Three New 2016 Topps Now Cards to Commemorate Dodgers Game 2 Win - #590, #591, #592

To pay homage to the Dodgers victory last night Topps has released three new 2016 Topps Now cards featuring Adrian Gonzalez, Clayton Kershaw and Kenley Jansen.  They are all available for order exclusively online for the next 20 hours, or so.  BTW, you can purchase all three at a discounted price of $24.99 -- they normally cost $9.99 each.  Go here to purchase a bundle of all three cards.

Blog Kiosk: 10/17/2016 - Dodgers Links - AGone and Kersh Power Dodgers Past Cubs -- Series Tied at 1

It was the efforts of the two Dodgers above that lead to the team tying the Cubs at one game a piece in the NLCS.  Clayton Kershaw went seven strong innings, allowing just two hits, one walk and recording six strike outs with 84 pitches.  Best yet, he is one of only two pitchers to hold the Cubs scoreless by a 1-0 score in the postseason ever -- the other man being Babe Ruth.  Per Jon Weisman at Dodger Insider:

“Awesome. Watching Kersh, that shows he’s the best in the game,” Jansen said. “His stuff that he had, the way that he pitched against this team. He showed you again, he can just put this team on his back.”

Adrian Gonzalez, for his part, got only one hit, but it was a big one.  On the second pitch of the second inning Gonzalez hit a towering drive to centerfield that cleared the wall for the only run to score in the entire game.

Photo above via @Dodgers/Jon SooHoo on twitter.  Go here to check out a bunch of pics by Jon SooHoo from yesterdays game in Chicago.  Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodgers History:  In 1981 the Dodgers defeated the Montreal Expos in Game 4 of the NLCS at Olympic Stadium, 7-1.  Steve Garvey hit a two-run homer in the eighth to break a 1-1 tie, then the Dodgers scored four more runs in the ninth to run away with it.  They are tied at two games a piece in the series with a deciding Game 5 two days later.
• Happy Birthday, Jim Gilliam! 

Blog Kiosk: 10/15/2016 - Dodgers Links - Some Odds and Ends

Tonight is Game 1 of the NLCS at 5:08 PM.  Be there or be square.

BTW, the Dodgers just announced their updated roster for the series and it includes two changes.  Utility infielder Kiké Hernandez and pitcher Alex Wood have been added.  Charlie Culberson and Austin Barnes are off.  Below is a graphic of the team, via the Dodgers on twitter.  You can check out the Cubs roster here.

Photo at the very top via the Dodgers on twitter.  Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodgers History:  In 1988 Kirk Gibson hit his legendary walk-off home run off of Dennis Eckersley of the A's to win Game 1 of the World Series.  This happening spawned Vin Scully to utter these immortal words; "In a year that has been so improbable, the impossible has happened."  Go here to watch and listen to it.

A Whole Ton of Dodgers 2016 Topps Now Cards are Now Available - Kershaw Autographs

There are now a bunch of 2016 Topps Now Dodger cards commemorating last nights thrilling victory currently available for sale; including a limited number of Clayton Kershaw autograph and autographed game-used relic cards.

Featured above is the first of four base cards in the set.  It highlights Julio Urias' mark as the youngest Dodger pitcher to ever win a game in the postseason.  Go here to check it out and order.  Per the reverse:

Twenty-year-old pitcher Julio Urias entered Game 5 of the NLDS in the bottom of the fifth inning, with the Dodgers trailing the Washington Nationals, 1-0.  In doing so, Urias became the youngest pitcher in Dodgers history to pitch in a Postseason game, and the youngest pitcher in MLB to pitch in a Postseason game since 1970.  Urias recorded two clean innings of work, and was credited with the win, as the Dodgers took the lead with a four-run seventh inning, which led to an eventual 4-3, series-clinching victory.

Blog Kiosk: 10/14/2016 - Dodgers Links - WooHoo! Dodgers Win

Wow!

That game was epic.  Maybe the best ever.  And I'm not saying that 'cause the Dodgers won... Okay, maybe I'm far more enthusiastic about it 'cause my guys won, but really... Wasn't it the best ever!

• "One of the best games in history," said Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. (Link Here)
• "That's probably one of the craziest, if not the craziest, games I've ever been a part of in my career," Nationals right-hander Max Scherzer said. "Man, this is a tough one to be on the wrong side of."  (Link Here)
• "I'm like, wait a minute, am I dreaming right now?" Jansen said, exhausted on the floor of the visiting clubhouse. "It's an awesome feeling to know the best pitcher in the game has your back."  (Link Here) 
• “It was crazy,” Pederson, who finished this NLDS 5 for 15 with two walks, a double and the homer, said on the field after the game in a televised interview. “I’m kind of at a loss for words right now. Washington played great. They fought us to the end, but it just shows what kind of team we are. We stuck together, we believed in each other, we came back.”  (Link Here)
• “I came to [Roberts], you know, once Kenley went out there in the seventh,” Kershaw said. “I was just kind of doing the math. I don't think Kenley's ever done a six-out save, let alone a nine-out save. He threw 20 pitches in that seventh inning, and I just said, 'I'm going to go get loose, see how I feel and I'll let you know, but I might be able to do this.' That's kind of what happened.  (Link Here)
• “I thank God for being able to be at his side,” Urias said through an interpreter. “When I saw him come in the clubhouse and put on his spikes, I knew he was ready to go and I learned a lot about him at that moment. He’s about winning and all that goes through his mind is winning, winning, winning. I’m so glad that everything worked out.”  (Link Here)
• "This encapsulated our season, yeah," manager Dave Roberts said. "It takes 25 guys to win a game [and] that’s what we did [in Game 5]."  (Link Here)

Dave Roberts managed the gutsiest game of Baseball I've ever witnessed... Bar none!  And as a viewer, I am exhausted.

Photo above via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2016.  Go here to check out more pics by Jon from yesterdays game and celebration.  Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodgers History:  In 1965 Sandy Koufax, on just two days rest, masterfully pitched a 2-0 complete game shutout to defeat the Twins in Game 7 of the World Series to win their fourth championship.  He was named MVP of the series.
• Happy Birthday, Hugh Casey and Ivy Olson!  

Emmett Kelly as the Brooklyn Dodgers Bum at REA

Emmet Kelly and his depiction as the tragic clown "Weary Willie" is one of the more iconic figures in both the clown world and to Brooklyn Dodgers fans everywhere.  So, it is my pleasure to share with you a couple of vintage photographs of Emmett Kelly at Ebbets Field that are currently available on auction at REA.