Daily Clips April 3, 2017

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1 Daily Clips April 3, 2017

2 LOS ANGELES DODGERS DAILY CLIPS MONDAY, APRIL 3, 2017 DODGERS.COM: Dodgers finalize Opening Day roster Ken Gurnick Leading man: Kershaw leads LA in 7 th opener Chad Thornburg LA TIMES: Dodgers opening day: Clayton Kershaw ($33 million) vs. Padres ($28 million) Bill Shaikin What s the secret to Clayton Kershaw s opening day dominance? He s Clayton Kershaw. Andy McCullough OC REGISTER: Dave Roberts: LA Dodgers are equipped to win this thing Beth Harris On deck: Padres at Dodgers, Monday 1:10 p.m., SNLA Bill Plunkett Clayton Kershaw's value treasured by Dodgers - Bill Plunkett ESPN: Joe Davis on filling Vin Scully's chair: 'Embrace the responsibility' - Doug Padilla TRUEBLUE LA: Clayton Kershaw has a stellar opening day history - Eric Stephen Dodgers 2017 opening day payroll is $227.8 million - Eric Stephen Opening day 2017: Dodgers vs. Padres pitching matchups, game times and TV info - Eric Stephen Dodgers announce opening day roster, place 5 on disabled list - Eric Stephen New Dodger Stadium food options in David Young DODGERS INSIDER: Dodgers announce opening 25-man roster - Rowan Kavner Arrive early for Opening Day - Cary Osbourne Dodgers, LADF Launch LA Reads initiative - Rowan Kavner YAHOO SPORTS: APNewsBreak: Yanks drop to 3rd in payroll; Dodgers lead - Ronald Blum NBC LA: Dodgers Sport Fourth Lowest Ticker Prices in Baseball for 2017 Season - Michel Duarte USA TODAY: MLB salaries 2017: Earnings flatten out, while Clayton Kershaw leads pack USA Today Sports FOX SPORTS: Kershaw highest paid player in MLB, Dodgers top payroll list SI Wire / Sports Illustrated Dodgers optimistic ahead of opener vs. Padres (Apr 03, 2017) AP Stats LA TIMES: Dodgers Dugout: The best manager in the NL West is - Houston Mitchell

3 LOS ANGELES DODGERS DAILY CLIPS MONDAY, APRIL 3, 2017 DODGERS.COM Dodgers finalize Opening Day roster By Ken Gurnick LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers submitted their Opening Day roster on Sunday morning with no variation from earlier announcements. Pitchers (12): Luis Avilan (L), Grant Dayton (L), Chris Hatcher, Rich Hill (L), Kenley Jansen, Clayton Kershaw (L), Kenta Maeda, Brandon McCarthy, Sergio Romo, Hyun-Jin Ryu (L), Ross Stripling, Alex Wood (L) Catchers (2): Austin Barnes, Yasmani Grandal Infielders (5): Logan Forsythe, Adrian Gonzalez (L), Corey Seager (L), Justin Turner, Chase Utley (L) Outfielders (4): Franklin Gutierrez, Joc Pederson (L), Yasiel Puig, Andrew Toles (L) Infielder/Outfielder (2): Enrique Hernandez, Scott Van Slyke Disabled List (6): Pedro Baez, RHP (10-day, right wrist contusion, retroactive to March 30); Andre Ethier, OF (10-day, lumbar disk herniation, retroactive to March 30); Yimi Garcia, RHP (60-day, right elbow surgery); Scott Kazmir, LHP (10-day, left hip strain, retroactive to March 30); Josh Ravin, RHP (10-day, right groin strain, retroactive to March 30); Brock Stewart, RHP (10-day, right shoulder tendinitis, retroactive to March 30) Leading man: Kershaw leads LA in 7 th opener By Chad Thornburg A young, rebuilding Padres squad will begin the season with a daunting task before them -- facing Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw on his home turf in Los Angeles. The Padres will travel north to Chavez Ravine on Monday for an Opening Day bout between National League West foes. The outing will mark Kershaw's seventh consecutive Opening Day start; with the outing, he'll tie Don Sutton and Don Drysdale for most season-opening starts in franchise history. It's also his fourth time facing the Padres in a season opener; the three-time NL Cy Young Award winner and former MVP opened the season against San Diego in 2012, '15 and '16 -- all Dodgers victories -- limiting the Padres to just three runs and nine hits through 16 innings. "Kershaw is a guy that legitimately has the potential to be the best pitcher to ever pitch in this game," Padres first baseman Wil Myers said. "We've got nothing to lose. Let's go out there and have some fun,

