Blog Kiosk: 5/3/2016 - Dodgers Links - Ebbets Field, Maeda and Josh Ravin's Suspension

Wow!  There's nuthin' 'round the ol' joint.

Shown above, via a tweet by Old Baseball Photos, is Ebbets Field just prior to its opening in 1913.  You can see the grandstands and the backside of the outfield walls, but nothing else (except a few buildings here and there).  I always assumed Brooklyn was built out the way it is today, but clearly that is wrong.  The immediate area was as barren as a bald head.

A little bit of research tells me that Pigtown, the neighborhood this area was called due to the existence of several large pig farms, was economically depressed.  It's inhabitants were largely poor and crime was known to be a problem.  Folks would come into town to dump their junk there and farm animals were known to roam around recklessly.  The metropolis it is today was just a dream back then.

Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodgers History: In 1947 the Branch Rickey traded five Dodgers players; including Kirby Higby, to Pittsburgh.  The move was seen as a message to the players on his support for Jackie Robinson.
• Happy Birthday, Davey Lopes and Darren Dreifort!

The Kenta Maeda Superfractor has been Found and Sold

This is the "Big Daddy" of all Kenta Maeda Baseball cards.

Over the weekend, thanks to a post at Blowout Buzz, I found out that the redemption for the Chrome Prospect Autograph Superfractor parallel card of Maeda had been posted up on eBay.  It had a "Buy It Now" price tag of $14,999.00, and I figured it would just sit there unsold.

Boy, was I wrong!

2016 Bowman Baseball - All the Dodgers Insert Cards

Now that you've seen the base cards, here is everything else.  Shown below are the various Dodgers inserts and autograph cards that are available.  Note that the Kenta Maeda auto'd cards are available only through a redemption card.

Chrome Prospect Autographs

#CPA-JC Jharel Cotton

2016 Bowman Baseball - The Dodgers Base Cards

Bowman Baseball cards are now official on the market.  This is a prospect driven set, and as you might expect it's filled with some of the best and brightest the Dodgers have in their minor league system.  In fact, the prospect portion of the base set includes a couple players who are getting their first official licensed cards.  They are pitcher Yadier Alvarez and outfielder Starling Heredia.  Check them all out below.  Go here for a complete checklist.

Yadier Alvarez is an 19 year old pitcher from Matanzas, Cuba.  He had signed an $16 million bonus with the Dodgers last year.  Starling Heredia is from the Dominican Republic, and he signed a reported $2.6 million bonus last year, as well.  He was just 16 years old.

Base Set

The Adrian Gonzalez card is a red parallel and the Trayce Thompson is a silver parallel card.

#40 Clayton Kershaw                            #46 Adrian Gonzalez

Blog Kiosk: 3/8/2016 - Dodgers Links - Urias, Utley and Kenta Maeda

As the new kid on campus, Corey Seager sure has ingratiated himself well with the fans.  He's everyone's number #1 get of the spring, and if you can snap a selfie with the lad, like the lady in the above photo snapped by photographer Zachary P. Lucy on twitter, then you know you've had a good day.

In other Seager news, apparently his popularity has earned him a new nickname.  Via Bill Plunkett at the OC Register:

Even his teammates and coaches remind him – in teasing fashion – what is expected of the consensus No. 1 prospect in baseball. Listen closely this spring and you’ll occasionally hear Seager referred to by his new nickname – “Roy,” as in Rookie of the Year.

“I guess I get to take that one over from Joc (Pederson) last year. He passed that one on to me,” Seager said sheepishly. “Yeah, it’s all that good-quality fun. It’s never personal.

Below are more links to check out:

• Via Ken Gurnick at MLB.com, "Urias hurls 2 innings in BP as LA takes it slow."

Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias threw two innings of batting practice on Monday and showed no signs of the slight groin tightness that set him back a few days.

If Urias comes out of the workout with no setback, he's likely to make his first Cactus League appearance at the end of the week. Urias felt the discomfort after throwing batting practice last Monday, and he then threw a bullpen session on Friday. The club is being extra cautious with the 19-year-old prodigy.

• Dave Roberts, via Doug Padilla at ESPN, shares some of what he saw in Urias:

"He’s a special young man,” Roberts said, when asked about Urias’ throwing session Monday. “The repeatability with his mechanics, for a young pitcher, is impressive. The sharpness of his breaking ball, the late life to his fastball, glove-side command with his fastball ... he was pretty impressive. There’s a lot to like.” 

• Blowout Buzz provides another preview pic of an Kenta Maeda signed Baseball card.  See it on the right.  It is an early look at his upcoming Bowman Chrome card. 
• Via Doug Padilla at ESPN, "Chase Utley happy to move forward with suspension lifted."

"[Torre] expressed to me that what happened in the playoffs, after looking at other slides over the course of the years, it was not much different from those and there were no penalties there," Utley said. "So with that said, they rescinded the suspension. I can't say enough how terrible I felt about what happened to Ruben. I had no intent to hurt him whatsoever. If anybody thinks I did, they're completely wrong.

• Via Eric Stephen at True Blue LA, "Justin Turner getting closer to game action, Andre Ethier has right hand contusion."

"We're giving Ethier an extra day. He's going to be out there running around catching baseballs and throwing," (Dave) Roberts said. "Just with the bottom hand and his swing, we're going to keep him out an extra day."

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