Blog Kiosk: 8/20/2013 - Dodgers Links - #1 on ESPN's Power Rankings, No to Cano and Puig

Two young Cubans faced off last night in Miami - Yasiel Puig and Jose Fernandez.  Pic via @Marlins on twitter.

• Jim Caple at ESPN writes that the Dodgers uni's are the most beautiful in Baseball.
• If you haven't seen this already.  Take a look at the Hello Kitty Dodger bobblehead that will be given out on Sept. 9th.  Pic via @Dodgers twitter.
• For the first time all season, ESPN has placed the Dodgers #1 on its Power Rankings list.  See it here.
• Responding to a rash of trolling on twitter, Jon Weisman at Dodger Thoughts writes, "Yasiel Puig does not need to be benched".
• Tony Jackson at Dodger Scribe has some "Puig Postgame Comments".

“There is nothing really to comment on about that,” Puig said, through the interpreter. “I thought (the second pitch) was a ball, and (plate umpire John Hirschbeck) called it a strike.”

• The most comprehensive collection of photos from the National Sports Collectors Convention can now be seen at Sports Antiques.com.  Go there to be wowed.  There are 700+ photos to look through.  He focuses primarily on vintage memorabilia and pre-war cards.
• I can support this position.  I don't believe there is any need to go after Cano.  Via a tweet by Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

The #Dodgers privately say they have no intentions to jump into the #Yankees Robinson Cano sweepstakes, or bid on any other high-priced FA.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) August 19, 2013

• Via Bill Plunkett of the OC Register on Sulia, "Now that Brian Wilson has been activated, how will the #Dodgers use him?"

“I don’t know if we’re necessarily looking for anything (specific from Wilson),” Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said before Monday's game. “He’s another guy. We’re trying to keep guys healthy and not overused. He’s another guy we can use later in the game.” 

• I don't care about the Dodgers doing some partying.  I am actually more annoyed that LeBron James was wearing an LA Kings hat.  Via Jocks and Stiletto Jill.  Hat Tip: JP Hoornstra at Inside the Dodgers.
• Check out a short documentary called "The Last American Hobby" about card collecting.  Hat Tip: Sports Collectors Daily.
• What the heck is this thing?  I think it's a bunk card, but you never know.

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Brian Wilson Will Officially Wear Dodger Blue Tonight

Word came down early this morning that the Dodgers will officially activate Brian Wilson.  For the first time, he will join the team in Miami as an official Dodger.

Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports provided an early notice on twitter.

Source: #Dodgers to activate Brian Wilson today.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) August 19, 2013

Going back down to Albuquerque will be Scott Van Slyke.  With the MLB roster expanding to 40 players on September 1st, I suspect he''ll be back in a couple of weeks.

Per a @Dodgers tweet:

#Dodgers today reinstated reliever Brian Wilson from the 15-day disabled list and optioned Scott Van Slyke to @AbqTopes. #GotHeem
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 19, 2013

The Dodgers will be going with 13 pitchers on the roster, for the time being.  This will hopefully alleviate any concern the club has about overusing the bullpen.

Pic above via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2013.

Per a Dodgers Press Release:

The Los Angeles Dodgers today reinstated right-handed reliever Brian Wilson from the 15-day disabled list and optioned outfielder/first baseman Scott Van Slyke to Triple-A Albuquerque.

Wilson, who will wear jersey number 00, did not allow a run in four rehab appearances between Triple-A Albuquerque (3) and Single-A Rancho Cucamonga (1), striking out three, while allowing only one hit in 4.1 scoreless frames. The 31-year-old was signed by the Dodgers on July 30 and was placed on the 15-day disabled list as he continued his recovery from 2012 Tommy John surgery.

In 315 career games with the Giants from 2006-12, Wilson was 20-20 with 171 saves. The New Hampshire native has limited opposing hitters to a .238 batting average during the course of his career with 340 strikeouts in 320.0 innings. He last appeared in a Major League game on April 12, 2012.

Van Slyke, who appeared in his fourth stint with the club this season, is batting .252 (26-for-103) with six home runs, seven doubles and 16 RBI in 38 games for Los Angeles.

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2013 Topps MLB Chipz - The Dodgers

Topps recently released their newest Baseball product.  It is called MLB Chipz, and as the name suggest they are poker chip sized disc featuring a photo of a player on the front.  They are supposed to used for some sort of game, but I have no idea how it's palyed.  At the very bottom of this post is a pic of the game board.

Only two Dodgers are in the set:  Matt Kemp and Clayton Kershaw.  See them both below.  There are several different parallel Chipz's available; including "glow in the dark" Chipz's.

Matt Kemp

Clayton Kershaw

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Blog Kiosk: 8/19/2013 - Dodgers Links - Greinke, Nolasco, and Wilson to be Activated Soon

Ryu and Puig greet a couple of kids in the visitors clubroom in Philadelphia.  Pic via Jon SooHoo/ LA Dodgers 2013.  See more pics from yesterday here.

