Today’s post focuses on fielding, which is often overlooked in the game of baseball but obviously a huge part of a winning team. The Dodgers have had their struggles in the early going during spring, but no one seems terribly concerned that it will carry over into the regular season.

Still, one of the really cool things about working at Dodger Stadium is how often Dodger legends wander in and out of the offices. Yesterday alone, while I was sitting in a meeting, I saw two Gold Glovers, Willie Davis and Wes Parker walk by my office, which is a regular occurence. Between the two of them, they had nine Gold Gloves from 1967-73, which is pretty impressive.

While catching up with Wes, we got to discussing how he is one of the six finalists for the Best Fielding First Baseman in Major League history, according to Rawlings. This is quite an honor and I’m sure that anyone who watched him in his heyday would agree that he is very deserving of the honor. So, if you’d like to vote for him (and you should!), go to this link.  Other former Dodgers on the ballot include Greg Maddux and Devon White.

Staying with the defense theme, I asked Elias Sports Bureau to help us out with some fielding stats for our media/information guide and while it took them some time to compile it, we are grateful for the info they sent us. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get it in the guide this year, but thought you might find this interesting. There are definitely some surprise names on the lists below. (Sorry if it looks a little strange. I’m still new at posting charts on this system).

And for those of you with more time, check out the new guide which is printed and now available for purchase at the Top of the Park Gift Store and free if you want to check it out online.

DODGERS ALL-TIME FIELDING LEADERS BY POSITION

FIRST BASE
                                    PCT    TC    E    G
Garvey, Steve                .996 14781   63 1470
Parker, Wes                   .996 10380   45 1108
Murray, Eddie                 .995  4224   23  458
Brock, Greg                    .994  4081   26  447
Karros, Eric                     .993 14614  103 1579

SECOND BASE
                                    PCT    TC    E    G
Robinson, Jackie             .983  3992   68  751
Grudzielanek, Mark          .983  1958   34  428
Cora, Alex                       .981  1427   27  335
Neal, Charlie                   .980  2718   55  577
DeShields, Delino             .980  1674   34  355

THIRD BASE
                                    PCT    TC    E    G
Cox, Billy                       .964  1914   68  663
Wallach, Tim                  .964   937   34  384
Cey, Ron                        .963  4486  166 1468
Stripp, Joe                     .961  1732   68  589
Gilliam, Jim                    .952  1888   90  760

SHORTSTOP
                                    PCT    TC    E    G
Izturis, Cesar                  .980  2329   47  553
Anderson, Dave               .970  1691   50  410
Cora, Alex                      .969  1259   39  338
Griffin, Alfredo               .964  2165   77  472
Wills, Maury                     .963  7366  272 1497

OUTFIELD
                                    PCT    TC    E    G
Butler, Brett                  .996  1708    6  745
Rosen, Goody                .991  1058    9  388
Baker, Dusty                  .987  2073   27 1092
Buckner, Bill                  .986  1143   16  577
Bordagaray, Frenchy       .985   687   10  314

CATCHER
                                    PCT    TC    E    G
Haller, Tom                   .991  2721   25  444
Lo Duca, Paul                .991  3787   35  498
Roseboro, Johnny          .990  8547   87 1218
Piazza, Mike                  .989  5237   58  700
Torborg, Jeff                 .989  1948   22  350

PITCHER
                                    PCT    TC    E
Fitzsimmons, Freddie     .985   267    4
Davis, Curt                    .985   329    5
Perez, Odalis                 .980   205    4
Ruether, Dutch               .979   238    5
Vance, Dazzy                  .979   665   14

Minimum: 300 games for each position except pitcher.
Pitcher minimum: 200 total chances.

