:08:52-08:00For Kyle Farmer, it’s all in the hips
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<figcaption>Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p id="AILiGp">PHOENIX — <span>Kyle Farmer</span> made his way to the big leagues last season thanks to his versatility and the strength of his bat. But it is his offseason work behind the plate that could help him make a bigger impact in 2018.</p>
<p id="2juzdb">Specifically, it was all in the hips.</p>
<p id="m0P4O8">“His hips were really tight and he couldn’t squat. As he tried to get into that squat position it was more of a stab at the baseball but now he can work underneath the baseball,” manager <span>Dave Roberts</span> said. “His hips are more naturally lower now. His hands really play, and he really is a good, accurate thrower but it was the receiving that was in question for us.”</p>
<p id="KM1wWS">Farmer was an infielder at the University of Georgia but converted to catcher when the <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> drafted him in the eighth round in 2013. Stretching his hips didn’t come naturally.</p>
<p id="MVTxfE">“It was my fault. I never really stretched, but who does growing up? We didn’t really know about that stuff,” Farmer said. “Then over time it just kept getting tighter and tighter, plus I had never caught before so I never learned how to stretch. </p>
<p id="HPXc9k">“I would stretch a little bit in the minors the past three years, but I didn’t really focus on it as much because I didn’t think it was that important. But watching film of Yaz and Barnes in the offseason I saw the position they were getting in, and I couldn’t get in that position. I had to figure out how to get in that position.”</p>
<p id="vpmMNs">The Dodgers’ two main catchers — <span>Yasmani Grandal</span> and <span>Austin Barnes</span> — rank <a href="https://legacy.baseballprospectus.com/sortable/index.php?cid=1899425">among the best in the league at framing pitches</a>, and served as a catalyst for Farmer’s offseason program, devised by Dodgers strength coach Brandon McDaniel.</p>
<p id="pS5sgz">“My framing stats were average but to get to where I want to be you have to be great at it,” Farmer said. “Positioning your body in the correct way helps you get there.”</p>
<p id="SEMHiC">Farmer said he would do daily rolls with a baseball over the soft tissue points in his hips to release the tension, then a series of stretches and even mixed in Pilates to help increase the flexibility.</p>
<p id="ZNhfeb">“This offseason my fiancée would get mad at me because I was stretching and not paying her enough attention,” Farmer said. </p>
<p id="QM5844">Farmer was up with the Dodgers for 46 days in 2017 and played in 20 games, though 13 of his 20 plate appearances came as a pinch hitter. He started just one game, and that was at first base, and played in parts of four games at third base. He didn’t catch until the final week of the season, appearing in a total of seven innings in three games behind the plate.</p>
<p id="HmELqW">His start on Saturday was one more than he had all last spring at catcher, where he caught 10 total innings in Cactus League games. This year the Dodgers plan to have him catch more often.</p>
<p id="43czwo">All the stretching has not only helped Farmer behind the plate, but at it as well.</p>
<p id="Lx9xU3">“I’ve seen a major difference in my hitting,” Farmer said. “I can use my hips in my swing more, maybe elevate the ball a little better and have some more power.”</p>
<p id="NM5ybB">Farmer was 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored on Saturday, and he caught six innings in the Dodgers’ 9-3 loss to the <a href="https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/">Giants</a>.</p>
<p id="rB7YVA">He hit .305/.354/.480 with Triple-A Oklahoma City in 2017, and that helped him get his first major league call up. Farmer made the Dodgers’ roster in both the NLDS against the <a href="https://www.azsnakepit.com/">Diamondbacks</a> and NLCS against the <a href="https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/">Cubs</a>, and made five pinch-hit appearances.</p>
<p id="w5COLv">“The value of playing everyday, getting repetitions behind the plate and getting at-bats, but to his credit he was on our postseason roster,” Roberts said. “He adds value in so many different ways, including his ability to conduct an at-bat off the bench, which is hard to do.”</p>
