Australian's Go Full-American for the Opening Series Games

I saw a fascinating story on BuzzFeed yesterday about a growing trend among foreigners.  Apparently, Europeans love throwing American-themed parties.  Check it out here.

So, when I heard about an American staple being super-sized American-style, I had to find out more about it. 

Check out the Dodger fan below double-fisting an All-American Superdog.

(pic via @MLBFanCave on twitter)

So, what is this monstrosity?

Fortunately, Jaime Motta of Univision Deportes shares another pic with more details.  He wrote on twitter:

Superdog at @scg with all the fixings! $40 Chili, cheese, jalapeños, sauce, mustard. Who needs Dodgerdog?

Well, Jaime... I want a Dodger Dog.  I don't think my stomach could handle that thing.  Check out Jaime's photo featuring this artery busting meal, below.

(pic via @MottaJaime on twitter)

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Welcome to the Scott Van Slyke Show - Dodger Pitching Sets a Tone

Yes, I did watch the first game of the season early this morning, and celebrated our victory in much the same way as I imagine most of Dodger Nation did.  As soon as the last out was made, I put my head on my pillow and went fast asleep.

So, my thoughts and comments on our win are a bit delayed.

This mornings Australia Baseball show was quite a sight to behold.  Unfortunately, it started about an hour late, so those of us who endeavored to enjoy the morning festivities had the burden of knowing that the sun might be out by the time the game ends.

Thankfully, wiping the sleep from my eyes and forcing myself to stay up was well worth it. 

In the first inning, Clayton Kersahw got knocked around a bit, but masterfully held on.  He allowed base hits to Aaron Hill and Goldschmidt.  Then, got the last two outs of the inning with meekly hit ground balls.  Watch a replay here.

In the second inning, we almost saw out first Dodger home run.  Unfortunately, a swirling wind came from the heavens and swatted it down.

Video Link:

No worries, though.  Scott Van Slyke's deep fly ended up being a double that put men on 2nd and 3rd base.  Andre Etheir then came up to score Adrian Gonzalez for our first run of the 2014 season with a run scoring ground out (see a replay here).  BTW, the video above also shows Van Slyke's subsequent home run in his next at-bat in the 4th inning.  Needless to say, our backup outfielder stole this mornings show.

Overall, Scott Van Slyke went 2 for 3, with a 2-run home run and a goofy flyball double that was badly misplayed by former Angel Mark Trumbo.  He provided an offensive spark plug that the Dodgers needed badly.  The meat of our lineup (Puig, Ramirez, Gonzalez, Uribe and Ethier) went a collective 1 for 20.  Ouch!

BTW, if you want to check out Van Slykes home run again, then watch it below.

Video Link:

Dodger pitching has again shown to be one of our greatest strengths.  After a rough first inning, Clayton Kershaw settled down to go 6.2 phenomenal innings.  He gave up 5 hits, 1 walk and had 7 strike outs in his 101 pitch performance.  The Dodger relievers were even better.  Chris Perez, Brian Wilson and Kenley Jansen didn't give up a hit in their combined 2.1 innings.  Something tells me those 3 will be stingy this season.

So, the Dodgers start the 2014 Baseball season with a victory, and look to leave the 'Land Down Under' with a second win later this evening.

Hyun-Jin Ryu will face Trevor Cahill.  I suspect the Dodgers will have a similar lineup as this morning; with the exception of possibly replacing right-handed batter Justin Turner for lefty Dee Gordon at 2nd base.

Thankfully, this game starts at a reasonable hour.  It begins at 7:00 PM tonight.  I hope to see you there.

The above pic via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2014

(graphic via Dodgers on Tumblr)

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Blog Kiosk: 3/22/2014 - Dodgers Links - Billingsley Throws Live BP and Kemp Homers

Here's Vin Scully in the broadcast booth at Sydney Cricket Ground, pic via @Dodgers on twitter.

• Check out my contest to win a 12-pack case of Big League Chew bubble gum, here.  All you have to do is make a post and "Like" Big League Chew on facebook.  Go here to check out the contest. It closes tonight.
• Mark Langill at Dodger Insider writes, "Opening Day memories: Jim Lefebvre".
• Tom Hoffarth at Farther Off the Wall has a funny take on the Dodgers announcement that little known Champion Broadband has signed up for SportsNetLA - the Dodgers channel.  

• Topps is releasing their 2014 Museum Baseball card set next week.  Check out Yasiel Puig base card to the set on the right, via @Toppscards on twitter.
• Via Jesse Sanchez at MLB.com, "Billingsley throws first live BP session".

"My arm felt good, so that's definitely good, especially being the first time going full bore with the heater and the first time throwing a hard curveball and changeups," Billingsley said. "I was a little rusty, but I was very pleased with the curveball. The timing was a little off, but I threw some good pitches, and overall, I'm pretty pleased with it."

• The Chattanooga Lookouts, the Dodgers AA minor league club, now has an official blog.  Check out Lookout Outlook, here.
• I'm as surprised as anyone.  Apparently, John Hamilton, the owner of the Newport Sports Museum, will be auctioning a bunch of his stuff at SCP's upcoming May auction.  Tom Bartsch at Sports Collector Digest has the story.  I wonder, does this mean that the museum is closing?  I hope not.
• Rich Klein at Sports Collectors Daily writes, "Old Baseball Card Backs Sometimes Reveal Uncommon Courage".
• Via Ken Gurnick at MLB.com, "Kemp homers in Minor League game".
• Via Mark Saxon at ESPNLosAngeles.com, "Bud Selig chimes in on Dodgers' TV holdup".