4 face the best pitcher there is. I think that's a really cool way to start the season, starting with the best, starting with the NL West champions and Kershaw." Kershaw missed significant time in 2016 due to a herniated disk in his lower back, but was his usual dominant self when available, posting a 1.69 ERA and a strikeout-to-walk ratio through 21 starts. The 29-year-old southpaw worked this offseason on adding a fourth pitch, a changeup, to his arsenal. "You're never good enough," Kershaw said. "You stay the same long enough and, well, another pitch can't hurt. Might be a day when I need to throw that a lot. Hopefully, I get to that day." With a healthy Kershaw, a deep rotation behind him and a potent lineup led by the NL's reigning Rookie of the Year Corey Seager, the Dodgers are eyeing more than just their fifth consecutive division title in "Our expectations of ourselves are to get to the World Series and win it," manager Dave Roberts said. "We feel that we have the team, the depth to do that. But now, it's up to us to go play baseball games and execute." The Padres, meanwhile, are hoping to show improvement after finishing last in the NL West and trading away much of their veteran core in In the midst of a rebuild, San Diego now enters the season with promising collection of young talent, including two potential Rookie of the Year candidates in outfielders Manuel Margot and Hunter Renfroe, ranked No. 23 and No. 42, respectively, among MLBPipeline.com's Top 100 prospects. Renfroe is expected to start for the Padres in right field, while Margot is expected to see considerable playing time in the big leagues this season. "Everybody's obviously excited for Opening Day," Myers said. "One thing I will tell the young guys is to take in their first Opening Day. It's something I didn't really do during my first one. It's something I wish I would've stepped back and thought, 'Hey, this is my first Opening Day in the big leagues. I'm here.'" Jhoulys Chacin will start for the Padres, drawing the second Opening Day assignment of his career. Chacin, who signed a one-year deal with San Diego this winter, last pitched in a season opener in 2013 with the Rockies. The 29-year-old hurler impressed pitching for Team Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic and will look to pick up where he left off with the Angels in 2016, when he compiled a 0.75 ERA through his final four starts. "It's definitely more motivation," Chacin said of facing Kershaw. "He is, for a lot of guys, the best pitcher in baseball. And to go against him, it really gives you motivation to throw well and go inning-by-inning with him. Hopefully I can match him and beat him." Things to know about this game The Dodgers hold a 7-3 advantage in the Opening Day matchups between these clubs, including last season's 15-0 blowout at Petco Park. The Dodgers shut out the Padres through three a games to begin the 2016 season, outscoring them, It wasn't until the Padres' fourth game, a 13-6 win over the Rockies at Coors Field, that they scored their first run. Since his big league debut in 2008, Kershaw ranks first in the Majors in opponents' batting average (.205), strikeouts (1,918), WHIP (1.01), shutouts (15), and winning percentage (.677).

5 Renfore and Margot excelled for Triple-A El Paso last year en route to a Pacific Coast League championship. Margot batted.304 and stole 30 bases, while Renfroe earned PCL MVP honors by hitting.306 with 30 home runs. The duo received a standing ovation from the Padres faithful when they were introduced at last year's Futures Game in San Diego. The Padres will face three lefty starters in this four-game series against L.A.: Kershaw, Rich Hill and Hyun-Jin Ryu. In 2016, San Diego batters hit.250 against left-handers compared with a.230 clip vs. righties. LA TIMES Dodgers opening day: Clayton Kershaw ($33 million) vs. Padres ($28 million) By Bill Shaikin Clayton Kershaw has started six times on opening day. He never has lost. On Monday, he makes what could be his most unusual start on opening day. When Kershaw faces the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium, he will throw the first pitch of a season in which his salary will be greater than all of the Padres. Not just greater than the nine Padres in the starting lineup. Greater than all 25 men on the Padres opening-day roster. Kershaw, the Dodgers ace and three-time National League Cy Young Award winner, will earn $33 million this season, the highest salary of any player in the major leagues. The Padres, in a season that might best be described as extreme tanking, have committed to pay $28 million to the 25 players on Monday s active roster. (Here s the player-by-player breakdown, from the San Diego Union-Tribune.) Of note: the average major league salary this year is $4.5 million, according to the Associated Press. The highest salary on the Padres: $3 million. The Dodgers have committed $161 million to the 25 players on Monday s active roster, according to a True Blue LA salary survey. (The Associated Press and USA Today surveys add a prorated share of any signing bonus in listing a player s annual salary, no matter when the bonus actually might be paid, in accordance with the accounting standards used to determine baseball s luxury tax.) Estimates of the Dodgers total opening-day payroll, down from last season but still the highest in the major leagues (including salaries of players on the disabled list and money owed to former players): $225 million (AP), $228 million (True Blue LA) and $235 million (USA Today).

6 What s the secret to Clayton Kershaw s opening day dominance? He s Clayton Kershaw. By Andy McCullough Across half a dozen starts on opening day, Clayton Kershaw has thrown 526 pitches in 38 2/3 innings. He has faced 144 batters and struck out 44. He has hit a home run and allowed none. He has pitched a shutout once and allowed a run twice. He has never lost, and neither have the Dodgers. Yet the moment he remembers most from these six outings involves an incident of physical infirmity, on a day when he had never felt that bad and tried to pitch before. It occurred in the season opener in 2012, at San Diego. A stomach virus sapped his strength. He realized the depth of his illness after hitting a double in the third inning. I got to second base, and I was like I can t go anymore, Kershaw said. And I just threw up the rest of the night. It was either food poisoning or just a really bad stomach virus. But I was a mess. Otherwise the details coalesce into a blur of missed bats and brief innings. Kershaw is dominant on most days, but he has been particularly transcendent at the outset of each season, with a 0.93 earned-run average in those six games. His seventh awaits him Monday afternoon against the Padres at Dodger Stadium. When Kershaw picks up the baseball a few minutes after 1 p.m., he will tie a franchise record for opening day starts shared by Don Drysdale and Don Sutton. The list of his predecessors feels like a collection of relics from another age: Vicente Padilla in 2010, Hiroki Kuroda in 2009, Brad Penny in 2008, Derek Lowe in Kershaw is almost halfway to reaching the major league record, which Tom Seaver set by starting 16 openers for the Mets, Reds and White Sox. Jack Morris owns the mark for consecutive starts with 14 for Detroit. At 29, now in his 10th season as a Dodger, Kershaw enters 2017 nine months removed from the herniated disk that derailed his summer and nearly ended his 2016 season. He recovered in time to pitch last September and October, but he will spend this season amid heightened scrutiny over his condition. Kershaw retooled his weekly routine as he rehabilitated last year, and he carried that program into the winter. Manager Dave Roberts remarked this spring that Kershaw betrayed no hints of his previous injury. When the season begins Monday, Roberts said he plans to treat Kershaw like he always has. He s where he has been, in my assumption, in past opening days, Roberts said. With that in mind, here s a glance at how Kershaw has fared on this assignment in the past. 1. March 31, 2011, at Dodger Stadium Dodgers 2, Giants 1. Kershaw s line: 7 innings, 4 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk, 9 strikeouts.