DODGERS SINGLE-SEASON FIELDING LEADERS BY POSITION

FIRST BASE
                               YEAR    PCT   TC  E   G
Garvey, Steve           1981   .999 1075  1 110
Parker, Wes              1968   .999 1009  1 114
Garvey, Steve           1976   .998 1653  3 162
Karros, Eric               2002   .997 1285  4 142
Parker, Wes              1965   .997 1534  5 154

SECOND BASE
                               YEAR    PCT   TC  E   G
Reed, Jody               1993   .993  698  5 132
Robinson, Jackie       1951   .992  832  7 153
Neal, Charlie             1959   .989  808  9 151
Grudzielanek, Mark    2002   .989  626  7 147
Cora, Alex                 2004   .987  612  8 138

THIRD BASE               YEAR    PCT   TC  E   G
Beltre, Adrian            2004   .978  452 10 155
Cey, Ron                   1979   .977  397  9 150
Wallach, Tim             1995   .976  211  5  96
Cey, Ron                   1980   .972  457 13 157
Stripp, Joe                1936   .968  316 10 106

SHORTSTOP
                               YEAR    PCT   TC  E   G
Izturis, Cesar             2004   .985  674 10 159
Izturis, Cesar             2002   .979  471 10 128
Wills, Maury               1971   .978  720 16 144
Reese, Pee Wee         1949   .977  788 18 155
Izturis, Cesar              2003   .977  695 16 158

OUTFIELD
                               YEAR    PCT   TC  E   G
Butler, Brett             1991  1.000  380  0 161
Butler, Brett             1993  1.000  375  0 155
Roberts, Dave           2002  1.000  257  0 117
Grissom, Marquis       2001  1.000  233  0 123
Landreaux, Ken         1981  1.000  214  0  95

CATCHER
                               YEAR    PCT   TC  E   G
Ferguson, Joe           1973   .996  817  3 122
Owen, Mickey           1941   .995  597  3 128
Lo Duca, Paul            2004   .995  558  3  81
Campanella, Roy        1952   .994  721  4 122
Roseboro, Johnny      1965   .994  884  5 131

PITCHER
                               YEAR    PCT   TC  E
Vance, Dazzy            1928  1.000   72  0
Casey, Hugh              1939  1.000   67  0
Davis, Curt                1942  1.000   67  0
Hatten, Joe               1947  1.000   67  0
Fitzsimmons, Freddie 1939  1.000   65  0
Ruether, Dutch          1922  1.000   65  0

Minimums: Played at least two-thirds of team’s games for
          each position except catcher and pitcher.

Catchers minimum: Played at least half of team’s games.

Pitchers listed by most total chances, no errors.

I have no clue if any of you guys have any singing ability, but if you do, here’s your chance to sing the National Anthem before a game at Dodger Stadium. Maybe we can get the Daily News’ Tom Hoffarth to do it (yesterday, he blogged about ESPN’s Steve Mason’s anthem last year).

And while we’re on the subject of fan participation, I found one of the funniest videos ever on YouTube.

No, the headline doesn’t refer to any of the rookies at Dodgertown but rather, Diamond Leung of the Riverside Press Enterprise, who continues to find interesting new angles during his first month on the Dodger beat. This morning, he wrote a fantastic piece about Hong-Chih Kuo and his journey to the Majors. For those of us who watched Kuo rehab here at the stadium year over the past few years, it really is cool to see him back on a mound and healthy, given all that he’s been through. And to top it all off, you couldn’t find a nicer person in the big leagues.  It’s hard to believe he’s only 25 years old…Kuo, that is. Then again, Diamond is 25 also, and both are of Chinese descent, which makes for an interesting coincidence. Their paths to the Major Leagues have been different but today their stories kind of came together.

And then we go from the new kid on the block to the veteran, Kevin Modesti of the Daily News, who arrived in Dodgertown and penned an awesome first column that recounted some his fondest memories of Vero Beach.

The rest of the news today was mostly rehashing the J.D. Drew story, which I understand has to be done because we were playing the Red Sox but I have to admit, is getting a little tired. I’d like to think that with this game now in the past, both sides can move on peacefully and that maybe sometime in the next five years, the Dodgers can be playing against him in the postseason, as that would mean that it worked out for both J.D. and more importantly, for the Dodgers.

