2009 Topps 206 Dodgers

Topps recently unveiled their "206" set and the collecting world seems very happy about it. Personally, I'm not a bit fan of the cards. I just don't like the photos and backgrounds of the Boys in Blue. Besides, the set pales in comparison to the cards it is meant to resemble- the famous tobacco cards from 1909 called T206. One thing to note is that it marks the 100th anniversary of that vintage set.

Below are the Dodger base cards. There are three old-time Dodgers included in the set- Roy Campanella, Pee Wee Reese and Jackie Robinson. A mini version of each card is also available.

Jon Broxton

Chad Billingsley

Roy Campanella

Andre Ethier

Rafael Furcal

Orlando Hudson

Matt Kemp

Clayton Kershaw

James Loney

Russell Martin

Juan Pierre

Manny Ramirez

PeeWee Reese

Jackie Robinson

As has become commonplace, several cards have parallel short printed cards inserted in packs. Below is a example of the Roy Campanella base card (on the right) and it's short printed brother (on the left).
Gold bordered mini cards are also included.
Limited "one of one" printing plates are also part of the set. Below is a Rafael Furcal printing plate.
Another premium are silk version of every mini card in the set. I believe they are numbered to 50. Manny Ramirez's silk card is below.A game-used jersey relic of James Loney is below.
An even cooler game-used bat relic card of Jackie Robinson is below.
Clayton Kershaw's inserted autograph card is below.

2009 Topps Unique Dodgers

Even with Baseball on a winter hiatus new card sets continue to be released. Earlier this month Topps released a new Baseball card brand called "Topps Unique" that features a nice design and some unusual insert cards. All of the photos below were taken from various eBay Auctions. Feel free to click on any of the pics to enlarge.

Before I show the base cards of Dodger players in the set I thought I would show the below "1 of 1" insert card of Andre Ethier first. In my opinion it is the nicest card in the set and, unfortunately, you may never have an opportunity to own it yourself since only one exist. It recently sold on eBay for a bit over $200.00. The card has a signature of the Dodger right fielder and a game used patch (most likely from a uniform or cap) of the MLB logo.
Now we get to the 7 Dodgers in the base set.

Jim Thome.

Russell Martin.

Manny Ramirez.
Clayton Kershaw.

Matt Kemp.

Andre Ethier.

Chad Billingsley.

Below are two insert cards called Unparalleled Performances of Orlando Hudson and James Loney.

James Loney.

Here is a triple patch that can be pulled of Russell Martin, Manny Ramirez and Matt Kemp.

Below is a great large game-worn patch card of Chad Billingsley.

Solo Shot autographed inserts of Andre Eithier and Chad Billingsley are below.

And one of the strangest and unique cards in this set are below. Even though Adrian Beltre hasn't worn Blue in over 5 season he is featured on this game-worn patch card wearing a Dodger uniform.
Even odder is the below game-worn button (yes, you read that right- a button) from Brad Penny in Blue. This is one card I could do without.

Dodger Gold Gloves

A hearty congratulations to both Matt Kemp and Orlando Hudson for winning Gold Gloves in their respective positions.

For Matt this is his first Gold Glove award, and I suspect it won't be his last. From the press release:

"Kemp led all Major League center fielders and ranked third among all big league outfielders with 14 outfield assists. His .995 fielding percentage was third among NL center fielders, behind Gold Glove winner Shane Victorino and Nate McLouth. The Oklahoma native made just two errors on the season. "

Way to go Bison! Past Dodger winners of a Gold Glove in centerfield include Steve Finley in 2004 and Willie Davis (3 times) from 1971 to 1973.
For Orlando Hudson, who most likely will not be wearing Blue next year, he won his 4th Gold Glove award. From the press release:

"In 145 games at second base, Hudson made just eight errors and posted a .988 fielding percentage (T-4^th, NL), which ranked fifth on the franchise’s single-season list by a second baseman, behind Jody Reed (.993, in 1993), Jackie Robinson (.992 in 1951), Charlie Neal (.989 in 1959), and Mark Grudzielanek (.989 in 2002). In September, the 2009 All-Star was named by Baseball America as the best defensive second baseman in the publication’s annual tools issue. "

Hudson is the 3rd Dodger to win the award at 2nd base. The other two were Davey Lopes and Charlie Neal.

