Blog Kiosk: 4/1/2016 - Dodgers Links - Jackie Gets an Apology from Philadelphia

Dodgers hurler Kenta Maeda met with some special guest before yesterdays game.  The kids from the Tokyo Kitasuna team from Japan, as seen in the photo above shared by Dodgers photographed Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2016, greeted the MLB rookie with giant smiles.  As you likely know, they won the 2015 Little League World Series.  Check out more pics from Jon from yesterday here.

Below are more links to check out:

• Via Jon Weisman at Dodger Insider, "Rick Monday, Tom Paciorek, J.D. Drew elected to College Baseball Hall."
• Better late than never, I suppose.  Via Tricia L. Nadolny at Philly.com, "Sorry, 42: City Council apologizes for Phillies' race-baiting of Robinson." 

"Be it resolved by the Council of the City of Philadelphia," reads the resolution unanimously passed Thursday, "that City Council hereby recognize, honor and celebrate April 15, 2016 as a day honoring the lifetime achievements and lasting influence of Jackie Robinson, and apologizing for the racism he faced as a player while visiting Philadelphia."

Dodgers Notes from Spring Training: Spring Game 31/Home Game 16

Throughout Spring Training the Dodgers PR department sends out helpful daily notes from Camelback Ranch, and I am happy to pass them along.  See what they've written below.

------------------

L.A. Angels (15-8-6) vs. LOS ANGELES DODGERS (13-14-3)
Thursday, March 31, 2016 – 7:10 p.m. PT | Dodger Stadium
LHP Andrew Heaney (1-0, 2.57) vs. LHP Scott Kazmir (0-1, 7.71)
TV: SNLA Radio: KLAC/KTNQ

------------------

(Dodger Stadium, pic via AGon on twitter)

STADIUM FOR SORE EYES: The Dodgers are back at Dodger Stadium tonight for the first time since losing Game 5 of the NLDS on October 15, 2015 to the New York Mets. In addition to tonight’s game, the Dodgers and Angels will meet Friday (7:10 p.m., RHP Kenta Maeda vs. LHP Hector Santiago) at Dodger Stadium, with the series shifting to Anaheim for a 6:05 p.m. game Saturday (LHP Alex Wood vs. RHP Nick Tropeano). After an off-day Sunday, the Dodgers kick off the regular season on Monday against the Padres at PETCO Park.

Box Break Winnings: Some Sp's, Bowman's and UD Pennants

Ahhhh..... Another blog driven group break, another hoard of Dodger cards to add to my collection.

Last month I participated in Thorzul Will Rule's June break and snagged the Dodgers (Woo Hoo!). Boxes broken were 2005 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects, 2005 Upper Deck Past Time Pennants, and 2005 Upper Deck Reflections. Here is the booty.

I don't really know a lot about this modern wax stuff, so I won't go into details. What I do know is that the below two cards are from 2005 Upper Deck Reflections and the cards below are of some former Dodgers who had, let's say, mixed success with the Blue Crew. I still love Eric Gagne, but JD Drew can .... OK, I'm trying to gain my composure here.
Here is the reverse of the above two cards.
These are 2005 Upper Deck Past Time Pennants cards and feature a whole bunch of vintage Dodgers. Unfortunately, I didn't snag any autograph cards in the box break, but I happen to have a whole bunch of them already in my personal collection. Stay tuned over the next coming weeks and months as I put them up in this blog.
Here are the reverse of the above cars.
Here are bunch of 2005 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects Dodger cards of players who probably won't amount to much. Oh well, at least a couple of them are shiny.

Auto Collection: JD Drew Sweet Spots

J.D. Drew is a very good hitter. But, if you ask me, he isn't worth the aggravation and salary it takes to get him. As all Dodger fans remember, he came over as a power slugging outfielder that would help us fill a spot vacated by Shawn Green. And sure, he did just that. He went on to hit .284 with 35 home runs and a .905 OPS in his two years wearing Blue (including 1/2 a year struggling through injuries). Then, he left using an escape clause in his contract and signed as free agent to play for Boston. Ingrate!

Anyway, I should just destroy any Drew card I have in my collection. He obviously has no appreciation for the "Blue" and I should therefore remove him from my mental database. Unfortunately, reality trumps my fanatic desires. He once wore Blue; therefore, I am obligated to include him in my collection.

Above is my 2006 Sweep Spot Signatures card of him from 2006. I also had the fortune of picking up a very scarce "1 of 1" Sweet Spot Signature card featuring black stitching. See it below.

