2010 Topps Tribute Jackie Preview

Via Beckett, Topps unveils some preview pics from their upcoming high-end card product called Topps Tribute. These are truly some super shiny cards that can blind a pilot from a couple of thousand miles away. Really, they are that shiny.

Anyway, above is a preview of a Jackie Robinson cut signature card that a lucky collector will pull. The range of autos is fairly strong, as expected, with one truly mystical Yankee auto-book card out there to try to snag. Go to the Beckett site to see more pics. Below is what the base card will look like.

eBay Auction: Posing for Garvey

These are a couple of great pics of Steve Garvey in the midst of taking photos during work-out day at the 1990 All-Star game in Wrigley Field. This event happened after he retired so he must have been on hand at some kind of Old-Timers Day event. They come directly from the archives of the Chicago Sun Times, dated 7/9/1990.

eBay Auction Link:

eBay Auction Link:

Schooled by Mattingly

Don Mattingly was a great hitter in his day. Once dubbed "The Hit Man" he uncorked over 2,100 hits while batting .307 and slugging .471 in a career marred by injuries. Donnie Baseball had a sweet left handed swing that floated through the strike zone like an eagle soaring in the sky. It was beautiful to watch and glorious to experience first hand. It is no surprise that he would eventually become a batting coach in the Major Leagues in his post-Baseball playing years.

What is a surprise, though, is that he didn't become the lifetime Yankee hitting coach. He was beloved in that state and continues, to this day, to be loved by Yankee fans across the country. To the joy of Dodger Nation, we get to experience the wisdom and majesty of this fine Baseball professional. He is retooling and educating our fine young sluggers to make the most of their abilities at the plate. I think the continued progress of players like Kemp and Ethier is a testament to his knowledge, skills and abilities.

Now, due to his founding of an aluminum bat company called Mattingly Baseball Bats he is sharing some of his hitting secrets with all of us. He has a series of 7 different instructional youtube videos available to view.

Below is the Mental Approach to an At-Bat.

YouTube Video Link:

Others in the series include:

• Grip and Hand Position
• Stance and Position in the Box
• Stride and Weight Transfer
• Swing and Follow Through
• Avoid Strikeouts with Good Contact
• Mental Approach to Practice and Drills

So get going young Padawan.

OT: Just Another Reason Not to Trust the Banks

I haven't written about off-topic items like business news lately mainly due to a high level of disgust that, I fear, will explode into an incoherent rant. Well, I must say that I can't take it anymore. from Bloomberg.

JPMorgan Chase & Co., Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and UBS AG were among more than a dozen Wall Street firms involved in a conspiracy to pay below-market interest rates to U.S. state and local governments on investment…

A government list of previously unidentified “co- conspirators” contains more than two dozen bankers at firms also including Bank of America Corp., Bear Stearns Cos., Societe Generale, two of General Electric Co.’s financial businesses and Salomon Smith Barney, the former unit of Citigroup Inc., according to documents filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on March 24. The papers were filed by attorneys for a former employee of CDR Financial Products Inc., an advisory firm indicted in October. The attorneys, as part of their legal filing, identified the roster as being provided by the government. The document is labeled “list of co-conspirators.”

None of the firms or individuals named on the list has been charged with wrongdoing. The court records mark the first time these companies have been identified as co-conspirators. They provide the broadest look yet at alleged collusion in the $2.8 trillion municipal securities market that the government says delivered profits to Wall Street at taxpayers’ expense.

Punishment is due.

Hat Tip: Naked Capitalism:

Boras vs. Shapiro

Like yin and yang. No two people working in the same industry, performing the same job, could be more different. Here is a great article by Murray Chass about that other super agent, Ron Shapiro.

If Mauer were a Boras client, he would not have signed that contract. But then, he wouldn’t have chosen Boras as his agent.

It's a great read.

Hat Tip: Baseball Musings:

The Shock Heard Around Dodgerland

The collective gasp you heard this morning was like the sound Scooby-Doo makes when confused by an even more bewildered Shaggy.

What's that you say? Vicente Padilla is the Dodgers Opening Night starter. Really? Huh!

This is some premature April Fools joke, right?

Well, apparently it's not. Per a tweet by Ken Gurnick, Torre will be naming Padilla as our starter against Pittsburgh. In the whole scheme of things, it really doesn't mean much. After all, everyone will get their innings as the season progresses. On the other hand, shouldn't this spot be reserved as an award or a stepping stone for a progressing or young star?

Yes and no.

The first Dodger game of the season is away in Pittsburgh, so, it's not as vital as compared to our first home game. Furthermore, from what has been shared already on other blogs, this alignment will mean that Clayton Kershaw will be our starting pitcher at our first home game at Chavez Ravine against the Diamondbacks. So, don't worry your little heads. On top of that, Padilla pitched really well for us last season so I don't find it too out of whack.

Frankly, all this supposed news is all useless minutia. All I care about right now is getting through the rest of Spring unscathed and hearing those immortal words, "Play Ball."