The Dodgers Official Statement

Short and uninformative.

“We share the disappointment felt by our fans, our players, and every member of our organization. We support the policies of Major League Baseball, and we will welcome Manny back upon his return.”

Torre will speak about it later this afternoon.

Hey the Kardashian's

(Credit: Juan Ocampo/LA Dodgers)

I'm posting these photos for one reason and one reason only. I've got to get this Manny thing out of my mind, and I suppose the best way to do that is to highlight some silly event featuring a few wannabe-famous folks. So here you go. The Kardashian bunch was at Dodger Stadium last night to throw out the first pitch.

Has your attention been diverted yet?

Yhea, not here either.

(Credit: Juan Ocampo/LA Dodgers)

Say It Aint So

(Pic Link: crystalinks)

I have been rudely awaken from my slumber. I was on cloud nine, floating through the sky like a freshly made bubble blown from the breath of a boisterous child. The sky was clear, the weather perfect, not a hint of danger was in sight. My dreams last night were filled will those happy thoughts and I was sure nothing could burst it.

Then, I turned on my computer at work, pulled up firefox and headed to my daily read. My first stop was Dodger Thoughts and suddenly my morning, that was once blissful, has turned into a nightmare. Manny Ramirez to be suspended 50 games. What! No! What! Huh! Crap!

Ramirez is expected to attribute the test results to medication received from a doctor for a personal medical issue, according to a source familiar with matter but not authorized to speak publicly.

Go here for the story in the LA Times.

UPDATE: From AP:

“Recently I saw a physician for a personal health issue. He gave me a medication, not a steroid, which he thought was OK to give me,” Ramirez said in a statement issued by the players’ union.

“Unfortunately, the medication was banned under our drug policy. Under the policy that mistake is now my responsibility. I have been advised not to say anything more for now. I do want to say one other thing; I’ve taken and passed about 15 drug tests over the past five seasons.”

I'm still unhappy about this whole situation.

UPDATE II: My friend Craig just emailed me this:

On another topic, what if Manny was using some type of Viagra drug. After all it is a “performance enhancing” drug, right? Gives a whole new meaning to the word “Mannywood”.

Thank you for the laugh.

UPDATE III: Holy crap it may have been for a Viagra type of drug, but there are still questions.

Two sources said Ramirez tested positive for a gonadotropin. Major League baseball’s list of banned substances includes the gonadotropins LH and HCG, which are most commonly used by women as fertility drugs. They also can be used to trigger testosterone production. Testosterone is depleted by steroid use, which can cause sexual dysfunction.

“Testosterone and similar drugs are effective for erectile dysfunction in that they jazz up your sex drive,” said Charles Yesalis, a professor at Penn State who has testified before Congress on issues of performance-enhancing drugs. “But far more clinicians accept that affect with Viagra and Cialis. It’s hard for me to understand if it was erectile dysfunction why they would use it.”

From a blog post comment on Wax Heaven.

The stuff he is accused of using is the same stuff Jose Canseco got busted with a few months back.
Jose was quitting steroids and tried to bring HCG across the border so he could bring his testosterone levels back to normal-after years of steroid use.
Looks like Manny was using undetectable steroids, decided to quit before getting caught and suffered the horrible side effect of not enough lead in the pencil. Hence taking a legal (except in MLB) testosterone booster to get things back to normal before anyone knew a thing.

This is not good.

Collection: 1984 Union Oil Most Memorable Moments: 1963 World Series

The Dodgers have always won through great pitching and the year 1963 is an example of that. The above 1984 Union Oil Most Memorable Moments sheet celebrates the Dodgers World Championship that year and appropriately features the pitching trio of Sandy Koufax, Johnny Podres and Don Drysdale.

Sandy won 25 that year, Drysdale won 19, Podres notched 14 victories and our closer, Ron Perranoski, won an amazing 16 games in relief. Our team ERA was 2.85 and we gave up only 402 walks while recording 1095 strike outs. We just dominated on the mound. So much so, in fact, that we ended up sweeping both playoff series that year against the Cardinals and Yankees. Check out the description on the back of the sheet below. It provides a great synopsis.

Artwork by Paul Kratter.

Check out the rest of the set here in my photoalbum, or the following link with my post about each sheet.

(Click the pic below to enlarge)

HYee on eBay: More Great Photos

eBay has many sellers that I consistently check out. HYee is one of them. He always has great material to stare at and even make a bid on. Unfortunately, I was just a window shopper last week.

Below is a photo of the Dodger mascot, Emmett Kelly, as the "Bum." This pic was not taken at Ebbets field, but with a traveling troupe called the Cole Brothers- Clyde Beatty circus while in Chicago. This photo sold for a very reasonable $6.50.

Auction Link: Emmett Kelly the Dodger Bum:

Sandy and his giant leg kick. This photo is from 1956, was issued by International News Photos and was taken by photographer Herbie Scharfman of Sports Illustrated. Pics of Koufax in a Brooklyn uniform are very rare. The closing price on this photo was an amazing $837.69.

Auction Link: Sandy High Leg Kick Photo:

I can never get enough of Jackie Robinson in action. Below we see Jackie reaching for a liner that is sure to be a base hit. Fortunately for Dodger nation Jackie snags the ball. Not only that, this pic was taken on September 22, 1953 which happens to be Jackie's first day as a Dodger shortstop. This completed a career infield round-robin as he already had played first, second and third base in Blue. It sold for $152.50.

Auction Link: Leaping Jackie Photo:

Here is another Jackie Robinson photo. This time he is signing for the kids. It sold for an astounding $686.00. Wow. What a price. I wonder is the winning bidder recognized himself in the photo.

Auction Link: Jackie Signing Photo:

Below is a 1950's candy topper plastic bust of Jackie Robinson. I have been personally looking for this item to add to my collection for quite some time. In fact, at the National convention in Anaheim a few years ago I was trolling through some tables and came across a collector who had just picked up an example just like the one below for $75.00. I was beside myself because I was just about to get to that table in a few minutes. This guy had beat me to it. I asked him if he would sell it to me, but he balked. I think he realized what a great deal he found. The reason this particular item is rare is because it includes the clear base. Very few bases have survived the test of time. In the 1990's a warehouse find of these bust were discovered, but they did not include clear bases, so having the base included is pretty special. It sold for $327.12.

Auction Link: 1950 Jackie Robinson Candy Bust:

I may have shown a photo like this in the past. But who cares. How can you not love the Babe in a beard. This photo was taken during a barnstorming tour in the 1930's with the House of David crew. It sold for $224.50.

Auction Link: 1930's Babe Ruth Beard Photo:

Collection: 1984 Union Oil Most Memorable Moments: 30 Homer Foursome

The year is 1977 and the Dodgers had a power hitting team for the ages. For the first time in Major League history a ballclub had 4 players hit 30 or more home runs in one season. It's unbelievable to think that a Dodger club, usually known for manufacturing runs and great pitching, could be such an offensive juggernaut.

Reggie Smith belted 32 home runs while batting .307. In May be hit 8 home runs over a 13 game stretch. Steve Garvey hit 33 homers and recorded 115 RBI's for the season after being convinced by Tommy Lasorda to swing for the fences. Ron "The Penguin" Cey homered 30 times while shattering a record for RBI's during the month of April with 29. Dusty Baker rounds out the group by hitting 30 home runs after a miserable year in 1976 where he suffered from a knee injury.

Artwork by James Zar.

Check out the rest of the set here in my photoalbum.