Blog Kiosk: 5/13/2013

Check out Steve Garvey leading the parade of dogs at Bark at the Park on Saturday.  Pic via Juan Ocampo/LA Dodgers 2013.  Check out other dog pics I ran into all over the 'net on my post from Saturday evening, here.  Also, Jon SooHoo has a bunch of picks from Mother's Day; including some Dodger players with their mom's.  See them here.

• Via Tim Brown at Yahoo, "Blaming Don Mattingly for Dodgers' poor start is simple-minded."

The point being, the Dodgers have had a player problem, not a Don Mattingly problem, and that will continue for as long as they hit like they hit, and pitch like they pitch, and rehab as often as they rehab. This is on Kemp, League and Andre Ethier, and it's on Josh Beckett and Ronald Belisario. It's on Hanley Ramirez's thumb/hamstring, and Zack Greinke's collarbone, and Adrian Gonzalez's neck, and Mark Ellis' quad.

• Here is a pic of the Matt Kemp bobblehead the Dodgers are giving out at tomorrow's game against the Nationals.
• Via Eric Stephen at True Blue LA, "Matt Kemp 5th Fastest LA Dodger to 1,000 Hits."
• Steve Dilbeck at the LA Times writes, "Dodgers hope Matt Kemp hitting streak hints at power to come."

“I don’t care if he hits five home runs, just get to the point where you’re hitting the ball into the gaps,” said Manager Don Mattingly. “That’s how you drive in runs. Five homers and 100 ribbies, it doesn’t matter how you get them.

“Everyone asks about the home runs and the power, it’s more about the doubles. That’s how you drive in runs. I’m not against home runs, don’t get me wrong. But it’s doubles that really end up being the ones that drive the runs in.”

• Just manny being Manny in Taiwan, via Fox Sports.
• Bernie Pleskoff at MLB.com writes, "Puig could develop into true complete player: Dodgers prospect boasts package of power, speed but needs seasoning."  Bernie is a former scout for the Astros and Mariners.
• Bob Lemke shares Topps sales numbers for their Baseball cards from 1951 to 1961.
• LA Kings star goalie Jonathan Quick visited with Panini for a box opening, via Panini's blog called the Knight's Lance.
• I do enjoy watching Adele and Anadel on their Dodger Fan Weekly youtube channel.  Below is the show for the week of May 12th.

Video Link:

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2013 Bowman Baseball - the Dodgers Insert Cards

Following up my flurry of post from last week featuring Dodger cards from the 2013 Bowman set, I finish it off with the Dodger insert cards below.  Check out my previous post featuring this set here.  Click on any pic to embiggen.

The below autographed Matt Magill card can only be found in packs sold at retail establishments like Target.

Retail Prospects Autographs

BPA-MM Matt Magill

 Chrome Autographed Rookies

#ACR-PR Paco Rodriguez

Top 100 Prospects

The Joc Pederson card on the right is a die-cut parallel card.

#BTP-48 Corey Seager                           #BTP-53 Joc Pederson

#BTP-58 Yasiel Puig                              #BTP-77 Hyun-Jin Ryu

Chrome Refractor Mini Cards 'Cream of the Crop'

#CC-LAD1 Corey Seager                     #CC-LAD2 Joc Pederson

#CC-LAD3 Yasiel Puig                         #CC-LAD4 Hyun-Jin Ryu

#CC-LAD5 Zach Lee

Under Armour Autographs

Jesmuel Valentin

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A Beautiful Sandy Koufax Photo by Ozzie Sweet

I love highlighting great photography and this one is clearly one of the best.  After all, you can't beat the subject manner, and when you consider it was taken by Ozzie Sweet... Well, you just can't beat it.

Featured here is an original portrait photo of Sandy Koufax that was taken by legendary photographer Ozzie Sweet.  As you may know, Ozzie was one of the most prolific photographers there ever was.  His work graced the covers of nearly 1,800 magazines; including titles like Sport, Newsweek, Saturday Evening Post, etc.  He is noted for his portrait photos of famous people and for the art of creating a photo.  Sweet would often pose his subjects in an interesting way.  This past February he passed away at the age of 94.

This photo was signed by Ozzie Sweet (on the bottom right corner) and was sold through Memory Lane Auctions at a very healthy $976.00.  It even included the original negative, so additional prints can be made.

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The Dodgers Good Works in the Community Never Ends

Even though the Dodgers have had a rough couple of months, they still continue to be good citizens.  See what I mean below.

