Notes from Spring Training: Day Three

From the Dodgers’ official Spring Training media notes for Tuesday, February 23:

GOOD DAY SUNSHINE: On Day 3 of 2010 Spring Training, the sun finally shined down on Camelback Ranch, despite the fact that temperatures for the morning workout hovered around a chilly 53 degrees. The rest of the day was business as usual for the pitchers, catchers and early reporters. Three players on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster have yet to arrive at camp: infielder Ronnie Belliard, shortstop Rafael Furcal and right-hander Ronald Belisario.

ROOM SERVICE: The most entertaining PFP (pitcher’s fielding practice) station of the day belonged to Special Assistant to the General Manager Mark Weidemaier and minor league field coordinator Bruce Hines. While “Weed” rapped grounders back to the mound and Hines caught balls at first base, the duo engaged the players with some serious big league chatter. Weidemaier could be heard from far away shouting “Room Service!” on a comebacker that took a high charity bounce right into the pitcher’s glove and Jonathan Broxton was the beneficiary of several “room service” bounces. Fielding stars of this group included Jeff Weaver, who made several back-handed stops and Eric Gagné, who drew plenty of “EG!” catcalls from Hines when making a tough play.

BEVY OF BULLPENS: The pitchers who tossed bullpens on Sunday were all back at it again today, including veteran hurlers Russ Ortiz and Ramon Ortiz, who pitching coach Rick Honeycutt has been referring to as the “Ortiz” brothers, despite the former hailing from California and the latter from the Dominican Republic. In addition to the “brothers”, young bucks Clayton Kershaw, Josh Lindblom, Kenley Jansen, Javy Guerra, Armando Zerpa and Brent Leach also fired their second ‘pens of the spring.

30/30: For the second straight year, MLB Network will once again televise the series “30 Clubs in 30 Days” with hour-long features on each of the 30 Major League clubs previewing the 2010 season. The network will be at Camelback Ranch – Glendale on March 18 and 19, with the Dodger show airing on the 19th. The MLB Network anchors and reporters will be conducting interviews with key players, coaches and others associated with each club.

LEGENDS NIGHT: Boy is that an understatement. This Saturday, Dodger Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax and Dodger Manager Joe Torre will raise money and awareness for Torre’s foundation “Safe at Home,” by taking part in an event at LA Live’s Nokia theater. Tickets can still be purchased via ticketmaster.com or charge-by-phone lines at (800) 745-3000.

NETWORKING THE RANCH: Tonight, Camelback Ranch will host its first “Legends and Leadership Networking Event” from 5-8 p.m., featuring guest speaker and Dodger Special Assistant to the Chairman Tommy Lasorda and White Sox Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf.  The event is hosted by the Phoenix Business Journal and the $25 admission includes baseball-fare food and beverage along with a $25 gift certificate redeemable toward the purchase of tickets for Cactus League games at the facility in 2010.

JOE COLLEGE: This Sunday is the inaugural “Dodgertown Classic” at Dodger Stadium, featuring two of our local Pac-10 schools in action on the diamond. The University of Southern California will take on the University of California, Los Angeles in the main event at 2 p.m. The undercard at 10 a.m. will put baseball powers Vanderbilt and Oklahoma State on display. Tickets for the event cost $5 and can be purchased in advance at dodgers.com and in person at USC and UCLA campus box offices. Day of game tickets can be purchased at Dodger Stadium for $10. Each ticket will permit access to both of the day’s games. Parking is free.

SINGLE-GAME TICKETS ON SALE MARCH 6: Dodgers single-game tickets go on sale on Saturday, March 6 at 10:00 online, by phone and at Dodger Stadium. The team will hold an on-sale event in Lot P at Dodger Stadium with Dodger legends Ron Cey and “Sweet” Lou Johnson, and all fans purchasing at least one ticket will receive two free tickets to the Dodgers’ exhibition home opener against the Indians on April 1. Dodger Dogs will be available for $2 and merchandise kiosks will be open as well.

DATES TO REMEMBER:
February 26 – First Full-Squad Workout

March 6 – First Home Game vs. Chicago (AL), Camelback Ranch

February 27 – Photo Day                                           

March 6 – Single-Game tickets on-sale at Dodger Stadium

March 5 – First game at Chicago (AL), CBR                        

March 13 – Dodgers at Chinese Pro Baseball Club (Taiwan)