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SportsNet LA, the exclusive new local TV home of the Los Angeles Dodgers, officially announces that the network will launch on February 25, the night before the Dodgers' first Spring Training game. SportsNet LA will take fans behind-the-scenes and offer in-depth access into the Dodger organization, providing an immersive experience with never-before-seen content, and thousands of hours of comprehensive Dodger programming. SportsNet LA will televise 24/7 Dodger content, including live and...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor The Dodgers will be paying Clayton Kershaw more than Sandy Koufax ever was paid. More than they've paid any pitcher in club history At 25, Kershaw has had six spectacular seasons. In one year he would have been a free agent. Can you imagine what the upcoming season would have been like if the Kershaw negotiations were going on? The new Dodger ownership preferred to get the matter settled early so everyone could concentrate on baseball. That was the right...
By Fred Altieri Observer Reporter (EDITOR’S NOTE: This is Part 2 of Fed Altieri’s interview with Maury Wills at Westfield, Culver City during the Dodgers’ recent Holiday Tour) Maury Wills: “The players we looked up to and the players we wanted to be like were these older guys that played on Sundays who called themselves semi-pro. I don’t know why semi-pro, they didn’t get paid. “They had mixed-matched uniforms on, argyle socks under the stirrups. If they didn’t get too drunk on Saturday night...
(EDITOR'S NOTE: When all-time great Maury Wills appeared at Westfield, Culver City with the Dodgers' recent Holiday Tour the Observer's Fred Altieri was there to interview him. This is the first of two parts. By Fred Altieri Observer Reporter Maury Wills was born to be a Los Angeles Dodger. Eighty One years later he is still a Dodger, as sharp and as alert as during the 1960's when he altered the fundamentals of major league baseball with his speed and prowess on the base paths. Wills recently...
The Dodgers had a strong reaction last weekend upon learning that their young star, Yasiel Puig, had been arrested in Naples, Florida and charged with reckless driving. Puig was reported to be going 110 mph in a 70-mphzone. It was the second such offense for the 23-year-old outfielder who had a sensational major league debut last season. The Dodgers issued a press release expressing their disappointment in Puig and said the matter should be taken seriously....
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor The Detroit Tigers were mighty good last season except for the fatal flaw of not having a premier closer. It made a lot of sense when they negotiated with free agent Brian Wilson, who earned two championship rings with the San Francisco Giants, then helped the Dodgers last season. But Wilson then informed the Tigers he wasn’t going to join them. A few days later the Dodgers announced they had brought Wilson back with a one-year contract and a player option for 2...
The Dodgers announce their 2014 Spring Training schedule with their sixth season of Cactus League play beginning on Thursday, February 27 against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Camelback Ranch – Glendale, Arizona.. The Dodgers will play 24 Cactus League games this spring, in addition to an exhibition game against Team Australia in Sydney, Australia on Friday, March 21, the day before Los Angeles faces the Arizona Diamondbacks in MLB's Opening Series on March 22-23 at the historic Sydney Cricket G...
The Angels announce they’ll begin the 2014 season with a series at home against the Seattle Mariners March 31 and April 1 and 2. The inter-league games against the Dodgers will be August 4 and 5 at Dodger Stadium and August 6 and 7 at Angel Stadium in Anaheim. The Angels have traded centerfielder Peter Bourgos to St Louis for Cardinals third baseman David Freese....
The Dodgers have announced their coaching staff for the 2014 season with manager Don Mattingly and nine coaches returning, Tim Wallach shifting roles to become bench coach and the addition of Lorenzo Bundy as the club’s third base coach. General Manager Ned Colletti made the announcement. 2014 Dodger Coaching Staff: Don Mattingly – Manager (fourth season) Lorenzo Bundy – Third Base coach (first season) Chuck Crim – Bullpen Coach (second season) Rick Honeycutt – Pitching Coach (ninth season) Davey Lopes – First Base Coach (fourth season) Mark Mc...
The Dodgers have announced their coaching staff for the 2014 season with manager Don Mattingly and nine coaches returning, Tim Wallach shifting roles to become bench coach and the addition of Lorenzo Bundy as the club's third base coach. General Manager Ned Colletti made the announcement. 2014 Dodger Coaching Staff: Don Mattingly – Manager (fourth season) Lorenzo Bundy – Third Base coach (first season) Chuck Crim – Bullpen Coach (second season) Rick Honeycutt – Pitching Coach (ninth season)Davey Lopes – First Base Coach (fourth season) M...
By Steven Lieberman Observer Reporter The St. Louis Cardinals were looking for revenge after being swept, 4-0, by the Boston Red Sox in the 2004 World Series. After putting forth a good effort, the Cardinals fell short again, losing the battle to the bearded-wonders of Boston, 4-2, and watching the 2013 World Series also slip away. It seemed as if the Cardinals were heading in the right direction after they split the first two games in Boston and then won Game 3 at Busch Stadium on an obstructio...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor Cheer up, Dodger fans. I know you’re disappointed in the team’s inability to reach the World Series. Calm down. Take a deep breath. Realize the Dodgers had a fantastic season and there’s reason to be optimistic about the future, beginning next season. Yasiel Puig appears to be on the way to becoming a superstar. The new owners have demonstrated they’ll spend plenty of money to keep the team in playoff and then championship contention. As this column is being w...
