Dodgers’ Rafael Furcal added to NL All-Star squad
Rafael Furcal had to put his family vacation to Miami on hold.
Furcal received a call from General Manager Ned Colletti after the Dodgers’ 7-3 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Saturday, informing him that instead of spending his time on the beach in the coming days, he would be at the All-Star Game in Anaheim as part of the National League team.
Furcal, who replaced sidelined New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes, will join Dodger teammates Andre Ethier and Jonathan Broxton at the midsummer event.
“I think my kids will enjoy it more,” Furcal said.
When Furcal made his only previous All-Star appearance in 2003 as a member of the Atlanta Braves, his two sons weren’t born yet. He wasn’t even married.
Furcal is batting .333 and has scored 49 runs in 57 games. He has stolen 14 bases.
Furcal admitted he was disappointed by his omission when the original rosters were unveiled a week earlier.
His teammates were upset, most vocal among them Ronnie Belliard.
“My teammates were so supportive,” Furcal said.
Furcal’s numbers obscure what he had to overcome this season.
He missed three weeks in May because of a strained left hamstring. He was out for a week last month when his father died.
It was only two years ago that Furcal underwent back surgery in the middle of the season and was uncertain about his future in baseball.
He thanked his wife Glenny for helping him come back.
“I’m glad I have the wife that I have,” he said. “She was always … saying, ‘You have to put your head up, keep going.’”
Clubhouse addition
Russell Martin and Reed Johnson have a new locker mate.
In the previously unoccupied stall between Martin and Johnson is a glass case that houses the newest clubhouse resident, a baby boa constrictor.
The snake was brought to the ballpark by reliever Justin Miller, who used the reptile to scare an unnamed teammate. “Somebody,” Miller said.
The Dodgers have named the snake “Larry the Boa” after their third base coach, Larry Bowa.
Improvement on the bases
Of Matt Kemp’s first 20 stolen base attempts of the season, only half were successful.
But Kemp, who had stolen 69 bases over the last two seasons, appears to have figured something out. He’s been successful on his last five attempts.
The turnaround point was his three-game benching at the end of last month.
“He just looks more relaxed to me,” Manager Joe Torre said.
Days off
Heavily taxed Martin and Casey Blake were given the day off on Saturday. Martin was replaced by A.J. Ellis and Blake by utilityman Jamey Carroll.
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