Blog Kiosk: 12/12/2017 - Dodgers Links - Some Odds and Ends

With both Spring Training on the horizon and the Winter Meetings currently ongoing in Orlando, I thought this vintage, dated March 2, 1946, International News press photo of several old-tyme Dodgers at Daytona Beach would be perfect. (eBay auction link) Per descriptor attached to the reverse:

PITY POOR DODGERS IN BLEAK FLORIDA.  Daytona Beach, Fla.......It's all right for the fortunate people up North.  They can warm be shoveling snow.  But the poor Brooklyn Dodgers, who are spring training down in Daytona Beach have to light a fire to get the chill out of their bones.  Billy Herman is playing fireman here to get a blaze going for Vic Lombardi, Hal Gregg and Lew Riggs.  Cold weather caused postponement of practice called for yesterday."

Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodgers History: In 1941 the Dodgers traded for soon to be Hall of Famer Arky Vaughan from the Pirates in exchange for Pete Coscarart, Luke Hamlin, Babe Phelps and Jimmy Wasdell. In 1998 the Dodgers signed free agent starting pitcher Kevin Brown to a seven year $105 million contract -- thus becoming the first $100 million man in Baseball. In 2012 the Dodgers received Skip Schumaker in a trade with the Cardinals -- sending Jake Lemmerman to St. Louis in return.
• Happy Birthday, Buzzie Bavasi, Peter O'Malley, Phenomenal Smith, Derrell Griffith & Orlando Hudson! 

Blog Kiosk: 7/11/2016 - Dodgers Links - Piazza, Cotton and Kenta Maeda

What a fantastic way to end the first half of the Baseball season.  Kenta Maeda was on the mound and absolutely stymied the Padres. With 97 pitches he recorded a career high 13 strike outs, two hits, no walks and a single lone run on a homer by Derek Norris in seven innings pitched.  Via Ken Gurnick at MLB.com:

"You could see the look in Kenta's eye after that last outing. He was set to dominate and that's what he did, and it was just what we needed," said manager Dave Roberts. "Even for his psyche, for the starters, and to go into the break so strong, it was great for him."
...
"We chased offspeed out of the zone," (Padres manager Andy) Green said. "He pitched us backwards all day long and we didn't seem to make an adjustment. He could spin us early, hard and late, mix in a fastball periodically, but it was pretty much all offspeed."

BTW, Maeda is the ninth Dodger pitcher in history to ever record at least 13 strike outs and zero walks in a game.  On another note, Yasiel Puig is once again surrounded by persistent trade rumors (link here).  I have doubts anything will get done since management clearly will not take a discount, and rightly so.  Since coming back from the DL in late June Puig is slashing .317/.417/.467/.883 with two home runs, eight RBI's and a BABIP of .347.

Photo of Kenta and Yasiel on the bench above via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2016.  Go here to check out more pics by Jon from yesterdays game.  Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodger History: In 1978 Steve Garvey becomes the first two-time MVP in All-Star history.  In the game played in San Diego Garvey hit a game-tying, two-run single and a triple to help the NL beat the AL, 7-3.
• Happy Birthday, Hal Gregg, Dick Gray and Billy Ashley!

1947 Tip Top Bread - All the Dodger Cards

Continuing my quest to catalog, checklist and share pics of every Dodger card in the hobby (no doubt a lifelong endeavor) I now point to you a group of cards many collectors have scarcely come across.  Featured below is the complete 14-card Dodger team set from the 1947 Tip Top Bread set.

This is one of the toughest post-WWII sets to complete.  It is filled with short prints galore due to a distribution that saw regions only receiving teams in their geographical locations.  As such, cards for clubs like the Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox and Chicago Cubs are hard to come by while the New York area teams are easier.  Unfortunately, that doesn't mean that Dodger cards are cheap.  The general scarcity of the issue makes completing a team set a costly endeavor, and I hesitate to state a value even in VG condition for fear of coming out too low. 

Bob Bragan                                 Ralph Branca

Blog Kiosk: 1/2/2015 - Dodger Links - They are Confident in Anderson and Confident with the Current Rotation

It has been so cold.  So, when I saw the above photo on eBay the other day I certainly could sympathize.  It features four Brooklyn Dodgers huddled around a soon-to-be raging fire at their spring home in Daytona Beach.  The photo is dated 3/2/1946 and is from International News. Check out the auction here.  From the caption written on the reverse:

PITY POOR DODGERS IN BLEAK FLORIDA.  Daytona Beach, Fla.......It's all right for the fortunate people up North.  They can warm be shoveling snow.  But the poor Brooklyn Dodgers, who are spring training down in Daytona Beach have to light a fire to get the chill out of their bones.  Billy Herman is playing fireman here to get a blaze going for Vic Lombardi, Hal Gregg and Lew Riggs.  Cold weather caused postponement of practice called for yesterday."

Below are some links to check out:

• Via Ken Gurnick at MLB.com, "With ultimate goal in reach, 10 questions for Dodgers."
• Via Mark Saxon at ESPNLosAngeles.com, "2014 highs and lows both involve Kershaw."
• Via Eric Stephen at True Blue LA, "Dodgers confident in Brett Anderson's health."

"He's a young guy. He was terrific when he pitched last year for Colorado. From a health standpoint, we feel very good about him being a regular guy from the start of the season on," Dodgers general manager Farhan Zaidi said on a conference call on Wednesday. "We're certainly hoping he stays healthy and takes the ball every fifth day."

• Via Bill Shaikin on twitter, Dodger GM Farhan Zaidi said they are not looking to add another frontline starting pitcher.

Zaidi: Bolsinger and Wieland are the extra pitchers to protect against injury to Anderson or others. No plans to pursue more.
— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) December 31, 2014

Zaidi: "Our focus on the SP side is going to be depth options." He won't say no Scherzer or Shields, but that's what he means.
— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) December 31, 2014

• Via Tim Brown at Yahoo Sports, "Dodgers exploring an intriguing gamble with Chin-hui Tsao."

A few days ago, the Los Angeles Times reported the Dodgers were “close” to signing Tsao to a minor-league deal and suggested the club had received clearance from MLB to do so. Both are true. The Dodgers contacted MLB prior to engaging with Tsao, a baseball source with knowledge of those conversations told Yahoo Sports. The league looked into the circumstances surrounding Tsao’s expulsion, found some “ambiguities” in the case, and cleared the way for the signing, the source said.

This much seems clear, ambiguities notwithstanding: A guy banned from playing baseball somewhere else (or, in this case, two somewhere elses) for at least entertaining the idea of throwing games probably should not be rewarded with a second chance here. Not with a major league club. Not on a minor-league deal. Not with MLB’s already very rigid stance on such activities, not with the flaming contradiction it would appear to be, not with the precedent it would set. (Rose, for one, might be inspired to launch another reality TV show, and nobody wants that.)

• Via Bernie Pleskoff at MLB.com, "Versatile infield prospect Sweeney impresses with speed."

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