<h3 id="ryrCU3">Split squad</h3>
<p id="o1QJWW">The Dodgers dropped a pair of games on Saturday. In addition to the home loss to the Giants, a split squad also lost 8-4 to the <a href="https://www.royalsreview.com/">Royals</a> in Surprise. Matt Beaty homered in the road loss.</p>
<h3 id="KWYT6m">Up next</h3>
<p id="kxI9Mu">The Dodgers are back to just one game on Sunday, traveling to Peoria with <span>Clayton Kershaw</span> on the mound making his 2018 spring debut against the <a href="https://www.lookoutlanding.com/">Mariners</a> in a 12:10 p.m. PT start.</p>
https://www.truebluela.com/2018/2/24/17048634/kyle-farmer-hips-dodgers-flexibilityEric Stephen2018-02-24T12:05:40-08:002018-02-24T12:05:40-08:00Seager scratched with illness
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<img alt="MLB: Spring Training-Chicago White Sox at Los Angeles Dodgers" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/bILFwvYWfCbgtzrgS9pYRLDvPGM=/0x0:2694x1796/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/58807769/usa_today_10648462.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p id="O41dnf">PHOENIX — <span>Corey Seager</span> was scratched from the <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> lineup on Saturday against the <a href="https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/">Giants</a> with an illness. He was slated to be the designated hitter for a second straight day but now <span>Henry Ramos</span> will DH for the Dodgers.</p>
<p id="urGAzj">“Something at lunch kind of got his stomach,” manager Dave Roberts said. “He felt a little queasy, and to force him to go out there didn’t make a whole lot of sense.”</p>
<p id="AWabea">Seager was 1-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI in the Dodgers’ spring opener on Friday against the <a href="https://www.southsidesox.com/">White Sox</a>. He is expected to play on Sunday.</p>
<p id="BCpaIi">The Dodgers are playing a pair of games on Saturday, splitting their squad. The home game against the Giants is televised by SportsNet LA and on 570 AM radio. There is no Dodgers TV or radio for the other game, in Surprise against the <a href="https://www.royalsreview.com/">Royals</a>, though the Kansas City radio broadcast is available through <a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/mediacenter/index.jsp?c_id=mlb">Gameday Audio</a>.</p>
<p id="EweFkS"><span>Yasiel Puig</span>, who was scratched on Friday with hip soreness, is back in the lineup for the game at Camelback Ranch against the Giants.</p>
<p id="2SjSQt"><span>Ross Stripling</span> starts for the Dodgers against the Giants, with <span>Zach Neal</span> starting against the Royals.</p>
<p id="Uuni3M">Among the Dodgers minor leaguers suiting up against the Giants are catcher Connor Wong, their third-round pick in 2017, and outfielder Johan Mieses.</p>
<p id="I1LN51">Here were the lineup cards from this morning, with the white card the home game and the blue card the away game:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Dodgers split squad lineups <a href="https://t.co/B90VGKNIDp">pic.twitter.com/B90VGKNIDp</a></p>— Eric Stephen (@truebluela) <a href="https://twitter.com/truebluela/status/967422101899456512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 24, 2018</a>
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<p id="C4EKll">Here is the revised lineup with Seager out against the Giants:</p>
<p id="pUqtdO">Utley 2B <br>Pederson CF <br>Bellinger 1B<br>Puig RF<br>Ramos DH <br>Verdugo LF <br>Farmer C <br>Muncy 3B<br>Solano SS </p>
<h3 id="SDRmPs">Games info</h3>
<p id="4h4ezV">Time: 12:05 p.m. PT</p>
<p id="2XiY5s">Locations: vs. Giants at Camelback Ranch; vs. Royals in Surprise</p>
<p id="xN3kzk">TV: SportsNet LA (Joe Davis, Orel Hershiser) vs. Giants, none vs. KC</p>
<p id="yKMZBB">Radio: 570 AM (Charley Steiner, Rick Monday) vs. Giants, <a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/mediacenter/index.jsp?c_id=mlb">Royals broadcast for KC game</a></p>
<p id="Q8zoCl">Streaming: <a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/mediacenter/index.jsp?c_id=mlb">MLBtv</a></p>
https://www.truebluela.com/2018/2/24/17048568/corey-seager-scratched-lineup-cold-dodgers-split-squad-giants-royalsEric Stephen2018-02-23T11:28:38-08:002018-02-23T11:28:38-08:00Puig scratched with hip soreness