Blog Kiosk: 9/13/2009

• Follow Orlando Hudson on Twitter- right here.
  
• I love the name of this new Dodger blog, Plaschke, Thy Sweater Is Argyle, with the catch phrase of "All Dodgers. All The Time. Minus the Plaschke."
  
• Chicago Lawyer Magazine examines the 1919 Black Sox scandal and lays out the groundwork for a "reasonable doubt" argument while questioning the veracity of some of the facts in the book "Eight Men Out." (Hat Tip: TS O'Connell)
• Night Owl Cards makes a couple of custom Alyssa Milano cards, but expresses consternation at her new husbands team allegiance. The card below uses the 1986 Topps Baseball design
• Bob Lemke has been making custom cards for years that are based on the 1955 Topps Football All-American set. Check out his creations here in his album. My favorite is the Steve Garvey below. There is also a great Jackie Robinson card- so check it out here.
• Go here to see, probably, the last of the new editions to the 2009 Goose Joak custom cards of the Dodgers from GCRL. Garland, Thome and Belliard are featured.
  
• I like these cheerleader insert cards.
• Just awesome. The Custom Card Blog unveils 3 custom Flint Tropics cards, from the movie "Semi-Pro", that borrows its design from the 1976 Topps ABA card set.
• That is something to brag about. The Upper Deck blog shows off the T-Rex tooth card.
• In a stroke of brilliant marketing Sidney Crosby of the Penguins visits a season ticket holder with the Cup.
• Here is a preview clip from ESPN Films 30 for 30 Project documentary called "King's Ransom." It's all about the Gretzky trade to LA.
  Publish Post

YouTube Link: miikeeed:

O-Dog the Community Leader

Orlando Hudson has been nominated as the Dodger representative for the 2009 Roberto Clement Award. As you may know, this award recognizes those players who best represent the game of Baseball through sportsmanship, community involvement and positive contributions to their teams.

Orlando ’s main focus in the community is the C.A.T.C.H. (Curing Autism Through Hope and Change) Foundation, a non-profit he founded to provide resources and a support system for youth coping with autism. As part of his efforts with C.A.T.C.H., Orlando has hosted special needs children at Dodger Stadium throughout the season. He also made visits with children to former Dodger Jim Gott’s Danny’s Farm, a petting zoo and arts and crafts facility designed for children with special needs, and to the Loma Alta Elementary School , where he read, answered questions, took photos, and signed autographs. Later this month, Orlando will host Skate for Autism, a red carpet charity event in Northridge , CA , to roll, bounce, and skate out autism. The C.A.T.C.H. Foundation has also served children with its annual Autism Walk: Strike Out! Bowling Fundraiser, Homerun Holiday Christmas gifting ceremony, and financial contributions to local organizations and schools with youth coping with autism.

Through his Around the Mound Tour, which he created earlier this year, Orlando visited Major League Baseball’s Urban Youth Academy and Van Ness Recreation Center in Los Angeles , as well as stops in several other Major League cities. He enlisted the help of several of his fellow Major Leaguers throughout the season, as they took part in a program he created to reach out to African-American youth and keep them interested in playing baseball.

Orlando’s work in the community earned him the inaugural Albert Einstein Leadership Award, given by the Pasadena Unified School District Community Advisory Committee. The award recognizes an individual who, through personal success or extraordinary effort, has positively impacted the special education cause or the public’s perception of special education students.

I can't think of a better man who is more worthy. Go here for more info. Also, fans can vote for this award, so get clicking.

(pic link: daylife)

We Hardly Knew You, Tony

via Rotoworld and confirmed through MLB.com, Tony Abreu is the "Player to Be Named Later" portion of the Jon Garland trade. That's too bad. I always thought he had a good bat and would have fit in nicely had Orlando Hudson decided to go elsewhere this coming Winter.

