Welcome to the Blue, Julio Urias! A Boatload of Fantasy Cards

As you no doubt know by now Julio Urias is coming to "The Show" tomorrow.  On the mound he'll be sporting Los Angeles Dodger Blue in that evenings game against the New York Mets, and I think every Dodger fan in the world will be glued to their television set to witness it.  It's the kind of event that will be remembered and spoken about by fans for years to come.  Hopefully, he can rise to the occasion and not get bogged down by unrealistic expectations.

Not that you shouldn't expect the world from him.

Urias has been spectacular since he turned pro just three years ago (at the age of 16).  In fact, today marks the third anniversary of his first professional game. Here's a quote by Urias after that game with the Loons, per Cary Osborne at Dodger Insider:

“With the first couple guys, I was feeling kind of nervous. After that, I was really happy because I was making my debut and things ended up going well for me,” Urias said after the game. “I just wanted to do what (Loons pitching coach Bill Simas) told me. I just wanted to throw strikes and keep the ball down. If you do that, you can pitch in any league.”

On his recent play in the PCL for the Oklahoma City Dodgers Dave Cameron at FanGraphs makes note of how dominating he's been there:

Urias, though, is running a 1.10 ERA/2.89 FIP in his first 41 innings in the PCL (a notorious hitters league), and four of the five runs he’s allowed came in one appearance, back on April 16th. He allowed the fifth run in his next outing on April 22nd, a five inning affair where he gave up just two hits, walked one, and struck out eight. He’s pitched in five games since then, and posted the following line.

2016 Topps Pro Debut - All the Dodgers Insert Cards

Following up on pics of all the Dodgers base cards found in packs of Topps 2016 Pro Debut set, here is a look at the insert cards.  Unfortunately, there are no Dodgers autograph cards available in this set.

Pennant Patches

#PP-GH Grant Holmes                 #PP-JDL Jose De Leon

Blog Kiosk: 5/26/2016 - Dodgers Links - No All Star Game for Vin, Dodgers Sweep and Julio Urias

"If you have a sombrero, throw it to the sky!"

As a part of Adrian Gonzalez's bobblehead night Mariachi Garibaldi de Jaime Cuellarcame out to perform the national anthem before the game.  You can see them in the photo at the very top, via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2016.  Their appearance was the start of an festive affair that included an outstanding performance by Scott Kazmir on the mound, an attempted inside-the-park home run by a Reds player that ended with a perfect relay to home to get him out (watch it here), and a welcome sweep at a time when the Dodgers sorely needed it.  The Dodgers are now two games above .500.

Following up on the sombrero theme, it has been announced that Dodgers left-handed prospect Julio Urias will be called up from Oklahoma City on Friday to pitch that evenings game in New York.  Oh Boy!  The 19-year old will be the youngest player in the league when he comes in.  He'll be taking over for Alex Wood in the rotation, who is currently experiencing arm soreness but is expected to pitch again on Monday.  I suspect this will only be a spot start for the kid.  Although I have my reservations about bringing the kid up this soon I certainly welcome the opportunity to see what he can do on the big league level. 

 Go here to check out more pics by Jon from yesterdays game.  Below are more links to check:

• This Day in Dodgers History: In 1971 Maury Wills records his 2,000th career hit against the Giants.  In 1996 former Dodger Mike Sharperson died in a car accident in Nevada at the age of 34.  He was an All-Star for the Dodgers in 1992.  Jon Weisman at Dodger Insider wrote a great story about him today.  Check it out here.  It is worth your time.

Weekend Autograph Opportunities: Kirk Gibson and Flipper Anderson

Here are this weekends autograph opportunities and events throughout the Southland. As always, be sure to check the Blue Heaven Calendar for other events (a link can always be found on the tab at the top of this page, just left of center), and always confirm with the establishment. Everything is subject to change.  Please email me with any tips about upcoming events in Southern California.  As the rest of the week progresses I'll update this post with other events (if there are any) as I become aware of them.  Also, I don't always list every event below, so be sure to check my Calendar.  I always try to favor free signing events over paying events.  Click on any pic to embiggen.

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

2016 Topps Pro Debut - All the Dodgers Base Cards

Certainly related to the wealth of talent currently within the farm system, the Dodgers have eight base cards within the recently release 2016 Topps Pro Debut Baseball card set.  As you know, this brand highlights the best and brightest prospects in the game, and features these players on the flagship Baseball card design.  I love the fact that they are all wearing the uniforms of their minor league teams.  Go here to see a complete checklist.

Below are pics of the eight Dodgers prospects in the set.  Of note, this set includes the very first licensed card of right-handed pitcher Josh Sborz.  He was drafted 78th overall by the Dodgers last year, and is currently pitching in high-A ball for the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes.

#26 Alex Verdugo                                #46 Cody Bellinger

Blog Kiosk: 5/25/2016 - Dodgers Links - That Strange Game

Last nights game was a mixed bag.

It started out with a fantastic ceremony in honor of the men and women in the armed forces, and included an enlistment ceremony for all four branches.  The photo above, via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2016, features the ceremony.

Then Mike Bolsinger came in to start his second game of the year and was fantastic.  He went 5.2 innings and gave up three hits, two earned runs and recorded six strike outs to win his first game of the season.  During the game, though, a bunch of weird things happened.  In the sixth inning Yasiel Puig came up to bat with two men on and rocketed a deep fly to right field.  In fact, it was so deep he thought he hit a homer, so instead of running hard out of the box he stood and admired it.  When the ball fell short of the wall he traipsed onto first base instead of the base he should have ended up at.    For his transgression he was benched for the rest of the game. Via Chad Thornburg at MLB.com:

"In my opinion, he should have been on second base," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "When we talk about playing the game the right way, we've got to be accountable. So that was the decision that I made."

BTW, that was a great call by Dave Roberts.  Listen to him talk about it briefly towards the end of this video (video link).  Via Dan Arritt at ESPN:

"I thought it was a home run, and then I didn't run out the ball, obviously," Puig said through an interpreter. "It was [Roberts'] decision to take me out of the game. It was a decision well made, because all my teammates are out on the field working hard, and I should have run out that ball."

(pic via Cespedes BBQ on twitter)

Then in the seventh inning something funny and strange happened.  A paper airplane landed on the infield with the Dodgers at bat, so the resident "no-fun" ballplayer Joey Votto let everyone know what he thought of that.  He stomped on it like an insolent child.  You can watch a gif of it here.  Obviously, Dodger fans booed him.  Then something incredible happened.  They started chanting "airplane stomper."  I kid you not!

I hope quirky chants like this become a tradition at games.  Heck, maybe decades from now fans will still chant this at the Reds... Just for fun.  It'll be like NY Rangers fans who still chant "Potvin Sucks" nearly 30 years after his terrible check against an Islanders player.

Oh... The Dodgers offense came alive and scored eight runs to win their third straight game.  Go here to check out a bunch of great photos from Jon SooHoo from the game.  Below are more links to check:

• This Day in Dodgers History:  In 2002 Diamondbacks starter Randy Johnson struck out Shawn Green to record his 3,509th career strike out to surpass Hall of Famer Walter Johnson on the all time list.  BTW, Green also hit two homers in the game to become the first Major Leaguer to hit seven round-trippers in three consecutive games.  In 2014 Josh Beckett threw his only career no-hitter against the Phillies.  Watch highlights from the game here.