Voice reactivated
Scully, 87, will extend his career as Dodgers’ Hall of Fame broadcaster by another year.
It’s time for Dodger baseball without Vin Scully? Not yet, to the relief and gratitude of Los Angeles.
Scully, the Dodgers’ Hall of Fame broadcaster, announced Friday he would return in 2016. The season will be his 67th as the voice of the Dodgers.
The team revealed his decision on the video board at Dodger Stadium, to a raucous ovation, after the second inning of Friday night’s game against the Chicago Cubs.
Scully said nothing in the video. The decision was unveiled on a succession of cue cards from comedian Jimmy Kimmel, including two reading: “For one more year,” followed by “(at least).”
Scully turns 88 in November. Over the last few years, he has cut back his schedule — he no longer travels to regular-season games outside California — as fans have wondered whether each season might be his last.
Cubs Manager Joe Maddon scooped the Dodgers on Scully’s announcement of his decision.
“He’ll announce it tonight,” Maddon said before the game. Maddon would not reveal the decision but said, “I was happy about what he said.”
Maddon said he never has asked to take a picture with anyone. Until Friday, that is, when he got his picture taken with Scully. That was after Scully asked about Maddon’s mother, who runs the family diner in Hazleton, Pa.
“To get my photograph taken with him is very special,” Maddon said. Puig to DL
As the Dodgers struggle to score — only the Atlanta Braves have scored fewer runs since the All-Star break among National League clubs, entering play Friday — the team absorbed two more blows.
The club put outfielder Yasiel Puig on the disabled list because of a strained hamstring, and Manager Don Mattingly said second baseman Howie Kendrick’s comeback from a strained hamstring has stalled.
Puig, who is on a 10-game hitting streak, strained his other hamstring in April and sat out 38 games. The Dodgers have 35 games left in the regular season. They sent Puig for an MRI examination; Mattingly said he had not been told of the results.
Chase Utley, acquired last week to fill in for Kendrick at second base, entered Friday’s game batting .190 since joining the Dodgers, with four hits — no home runs — in 21 at-bats.
The Dodgers replaced Puig on the roster by recalling second baseman/outfielder Jose Peraza from triple-A Oklahoma City. Golden glove?
The Dodgers have benched rookie center fielder Joc Pederson, who batted .169 in July and is batting .114 in August. The team had stuck with him for weeks, even as his offensive performance dropped, citing his outstanding defense.
However, according to a variety of statistics available on the Fangraphs website, Pederson’s defense ranks below average among major league center fielders.
Andrew Friedman, the team’s president of baseball operations, declined to discuss the Dodgers’ internal evaluation processes but said they rank Pederson’s defense much more highly.
“There are real limitations to the defensive metrics in the public sphere,” Friedman said. “Through watching him on a daily basis and through our information, we’re very confident Joc is an above-average defender.” Hot corner
Justin Turner started his fourth consecutive game at third base, a season high. The Dodgers have tried to keep Turner healthy with a liberal amount of days off, but Mattingly said trainers had cleared him to play Friday and said it was “up in the air” as to whether he would play Saturday.
“It’s that time of year,” Mattingly said. “Guys want to play. All clear at this point.”
The Dodgers do not have a true backup third baseman, although Alex Guerrero can play there. The Dodgers could try Utley or Enrique Hernandez there, although Utley is the starting second baseman and Hernandez the starting center fielder.
However, although the Dodgers appear likely to call up phenom Corey Seager in September, they might not do so when rosters expand Sept. 1. They could keep Seager playing every day while Oklahoma City finishes its season and could call him up sooner if Turner is injured.