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<img alt="MLB: Los Angeles Dodgers-Workout" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/by_-jes4aoLOFX6yY6-56jTSGts=/0x0:2480x1653/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/58799377/usa_today_10643565.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p id="TD40OR">PHOENIX — <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> outfielder <span>Yasiel Puig</span> was scratched from the lineup for the spring opener on Friday, dealing with hip discomfort.</p>
<p id="FfH20X">“There was something with the hip and were trying to figure out if it was the change in shoes. He had a different pair of shoes that he was breaking in and didn’t put his orthotics in,” manager <span>Dave Roberts</span> said. “There was some discomfort and it was an easy choice to give him another day to adjust.”</p>
<p id="hOpIwv"><span>Trayce Thompson</span> starts <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/2018/2/23/17042592/dodgers-spring-training-white-sox-game-time-notes-pitchers-cactus-league">in right field for the Dodgers against the White Sox on Friday</a>.</p>
<p id="6hB445">Puig first felt something in his hip on Wednesday, though the injury hasn’t been serious enough to necessitate any sort of medical testing. Puig has been a full participant in workouts, including on Friday.</p>
<p id="UKYM66">Roberts said Puig is expected to play on Saturday.</p>
<h3 id="0iZRM3">Pace of play</h3>
<p id="HijNgx">Baseball’s new rules intended to improve game flow go into effect starting on Friday, most notably the limit of six non pitching-change mound visits per team for the first nine innings.</p>
<p id="Ubqj6V">There is bound to be some confusion as the rules are first implemented, specifically with the penalty of an automatic pitching change for each mound visit after the sixth. However, a pitching change can’t be made by someone who isn’t a manager or coach so any sort of visit by a catcher or infielder won’t be allowed at all, unless the umpire determines the pitcher and catcher were crossed up on signs.</p>
<p id="Fppc9O">“We’ll test the waters and get a position player to go five feet out of his position and see if that counts as a mound visit,” Roberts joked.</p>
<h3 id="dNAkHH">Split squad on Saturday</h3>
<p id="13Q8dV">The Dodgers have two games on Saturday, both 12 p.m. PT starts. <span>Ross Stripling</span> gets the start in the home game against the <a href="https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/">Giants</a>, with non-roster right-hander <span>Zach Neal</span> starting on the road against the <a href="https://www.royalsreview.com/">Royals</a> in Surprise.</p>
<p id="E5k0o5">Neal, like Friday starter <span>Wilmer Font</span> and others in camp, will be stretched out as a starting pitcher but is also an option in relief, depending on the need.</p>
<p id="X6fRNe">“Were going to keep building him up as a starter. How long that goes I really can’t tell you right now,” Roberts said. “He’s a guy with a really good feel and really good command. He’s done numerous roles with the A’s.”</p>
<p id="i3LVLF">Neal, 29, spent parts of the last two seasons pitching in the majors with Oakland, splitting time with Triple-A Nashville. Neal in those two seasons had a 4.44 ERA in the majors and minors combined with just an 11.1% strikeout rate, but also a minuscule 2.47% walk rate.</p>
<p id="9uB0Jk">“Certain guys are different. If you have a guy who strikes out a lot of guys he might walk a lot of guys. My strikeout ratio is always 3-to-1, just sometimes with not a lot of strikeouts,” Neal said. “I like to pride myself in being consistent. When you call my name you know what you’re going to get every time.”</p>
<h3 id="v6NaGc">Old friend in camp</h3>
<p id="mKch3I">Former Dodgers pitcher <span>Joel Peralta</span> is in camp for about a week to help instruct some pitchers, and will likely return later during spring training as well. </p>
<p id="7c9jpX">When I first saw him this morning I was excited since Peralta is five days older than me and in a desperate attempt to cling to my youth I need for there to be at least one player in camp older than I am. However Peralta, who retired after the 2016 season after 12 big league seasons, confirmed he is no longer pitching.</p>
https://www.truebluela.com/2018/2/23/17044260/yasiel-puig-hip-lineup-scratched-dodgers-zach-neal-joel-peraltaEric Stephen