Blue Spring Report

Hello Lasorda’s Lairians!

Spring training is in full effect. All players have reported in, and the first official full squad workouts begin today. Exhibition games are only seven days, yes seven days away! While we wait, here are a few stories from Camelback Ranch that are not about the sale.

Andre Ethier reported into camp rocking a full beard, and had a very brief interview with the media. Apparently Don Mattingly is still mulling over his options for Ethier’s spot in the lineup. Ethier batted third for most of the year in 2011. I think Ethier will probably bat fourth or fifth, but he could be moved around depending on the match-ups.

A slimmer more trim version of Juan Uribe reported to camp the other day. According to Steve Dilbeck, Uribe has recovered from his hernia surgery and has been working out in the winter. He still has some kind of weird civil lawsuit pending after some bizarre fish-fry dinner of his that went awry causing considerable damage to the kitchen of the rental property he was renting in San Francisco. Once all of this is straightened out in People’s Court, then he’s ready to play some ball!

Clayton Kershaw’s bullpen session went fine on Sunday. His first session last week was pushed back because the reigning Cy Young winner felt some mild tightness in his back. After pitching his bullpen session on Sunday, Kershaw reported feeling fine. The Dodgers are going to have him pitch a couple of innings in camp instead of the proposed idea of creating a “B” game with the White Sox for Kershaw to get in some work. Kershaw is still on schedule to make his spring debut on March 9th.

Here is something amusing. Apparently Matt Guerrier has a great excuse  for his season long mediocrity in 2011. Brace yourself guys….Yep, he was just tryin’ too darn hard! According to Ken Gurnick, the 12 million dollar right hander has lofty aspirations for 2012. He feels like he doesn’t have to try to hard anymore, and he still wants the ball in late inning pressure situations.

Ken Gurnick takes a look at 11 pitchers  who are all non-roster invites, competing for the last spot in the Dodger bullpen. He lists some names we are already familiar with. Guys like Jamey Wright, Wil Ledezma, Shane Lindsay, and John Grabow are among others. Please note that Lindsay is still nursing a sore lat, and Ryan Tucker has already been cut.

Finally, it looks like Chad Billingsley is working out some minor flaws in his delivery. This is what spring training is for, and Tony Jackson  has the details on Bills as he works on fine tuning his mechanics. That’s about it Dodger fans. The first spring game is in one week. Keep it here for more spring training coverage. It won’t be long until we hear those five beautiful words we have been waiting to hear all winter….IT’S TIME FOR DODGER BASEBALL!