Collection: James Loney Bowman Autographed Card

I had such high hopes for this kid.  He had a glove destined for greatness, and a bat that seemingly was poised to take off. It looked like he might hit for average, but can he hit for power?  Unfortunately, as time went on he could do neither.  Oh, well.  Maybe we can trade him for an All-Star caliber first baseman while taking on a huge contract another team no longer wants?

I never hated you, but am disappointed you didn't become the juggernaut I had hoped for.

As you might recall, James Loney recently signed a one-years $2Mil contract to play for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2013.  Good luck, James.

Featured here is a 2003 Bowman Baseball autographed card of James Loney in my collection.

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Dodgers Blog Kiosk: 12/14/2012 - Dodgers and Dick Clark Productions Sittin' in a Tree?

 

Holy mackerel! This is an impressive looking set from Panini.  They are set to release their 2012 Golden Age Baseball set soon, and recently provided some preview pics for collectors to enjoy.  There are over 100 different ones, so go over there to take look.  This is part Baseball and Americana, with a little bit of world history thrown in.  Above is a Jackie Robinson base card, and below is an insert mini-pennant of Jackie (these are reminiscent of the 1916 Ferguson Bakery Pennants designated as BF2's in the ACC).

• This is quite a scoop.  Mike Ozanian at Forbes reports that the Dodgers are speaking with Dick Clark Productions about possibly forming a regional sports network (RSN).  Keep in mind that Guggenheim Partners owns Dick Clark Productions, and as Mike reported yesterday the MLB's revenue sharing tax may be hampering any possible television deal with Fox.

RSNs have the advantage of getting revenue from two sources–carrier fees and advertising–and some in big markets that televise great sports brands, like the New York Yankees and the YES Network and the Boston Red Sox and the New England Sports Network, have become extremely valuable. Another advantage of teams that have equity stakes in RSNs: the revenue generated by the potential RSN that is not paid to the team would not be subject to revenue-sharing.

• Darren Rovell at ESPN writes about the "Confusion Over Dodgers' Endless Money."

Maybe the new owners really know what they're doing, and those who haven't been let in on their plan (read: everyone) can't see their genius. But there are certainly a lot of nervous people in the industry wondering where this is all leading. They wonder if it's possible they somehow miscalculated what the Dodgers would net from a TV deal and wondering if this is similar to the overly leveraged Frank McCourt that led to the mess that the new owners inherited. 

• Evan at I Bleed Dodgers Blue 2 takes down some notes from the recent Logan White interview on XM Radio.  He speaks about our best prospects.
• Wendy Thum at FanGraphs takes a different look at the Dodgers spending spree.
• Apparently, Josh Hamilton wanted to be a Dodger.  Heck, who wouldn't, right?  Via Ken Rosenthal at Fox Sports.
• Ryu will opt out of the WBC, via Kang Seung-woo of the Korea Times.
• The Dodgers need to do this.  Via Sports Collectors Daily, the Giants are holding a Game Worn Memorabilia sale.
• Susan Lujgjuraj at Beckett tells us that National Hockey Card Day is coming back in 2013.  I wonder, why?  There's no hockey!

NHC will be held on Feb. 9 in Canada and Feb. 16 in United States, Upper Deck announced Thursday.

• Panini provides a little preview of their 2013 Triple Play Baseball set that will be coming out in March 2013.
• I found this utterly fascinating.  Murray Chass, who has covered Donald Fehr for years as a Baseball reporter, adds his two cents on the current NHL lockout.

“It’s 1930s stuff,” said a veteran union man whom I asked about the league’s tactics. The man I wanted talk to I couldn’t because Marvin Miller died a couple of weeks ago. I can hear him laughing derisively, though, upon hearing what I had heard.

Miller heard the same things from the baseball owners in his first couple of negotiations with them. By the time the union had won those negotiations, the owners knew who Miller was and what they faced in future talks.

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Collection: Steve Garvey Topps Legend Autograph Card

Featured here is a 2003 Team Topps Legends autographed card of Steve Garvey in my collection.

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Dodgers Blog Kiosk: 12/13/2012

Topps shared an early pic on twitter from their flagship Baseball Series 1 set.  It looks like a bunch of insert cards for Series 1.  Sandy Koufax is easily seen right in the middle.

• Mark Langill tells us that today is the anniversary of the Dodgers trading Jackie Robinson to the Giants.
• Tim Brown at Yahoo Sports spoke with Don Mattingly and received a choice quote:

"The expectation is you have to win. That's just the way it is. You could fight it. You could try to defuse it. But I don't think there's any defusing this bomb, no matter what we do. We just might as well look at that and take it head on right away. We're supposed to win. There it is. If we lose, we're failures."