I’m sure that many of you were a part of the huge crowd at Dodger Stadium yesterday. While I was in the air from Vero Beach, almost four thousand fans were buying tickets for the first time in 2007 and Opening Day sold out in less than 15 minutes. Plus, at one point during the morning, we passed the two-million mark in tickets sold faster than at any point since 1993. That says a lot about the excitement there is for this year’s team and from all of us, a big thank you for coming out and being a part of the festivities.

For those who didn’t get Opening Day tickets but are planning on coming out a decent amount this year, you can still be at the stadium on April 9 by purchasing one of the mini plans available now. You can actually purchase as few as 15 games and still get the most coveted ticket in town – Opening Day. I know I sound like a salesman, but I know there are people who really wanted to come to Opening Day and might not have gotten their tickets, so I figured I’d point out the best way to do so.

Meanwhile, back in Vero, we had a couple of losses in split squad action today, but several guys had good days, including Brett Tomko, Jason Repko and Jeff Kent. For Tomko and Repko, every game is a little more important, as Brett is hoping to crack the rotation and Jason is looking to solidify his spot as a fourth outfielder, if not as an everyday player.

I meant to point this out a few days ago, but in case you missed it, here’s Baseball America’s Top 100 Prospects entering 2007.

And finally, be sure to listen to DodgerTalk tonight on KFWB 980 at 8 p.m. Ned Colletti will be the guest and it’s one of the best ways to keep up with everything that’s happening in Vero.

It was a nice come-from-behind win today at the home opener here at Holman Stadium, yet there’s still a sense of loss over the passing of Clem Labine. So many people here in Vero Beach knew Clem from his many years as an instructor at Fantasy Camp and our deepest thoughts and sympathies are with his entire family today and in the coming weeks.

I’m heading back to Los Angeles tomorrow morning so that we can prepare Dodger Stadium for Opening Day and I’ll be back in Vero Beach later in the month. I’ll continue to post from LA with updates on what’s going on in both places.

It was a tough first day for the Dodgers, as they lost in Orlando and from what I hear, there were not many highlights to speak of. But, I was actually back in Vero Beach today because we became truly "national" league team today – at least one of us did.

As I mentioned just a week ago on this post, Ken Gurnick unearthed a story about Matt White that all die hard Dodger fans now know very well.  It immediately dawned on me that this story was something different than most and so our department set out to try and let people know just how interesting this journeyman left-hander was. As stories began to run on KCAL and FSN Prime Ticket, we reached out to a few different "non-traditional" media outlets like CNBC and the Today Show, which both had immediate interest in the story. (CNBC will air a piece tomorrow at 8:40 and 11:30 ET).

But it wasn’t until I mentioned it to John Nadel from the Associated Press that this thing really began to take off. His version ran yesterday and today this thing really became not only a national story, but a global one. In addition to coordinating features on ABC World News Tonight and CNBC, we’ve been fielding requests from news outlets that never cover baseball or the Dodgers because of this unique story. CNN, CBS News with Katie Couric, Inside Edition…you name it, I think we’ve spoken with them today about a possible story on Matt.

All the while, he really just wants to focus on making the team, which is extremely admirable. I should make this clear – he’s definitely not a billionaire, nor does he act like one. Around here, he seems like just another guy trying to reach the big leagues while living on a minor leaguer’s salary. His good fortune has certainly given him some fame that he never asked for or expected and it’s definitely given the PR Department some extra work these days, albeit as a positive news story. With requests pouring in, we’re hoping to help him cut this off with one more "media conference" that will keep everyone happy, but that’s not an easy task.

So, while the enormity of this is a little overwhelming for everyone involved, I thought it was interesting enough to write about because it shows a little bit about what our department does on a daily basis.