By Steven Lieberman Observer Reporter It was “WWII” in St. Louis at Busch Stadium last weekend as the Dodgers were to face Cardinals hurlers Michael Wacha – the rookie-sensation - on Friday in Game 6 and then Adam Wainwright in Game 7 in the best-of-seven NL Championship Series. The series never made it to Game 7. With the series at 3-2 in favor of the Cardinals, the Dodgers went with their elite pitcher, Clayton Kershaw, arguably the best pitcher in MLB this season. Kershaw had an uncha...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor You see Brian Wilson with his beard and mohawk and you might get the impression he’s a goofball. What major league pitcher looks so outrageous, so different from all the others? But the Dodgers knew better. Wilson proved himself by helping the Giants win the 2010 World Series even though he had undergone Tommy John surgery for an elbow injury while at Louisiana State University.. And after he underwent Tommy John surgery for a second time in 2011 and lost his c...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports editor On the many occasions when I attended Dodger games this season there was a lot of speculation about Juan Uribe’s future with the Dodgers. Media friends and scouts from other teams were pretty sure the Dodgers won’t sign him again. This is the third and final year of his current contract. The Dodgers signed him for three years at $21 million after he helped the Giants win the 2010 World Series. But look at what’s happened. Uribe has had a great 2013 season, both...
By Steven Lieberman Observer Reporter It’s been four long years, but the Dodgers have finally clinched another best-of-five National League Division Series to advance to the NL Championship Series. Juan Uribe’s two-run bomb in the bottom of the eighth inning that landed in the Dodgers left-field bullpen sealed the deal with a 4-3 win over the Atlanta Braves. Dodger fans got so excited, all 54,438 started to chant the Braves “Indian” mantra with the tomahawk chop after Uribe’s blast. The pitch...
Dodgers, Red Sox Thrive One Year After Trade Exactly one year after they made one of the biggest trades in baseball history, the Dodgers and Red Sox completed a three-game series Sunday night at Dodger Stadium. Both teams remained mediocre last season following the nine-player trade but this season both have emerged as division leaders and World Series hopefuls. The teams had completely different reasons for getting together for the deal but, remarkably, making the dramatic moves allowed both to...
Many Dodgers Contribute To Remarkable Streak As the Dodgers have burst from last place to a runaway lead in the National League West division, it has truly been a team effort. Examining a sheet of accomplishments provided by the Dodgers’ public relations department in the press box before Saturday’s victory over the Tampa Bay Rays, I underlined passages that would be helpful for this piece. Soon I realized I was underlining almost everything. Here are some of the best ones and a few others tha...
Poor Decisions Lead To Angels’ Collapse Today’s lesson in economics: It’s not how much you spend on players, it’s how wise you are in choosing the players. The Dodgers went on a spending spree this season. They got off to a terrible start, partially due to injuries, but have made a spectacular recovery. The Angels, by contrast, went on a spending spree, made some poor decisions, and are now buried so deep in the standings they’re unlikely to recover this season. Albert Pujols, the Angels’ h...
The Fans Speak: New Dodger Owners Are Succeeding The Dodgers got off to a terrible start, then made a dramatic recovery and reached the Al-Star break with a 47-47 record, good enough to be a contender in the Western Division. It remains to be seen if they’ll continue their recent surge. But one conclusion can be drawn. Fans are very happy with the new ownership. The fans spoke their mind when more than 206,000 turned out to see the Dodgers play the Colorado Rockies last weekend. It was the f...
UCLA Makes Astounding World Series Debut The UCLA baseball team was good enough to qualify for the 67th College World Series in Omaha this week. But among the eight participants the Bruins weren’t highly regarded. How could they be with a .250 team batting average, one of the lowest in the NCAA? As of this writing on our Wednesday deadline it’s unknown what will happen by the end of the week. But if UCLA was to continue its astounding beginning that would be quite a story. You see, UCLA won its...
Dodgers: First Fernandomania, Now Puigmania As I advanced through the press gate at Dodger Stadium Sunday morning I knew the day was going to be special. I often have a brief chat with radio broadcaster Fernando Valenzuela, who created Fernandomania with his spectacular debut 33 years ago. And I knew the Dodgers’ latest phenom, Yasiel Puig, would be adding another chapter to his remarkable first week in the major leagues. Before the game I discussed Puig with Vin Scully. I asked if Puigmania rem...
New Phenom Gives Dodgers Life The last place Dodgers needed a spark, something to energize a perplexed fan base, someone to inspire teammates to perform better. They had a 22-year-old phenom in the minor leagues but there was a difference of opinion in the front office. Sure, Yasiel Puig had talent. Sure he would inspire comparions to Mike Trout, the similarly-talented kid who came up to the Angels last year and quickly thrived in major league competition. But this Dodger, a Cuban defector who...
Shawn Kemp has been in a slump lately and he hit bottom Monday night by striking out four times and dropping a fly ball against the Angels. Kemp is the Dodgers’ biggest star, a National league MVP candidate and a proud man. “He has a lot of pride,” says manager Don Mattingly. But it is Mattingly’s job to give the Dodgers the best chance of winning each day, and sometimes a manager is inclined to take drastic action. So Kemp was removed from a game last week in a double switch, a move commonly ma...
The Dodgers’ 2013 payroll is the highest in the history of baseball. The Dodgers are in last place. The Angels spent heavily on players last summer too, but now they are 12 games out of first place, trailing Texas, Oakland and Seattle in their division. Is it too early to declare both teams out of playoff contention? Yes. Only a small portion of the 162-game schedule has been played. Is it too early for Dodger and Angel fans to worry? Not at all. Let’s start with the Dodgers. Certainly the...