7 For seven innings, Kershaw dueled with Tim Lincecum, the two-time National League Cy Young Award winner. At this point in his career, two weeks after his 23rd birthday, Kershaw had not yet received a vote in the Cy Young balloting. That changed in 2011, when he bested the Phillies duo of Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee to secure the first of his three awards. He started his campaign in overpowering fashion. Kershaw allowed only one Giant to reach second base. He defused a pair of singles in the sixth inning by inducing a double-play ball off the bat of San Francisco first baseman Aubrey Huff. And he returned for a seventh inning to hold the lead. 2. April 5, 2012, at Petco Park Dodgers 5, Padres 3. Kershaw s line: 3 innings, 2 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts. Racked by illness, Kershaw saw his fastball velocity sink into the upper 80s during his brief outing. Behind the plate was catcher A.J. Ellis, Kershaw s friend and longtime battery mate, who was making his own first start on opening day. A.J. was like I had no time to be nervous. I was so worried about you, Kershaw said. Kershaw did not remain ill for long. He pitched again five days later, struck out seven Pirates in seven innings of one-run baseball and finished the season second in Cy Young voting. 3. April 1, 2013, at Dodger Stadium Dodgers 4, Giants 0 Kershaw s line: 9 innings, 4 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 7 strikeouts. Distance has always mattered to Kershaw. He loathes the prospect of relinquishing the baseball, and since 2011, no pitcher has been more proficient at giving his bullpen the day off. In the last six seasons, Kershaw has thrown 23 complete games; no other pitcher has thrown more than 18. He has spun 14 shutouts; no other pitcher has cracked double digits. With the game scoreless in the eighth inning, Kershaw led off with a home run against San Francisco reliever George Kontos. It remains the only homer of his career. His teammates tacked on three more runs, which gave Kershaw time to refocus in the dugout. He worked around a single in the ninth to complete his sixth career shutout. 4. March 22, 2014, at Sydney Cricket Grounds Dodgers 3, Diamondbacks 1 Kershaw s line: 6 2/3 innings, 5 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, 7 strikeouts. The oddity of this outing, which occurred nearly two weeks before the rest of MLB started the season, on another continent, 15 hours away from Dodger Stadium, only increased in the days afterward.

8 Kershaw showed few signs of distress in the victory. He left in the seventh, with a runner aboard, and reliever Chris Perez picked up the last out in the inning. The receipt arrived after the Dodgers returned to America. Kershaw felt soreness in his upper back while playing catch. He missed the entirety of April. The injury, of course, only added to the magnitude of his accomplishments for the season, when he won his third Cy Young award and his first most valuable player trophy, going 21-3 with a 1.77 ERA. 5. April 6, 2015, at Dodger Stadium Dodgers 6, Padres 3 Kershaw s line: 6 innings, 6 hits, 3 runs, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts. This outing set the stage for Kershaw s strange flirtation with mortality, when he posted a 3.86 ERA in the first two months of the season. His ERA shrunk to 1.45 during his final 23 games, and he struck out a career-best 301 batters. But Kershaw did exit this particular game, in which he gave up a pair of run-scoring hits to former teammate Matt Kemp, in line for a loss. His teammates bailed him out. Howie Kendrick hit a game-tying double in the seventh and Jimmy Rollins supplied a three-run homer in the eighth. The Dodgers perfect record with Kershaw on the mound in openers stayed safe. 6. April 4, 2016, at Petco Park Dodgers 15, Padres 0 Kershaw s line: 7 innings, 1 hit, 0 runs, 1 walk, 9 strikeouts. The 2016 season would prove to be a campaign packed with adversity for both Kershaw and the Dodgers. On this day, at least, there was no sign of the strain to come. The lowly Padres looked futile and Kershaw breezed through the outing. He maintained the pace all the way until the end of June, when he succumbed to the discomfort in his back. Kershaw did not pitch again until Sept. 9. Upon his return, Kershaw generated ample velocity on his fastball, but displayed intermittent command of his curveball and his slider. The pitches looked more cooperative in the Cactus League this spring, and Roberts wasted little time in announcing his starter for opening day. To the shock of no one, he chose the man who has never lost an opener. It s always nice to get off to a good start, Kershaw said. There s jitters for everybody. It s the first time you ve pitched in front of a crowd, first time the game counts, all that stuff. Once you get settled in, same old stuff. OC REGISTER Dave Roberts: LA Dodgers are equipped to win this thing

