No Yogi, Jackie Was Safe

Here is a great little story from Politico about an unexpected gift from Yogi Berra to President Obama. Tom Murro, the Celebrity Magnet, had met the President last year while vacationing in Martha's Vineyard. As word spread of his chance encounter a neighbor, who happens to be Hall of Famer Yogi Berra, asked if he might be able to pass along a gift on his behalf. Not to pass up the opportunity to meet the President again he said "sure."

Tom was in Martha’s Vineyard with his daughter when they stopped at Nancy’s Restaurant in Oak Bluffs, MA, to grab a bite to eat. A huge crowd surrounded the restaurant, and The Magnet was quickly informed that the first family was dining inside. (Looks like Tom and Obama have similar tastes…who knew?)

The Magnet had a chance to speak with the president upon the completion of his meal. After shaking Obama’s hand, Tom reminded the commander-in-chief of their meeting with Spike Lee just a year prior – an encounter that Obama remembered. Tom proceeded to tell the President that he had a gift for him from baseball great, Yogi Berra.

“Let’s see what you have there,” Obama said. After receiving the photo, Obama exclaimed, “That’s fantastic!” before passing the signed photo off to Marvin Nicholson.

Above is a pic of the encounter. Above that is a pic of the gift Yogi gave. It is a signed photo of the Jackie stealing home plate during the 1955 World Series. To this day Yogi maintains he tagged him out. Yogi signs it: "Dear Mr. President. He was out! Yogi Berra"

BTW Yogi, I hate to tell ya, but Jackie was safe and no amount of politicking will change that fact in the record books.

(Hat Tip: Sports Collectors Daily)

Here is a video of the play.

YouTube Link:

Diamond Life with the Bakersfield Dodgers

Here is a great promotional photo found on eBay advertising a PBS documentary called "Diamond Life." It was all about the Class A Bakersfield Dodgers in 1991 and the young players on the team as they sought out their American dream on the base paths. Jose Offerman and Braulio Castillo are featured. Funny thing is that neither of these guys were on the 1991 Bakersfield team. (UPDATE: based on some comments, this was based on the 1989 Bakersfield team)

Who were on team, though, are a collection of future Hall of Famers and some other great players. They include Pedro Martinez, Mike Piazza, Raul Mondesi and Orel Hershiser.

This is the first time I had ever heard of the show. Has anyone ever seen it? Was this just one- one hour show, or a series of one hour shows run throughout the season? Anybody know?

I searched high and low throughout the interwebs for an archived copy, but alas one was not to be found. If you run into it please pass it along.

Hiroki is Clutch

What a game this was. Hiroki goes a solid 7 and 2/3 innings while falling just 4 outs short of a no-hitter. I was on the edge of my seat and cursed as Victorino came up to break up Hiroki's masterpiece. Kuroda is a great clutch pitcher who brings a little bit of hope to a season that has been nothing but rocky.

I don't care what anybody thinks. The Dodgers should not trade or let this guy go. Even if the season appears to be on a short leash he is the type of hurler we want on the team.

(pic by: Jon Soo Hoo)

Has Torre Quit?

Via Baseball Musings, he leads us to a interesting article from Jay Jaffe of the Futility Infielder Blog. Jaffe wonders aloud then gets angry at the thought that it was Torre who quit on the Dodgers- not Manny.

Manny Ramirez may have spent more than half the season on the disabled list — he’s a 38 year old with a history of leg problems — but I don’t in the least buy the idea that quit on the Dodgers. There’s nothing in the world the man loves to do more than pulverize a baseball, and the bigger the moment for him to do so, the better. He had every incentive to play as much as possible in order to earn a big-money contract for next year; why on earth would he dodge that?

No, it’s Joe Torre who quit on the Dodgers, which is why I’m so angry. Torre’s braindead mishandling of the bullpen in July and earlier this month already appeared to signal that he’d unplugged from the the team, that at 70 years old, he was too old for the bullshit of dealing with the Dodgers. That promising young players such as Matt Kemp, Russell Martin and James Loney have stalled in their progress on his watch doesn’t speak particularly well of him either, suggesting he’s lost the team — not an uncommon theme among managers past the age of 65.

Torre’s playing of Podsednik over Ramirez, whether for no good reason but his own gut instinct or as the henchmen for the higher-ups is both aesthetically distasteful, and antithetical to winning baseball. Podzilla is a slaptastic hitter in the same mold as Juan Pierre. He’s hitting over .300 between KC and LA, but it’s a thin .309/.355/.388, good for a combined .275 TAv. His Marginal Lineup Value Rate (MLVr) — the number of runs per game he adds to an otherwise average lineup is .054. Manny’s is .316, the second-highest among major league left fielders.

Torre did make some unusual decisions, and it certainly made this Dodger fan wonder what he was thinking. Anyway, it's an interesting read and only adds more to the fire as we begin to try to understand what went wrong this year.

Dempsey the Dodger

Here is a 1988 press photo showing Rick Dempsey in a catchers crouch. I remember several years ago at Vero Beach during Spring Training waiting diligently for him to sign a ball for me just before a game. He made a comment to someone that he too was on the 1988 Championship club, and I thought well I know that. Then, it occurred to me that he was probably one of the least recognizable players on the team. After all, Scioscia was the main man then. So, as a reminder here he is- one of the stuntmen of the 1988 team.

(eBay Auction Link)

Bye Bye Manny

After all of the waiting and speculation, Manny Ramirez is finally gone. For his swan song he gets thrown out after arguing a first pitch strike in a pinch hit attempt this afternoon with the bases loaded in the 6th inning. And with that the Dodgers and all of LA says goodbye- and some say good riddance.

As has already been postulated, did Manny get thrown out on purpose? Via a tweet from Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News.

Anyone else suspect Manny Ramirez got himself intentionally ejected? I can't imagine how ugly that situation must be behind closed doors.