• Well this is nice.  The Red Sox will pay the Dodgers $11.7Mil to complete the big trade, via CBS Sports.

The Red Sox will make identical payments of $3.9 million in 2013, 2014 and 2015 as part of the cash component of the trade. 

• David Pinto at Baseball Mussings proposes having Skip Schumaker play 3rd base for us.
• Mike Ozanian at Forbes writes that a detail within the Rangers cable contract might bite the Dodgers on the behind.

It appears as if the team’s owners, Mark Walter, Stan Kasten, Magic Johnson, and Peter Guber, who used over $1 billion from insurance companies owned or controlled by Guggenheim Partners to buy the Dodgers, cannot get a more cash-friendly television deal, new sources of of capital may be required.

• This is a must read!  Jeff Pearlman just shared an excellent interview he conducted with former Dodgers GM Fred Claire.  It's filled with a bunch of interesting stuff.  Check it out here.  I found this the most interesting thing of all.

The trade of Mike Piazza changed the history of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

It changed the history because it was the first time the Dodgers had made a trade without the general manager—the man in charge of baseball operations—being involved in a trade. It was a trade made by a Fox television executive for television reasons. Let that one soak in. The Dodgers make a major trade for reasons other than baseball reasons.

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Weekend Autograph Opportunities: Dodgers Mall Tour with Leary & Punto

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.

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Here is the another leg of the Dodgers 2012 Holidays Mall Tour in Southern California.  Go here for more information.  This coming Saturday, December 15th, Dodgers infielder Nick Punto and pitcher Tim Leary will be at the Westfield Valencia Mall to meet with fans and sign free autographs.  Below is the announced schedule. 

Westfield Valencia

24201 West Valencia Blvd
Valencia, CA 91355

Saturday, December 15

11am-7pm

LOCATION: Entrance between Lucille's Barbeque and William Sonoma

Nick Punto (12pm-2pm)

Tim Leary (3pm-7pm)

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It's Official. Welcome to the Blue, Skip "the Squirrel" Schumaker!

As has been discussed widely throughout the 'net, Skip Schumaker has been traded to the Dodgers for infield prospect Jake Lemmerman.  This deal is all about depth.  Skip can play a bit of 2nd base and the outfield while providing a good bat from the left side; especially against right-handed pitchers.  See his splits from 2012 below from Baseball Reference.


Another thing I wanted to note is that we should all call him "the squirrel."  Why's that, you ask? 

Well, Skip's one claim to cardboard fame is that he was once shared a Baseball card with a squirrel.  See it below.

If I remember correctly, during the 2011 NLDS match against the Phillies a squirrel came scurrying across the field towards Skip Schumaker, who was in the batter box.  Right at that moment, Roy Oswalt delivered a pitch, and the little squirrel ran across home plate.  Soon, that little guy would be called the "Rally Squirrel," and it quickly became a good luck charm for the Cardinals as they won their 11th World Series title.

Below is the press release announcing the trade below:

The Los Angeles Dodgers today acquired infielder/outfielder Skip Schumaker from St. Louis in exchange for minor league infielder Jake Lemmerman. General Manager Ned Colletti made the announcement.

The eight-year Major League veteran had spent his entire career with the Cardinals, compiling a .288 batting average with 23 home runs and 211 RBI in 810 big league games from 2005-2012. Schumaker, who bats left-handed, has a .305 career batting average against right-handed pitchers and has hit well in the clutch, batting .295 with runners in scoring position and hitting .359 with the bases loaded.

Schumaker has primarily split time between second base (412 games) and the outfield (389 games) in his career, appearing at all three outfield positions. Last season, he played 61 games at second base (.984 fielding percentage), 15 games in center field (1.000 fielding percentage), 10 games in right field (1.000 fielding percentage) and one game in left field (1.000 fielding percentage).

Schumaker has appeared in 22 career postseason games, batting .278 with three doubles and six RBI, and played for the Cardinals' World Series winning clubs in 2006 and 2011.
In 2012, the 32-year-old batted .276 with a homer and 28 RBI in 107 games, including a .295 batting average against right-handers and a .300 mark with runners in scoring position (21-for-70).

Schumaker, who was born in Torrance, attended Aliso Niguel High School (Aliso Viejo, Calif.) and the University of California, Santa Barbara before being selected by St. Louis in the fifth round of the 2001 First-Year Player Draft. He and his wife, Lindsey, have a son, Brody, and a daughter, Presley.

Lemmerman, 23, batted .233 with seven home runs and 46 RBI in 116 games with Double-A Chattanooga last season. The Newport Beach, CA native was originally selected by the Dodgers in the fifth round of the 2010 First-Year Player Draft out of Duke University.

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