Blue Spring Report #2

Hello Lasorda’s Lairians!

First off, I would like to apologize to everyone for all of our technical difficulties over the last couple of days. We are moving to a new server, and we have been experiencing intermittent loss of connectivity. I want to thank everyone for being patient. The technical problems should be fixed in a couple of days, and the tech team is working very hard to get everything up again. So a big thanks for hanging in. Now let’s catch up on some news from day two of the Dodgers spring training…..

File this news under scares the heck out of me. According to Steve Dilbeck of the L.A. Times  Clayton Kershaw had to skip his latest bullpen session because of a stiff lower back. His back stiffness is not serious, and he is expected to make his next scheduled bullpen session on Friday. Sometimes, some of the guys report into spring training with stiff or sore muscles. I would rather have it happen now than during the regular season. Kershaw is scheduled to make his first spring game appearance on March 9th.

Other minor bumps and bruises include NRI pitcher Shane Lindsay suffering a slight Latissimus strain, and relief pitcher and professional disappearing act Ronald Belisario missed his latest bullpen session because of a tooth extraction. We also learned some of the details surrounding his drug violation. We also just recently learned of Blake Hawksworth having to start the season on the DL, which brings me back to our poll from the other day. I will go ahead and bring it back again since we were having some technical issues. The question is: with Blake Hawksworth starting the year on the DL, who do you think will replace him in the Bullpen? Let us know in the poll below…..

In other news around Dodger camp, the Dodgers have signed pitcher Brent Leach according to a Kevin Goldstein Tweet . Hey now, remember this guy?…

I sure do. The 29-year old left handed pitche, pitched in 38 games for the Dodgers back in 2009. He was 2-0 with a 5.68 ERA in 20.1 innings of work. He struck out 19 batters, and posted an 8.4 SO/9 rate before bowing out for Japan. He hasn’t been back to the majors until now. Originally drafted by the Dodgers in 2005 out of Flowood, Missouri, Leach makes his second stint with the Dodgers. The terms of the contract are unknown, but I’m assuming it’s on a minor league deal or a non-roster invite.

Speaking of former Dodgers…Outfielder/first baseman and occasional pinch-hitter Jay Gibbons has moved on . He signed a contract with the Milwaukee Brewers. Gibbons, if you remember, was the feel good story of the 2010 season. After a few decent years with Baltimore, Gibbons was out of Baseball until the Dodgers gave him another chance. Gibbons, a local boy from Thousand Oaks, California, was one of the players named in the Mitchell report. Gibbons hit five home runs for the Dodgers in the latter part of 2010 while replacing the utterly useless Garret Anderson (Auto Out). However his 2011 season was terrible. After being slated to platoon in left field with the equally as useless Marcus Thames, Gibbons battled the flu and vision problems caused by bad contact lenses. Gibbons was unable to regain his sight, and he played poorly. In 24 games and 62 plate appearances last year for the Dodgers, Gibbons hit .255, with 1 home run, and he was eventually released. He used to be in the Brewers system a few years ago. Reportedly, his deal is a minor league contract, and he will report to the Brewers minor league camp. Despite him being awful in 2011, I wish Gibbons all the best with Milwaukee.

Earnest Reyes of Dodgers Blue Heaven  posted a very cool video of Clayton Kershaw’s perfect game during one of his high school playoff games. Kershaw struck out 15, yes 15 batters! He also hit a home run in the game that lasted five innings. Even back then Kershaw was utterly dominating. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that Kershaw even no-hit his family as a toddler during a whiffle ball game in his backyard.

We also will be learning at some point later today who the final five bidders are in the next round of the sale and auction of the Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball team. We will let you know as soon as the news breaks as to who the last five bidders are, so tune in here. Finally I want to again offer my apologies to all for our recent tech issues. We are moving to a new server, and it is going to take a couple of days for the tech guys to get everything on the up and up. I used to work in IT, so I know how much work and little sleep is involved in a server move. It is a lot of work. I want to thank the tech guys for all their efforts. We will keep you guys informed on all the news and notes from Dodgers spring training and our server move.

As we continue to document the Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball seasons, we wait to hear those five beautiful words we love to hear….IT’S TIME FOR DODGER BASEBALL!….Until then Dodger fans….GO BLUE