• ICYMI: "Are Skunks the Dodgers Good Luck Charm"
• "Zack Greinke Getting By Without His Best Pitch," via Mike Petriello at Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness.
• Dodgers on Rampage through West," via Murray Chass.

“We had guys who started slowly,” Kasten said. “We also had injuries. That’s not an excuse; everyone has injuries. But we had a carousel of injuries. Every week we had a guy injured and we lost him for a week or two. Once we hit a rhythm with most of our guys on the field we played the way we thought we could play. We finally had a steady, stable lineup on the field.”

• Josh Suchon writes on his blog (Out of Ink) about the PCL realignment and how it affects the Isotopes and Dodgers.
• Ken Gurnick at MLB.com tells us that Ricky Nolasco was named after Rick Monday.

"So when I got traded to the Dodgers, my dad got all crazy," said Nolasco, who starts for Los Angeles on Sunday. "It was kind of surreal. And cool. My first day with the team, I got interviewed by Rick, and I sent my dad pictures. He was excited. My dad always talked about Rick Monday."

• "Brian Wilson will be activated “in a day or two”, via Drew Silva at Harball Talk.
• Left Field Pavilion shares a bunch of pics he took while attending a Dodgers/Phillies game in Philadephia.
• Dodger Penguin had a very busy Saturday.  He travelled all over the Southland to get some Baseball autographs.  Here he gets Jose Altulve, then Dennis Martinez, and finally Steve Yeager at the Sports Authority. 
• Via Bill Plaschke at the LA Times, "The setup men for a gimpy Gibson’s immortal World Series homer: A grown batboy, a lost slugger and an old scout remember their roles in Kirk Gibson’s game-winning homer in the 1988 World Series."
• "Panini America Previews the On-Card Autos Coming to 2013 Hometown Heroes Baseball," via Tracy Hackler at The Knights Lance (Panini's blog).  Check out the Davey Lopes card below.

• Via Maury Brown at the Daily Gammons, "The Blame for PEDs in Baseball Begins with You".

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Sunday Dodgers Videos: Uribe, Adrian Gonzalez and a Story About a Kid Getting a Season Pass to Ebbets Field

Here are this Sunday's Dodger Videos.

Listen to the recollections of David Eden of how he came to have a season pass to the owner's box in Ebbets Field, home of the Brooklyn Dodgers, 1929.

Video Link:

Magician Jason Latimer, who's appearing at Club Nokia on Sept. 25, shows Jerry Hairston Jr. and Juan Uribe a new hidden-ball trick.

Video Link:

ICYMI:  8/13/13: A young Dodgers fan takes a photo with Juan Uribe before the game, then tags him off third to recreate the hidden ball trick.

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DodgerFilms captures the Dodgers "Starting 4" warming up before a game.

Video Link:

Gary George of IVNews interviewed Adrian Gonzalez in the Dodger clubroom after a win against the Rays, last weekend.

Video Link:

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Dodgers Win Again - 10 In a Row

Oh, Boy!

The Dodgers win on the backs of 8 stellar innings from Clayton Kershaw and a 3 run jack by Juan Uribe in the 9th inning.  Of course, those latter runs wouldn't really matter since Kershaw was so great, but it was very helpful in keeping our bullpen fresh.  Instead of bringing in Jansen to finish off the game, the Dodgers had the luxury of using Brandon League to mop things up. 

We have now won 10 straight games, and 42 games over the last 50.  Not since the 1942 Cardinals has a club played a better stretch of 50 games in the Majors. 

Below are some more interesting stats:

• This is the first 10-game winning streak for the Dodgers since 2006, when they won 11 straight.
• They haven't lost their last 17 series.
• Since the All-Star break they are 25-3.
• They are 19-1 in their last 20 road games.  The previous team to win 19 of 20 road games was the 1916 New York Giants, according to STATS.
• The Dodgers have also won 6 straight in Philadelphia.
• Collectively, Dodgers pitching has thrown 27 straight scoreless innings.
• This win was the 16th shut out for the Dodgers - this leads the Majors.
• Clayton Kershaw won his very first game against the Phillies in his career.
• He also lowered his league leading ERA to 1.80 - nearly half a run lower than the next starting pitcher.
• Kershaw also leads the National League in strike outs with 182.
• He has now gotten into the 8th inning 6 times this season - 3 more than any other starting pitcher in the Majors.
• Over the last 20 games, Dodger starters have gone 14-1 with a 1.84 ERA.
• With Uribe's home run last night, he now has hit more home runs this season than he has over the previous 2 seasons as a Dodger.

There is certainly a lot to celebrate.

(.gif via Dodgers tumblr)

Pic at the very top via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2013.

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