With both Spring Training on the horizon and the Winter Meetings currently ongoing in Orlando, I thought this vintage, dated March 2, 1946, International News press photo of several old-tyme Dodgers at Daytona Beach would be perfect. (eBay auction link) Per descriptor attached to the reverse:
PITY POOR DODGERS IN BLEAK FLORIDA. Daytona Beach, Fla.......It's all right for the fortunate people up North. They can warm be shoveling snow. But the poor Brooklyn Dodgers, who are spring training down in Daytona Beach have to light a fire to get the chill out of their bones. Billy Herman is playing fireman here to get a blaze going for Vic Lombardi, Hal Gregg and Lew Riggs. Cold weather caused postponement of practice called for yesterday."Below are more links to check out:
- This Day in Dodgers History: In 1941 the Dodgers traded for soon to be Hall of Famer Arky Vaughan from the Pirates in exchange for Pete Coscarart, Luke Hamlin, Babe Phelps and Jimmy Wasdell. In 1998 the Dodgers signed free agent starting pitcher Kevin Brown to a seven year $105 million contract -- thus becoming the first $100 million man in Baseball. In 2012 the Dodgers received Skip Schumaker in a trade with the Cardinals -- sending Jake Lemmerman to St. Louis in return.
- Happy Birthday, Peter O'Malley, Phenomenal Smith, Derrell Griffith & Orlando Hudson!
- Video: MLB.com's Richard Justice speculates on what the Dodgers' next move will be after losing reliever Brandon Morrow (video link).
- Via David Hood at True Blue LA; "2018 top Dodgers prospects: No. 26-30."
- Via Ken Gurnick at MLB.com; "Bid to win lunch with #PuigYourFriend: Other Dodgers experiences also being auctioned at Winter Meetings."
For the sixth consecutive year, the Dodgers join MLB, MLB Advanced Media and MLB Network in a Winter Meetings charity auction, this time benefitting the Katharine Feeney Memorial Scholarship Fund, in memory of the late pioneering baseball executive whose career spanned 40 years.One of the items up for bid is a lunch with that tongue-wagging, GIF-loving outfielder, Yasiel Puig (auction link here). The Dodgers also are offering a Spring Training bat boy/bat girl experience (auction link here) and an opportunity to announce "It's Time for Dodger Baseball" before a game at Dodger Stadium (auction link here).
- Via Tom Verducci at Sport Illustrated; "Winter Meetings Notebook: Stanton's Pursuit of 'Crazy Numbers,' Darvish Tipping Pitches in World Series Starts and More."
According to a Houston player, the Astros often knew what Darvish was about to throw by the way he brought the ball into his glove in the set position. (Darvish pitches exclusively out of the stretch.) The player said it worked like this: Darvish holds the ball at his side when he gets the sign from the catcher. Whether he re-grips or not as he brings the ball into his glove was the tip-off whether he was going to throw a slider/cutter or a fastball.
- There is so much to hate about this. Per Brian Bennett at the LA Times; "Jamie McCourt is sworn in as U.S. ambassador to France."
Like every president, Trump has named several past campaign donors to be ambassadors. The Paris posting historically has been among the most coveted. McCourt donated more than $400,000 to the Trump Victory fund, $50,800 to the Trump inauguration and more than $170,000 to the Republican National Committee.
- Per Ken Gurnick at MLB.com; "Agent: LA never 'viable option' for Stanton: Wolfe says slugger wasn't given chance to accept a trade to Dodgers."
Wolfe said even if a Dodgers deal had been presented to Stanton, his acceptance was not guaranteed."[Stanton] said, 'If the Dodgers come, I'm going to have to sit down with them and go through the same machinations and ask a million questions, and ask them what's going to happen with [Clayton Kershaw] and the pitching staff and what direction is the team headed?'" Wolfe said.
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