Blog Kiosk 6/22/2008

In these lazy heat-filled days of summer it makes more sense to just watch the games on the TV.

• Will it blend? (Hat Tip:For the Love of Baseball")
  

YouTube Video Link: Will It Blend:

• A Pack A Day pulls a great Steve Sax vintage pin. I have a couple of these pins in my collection and always assumed they were sold at the stadium as a countertop point-of-sale items. Instead, I find that they came in packs. Color me surprised.
• The 29th Annual Sports Card Collectors Convention is coming up ina month (July 30-Aug 3) in Chicago. If anyone who reads this blog is attending please pass along some pics. I'd love to put them up. I won't be there so I'll be unable to check out some of the rare and unusual collectibles that always seems to show up.
  
• Say hello to a new Dodger blog Dodgers Digest. As I always say, "the more the merrier."
  
• What a great find. Trolley Dodger shares a great Koufax photo from one of his favorite photoblogs. From the best titled blog I've ever heard"If Charlie Parker Was a Gunslinger, There'd Be A Whole Lot of Dead Copycats."

• You must check out Variety's special issue featuring the Dodgers and its 50th Anniversary in Los Angeles. Click Here.
  
• Our favorite video blogger, Troy From West Virginia, was arrested during the Dodger road game in Cincinnati. Diamond Leung has all the news. Troy responds on YouTube about the incident in 4 parts. Click here for Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4. Mark of LADodgerTalk recalls seeing Troy last year and has photos to prove it.
• True Blue LA sounds off against the irrationally stupid Philly faithful in defense of JD Drew.
  
• Mario and Tatiana go video by starting "The Baseball Card Show." This married duo is become the leaders and head innovators within the collector blog community. Check out their video here. In other news Mario finds an eBay auction for a rare "1 of 1" card featuring Dodgers fan favorite Brett Butler. It sold for an unbelievable $263.88.
• I love seeing pics from space. Below was made courtesy of Boston.com and features Cumulonimbus clouds over Africa. Click here for more pics. (Hat Tip: Oliver Willis)
• The August Chronicle ask its readers to tell us about their favorite Baseball card and gets a big response. Unsurprisingly, childhood memories surround many of the stories.

  I was just a kid and baseball was the only thing on my mind. John Smoltz came to the Kroger on Washington Road to sign baseball memorabilia. I waited in what seemed an eternal line of eager kids and parents. Finally, my turn came and I was standing in front of my favorite pitcher, overwhelmed with excitement. I handed Mr. Smoltz the card, and as he signed it I was overwhelmed with the urge to talk baseball with him, to tell him how dedicated I was to the sport, and that I never missed one of his games. But with the long, impatient line still trailing off behind me, all I could do was ask him for a handshake. Without hesitation, he extended his famous right hand. I'll never forget that firm handshake with the hand that won so many division titles and took the Braves to numerous World Series. Yet, this time the humble man held his hand out to me, a no-name Little Leaguer from Augusta, and I will never forget it.

  (Hat Tip: SCD)
  
• Euro Soccer Girls!
  
• What do you get when you put Alan Alda, Matthew Broderick and a T206 vintage Baseball card together? You get a movie called "Diminished Capacity." (Hat Tip: Sports Cards Uncensored)

YouTube Link: Diminished Capacity:

Sacrilege: Stark Names Koufax Most Overrated Lefty

I'm shocked! Dismayed! I'm besides myself! Stark Raving Mad, I Say!

DelcoTimes gives us a peek at Jayson Stark's book, The Stark Truth, that seeks to rate the most underrated and overrated players in Baseball. On top of his list of most overrated lefties is our beloved Sandy Koufax. Sacrilege!

To prove a point about his insanity he names Nolan Ryan as the most overrated righthander of all time. My jaw dropped on that one too.

Anyway, he defends his point thusly.

"People who haven't read the book misconstrue my definition of overrated," adds Stark. "I'm not trying to say they should have taken up the violin instead of baseball.

"It's a whole different kind of concept."

Yhea, OK. About Koufax he adds.

"He was the greatest pitcher alive and possibly the greatest lefthander ever. I'm not nuts enough to try to dispute that," said Stark.

The Stark truth, however, is that the first half of Koufax' career, he had the second highest ERA in baseball.

"With players we grow to love, we don't even WANT to think about that other stuff," said Stark. "We get a snapshot in our brain of what that player meant to us and we don't want to let any other snapshots in there."

Stark goes on to say there's a tendency to romanticize players who walk away from the game in their prime.