9 By Beth Harris LOS ANGELES (AP) A healthy Clayton Kershaw, plenty of arms in the rotation and bullpen and a lineup bolstered by new second baseman Logan Forsythe has the Los Angeles Dodgers declaring nothing short of the franchise's first World Series appearance since 1988 will do. Kershaw takes the mound for his seventh consecutive opening day start on Monday against Jhoulys Chacin and the rebuilding San Diego Padres. "We got a step closer last year and everybody knows what the goal is," general manager Farhan Zaidi said. Kershaw will tie Don Sutton and Don Drysdale for most season-opening starts in franchise history. The Dodgers have won their last three openers against the Padres in 2012, '15 and '16 with the three-time NL Cy Young Award winner on the mound. Last year's opener was a 15-0 rout in San Diego, where the Dodgers outscored the Padres 25-0 in the season's first three games. This time, the teams play four in Los Angeles to start before the Dodgers close out the week on the road at Colorado. Kershaw missed 2 ½ months last year because of a herniated disk in his lower back, but returned to post a 1.69 ERA. The left-hander faces a San Diego team that finished last in the NL West and brought in several newcomers in an effort to turn around the franchise. Wally Moon, who played on three World Series-winning teams with the Dodgers, and Tom Lasorda, who managed the team to its last two World Series titles in 1981 and '88, will handle ceremonial first pitches. Moon turns 87 Monday; Lasorda is 89. Missing from the sold-out festivities will be Hall of Fame announcer Vin Scully, who retired at the end of last season after 67 years with the team. Taking over is 29-year-old Joe Davis, who warmed up by broadcasting road games last year. He'll handle play-by-play while paired with former All-Stars Orel Hershiser and Nomar Garciaparra. Scully will hardly be forgotten. A new gallery adjacent to the Vin Scully Press Box displays his headset and other objects from his booth during his final season. He'll return to the stadium on May 3 for a ceremony. While the franchise recognizes its past, the team's focus is squarely on the present. And its goal is way more than a fifth straight NL West title. "We're equipped to win this thing," second-year manager Dave Roberts said. "That's the only focus that we have." Kershaw anchors a rotation featuring Kenta Maeda, Rich Hill, Brandon McCarthy and Hyun-Jin Ryu. McCarthy and Ryu are coming off two years of injuries.

10 "We have a lot of guys who can start games for us and give us a real chance to win," Zaidi said. "Having a good stable of those guys at the outset of the season has obviously proven really important the last couple of years." Last year, the Dodgers used a franchise record-tying 55 total players and 31 different pitchers in a season that saw 28 different players land on the disabled list, the most for any team in the last 30 years. Andre Ethier and five pitchers start the season on the DL. Ethier is bothered by a herniated disk in his back after missing most of last year with a broken leg. His absence in the outfield opens up a spot for Andrew Toles, who was called up last July and hit.314 in 48 games with the big-league club. Right-handers Pedro Baez (right wrist contusion), Josh Ravin (right groin strain) and Brock Stewart (right shoulder tendinitis) along with left-hander Scott Kazmir (left hip strain) are on the 10-day DL. Righthander Yimi Garcia is on the 60-day DL rehabbing from right elbow surgery. In the bullpen, closer Kenley Jansen re-signed while Sergio Romo came down Interstate 5 from San Francisco. Forsythe joins a veteran infield from Tampa Bay. Adrian Gonzalez returns at first base, shortstop Corey Seager is coming off his Rookie of the Year season and Justin Turner was re-signed at third. Yasmani Grandal is behind the plate. Joc Pederson is back in center field and Yasiel Puig looks to return to his one-time All-Star form in right. The Dodgers will platoon a combination of Toles, newcomer Franklin Gutierrez and Scott Van Slyke in left. "All the boxes are checked," Roberts said. "Now it's just up to us to go out and win baseball games." On deck: Padres at Dodgers, Monday 1:10 p.m., SNLA By Bill Plunkett Where: Dodger Stadium Did you know: The Dodgers have not lost on opening day since 2010 in Pittsburgh (11-5). THE PITCHERS DODGERS LHP CLAYTON KERSHAW (12-4, 1.69 ERA in 2016) Vs. Padres: 14-6, 2.05 ERA At Dodger Stadium: 71-29, 1.99 ERA Hates to face: Hector Sanchez, 3 for 6 (.500), 1 double Loves to face: Wil Myers, 1 for 15 (.067), 7 strikeouts PADRES RHP JHOULYS CHACIN (6-8, 4.81 ERA in 2016)

11 Vs. Dodgers: 9-7, 3.91 ERA At Dodger Stadium: 5-3, 2.94 ERA Hates to face: Chase Utley, 5 for 1 (.455), 1 double Loves to face: Yasmani Grandal, 1 for 7 (.143), 1 strikeouts Upcoming Tuesday: Padres (LHP Clayton Richard, 3-4, 3.33) at Dodgers (RHP Kenta Maeda, 16-11, 3.48), 7:10 p.m. SportsNet LA Wednesday: Padres (RHP Trevor Cahill, 4-4, 2.74) at Dodgers (LHP Rich Hill, 12-5, 2.12), 7:10 p.m. SportsNet LA Thursday: Padres (RHP Jered Weaver, 12-12, 5.06) at Dodgers (RHP Brandon McCarthy, 2-3, 4.95), 12:10 p.m. SportsNet LA Clayton Kershaw s value treasured by Dodgers By Bill Plunkett Before Rich Hill and Justin Turner became his Dodgers teammates, they already had a first impression of Clayton Kershaw. I think the impression was, you know, he s the best pitcher in baseball, Hill said. Now they know why. I think the most impressive thing about him is how disciplined he is to his routine on not just a daily basis, Turner said. If you go through the course of his five-day program, you will know exactly where he is depending on what time of day it is. There s no veering off it. There s no putting it off. There s no, Oh, I ll just do that later. His program is down to the minute. And that s hard to do. Especially now. He has a family. He does a lot of charitable stuff, helps a lot of people out with his foundation and stuff comes up. But nothing impedes his schedule when he s at the field. It s impressive, very impressive. He never breaks from it. That s the way he s wired. Scott Van Slyke has known Kershaw for 10 years. He just nods his head at Turner s observation. He ties his shoes at the same time every day probably if you watched him, Van Slyke said. But for 75 days in the dead of summer last year, Kershaw was nowhere to be found. A mild herniation of a disc in his back separated the Dodgers from the most reliable ace in baseball. The experience might add a new perspective, a little more appreciation for all involved, as Kershaw takes the mound at Dodger Stadium again Monday for his seventh consecutive opening day start with the Dodgers. Kershaw acknowledges it. Yeah, I think two-fold, Kershaw said. I think, one, realizing how much I do enjoy competing. I really don t like sitting around not playing. And I think that goes hand in hand with being thankful to get to pitch. Don t take that for granted. Don t take health for granted.

