MIAMI — Dodgers president Stan Kasten and Lon Rosen, top lieutenant to partner Magic Johnson, joined the club for a one-day visit to check out Marlins Park on Friday.
The fact-finding mission was designed to glean ideas from baseball’s newest stadium that might be applicable to the significant upgrade of Dodger Stadium that Kasten has spoken about recently.
Earlier this week, the Dodgers hired Janet Marie Smith away from the Baltimore Orioles to spearhead the stadium’s revitalization as senior vice president of planning and development.
Kasten and Rosen seemed especially interested in the state-of-the-art MarlinsVision that hovers over center field, as well as the moderate amount of advertising through the building.
Mattingly meeting precedes trip-opening win
MIAMI — The Dodgers on Friday night opened a 10-game trip with a 5-2 win that followed a team meeting called by manager Don Mattingly that came after a 4-5 homestand.
“I didn’t think we played badly [at home], but I wanted to make sure they knew the opportunity they had,” Mattingly said of his meeting.
“We have a lot of new guys and there’s a lot of stuff they didn’t get to hear [in Spring Training] because they weren’t here. Guys like Shane [Victorino], [Joe] Blanton, Hanley [Ramirez]. We’re at 49 games left, just a little under one-third. It’s a lot of baseball, but not that much, you know?
“We can’t sit here and waste games. I just needed to make sure they understood that every game is important, make sure they understand the opportunity. You don’t get that many chances to win. What they did early gave us the opportunity to pick up guys to enhance the team. Now, can we put it all together?”
The first move made was the July 25 acquisition of Ramirez and reliever Randy Choate. Through that date, the Dodgers were eight games above .500 and 2 1/2 games out of first. Since that date, they’ve played one game above .500 and are tied for first.
Dodgers working on reliever League’s mechanics
MIAMI — Having acquired reliever Brandon League from Seattle two weeks ago, the Dodgers now are trying to fix him.
League has allowed two runs in two innings of relief since joining the team in exchange for Minor Leaguers Leon Landry and Logan Bawcom. A one-time closer for the Mariners, League lost that job and his effectiveness this year.
The Dodgers feel, and League said he agrees, that his problems are mechanical. League was conspicuously absent from the late innings of Friday night’s close win, and manager Don Mattingly said he wants League’s mechanics smoothed out before he throws him back into that kind of fire.
“He has a tendency to pull hard to the side and his arm drags behind him,” said bullpen coach Ken Howell. “We’re trying to get him to stay back on his right leg longer, stride the front leg out farther, and he’ll stay in line with the target. It should be an easy fix.”
League said he “absolutely agrees” that he has a tendency to pull off as he throws.
“It’s been a battle all year,” he said. “I had keys in Seattle, and we’re using different keys here. I tend to get my front leg moving too fast and that causes my problems.”
League had 37 saves, five blown saves and a 2.79 ERA in 2011. But this year, he has nine saves, six blown saves and a 3.86 ERA.
Ken Gurnick is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