Tomorrow’s the first home game at Holman Stadium. I know some of you had some issues with Gameday Audio and I’m sorry to say that it is not available for free during Spring Training. But, $14.95 for 190-plus games is pretty reasonable, I’d say.

The intrasquad game today was certainly enough to whet the appetite of Dodger fans. It was only 4 1/2 innings of baseball, but two Dodger squads squared off against each other at Holman Stadium this morning in front of several hundred fans, media and staff members, all wanting to get their first glimpse of the 2007 Dodgers. The “home” team ended up winning 8-3, in a game where the teams banged out 17 hits, thus defying the old adage that pitchers are ahead of hitters this time of year. Fernando Tatis keyed a four-run third inning with a three-run homer for the winning team and Larry Bigbie ripped a solo shot for the losers. Andre Ethier went 2-for-2 with two line drive singles and Jason Repko was 1-for-1 with an RBI. Matt Kemp made the only defensive gem of the day while playing center field by diving to rob Juan Pierre of a single. Luis Gonzalez was hit on the arm by Mike Megrew, but stayed in the game and the team came out of the contest without injury. Derek Lowe, Joe Mays and D.J. Houlton all tossed two innings, while Megrew, Zach Hammes and Scott Elbert worked one frame apiece.

We had CNBC here today to film a piece on Matt White which will air throughout the day tomorrow (Thursday), including confirmed hits at 8:20 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 1:55 p.m. The Associated Press also wrote an article that will now circulate around the country, but this will probably be the end of this story for a while, as Matt is obviously trying to focus on making the team rather than this truly unique article that has captivated tons of people.

Another part of our day was spent meeting with individual players about their intended efforts in the community in 2007 and the various things they’d like to do. This is a huge part of what our organization is about and we’ve got some guys this year that are really looking to do some unique things, so be on the lookout for more of that.

Meanwhile, after a Vero Beach bowling outing last night, tonight was the annual softball game between the L.A. Dodger employees and the ones here from Vero and I’m sorry to say that despite taking a 4-0 lead into the bottom of the seventh and final inning, the L.A. Dodgers somehow lost, 5-4. It was a tough loss and we’re all trying to get over it. I just won’t sleep much knowing that we couldn’t hold the lead.

The night is slowly coming to an end, as we just spent two hours meeting with our broadcasters and Ned Colletti. Every year during spring, Jaime, Pepe, Rick, Charley, A Martinez and any others that are in town get to sit down with the general manager and let him recreate the offseason for them so that they can pass that along to the fans. Tonight, Ned gave them two hours of interesting information that will make the spring broadcasts far more enjoyable.

And with that, be sure to tune in tomorrow on KFWB 980 and dodgers.com for the first game, which will start at 1:05 p.m. ET. Time to get things going…

Things are definitely picking up here at Dodgertown, with the intrasquad game coming tomorrow. Today has been a crazy one, with our annual photo day among the many requests that have been flowing in. The amount of national coverage the Dodgers are getting these days is truly astonishing. Eric Neel from ESPN the Magazine arrived today and we’ve already seen the national baseball writers from Sports Illustrated, Yahoo Sports, CNNSI.com, USA Today and countless others.

As for the KFWB comments, we truly do appreciate your sentiments and will take all of this into consideration. One thing that they are doing this year that they’ve never done is podcasting, so check out this page for regular interviews from Dodgertown. They are certainly aware of your comments and doing all they can to provide the die-hard fans with unique, original content and this is one example of that.

For anyone who missed the Saito piece by John Donovan, it’s definitely worth a look. Otherwise, we’re just gearing up for some real pitches to be thrown on Thursday.

On a sad note, I’m bummed to pass along the news that Maury Wills, Don Newcombe, Gil Hodges, Walter O’Malley and Buzzie Bavasi all fell short of the Hall of Fame balloting today. These guys really do all belong in Cooperstown and it’s a shame that they’re not in there, but we’ll keep hoping that eventually the voters realize just what they’re missing. T.J. Simers wrote about Maury Wills this morning, and he sums it up well in this morning’s L.A. Times.