12 I don t think with the day-to-day stuff I was taking it for granted, working and trying to stay healthy. Maybe mentally a little bit I just assumed I d be out there every day. Just count your blessings. As the Dodgers president of baseball operations, Andrew Friedman counts Kershaw as one of his team s greatest blessings. I don t know how to articulate it in a way that properly captures it, Friedman said. I definitely knew how good he was (before taking over the Dodgers front office in October 2014). But I didn t appreciate all that he does during the offseason, in between starts to put himself in position to do it as often as he does it. Just being around him, seeing what type of competitor he is, the work ethic is something you could never assume without seeing it. I definitely think our young pitchers see him and the way he prepares and they know he doesn t just have success by rolling out of bed every fifth day and pitching. I think that example is a great one for our guys as they re coming up and breaking into the big leagues. Brock Stewart saw it last year when the 25-year-old right-hander made his big-league debut with the Dodgers and again this spring during his first major-league spring camp. Every day, he has a plan with every thing he does every single day, every single minute, Stewart said. He s got a method to his madness. He knows exactly what he needs to do. It s scary how hard he works. It kind of makes me feel bad about myself. I get here at a good time in the morning and he s already dripping with sweat. He walks the walk. A lot of guys talk the talk and maybe walk the walk for a few days. But he does it every day. It s not just young pitchers that Kershaw impresses. He has left his mark on Kenley Jansen as well literally, first, then metaphorically. I ve known him since 06, since Vero Beach days, Dodgertown days, said Jansen who was trying to make it as a catcher in those days. I remember one game - we were playing the Cardinals. No, the Marlins. I caught him and there was a man on first. I asked for a curveball and he crossed me up. Fastball, 97 (mph), right in my thighs. That kept me sidelined for two days. Jansen said he saw the talent in Kershaw from the start and the desire to be great - Always. At everything. That s why he is one of the greatest in the game, Jansen said. I mean, he wants to be great in his workout. If he s running, he wants to be better than everybody at running. Everything he does, he wants to be great at. It s just in him. It s in his nature. To me, he doesn t even know it, but he pushes me by what he does. He motivates me. The Dodgers will pay Kershaw $33 million this season and again next year for all that he does. But then they might have to learn to live without him again and for much longer than 75 days this time. The

13 seven-year, $215 million contract extension Kershaw signed in January 2014 includes an opt-out clause after the 2018 season. It is not something Friedman wants to think about as a new season dawns. Not right now, Friedman said of the looming possibility. I mean, our mindset is on Clayton Kershaw being a Dodger until he s done pitching and then hopefully transitioning into some role where he ll help us as much or as little as he wants to. But I think our focus, his focus is on winning a World Series this year. ESPN Joe Davis on filling Vin Scully s chair: Embrace the responsibility By Doug Padilla LOS ANGELES -- Joe Davis pulled his car into Angel Stadium this past weekend, rolled down his window and offered his verbal credentials to the parking lot attendant. "I'm the Dodgers' TV broadcaster," Davis said, voice deep, confidence unyielding. And for an awkward half beat, maybe this 29-year-old wunderkind -- now a full-time member of the broadcast team that will proceed without a legend in the industry -- would have trouble explaining that his time has arrived. "Yes, sir. Enjoy yourself," the attendant ultimately said, waving the young broadcaster through, not knowing that Davis has been adhering to that command for some time now. As Davis is about to embark on his first full 162-game schedule as a major league broadcaster, he admitted that this job was not necessarily the endgame when he made it a goal of supplying narration for televised athletic endeavors. Sports broadcasting has always been Davis' dream, since he and his mom first filled out the form for the guidance counselor back in grade school. But the next Bob Costas, Greg Gumbel or Jim Nantz -- talking sports for an entire network -- is what Davis had envisioned, while supplying his own play-by-play calls for the games being televised into the living room of his family home in Michigan. But maybe that was because he never dreamed an opportunity like play-by-play man for an iconic franchise like the Dodgers would ever come his way. A resident of Southern California now, Davis spent a recent drive down I-5 fighting Friday traffic, trusting his new friend, the navigation system, and explaining how a kid who has sat in the upper deck with a tape recorder has found a regular seat in the Vin Scully Press Box at a precocious young age. In no way is Davis replacing Scully. That would be impossible, of course. The Dodgers will now make fulltime use of multiple-man booths, not the solo arrangement that Scully made famous.

