Roger Arrieta
KEEP ROLLING: Today was the third day of workouts for pitchers and catchers at Camelback Ranch – Glendale. Thursday, position players report with the first full-squad workout of 2014 scheduled for Friday.
A few more position players reported to camp early for voluntary workouts in advance of Thursday’s report date, including infielders Dee Gordon, Miguel Rojas and Brendan Harris.
* Harris owns a .256 career batting average with 33 homers and 167 RBI in 529 games. If the middle infielder were to make the club, the Dodgers would become his seventh team, joining the Cubs (2004), Expos/Nationals (2004-06), Reds (2006), Rays (2007), Twins (2008-10) and Angels (2013). The New York native attended William and Mary and was drafted in the fifth round of the 2001 draft by the Cubs.
* Gordon played in 38 games last season and still managed to swipe 10 bases in 12 attempts (83.3%). In his career, the speedy infielder has stolen 66 bags and been caught just 19 times. (77.6%). Gordon’s stolen base percentage ranks sixth in Dodger history among players with at least 80 attempts, trailing Davey Lopes (503 attempts, 83.1 %), Dave Roberts (143, 82.5), Mariano Duncan (125, 80.0), Delino DeShields (146, 78.1) and Shawn Green (81, 77.8).
EASY AS 1-2-3: Today marked the second bullpen sessions for hurlers Clayton Kershaw, Dan Haren, Chris Perez, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Brian Wilson, J.P. Howell, Javy Guerra, Seth Rosin, Jose Dominguez, Matt Magill, Ross Stripling, Chris Reed, Daniel Moskos and Sam Demel.
* Rosin was selected by the Mets from the Phillies in the 2013 Rule 5 draft and then traded to the Dodgers. Rosin, 25, went 9-6 with a 4.33 ERA in 23 starts and three relief appearances last year for Philadelphia’s Double-A Reading affiliate. A fourth-round draft pick of the Giants in 2010, Rosin struck out 96 batters and walked 35 in 126.2 innings. As a Rule 5 player, Rosin must make the Dodgers’ 25-man roster all season or be offered back to his original club, the Phillies, for $25,000.
* Moskos, a non-roster invitee, had a cup of coffee with Pittsburgh in 2011, going 1-1 with a 2.96 ERA in 31 games. He owns a career minor league record of 26-28 with a 4.43 ERA, 321 strikeouts in 207 games with the Pirates (2007-12) and White Sox (2012-13) organizations.
PACE YOURSELVES: This Saturday, every pitcher in camp will have a scheduled day off, designated by Dodger Manager Don Mattingly. This plan was conceived in the offseason due to the fact that the club does not have a normally scheduled off day this spring due to the March 16 trip to Sydney, Australia.
NETWORK: MLB Network made its first appearance at Camelback Ranch-Glendale this morning as Sam Ryan was on hand to conduct interviews with Dodger players. MLB Net will be back in full force on March 4, when the crew is in town for their annual “30 Clubs in 30 Days” feature in which they air their daily show from the Camelback Ranch complex.
AMATEUR HOUR: College baseball takes center stage at Camelback Ranch-Glendale this weekend when Seth Rosin’s Minnesota Golden Gophers face Dodger General Manager Ned Colletti’s alma mater, the Northern Illinois Huskies, in a three-game series to open their 2014 seasons. The Gophers and Huskies will meet in the Camelback Ranch main stadium at 1:00 p.m. Friday-Sunday, February 14-16. Fans are invited to arrive after 9:00 a.m. to watch the Dodgers and White Sox morning workouts and stay for bonus college baseball in the afternoon. Admission is free and food and beverages will be available for purchase during workouts and the college games.
ALL DODGERS, ALL THE TIME: We’re just two weeks away from 24-hour coverage of the Dodgers, as SportsNet LA launches on February 25 and will televise all of this year’s Dodger Cactus League games, with the exception of two split-squad games, giving fans more Spring Training coverage than ever before. In addition to airing games during Spring Training, SportsNet LA will also air a nightly show, “Access SportsNet: Dodgers,” at 7:00 p.m. PT.
AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE: This year, an early report date means an early exit from Arizona as the Dodgers will depart the Valley of the Sun on March 16 for Sydney, Australia. Once Down Under, Los Angeles will battle the D-backs on March 22-23 in Major League Baseball’s Opening Series, which will mark MLB’s first regular-season games ever to be staged in Australia. The Dodgers will return stateside and play three exhibitions against the Angels in the Freeway Series before opening the “North American” portion of their schedule March 30 at San Diego on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball.