As they always said in Brooklyn, we’ll wait ’til next year.

In today’s Los Angeles Times, there is a great feature on Juan Pierre by Kevin Baxter, who just re-joined the newspaper after several years at the Miami Herald. Kevin, who also speaks Spanish, should bring a different perspective to many of the baseball articles throughout the year and we’re looking forward to having him around at Dodger Stadium.

Another thing I really want to point out is the photo album on the front of dodgers.com. As far as I know, we’re the only team in all of baseball that has a daily photo album from Spring Training. Jon SooHoo does an awesome job trying to give fans an idea of what is going on down here on a daily basis and just in case some of you don’t get to look at it each day, you should make it a point to check these out.

In regards to the trade winds that you’re asking about, it’s safe to say they’re always blowing this time of year. While I don’t really ask Ned or Kim about what’s about to happen, I do know that there are a lot of GMs talking to one another right now because teams are getting a better idea of what they have in camp, the health of their team and what they are able to part with. That’s not to say we’re going to make a trade anytime soon, but it’s safe to say that it’s a possibility. I know that’s vague, but that’s the best I can tell you right now.

And finally, as for an email address where you can send your complaints regarding any issues with KFWB, this is just as good of an outlet as any, as broadcasting is also part of my responsibilities at the Dodgers. As I’ve stated in the past, we’re working very hard with KFWB to try and make this a partnership that works for the fans and though I’m not fully aware of what happened last night since I’m here in Florida and it took place at 11 p.m., I will certainly check in with my contacts there and try to figure out how to avoid those problems again.

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It seems like this time ever year, Spring Training feels more like an exercise in patience than anything else. It’s kind of like the poker games that seem to take place nightly in the Dodgertown lounge. But, we’ve still got four more days until the intrasquad game and five until we head to Orlando for the first game and I know just about everyone here is itching for some competition.

There were some interesting stories in today’s papers. Ken Gurnick’s story about Andre Ethier seems to tell a lot about why he struggled last season and Ken has another one about Andy La Roche that shows why he seems more comfortable this spring. In the Daily News, Tony Jackson touches on the same two subjects in one article.

I’ve also got to continue pointing out Tony’s blog because he seems to be posting three times a day, which puts Inside the Dodgers to shame. They’re all quick hits that can keep a Dodger fan entertained throughout the day.

In the L.A. Times, Steve Henson points out that Randy Wolf can hit and for anyone who grew up in the Valley and saw him tear it up in high school or college, it’s nice to know that he could see an occasional early-inning pinch-hit appearance in the bigs. Randy will also start the spring opener in Orlando on Thursday, Grady announced yesterday.

Over at the Orange County Register, new Dodger beat writer Al Balderas has a piece on Jonathan Broxton and Chad Billingsley that’s definitely worth a read.

And our other new beat reporter, Diamond Leung of the Riverside Press Enterprise, has an interesting story about Jason Repko in which he admits that if there are other teams that want him, he’d be open to being traded. I’m sure that’s a tough thing to say when you’ve been with one organization as long as he has, but just like anyone in the working world, the opportunity for more responsibility or in this case, playing time, is the issue. Still, given that Jason is one of the nicest guys on the team, I’m certain that he’ll continue to play his heart out here in Los Angeles as long as he’s here.

Our AP reporter, John Nadel, is in town for a week and his first article is on Joe Beimel, which hopefully puts that story to rest. But keep an eye on the newswire all week, as stories about the club will be posted there regularly while John is at Dodgertown.

And finally, don’t forget tonight’s DodgerTalk at 8 p.m. PT. If you’ve got Tivo or DVR, it’s the perfect chance to record the Oscars, listen to DodgerTalk on KFWB and then watch the Oscars almost commercial free for the rest of the night.