The Dodgers and Time Warner issued a press release. The network … is … go!
The Los Angeles Dodgers ownership group created American Media Productions, LLC (AMP) in December 2012 to launch a new Los Angeles Dodgers regional sports network. Today, AMP announced its plans for SportsNet LA, the new regional television home for the Los Angeles Dodgers beginning with the 2014 Major League Baseball season. In addition to being the exclusive local home for all of the Dodger games, SportsNet LA will provide comprehensive behind-the-scenes Dodger programming, featuring more insights, analysis and commentary about the team than ever available before.
All of the principals are quoted and, in grand press release tradition, are “delighted” about this, that and the other thing. Still waiting for the press release that cites ambivalence and non-specific ennui.
The key takeaway for baseball fans here is that the Dodgers are going to be rolling in TV cash for the next couple of decades, and every personnel move they make should be considered against that backdrop. Think of it as the way we thought about the Yankees until about two or three years ago. They will make good deals and bad deals like any other team, but the margin for error is huge because they can eat bad contracts and try again with someone else if things don’t work out. At the same time, there will likely be more pressure for the team to avoid rebuilding periods because they have to consider the TV product — always be exciting, always be relevant — a bit more than some teams do.
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Johnny Cueto is slated to come off the disabled list and start tonight for the Reds after missing the past month with a lat injury. His return was delayed by the same oblique problems that plagued Cueto last season and the right-hander revealed that he’s considering changing his mechanics to avoid similar injuries. Here’s what…
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Watch Robinson Cano play wiffleball in the street with a boy fighting leukemia
May 20, 2013, 10:32 AM EDT
Headline says it all. But this from the MLB Fan Cave is cool, dudes.
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Ryan Howard sat out Sunday’s game with a sore left knee and the Phillies first baseman is getting an MRI exam today. Howard told Stephen Pianovich of MLB.com that the knee “has been acting up a little bit since spring training” but “yesterday was when it really kind of kicked in more than normal.” Howard…
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The Yankees are ruled by different expectations than everyone else
May 20, 2013, 9:45 AM EDT
The Yankees average over 37,000 a game, yet get stuff written about how they are having attendance issues. If you’re savvy and go to the secondary market, you can still get tickets for a relatively decent price to most Yankees games, even if they’re not the best seats in the world. Compare this to basketball…
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Apparently Miguel Cabrera’s 2013 has made his 2012 better somehow
May 20, 2013, 9:18 AM EDT
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Bill posted about Cabrera’s big night last night, and this morning Twitter is dominated by folks noting just how utterly ridiculous Cabrera has been so far this year. And make no mistake, he has been. He’s hitting .387/.457/.659 and leads the AL in runs, hits, RBI, batting average, on-base percentage, OPS, and total bases. Just…
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I mean, yes, it’s totally reasonable to think his job is in jeopardy given how poorly the Dodgers have played amid high expectations. But Ken Rosenthal’s latest column is pretty bold in speculating that Mattingly’s days are numbered. Rather than just analyze the team’s struggles, Rosenthal talks about his gut feeling that Mattingly could be…
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I saw “The Great Gatsby” yesterday. Gatsby is my favorite novel of all time. The movie was not the book and if your basis for slamming it is that it’s not the book, well, your standards and expectations probably need to be checked. Deciding beforehand that I’d not make my judgment of it dependent upon…
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Phillies 3, Reds 2: Aroldis Chapman is usually automatic. But he surrendered back-to-back bombs to the murderers row that is Erik Kratz and Freddy Galvis as the Philly walked off Cincinnati. Heck, the inning started with Chapman walking Delmon Young on four straight pitches, so you know he wasn’t on it yesterday. And Cliff Lee…
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The Giants lost their third game in a row, their fifth loss in their last six games as they went down 5-0 to the Rockies this afternoon. Starter Barry Zito labored into the sixth, allowing five runs on 11 hits in 5.2 innings. It marks the sixth consecutive game in which Giants pitching has allowed…
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Entering tonight’s game against the Tigers, Mitch Moreland has a .921 OPS with ten home runs and has arguably been the Rangers’ most dangerous hitter thus far in the 2013 season. Going into the season, first base was assumed to be a weak spot for the Rangers as Moreland had been more or less average…
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In the bottom of the eighth inning with the Marlins leading 2-0, Diamondbacks reliever Josh Collmenter was trying to keep the deficit at two as he faced the top of the lineup. Adeiny Hechavarria decided to attempt to bunt the first pitch he saw, but popped it up. Catcher Miguel Montero and Collmenter converged on…
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With a three-run home run to right-center in the third inning and a solo shot to straightaway center in the fifth — his ninth and tenth of the season, respectively — against Rangers starter Derek Holland, Miguel Cabrera put himself in a tie with Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg with 331 career home runs. Cabrera,…
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Daniel Murphy has hit out of the #2 spot in the Mets’ lineup throughout most of the season, but manager Terry Collins decided to shake things up today by moving up to lead-off. Murphy responded with an eighth-inning solo home run that gave the Mets a 4-3 lead. The jolt of offense seems to have…
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Pirates closer Jason Grilli spent most of his 20′s and early 30′s bouncing from organization to organization — he pitched for the White Sox, Tigers, Rockies, and Rangers. Between 2004-09, working almost exclusively as a reliever, he posted a 4.62 ERA. He suffered a knee injury during spring training in 2010 with the Indians, forcing…
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It’s not every day a player can say he accomplished a Ruthian feat, but Matt Moore has earned that very prestigious honor today. As the pitcher of record behind the Rays’ 3-1 win over the Orioles this afternoon, Moore improved to 8-0 in nine starts this season, becoming the first lefty age 23 or younger…
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With Jaime Garcia on the 15-day disabled list with a shoulder injury, the Cardinals have promoted 25-year-old lefty Tyler Lyons to take his spot in the rotation. Lyons had a 4.47 ERA with 38 strikeouts and nine walks in 46.1 innings with Triple-A Memphis. Via MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch and Chad Thornburg: The Cardinals’ decision to…
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Phillies use wacky ninth inning to defeat Aroldis Chapman, Reds
May 19, 2013, 7:15 PM EDT
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The ninth inning of today’s Reds-Phillies series finale was full of statistical improbabilities. First, Delmon Young drew a four-pitch walk (yes, Delmon Young walked) against Aroldis Chapman. He was immediately replaced by pitcher and pinch-runner Cliff Lee. With Erik Kratz at the plate battling Chapman in a 2-2 count, the lefty reliever picked Lee off…
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This pairs nicely with the situation that arose in the sixth inning in Baltimore this afternoon. Major League Baseball is likely to expand video review in 2014, reports the Associated Press. Commissioner Bud Selig, who has staunchly opposed expansion of replay usage in the past, says his view on the issue has “evolved”. After watching…
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In the top of the sixth inning of today’s series finale in Baltimore, Rays right fielder Matt Joyce blasted a 3-2 fastball down the right field line, initially ruled a double by the umpires. Watching it live, it seemed to go foul, but when reviewed in slow motion, it was clear that the ball caromed…
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Rangers put Ian Kinsler on the 15-day disabled list and call up top prospect Jurickson Profar
May 19, 2013, 5:17 PM EDT
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From Anthony Andro of FOX Sports Southwest comes word that the Rangers have placed second baseman Ian Kinsler on the 15-day disabled list with an intercostal muscle strain and recalled top infield prospect Jurickson Profar to fill the roster vacancy. Kinsler suffered the strain Thursday while trying to duck out of the way of a…
