I Now Officially Hate the X-Men

As shown through the Giants TwitPic account, this is a Uncanny X-Men No. 534 variant that will be sold at WonderCon SF.

Wolverine! Say it ain't so!

Day 37 Spring Training Report

Here is todays Dodger lineup: Tucson: Gwynn CF, Carroll SS, Ethier RF, Gibbons LF, Loney 1B, Miles 2B, Ellis C, Sellers 3B, Redding P

Below are Spring Training notes from the Dodgers:

• HEAVY HEARTS: The Dodgers and Diamondbacks square off today in a very special game at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium in Tucson. The contest is a benefit game for the Tucson Together Fund, which is the only officially sanctioned fund established to assist victims, families, and witnesses of the Jan. 8 tragedy in Tucson. One of the victims was a member of the Dodger family as Christina-Taylor Green, the nine-year old daughter of Dodger scout John Green, lost her life in the tragedy. Individuals interested in making a donation can visit www.tucsontogetheraz.com

• START THE COUNTDOWN: The start of the 2011 campaign is only six days away and Thursday’s contest will mark the tenth time in L.A. Dodger history that the club will open the season against the Giants, and the seventh at Dodger Stadium. Included in those previous nine games, is the first game in Los Angeles Dodger history (4/15/58) and the first game of Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda’s managerial career (4/7/77).

• CARDIAC KIDS: Yesterday, the Dodgers continued their hot streak by coming from behind to beat the Rockies 7-5, with a wild seven-run ninth inning capped by A.J. Ellis' three-run walk-off homer. Los Angeles trailed 5-4 with two outs in the home half of the ninth when Ellis belted a 2-1 pitch over the left field wall to give the Dodgers their second walk-off win in three days. On the mound, starter Hiroki Kuroda went 6.0 innings, while relievers Matt Guerrier, Jonathan Broxton and Mike MacDougal all tossed a scoreless frame. In their last nine contests, the club has posted a 7-1-1 record in Cactus League play.

• ON THE MOUND: Dodger right-hander Tim Redding will make his fourth start of the Cactus League campaign today at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium (formerly Tucson Electric Park). Redding was supposed to make the start Monday night at Talking Stick against the D’backs, but an afternoon rainout at Camelback Ranch bumped Clayton Kershaw to that spot. In 2010, Redding combined to go 8-5 with a 2.89 ERA in 18 games (17 starts) with Triple-A Colorado Springs and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre. The right-hander also pitched in Korea for the Samsung Lions for a couple of months last year. Redding is known for having surrendered Barry Bonds’ 756^th career home run on Aug. 8, 2007. Following Redding to the hill will be RHP Rubby De La Rosa, a non-roster invitee who has impressed the club by posting a 1.80 ERA (2 ER/10.0 IP) in his four Cactus League outings (two starts). De La Rosa has yielded just four hits this spring. The Diamondbacks will counter with RHP Armando Galarraga.

Blog Kiosk: 3/25/2011

• Here's a Dodger collector blog you should check out called Nomo's Sushi Platter.
  
• Check out Summer Anne Burton's drawing of Brooklyn Dodger Manager Wilbert Robinson, at Every Hall of Famer.
  
• True to the Blue has some pics from Spring Training; including Andre Ethier signing some items for them.
  
• Here is a pretty great gif image of James Loney in a Dodger snuggie, via wassupperry.
  
• Murray Chass writes about Stan Musial- he may not have been quite "The Man" we thought he was.
  
• You must watch LA Dodger Talk interview Logan White; Part 1 & Part 2.
  
• Indians closer, Chris Perez, is now the proud owner of the Topps 1927 Yankee autograph booklet, via The Infield Dirt. He paid $20,000 for it.
  
• Check out these 7 Immutable Laws of Investing, via The Big Picture.
  
• Captain Macho Mike from the 987FM Locker Room as he journeys to Glendale for some Dodger Spring Training games.
  

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Mailbag: eBay Win - Hollandsworth Auto

Todd Hollandsworth had such promise. He came to the Dodgers out of Bellevue, WA as a 3rd round pick in the 1991 draft. After several years of seasoning in the minors he came up to the big leagues in 1995. At that time he was ranked as high as the 13th best prospect by Baseball America. By the next year he was in LA to stay. He won the Rookie of the Year award in 1996 with a .291 batting average and 12 home runs. Unfortunately, he never produced the consistent power we had all hoped to see. He started to struggle at the plate and saw his playing time fall as a result. Nagging leg injuries certainly didn't help. Eventually he was traded to Colorado for Tom Goodwin in 2000. Todd would go on to have a 12 year major league career with a lifetime .273 batting average. BTW, he is a brother-in-law to former Dodger Matt Herges.

Here is a recent eBay auction win of a pre-rookie minor league autographed card of Todd Hollandsworth made in 1994 by Signature Rookies.. It was super cheap- less than a buck. On a side note, he signed 8,650 of these cards which make wonder how long could something like that take?