Oh well. A minor sacrifice for a big playoff push. We still have our finest prospects staying within the organization.

Just Falling Short

What a tough game last night. First, our burgeoning ace, Clayton Kershaw, faltered a bit as he struggled with the strike zone. He gave up 6 walks over 4 painstaking innings that saw him throw 92 pitches total. The 21 year old kid continues to climb that learning curve. He labored for most of his time in the game and, fortunately, gave up only 3 runs. Jeff Weaver, our long guy out of the pen, did his best to temper the game and put it back into control, but Ryan Braun had something else in mind. He cranked a 3-run homer in the 6th inning to, seemingly, put the game out of reach. The Brewers starter was just masterful.

The Brewers lead was now 6 to 2 as the game entered into the bottom of the ninth inning. The Brewers starter, Manny Parra, tried to complete the game, but the Dodger bats finally started to figure him out. The first two batters got on base (on 2nd & 3rd) and closer Trevor Hoffman was called in to shut things down.

For a awhile it seemed like this game was now ours. Loney came up and roped a double down the right field line that landed in the seats. Hudson followed him with a single to drive in Loney. The Dodgers were just one run away from tying it up. Four batters later Manny Ramirez was up to bat with the bases loaded and two outs.

Could Manny do it again? Would we all be celebrating a walk-off hit of some kind?

Nope. He hit a lazy fly to right.

Oh well, you can't win every game. At least the Dodgers finished strong.

Of special note is that twitterer, Annabel Ly, was at the game and was lucky enough to grab Loney's double to right field. See the ball below.

(pic link: twitpic:ornithes)

Hat Tip: Twitter:DodgersNation:

Post Game Wrap-Up

Unbelievable! Stupendous! Remarkable!

That was all my mind could grasp as I sat in the blog section in the Vin Scully Press Box.

The Dodgers were down 5 runs to 2 in the bottom of the 8th inning. So far, Dan Haren had been in full control of the game. He had allowed 2 hits over 7 innings to the Dodgers. Ethier was the only player to figure him out as he accounted for the 2 Dodger hits against the ace starter. Haren just made the Dodger hitters look silly. Heck, he made Dodger pitchers look worse as he went 3 for 3 at the plate.

The bases were occupied by 3 speedsters- Pierre on third, Furcal on 2nd and O-Dog on 1st. James Loney was up to bat with two outs and would face a new reliever on the mound, Daniel Schlereth. This rookie had yet to allow a run in his short stint in the Majors. In 2 appearances he had given up one hit. Hardly enough experience to provide any insight into what could soon take place. Knowledgeable gamblers would refrain from placing a bet.

I sat on the edge of my seat with my hands clinched against my chin. My laptop screen had gotten in the way of my view so I pulled it down for a full panoramic effect.

Next thing I know Loney whacks a deep drive to the right centerfield gap. My eyes followed the trajectory of the ball. It sailed higher and deeper. Chris Young ran to his left and gave chase. I was sure, at the time, that Loney had hit a gaper to clear the bases, but it seemed to just hang in the air. Young was going to catch up. He leaped in the air as the ball headed towards the wall. Then, in a fortuitous act of fate the ball found its way out of his glove. It rested on the warning track dirt awaiting for its return home.

One run scored... then the second run crossed the plate... Orlando was close behind as he came home to tie the game. The stadium was a mass of cheering Blue heads. Folks were jumping up and down. Hugs were free for all who would accept them. All I could do was watch and smile.

While others clapped I clinched my hands tighter. When everyone cheered I bit my tongue. No fist pump. No standing with my hands outstretched above my head. No dancing to the impromptu song that was playing in my mind. I was trying to be as professional as all of the other folks in the media room. So, I stayed quiet, but, I'll tell ya what, I had the biggest smile on my face you could ever imagine.

By the time Casey Blake came up, before he followed up with a game winning single to drive in Loney, I was already resting comfortably in my seat. By this time I knew the game was ours. My smile had gone into full bloom. The Dodger are gonna win.