"I have faith that the parties will work this out," Commissioner Bud Selig at a news conference in Australia before the Dodgers took on the Arizona Diamondbacks. "That's all I can say. We always like things to be as smooth as possible, but there are always times in life when things don't work out exactly right. But I have faith the parties will work it out and I know the parties want to work things out." 

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Dodgers 25-Man Roster is Now Set

With Game #1 less than 5 hours away, the Dodgers officially set their 25-man regular season roster this morning... er, this evening.  There are some notable surprises.

Backup catcher Tim Federowicz has been sent back to the minors.  He finished up the 2013 season as our backup.  Now, Drew Butera comes in to replace him.  Considering that both players were expected to primarily play defensive roles on the team, I find this change a bit boring.  Although, Federowicz does appear to have more potential upside at the plate, based on his minor league stats.

The most surprising news is that Alex Guerrero has made the club out of Spring Training.  I had assumed that the Dodgers would follow the same path they laid for Puig - Have Guerrero get his feet wet in the minors before giving him a taste of the 'Bigs'.  Instead, he makes the Opening Day roster as an infielder.  I suppose the fight for the 2nd baseman starting job between Gordon and Guerrero will extend to the regular season.  Extra infielder Miguel Rojas will be reassigned to the minors.  Other players reassigned to the minors includes Zach Lee and Joc Pederson.

Being placed on the 15-day DL include Chad Billingsley (right elbow surgery), Josh Beckett (right thumb contusion) and outfielder Matt Kemp (ankle surgery), retroactive to March 19.  Also, Dan Haren, Zack Greinke and Brandon League have been placed under a roster exemption. Carl Crawford has been placed on paternity leave.  So, when the club gets back to the States there are likely to be some more significant moves.

Below is the full 25-man roster:

Pitchers (12):
Jose Dominguez
J.P. Howell (L)
Kenley Jansen
Clayton Kershaw (L)
Paul Maholm (L)
Chris Perez
Seth Rosin
Paco Rodriguez (L)
Hyun-Jin Ryu (L)
Brian Wilson
Chris Withrow
Jamey Wright

Catchers (2):
Drew Butera
A.J. Ellis

Infielders (6):
Dee Gordon (L)
Alex Guerrero
Adrian Gonzalez (L)
Hanley Ramirez
Justin Turner
Juan Uribe

Outfielders (4):
Mike Baxter (L)
Andre Ethier (L)
Yasiel Puig
Scott Van Slyke

Infielder/Outfielder (1):
Chone Figgins

Pic above via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2014

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The Dodger Koala

A couple of days ago, Jon Weisman at the @DodgerInsider on twitter shared a photo of something many older Dodger fans will remember.

Old school Dodgers koala http://t.co/PiHk4d2JRJ pic.twitter.com/gUxIgcWc6I
— Dodger Insider (@DodgerInsider) March 19, 2014

Way back in the 80's, the Dodgers had a Blue Crew fan club for kids that had a Koala Bear as a mascot. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but this was the closest the LA Dodgers ever came to having a team mascot.  The Koala Bear became a symbol of youthful Dodger fandom, and many kids dutifully signed up and cherished that little stuffed mammal. 

Naturally, as a devoted collector of everything Dodgers, I have a Koala in my possession and had to pull it out for 'show and tell'.  See it below.

As you can see, it's very different from the Koala Jon showed in his tweet.  In fact, based on a quick search on eBay there were numerous different kind of Koala's made.

My favorite might be this catcher Koala.

(eBay auction link)

So, does anyone else have an old Dodger Koala sitting around, or am I the only one?

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Dodgers Post Up Their Opening Day Starting Lineup

Last night, Don Mattingly shared his preliminary starting lineup for the first game of the Opening Series match-up against the Diamondbacks in Australia.  Check it out above.

As you know, the Dodgers start the season down under, and the first game will be at 1:00 AM Saturday morning (pacific time).  So, we are about 14 hours away from the start of the 2014 season.  Later that evening, Game 2 will start at 7:00 PM (pacific time). 

The Dodgers will be facing Arizona lefthander Wade Miley.  In his career, Miley has started 7 games, is 3-1 against the Dodgers and has a 3.59 ERA.  Furthermore, he has given up 8 home runs to Dodger players - more than any other club in his career.

As for the Dodger lineup, it should be no surprise that Yasiel Puig will be batting leadoff.  This batting position has been discussed in ad nauseum since the start of Spring Training.  He isn't your typical leadoff hitter, but with his combination of speed and OBP he should do fine.  BTW, last season he leadoff in 27 games, batted .333, OPS'd 1.026 and belted more home runs on average than at any other batting position. 

One surprise to this Opening Day lineup is who is batting 2nd.  Recent free agent signee, Justin Turner, will get the start at 2nd base and hit 2nd in the lineup over Dee Gordon.  Considering his phenomenal Spring, we shouldn't be surprised.  He has been splendid with the glove and has batted an impressive .355 the past month.  Something tells me that he'll make us forget about not signing Mark Ellis over the winter.  He appears to not only be more than capable, but also versatile.  Turner can play every infield position.

Just to let you know, the Diamondbacks lost to Team Australia this morning, 5-0.  Their top pitching prospect Archie Bradley was wild, and gave up 3 runs in 3 2/3 innings.  Team Australia sent out 7 different pitchers to blank the Diamondbacks.  They were gracious about the loss, via a tweet from the @DBacks.

RECAP: We tip our caps to @TeamAusBaseball. #Dbacks drop exhibition game at @scg, 5-0: http://t.co/LjFY0y3Heh pic.twitter.com/1vv5jGv7F0
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) March 21, 2014

Graphic above via @Dodgers on twitter.

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