"Other players go on; they get hurt, they decline and they leave us with other snapshots. That colors our perception of that player. Koufax didn't have to worry about that."

Well, those are all good points. I guess you could count me in as a fan who refuses to hear about that other stuff. Anyway, he also names the most underrated players which he acknowledged was much more fun to write. Some of those underrated players include Yogi Berra, Steve Carlton, Frank Robinson, Bob Feller, Dick Allen and Richie Ashburn. He did get a smile from me though. JD Drew is listed as overrated.

"The thing he's done best throughout his career is find a way to get paid," said Stark. "To me, that's the classic definition of overrated."

Story Link: DelcoTimes.com:

Don't Get Drewed Again

This is great. They have the LA perspective on the matter exactly right. You are not worthy!

"Drewed" is the new slang for "Screwed."



YouTube Link: xxlnational:

Drew Opts for a Bigger Salary

Like everyone else I'm shocked, surprised and elated at the recently announced departure of JD Drew. I thought we would surely have him in Blue for the next 3 years.

Does this mean Soriano is in our sights?

Kent Wins Game

Before the start of the yesterdays game, the Dodger pre-game telecast asked its audience a question. Who was more vital for the team during this last month of the season- Brad Penny, Jeff Kent or J. D. Drew? After some initial seesawing, the ultimate winner of this poll was 2^nd baseman Jeff Kent. For the season, Jeff has been hitting .267 and has a slugging percentage of .460. He has 12 homeruns and only 58 RBI’s. It’s a far cry from the .289 average, .512 SLG, 29 homeruns and 105 RBI’s from last season.

In the game Jeff Kent had just one hit, but it was a hit that provided an exclamation point to that afternoons’ pre-game show. In the top of the ninth inning with the score tied 3 to 3, Jeff Kent hit the eventual game winning homerun. The Dodgers win the game 4 to 3, and the Dodger most believed to be vital for an end-of-the-year playoff run comes through.

Dodgers Win!!

Dodgers hold on for the win. 6-4. Tomko had a shaky start, but ended up righting the ship in time to preserve the win. I can't say enough about JD Drew. He's having a great year so far. His swing and timing are perfectly in tune. We are on that march up the mountain.

On to other good news. I opened my mail today and found some eBay goodies. Mostly some of those autographed baseball cards, but there was one gem. Hidden within two pieces of stiff cardboard was a 6x9 inch large postcard of Gil Hodges Lanes in Brooklyn, New York. A luxurious palace with 48 Brunswick Gold Crown Lanes. On the back it's called the "Night Club of Bowling Alleys."

Wow! That reminds of my childhood. Hanging out with Pops at the weekly bowling tournament. I'd gleefully watch as middle aged men, many with tires around their bellies larger than today's Hummers, would gracefully float that round rock down the lanes. In all that ugliness there was plenty of beauty. Its funny when you think about it.

It also reminds me of that fateful night on Ocober 16, 1985. I was with my dad at a bowling alley watching the game as my Dad rolled his frames. It was one of my saddest Dodger moments. Tom Niedenfuer against Jack Clark at Dodger Stadium. Two on- 2nd and 3rd. Dodgers up by one over the Cards. 5-4. Its the top of he ninth and a Dodger win would even the NLCS to three games a piece. As fate would have it, the man, I would continue to hate even as he became batting coach for the Dodgers later on in his career, hit a impactful 3-run homer. And you know what made it worse? Jack Clark hit the first pitch into the stands. Like he knew it was coming. My heart sank and the Dodgers ride was over. Cardinal win the series four game to two. I still tear up when I think about it.

Jay- Dee-Drew Jay-Dee-Drew

Dodgers win 6-3 on the back of "please stay healthy" JD Drew. A leadoff homer and bloop two run single spark a strong showing by the Dodgers. Odalis said, "You know, if he's healthy, he's going to hit." You betcha big man. Perez is now 3-0 and Saito has shown himself to be a experienced relief pitcher capable of completing any job handed to him. Saito may end up being the difference this year for the backup staff. All I can say is lets see it again tonight.

Nomar will get the start tonight as Loney heads to AAA Las Vegas. This is probably the most important time in Loney's career. He can use this recent opportunity to start at firstbase as a learning tool. He ends up hitting a respectable .225 with excellent defense. Now, I know. "Respectable?" Yes. Although he didn't wow us with 350 ft homeruns, he did show us he is capable of doing much better. I think he has the smarts and skills to use this learning experience as a tool to success. I look forward to him plugging up firstbase in the future.