14 Perhaps Dodgers radio play-by-play man Charley Steiner put it best. "You know, nobody replaces Vin," Steiner said recently, when asked about Davis. "We're still having a hard time replacing Abraham Lincoln." Steiner's advice to Davis was to just be himself, advice that Davis has heard many times along the way and has figured out how to embrace. So how do you establish your own voice when you have been listening to, and seeking inspiration from, the best broadcasters across all sports? Davis gripped the wheel, stared at the long strand of brake lights in front of him and explained how he has ridden the fast lane to maybe one of the more revered broadcasting jobs in sport. What is the earliest memory you have of wanting to be a broadcaster? Joe Davis: Probably the first guy I paid close attention to, a play-by-play guy, was a little bit ironic because I'm not a great hockey fan, but Gary Thorne on the old NHL on ESPN. I loved his calls on the Stanley Cup finals and playoffs and everything. That was fifth or sixth grade, fourth or fifth grade, in that range. But that is one of the reasons that I have been lucky to accomplish what I have because I have known for a long time that this is exactly what I wanted to do and was able to have that as a guiding force for decisions I made. I remember by fifth grade my mom had to fill out a survey for the guidance counselor on what she thought maybe I would be interested in doing. That's when you first start on the career exploration stuff. And in the fifth grade, she said 'sports announcer.' So I used to turn down my video games and be the play-by-play guy of the video games I was playing. There were the imaginary games in my backyard. I would be every player on both teams and tackle myself, but I would also be the announcer. You were a Division III quarterback and then a wide receiver at Beloit College in Wisconsin. Did a pursuit of athletics ever conflict with your decision to pursue broadcasting as a career? JD: I think that every kid dreams of being a professional athlete. My goal was always to play at Notre Dame. Growing up as a kid, that was always my dream, my athletic dream. But I figured out early in high school I wasn't going to be the Notre Dame quarterback. So once those dreams were adjusted some, again it goes back to being lucky that I knew early on what my dream was more realistically, and that was to be a broadcaster. Were there any similarities for you in playing football at Beloit College and broadcasting the school's basketball games? JD: You know where I think there are parallels are that as a quarterback, in the huddle, as things get crazy in the game at its most stressful moment, you have to be the coolest guy in the huddle. You need to be the coolest guy on the sideline. The same could be said about the broadcast. The biggest moments as a play-by-play guy, you have to be at your best, and at your coolest and calmest in the biggest moments. You are 29 now, but were 27 when the Dodgers first hired you. Does it feel like you have arrived quickly, or since you have been submerged in it, has it been slow?

15 JD: There are days, I think for anybody when they are climbing the ladder, where it feels like it is moving slowly. I did minor league baseball for a few years and those are long seasons. The conditions aren't great. You are on buses through the middle of the night and staying in hotels that aren't very nice. So there are moments like, 'Man, am I ever going to make it?' But I realized how lucky I am to be where I am right now and realize how quickly it went for me. There are a lot of really talented broadcasters that do minor league baseball for a heck of a long time than I had to grind away in the minors. So I still pinch myself every day looking at how quickly this has happened for me. How has Los Angeles treated you so far, and have you had that "Welcome to L.A." moment yet? JD: We have loved it so far. We moved in in early January. We traveled through a snowstorm to get to the airport in Michigan to make our flight to move to L.A. I've said this a few times, but I know it has been everybody's worst winter here, but it has been our best, even with the rain and everything. We love getting to walk to the stores in South Pasadena where we're at. We haven't walked to the grocery store too many times in January or February prior. I would say I don't get recognized out of context. It's happened a few times, and I'm still at a point where I find that really neat. My wife will tell you it's just because I like attention... I hope I don't lose that perspective that it's pretty neat to be recognized and be somebody that people want to talk to. I realize that they want to talk to me because I'm part of the Dodgers and it's the Dodgers' brand that they think is worth talking to, but I still think it's cool at this point. Cubs broadcaster Len Kasper has been an important mentor for you. How did an ambitious college kid end up under the wing of an established major league broadcaster? JD: So in the case of Len, that is a fun story where I wrote him a letter. My dad and I were going to a Cubs game and I wrote him a handwritten letter that I was going to take to the press box attendant and have the attendant walk it up to the booth and give it to Len. I got to the park after parking a mile away or whatever in Wrigleyville. I went up to the booth, reached in my pocket to get the letter and it had fallen out. It was gone. I was bummed. I spent all this time writing this letter and I lost it. So we watch the game, the Cubs lose, we're driving back home to Michigan and I see a voic pop up. It's the owner of the Taco Bell across the street from Wrigley. Somebody had found the letter on the sidewalk, brought it into her and it had my contact info on it. So she said in the message that she would make sure it got to Len when they got back from the road trip they were about to go on. Sure enough, a few weeks later I got an from Len that said he would be happy to talk sometime. So that started that relationship and he is one of many, many people that have gone out of their way to spend more time helping me than I deserved. Many people could have been seeking his attention and/or advice. How do you think Len was able to realize your potential from a letter and target you as somebody worth helping? JD: I think first and foremost, Len is just a special guy that is going to give back to as many people as he can. And, hopefully, a little bit of it is that I have always been really focused on the details, everything down to the punctuation of letters and s. As competitive of an industry as it is, and this was especially as important when I was first getting going and applying for jobs during college, you can't afford to make any little mistakes that gives anyone any reason to write you off. So hopefully, the presentation in the letter caught his eye a little bit too. I'm sure I rewrote it a few times to make sure I had perfect grammar, perfect handwriting, and thankfully whatever he saw led him to get a hold of me.