(pic link: Twitter @Dodgers)

Matt Kemp and former Dodger Juan Pierre visited the Baseball Urban Youth Academy in Compton on Saturday.  Greeting them were a bunch of Little Leaguers.  Both Kemp and Pierre shared their experiences and offered career and life skills advice. Via Austin Laymance at MLB.com:

"There's more to life than baseball, just remember that," Kemp told the group of adoring youngsters. "Baseball is important, it can take you places, it can do a lot of things for you. But there's more to life than baseball, like getting good grades or going to college. Listen to your parents. Listen to your teachers. Make good grades. Not everybody becomes a Major League Baseball player, but you guys can be successful. It depends on how hard you work. If you want to be successful, you have to work hard and your dreams will come true."

Check out some great photos from the event via Jon SooHoo, over here.  Watch a video from the Dodgers here.  Below is another video that is worth your time to watch.

Video Link:

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Both AJ Ellis and Brandon League have joined with a non-profit called Vision To Learn in order to distribute free eye glasses to elementary school students in low-income communities throughout California. In fact, they'll be visiting Dorris Place Elementary School tomorrow to do just that.  On top of that, they will host 500 fans (including kids who received eye glasses) for a game at Dodger Stadium on May 24 against the Cardinals.

Per a Dodgers press release:

Research tells us 80% of all learning during a child’s first 12 years is obtained through vision and as many as 15% of students in Los Angeles elementary schools have undetected vision problems. Vision To Learn was created to address this issue and Vision To Learn Mobile Eye Clinic travels throughout the community on a daily basis. Endowing children with good eyesight early in life enables them to better focus on the future. It’s simple - if you can’t see, you can’t learn. To date, Vision To Learn has visited 110 schools, examined 8,129 students, and provided 6,148 children with free eyeglasses.

Both AJ Ellis and Brandon League wear glasses.

Pic credit above: Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2013

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(Credit: Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2012)

Adrian Gonzalez and his wife Betsy have begun hosting families on Viva Los Dodgers Day; starting with this afternoon's Mother’s Day game against the Miami Marlins. Via a Dodgers press release:

This Sunday, Gonzalez will host families from Padres Contra El Cancer, an organization committed to improving the quality of life for Latino children with cancer and their families. The Gonzalez family supports Padres Contra El Cancer throughout the year.

“My wife Betsy and I wanted to get families to Dodger games this season because we think a day at the ballpark is a wonderful way for families to spend time together,” said Adrian Gonzalez. “We chose Viva Los Dodgers Day because it offers a great family-friendly experience right before the game. We’re looking forward to hosting groups that may not have been able to make it out here otherwise.”

72 fans will be hosted by the Gonzalez's for every Sunday Dodger home game.

“We’re very happy to host families at Viva Los Dodgers day at Dodger Stadium,” said Betsy Gonzalez. “Family is the most important thing to us along with building our connection with the LA community. We look forward to this program and to continuing our charitable work in LA with the help of the Dodgers.”

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The Dogs are in the House for Bark in the Park

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This afternoon the Dodgers hosted Bark in the Park at Dodger Stadium, and there are plenty of pics on the 'net to prove it.  What a great collection of lovable little canines.

It sure makes me miss my old pal- Miko.  She died a couple of years ago, and I've missed her ever since. 

Check out some of the pics I ran into below.

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A real Dodgers Dog!

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These guys are just milling about as they get ready to head to the field.

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 Cutie!

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 And the march begins.

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 Hey there, buddy!

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 This dog is ready for a nap.  Sleepy-Time.

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Blog Kiosk: 5/11/2013

Oh, Juan Pierre... I look back at your time with the Dodger with great fondness.  Pic via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2013.

• Zack Greinke pitched yesterday in Rancho Cucamonga and gave up 8 runs, via Eric Stephen at True Blue LA.  Ken Gurnick at MLB.com shares a quote from Greinke saying he is ready to go.

"I am," Greinke said when asked if he was ready to be activated. "I won't be in midseason form, but I feel I'm able to get guys out.

"I just have to get my right arm ready. I'll definitely head somewhere. I can't say [where] without talking to somebody. I'm sure they'd rather me pitch better than the results. I felt I pitched OK. Get the lights of a Major League game and it's different, you step up another notch."

• Via Dodger Nation, "Dodgers News: Tommy Lasorda Defends Don Mattingly."
• Joe Posnanski writes about an unusual fact regarding Hall of Famer Warren Spahn and the Brooklyn Dodgers.
• Via Mike Oz at Big League Stew, Manny Ramirez as the Incredible Hulk.
• This is classically great.  Yakko's Nations of the World - Animaniacs.

Video Link:

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