16 You and Len share a broadcasting trait in that instead of instinctively raising your voices as an exciting play or moment builds, you drop octaves. Did that come instinctively, or was it something you learned either from somebody or by example? JD: In [the] minors, when you are doing 140 games, and in my case solo for three years in a row, that was a great opportunity for me to work at that and find where I belong in the excited range, where my voice belonged for a given moment. You can probably go back and find, or we can pull up tapes of my time in Montgomery, and you can find one day when I'm screaming my head off and the next day when I'm hardly raising my voice. And just a low-pressure situation, when probably nobody is listening at that point, sort of exploring what works and finding yourself. Hopefully, over time, I have gotten close to finding a range that works and captures those moments because I think that is a really important part of being a play-by play guy is that in those big moments: How do you capture them, No. 1 with what you say, but No. 2 with how you say it? You raised some eyebrows a few days ago when you mentioned on Twitter your on-air style might actually acknowledge no-hitter jinxes. Can you clarify what you meant? And we will give you more than 140 characters this time. JD: Well, 140 characters, in hindsight, is not enough to explain a philosophy. So my thing is that it is my job to tell you what's going on, so I'm not going to ignore that a no-hitter is going on. It will be abundantly clear what's going on, and I have no problem saying the words 'no-hitter.' I think that's probably the biggest miscommunication that happened with a 140-character limit. I'm not a guy that dodges saying 'no-hitter.' But just as a nod to the people that do care, and as a nod to the people that are bugged by hearing it when one is going on, I won't say it in direct reference to what is happening at that very moment. An example of that: You might hear me say 'Back here at Dodger Stadium where there have been X number of no-hitters thrown. The last Dodgers no-hitter was whenever. Clayton Kershaw hasn't allowed a hit through eight innings.' So had I not brought this up [on Twitter] you wouldn't have even noticed that I was doing something different than being completely open and transparent about the fact that a no-hitter was going on. You called Division I football and basketball games for Fox Sports during this past baseball offseason, and have called various sports for ESPN in the past. Is there something rewarding about staying active with multiple sports? JD: Honestly, my dream wasn't to be the voice of a team. I've always wanted to be the voice of a network and call the very biggest events for a network. To have it be with a team, it had to be the perfect situation and this, obviously, was a perfect situation that I could have never dreamed of turning down. But even in taking the Dodgers job, I wanted to keep my national stuff because I still have goals in that regard. I still love getting to do those national games. So yeah, there is a lot of value in it, personally. That would create a lot of parallels, then, with a particular person, and you had to know the subject of Vin Scully was coming eventually. So we'll start with this: How much Vin Scully did you listen to as you were learning the broadcasting craft? JD: So in college, I had the MLB radio app, and being the broadcasting nerd that I am, I would listen to it when I was sitting at my computer doing homework, or hanging out in the dorm room. I would listen to

17 the Eastern and Central time zone games, usually the Cubs, if I wasn't watching them on TV. And then when those waves of games finished, the West Coast games came on and I would often turn Vin on and marvel at everything that everybody marvels at: the vocabulary, the storytelling, the recall, the tone, the measured delivery in the biggest moments. And it was the same thing last year, when I was doing road games and he was doing home games, part of my job was to watch those home games and keep up with the team. And every time I would watch and listen, I would learn. Even to this day. We have established that it is impossible to replace Vin Scully. Yet you are calling games of the club that he is so synonymous with. How have you separated the undeniable aura of Scully from what you have to do moving forward? JD: You don't separate the connection. There is the obvious connection of me being the guy who follows him. I think you embrace the responsibility of that. Where you make the separation is you don't follow the greatest who has ever done it and channel that negatively. Because I think that if you allowed yourself to buy into the idea that you are replacing the greatest to ever do it, first of all, you stand no chance. Second of all, you're probably going to be inclined to try and be that guy, to try to replicate whatever it is that has made him the best to ever do it for 67 years. And you're going to lose the most important thing, which is to be yourself. And that was Vin's biggest advice to me: You bring one thing to the booth that nobody can, and that is yourself. And that is what Red Barber told him when he was starting in So that is something that sounds simple, be yourself, but it's not. It's something you have to work at and keep reminding yourself of. What has it been like to already have worked a half season with baseball icons and color commentators in Orel Hershiser and Nomar Garciaparra, while also having guys from the radio side like Charley Steiner and Rick Monday to bounce things off of as well? JD: It's awesome. I have said that part of what made this job special is the way this team's history is tied to its broadcasters. The obvious one is Vin, [and] before him Red Barber. And even the people now involved in the team. Rick Monday and Charley Steiner on radio. Nomar and Orel and Alanna [Rizzo] on the TV side and our production team is as good as any in baseball. So to have a village of people working at the same thing you are, and that is to do the job the best you can, it's huge. And specifically Orel. Orel has been the biggest reason it has gone well so far, not just as a partner, but as a friend. He has taken me under his wing and his wife, Dana, has done the same for my wife, Libby, and our daughter Charlotte. They have made us feel welcome from day one and made us feel like family from day one. For any aspiring sports broadcasters or aspiring sports TV reporters out there, what is the one piece of advice that has served you well, or maybe something you wish you knew when you were starting down the path of a broadcasting career? JD: You have to go out and do it. You have to go out and get reps because every time you go do a game, or do a report, whatever wing of the industry you are interested in, you are going to get better. And that is the beauty of the whole thing is that every time you go on, it's an opportunity to work on something and to get better at a weakness or improve a strength. So go out and get the reps. There are so many people that say, 'Well, how do I get a job if I don't have a job?' The old Catch-22. Well, sit in the stands and bring a recorder with you and do the job. Sit there and call play-by-play in the stands, or turn your TV down and call play-by-play in your room into a recorder.

18 In an odd sort of way, were you ever self-conscious doing a practice broadcast into a tape recorder, even though talking and having people hear it is what the job is all about? JD: Oh yeah. I totally get being self-conscious, going up in the stands and having people turn around and look at you. I can't say that more than once or twice I actually did that and went up in the stands. I remember even, as a kid, like I mentioned, turning my video games down and announcing those. I was a little self-conscious my parents would think I was crazy, sitting in my room calling play-by-play, so I totally get that. You are about to work an entire season from the Vin Scully Press Box this year, calling games of future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw, while describing the action from a historic franchise. Has it hit you yet? JD: Honestly, I'm still wrapping my mind around it, and as Opening Day gets closer, naturally I think more about what it means to be in that chair and the responsibility of being with that organization. It's something that I will probably take a while to wrap my mind around. I think it is important to not lose perspective of how incredible an opportunity it is and not lose perspective of how special a moment it is going to be on Opening Day. But the same kind of idea applies that I mentioned in the big picture and that is not channeling that negatively. When it's time to go on, and the red light goes on and it's time to do the game, it is just like any other game. And if you approach it any differently, you're probably not going to be yourself. And in that case, you're making it about yourself and that totally goes against what my philosophy is, and that is that it is about the game. So in order to do that game justice, you take a step back and enjoy it and appreciate the moment and it's going to be an incredible moment for me. But then you've got to kind of forget about the gravity of that and focus on the game in front of you. So at 29, have you finally let go the dream of being a professional quarterback? JD: Yeah, I've had surgery on both shoulders now so you have to put that aside and just be a broadcaster, I guess. Clayton Kershaw has a stellar opening day history By Eric Stephen TRUE BLUE LA LOS ANGELES One of the greatest days on the calendar is here, with opening day finally upon us. For the Dodgers, that means Clayton Kershaw on the mound, and that has proved a winning formula to date. Kershaw will make his seventh consecutive opening day start when he takes the mound on Monday afternoon against the Padres, tying the franchise record for most opening day starts tied with Don Drysdale and Don Sutton and matching Sutton for the most consecutive such starts. Not so coincidentally, the Dodgers have won their season opener six straight times, their longest opening day winning streak in franchise history.*

19 *There is a caveat here, of sorts. The Brooklyn Dodgers won four straight opening days from , then again from In 1923, the club tied their season opener, a game called after 14 innings presumably because of darkness. Brooklyn won the next day to start the season 1-0, but if we re being technical that doesn t count as an opening day win, so no nine-game winning streak. Kershaw has been magnificent in his six opening day starts, including nine strikeouts in seven scoreless innings last year at Petco Park. He has only allowed someone to score in two of those six starts, and is 4-0 with a 0.93 ERA in 38⅔ innings, with 44 strikeouts and six walks. In 144 plate appearances on opening day, batters have hit.161/.201/.190 against Kershaw. Among all Dodgers opening day starters dating back to 1913, Kershaw s 0.93 ERA is the best for those with at least two starts. The only pitchers with a better opening day mark than Kershaw are a quartet of pitchers with a single opening day start with a 0.00 ERA Nap Rucker (1913), Sandy Koufax (1964), Chan Ho Park (2001), and Brad Penny (2008). Kershaw hasn t lost to the Padres since June 21, 2013 the Dodgers have won his last nine starts against them and he hasn t allowed a run to San Diego since June 12, 2015, with an active streak of 19⅔ consecutive scoreless frames against them heading into Monday. Oh and another thing Kershaw is coming off one of the best seasons in Dodger Stadium history. He was 8-1 with a 1.08 ERA at home last season with a ridiculous 86 strikeouts and four walks. His 1.08 ERA was tied with Orel Hershiser (1985) for the third-best ERA in a season at Dodger Stadium with a minimum of 10 starts. Game info Time: 1:10 p.m. PT TV: SportsNet LA, ESPN Dodgers 2017 opening day payroll is $227.8 million By Eric Stephen Opening day is upon us again, which means it is time for the annual beginning-of-season snapshot look at the Dodgers payroll. The Dodgers will open 2017 with a payroll of nearly $228 million, a slight decrease from 2016, still tops in MLB. This is based on my own tracking of the Dodgers payroll, which counts only money paid out during that year. It might be a little different that numbers tracked by Associated Press or USA Today, for instance, but I have been tracking this since 2009 so we have a consistent methodology to look at. And thanks to USA Today for filling in some of the smaller details. For instance, Kenley Jansen makes $10 million in salary in 2017, but also got paid his $4 million signing bonus. Some might spread that signing bonus over the life of the contract. For our purposes, however,

20 Jansen earns $14 million this season. His competitive balance tax number is $16 million, the average of his $80 million contract over the five years. Similarly, Scott Kazmir has a $16 million salary this year, though slightly reduced because half is deferred to For our purposes, Kazmir earns $8 million this year, rather than the present-value-discounted $15 million or so used for luxury tax purposes. Another difference might be Kenta Maeda, who has a $3 million base salary in 2017 but the Dodgers will also finish out their payments to the Hiroshima Carp, totaling $6.6 million this year. Since that is a cost to the Dodgers (though it doesn t count against the luxury tax), I count Maeda as $9.6 million in The 25 players active on opening day total $ million in 2017, up about 7.1% from last year. Keep in mind that with various roster moves throughout the season, the payroll will change. We will keep track all season long. But for now, here is the 2017 opening day payroll for the Dodgers. Opening day 2017: Dodgers vs. Padres pitching matchups, game times & TV info By Eric Stephen For the third year in a row, and for the fourth time in the last six seasons, the Dodgers open their season against the Padres. To start 2017, these two teams will battle in a four-game series at Dodger Stadium. Here are the details and pitching matchups for the contests. Monday, 1:10 p.m. PT (SportsNet LA, ESPN) Clayton Kershaw starts his seventh consecutive opening day for the Dodgers, who not so coincidentally are looking for their seventh straight opening day victory. The Dodgers have also won Kershaw s last nine starts against the Padres, dating back to 2013, and he has allowed nine total runs in those games. Jhoulys Chacin gets the opening day nod for the Padres, in a spot he has usually done well in. The longtime Rockies right-hander in nine career games at Dodger Stadium, including eight starts, has a 2.94 ERA with 36 strikeouts and 23 walks in 49 innings. Dave Flemming, Eduardo Perez and Dallas Braden will call the game for ESPN, though that telecast will be blacked out in the Los Angeles television market. Tuesday, 7:10 p.m. (SportsNet LA) Kenta Maeda had 27 strikeouts and just two walks in four starts against the Padres in Clayton Richard is back with the Padres and will be the first left-handed starting pitcher the Dodgers face in Wednesday, 7:10 p.m. (SportsNet LA, KTLA) Rich Hill gets the ball in Game 3 of the season, with the Dodgers deciding to break up the left-handers at the top of their rotation. Hill has made five career starts at Dodger Stadium one in 2007 with the