Andre Ethier Embraced his Inner Surfer in "Point Break" Performance Today

With today being a off day for the Dodgers, many players decided to have fun around New York to de-stress from their struggles. 

Yasiel Puig visit the MLB FanCave to get his dance on, and Drew Butera and Dee Gordon played dodgeball with some local area kids.  Adrian Gonzalez, on the other hand, had a much nobler pursuit.  He visit the CNN en Espanol offices to discuss his All-Star Teachers campaign.

(pic via Knitting Factory Brooklyn on facebook)

Andre Ethier also made a public appearance that was worthy of note.  He tried his hand at some onstage acting by playing Keanu Reeves as Johnny Utah in Point Break at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn.

I kid you not!

As the ladies know, his casting for this part is not off-base.  He's got those California surfer-boy good looks and a certain je ne sais quoi that makes him perfect for the part.  Heck, can't you just imagine him saying,

"The correct term is Babes, sir."

or

"You crossed the line. People trusted you and they died. You gotta' go down."

Fortunately, his appearance quickly spread throughout the 'net earlier today, so we thankfully were able to get a report of the happening.  Rodger Sherman at the LookIt blog at SB Nation was in attendance with a full report.

Still, the whole thing was quite funny, and Ethier was funny in it. The process is half the joke -- for instance, a director ordering Ethier to RUN, Ethier starting to run, the director reminding him that his character has a nagging leg injury, and then Ethier writhing on the ground in pain. Ethier clearly enjoyed the whole endeavor.

Sadly I didn't get any great videos -- Ethier yelling "I AM JOHNNY UTAH," for example -- but it seems the whole thing will be online soon thanks to the MLB folks filming the hell out of it.

I can't wait to watch what MLB puts out.  In the meantime, check out Rodger's story at SB Nation for some of his video and the below tweets.  Oh... and,

 "Vaya con Dios, Brah."

I'm with Ethier at Point Break Live... He's playing Johnny Utah #knittigfactory #Bklyn pic.twitter.com/iZ6OknZGtF
— David Vassegh (@THEREAL_DV) May 19, 2014

Andre Either is JOHNNY UTAH! pic.twitter.com/gaWaZvLV4r
— Knitting Factory BK (@KnitBrooklyn) May 19, 2014

Today @Dodgers outfielder Andre Either is @PointBreakUtah ! #dodgers #mlb #ladodgers pic.twitter.com/cYwzt0Z2Pi
— Daniel Frankel (@Stan_Kankels) May 19, 2014

.@Dodgers OF Andre Ethier plays Johnny Utah in @PointBreak_Live. Video coming soon. #MLBFC pic.twitter.com/fS9tT9R3ua
— MLB Fan Cave (@MLBFanCave) May 19, 2014

Ethier with the Improv Cast of "Point Break Live" #johhnyutah pic.twitter.com/Ge5gR4sBhK
— David Vassegh (@THEREAL_DV) May 19, 2014

* Please follow on twitter @ernestreyes *

* Like Dodgers Blue Heaven on facebook *

* Dodgers Blue Heaven home page *

Blog Kiosk: 5/19/2014 - Dodger Links - Some Dodger Odds and Ends

Yasiel Puig has certainly improved his batting eye this season.  He's being more selective and taking more walks.  Pic above via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2014.

• Via Eric Stephen at True Blue LA, "Hyun-jin Ryu to start Wednesday vs. Mets."
• Via Mark Saxon at ESPNLosAngeles.com, "Dodgers certainly not playing with urgency."

"Until we can grind out wins, we're in trouble, from that standpoint," manager Don Mattingly said. "I think you've got to be ready to play every day, to play with some sense of urgency that every game's going to matter, every game's going to count, that you don't have time to wait. I don't think we can sit around and wait for a run." 

• Via Ron Cervenka at Think Blue LA, "A change of scenery could do Chris Withrow a world of good."

As much as Dodger fans would like to see Withrow remain, the painful truth is that he needs to work on his command and control, and the best place to do this is at Albuquerque or Chattanooga, not at Dodger Stadium or any other major league ballpark. Some time away from the intense pressure of the Bigs could be exactly what the 25-year-old Austin, TX native needs to get back on track.

• SCP's auction came to a close this past weekend, and many of the items closed at record prices.  The Sandy Koufax game jersey sold for $268,664.00, and the Don Drysdale gamer sold for $31,129.00.  Check out my past post on this auction here and here, and here are a bunch of pics from a recent visit I made to the Newport Sports Museum that featured many of the auctioned items, here.
• The Kings lost the first one in Chicago on Sunday, but have no fear.  They looked great in the loss - even on little rest after vanquishing the Ducks on Friday.  Via Eric Duhatschek at The Globe and Mail, "Resilient L.A. defies the script, but still loses Game 1."

Considering they were playing for the second time in 40 hours, after taking their first two series to the limit, Sunday’s meeting with the Chicago Blackhawks was always going to be a wish-and-a-prayer sort of game for the Los Angeles Kings anyway. The Kings were hoping that they could come in and steal a game, even though they were theoretically running on fumes, and weirdly, they almost did.

* Please follow on twitter @ernestreyes *

* Like Dodgers Blue Heaven on facebook *

* Dodgers Blue Heaven home page *

Blog Kiosk: 5/18/2014 - Dodger Links - Some Dodger Odds and Ends

Yasiel Puig is on fire.  Over the last 10 games he is batting .385 with 5 home runs, 14 RBI's and a 1.338 OPS.  Pic above via Jon SooHoo/La Dodgers 2014.

• Via Cary Osborne at Dodger Insider, "Julio Urias in the flesh."

“I feel comfortable with my changeup right now, the breaking stuff,” Urias said. “I’m fighting a little with my fastball command right now.”

• Via Pedro Moura at the OC Register, "Bend it like Beckett: Curve fuels Dodger pitcher's resurgence."  When AJ Ellis went down he put together a full report for Beckett.

“It was basically, ‘This is what you (expletive) need to do,’” Beckett said. “But he didn’t put it that brutally. He said, ‘Hey, I want to show you some numbers.’”

• Chuck Culpepper at Sports On Earth interviews Jackie Robinson's son in "Owning Up to History."

"You have to deal with it," Robinson said, the 4x4 bouncing along. "I'm not anything close to a doctor, but I know any doctor will tell you you've got to confront the trauma in order to heal." He spoke next of the reconciliation commissions of Rwanda and South Africa. "It's that reconciliation process that humanity, in many cases, has to go through -- in every society, whether it's European, American, American Indians, the Germans with Jews, or everywhere going all the way back. Attila the Hun and the Vikings were brutal. So all of that brutality has to be reconciled in order for the family of man to move forward, together."

• Via  JP Hoornstra at the Daily News, "Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig is listening to his critics."
• Chris Olds at Beckett shares some preview pics of a new Topps Baseball card product called Topps Dynasty.  This will be a super high-end product - like a $1,000 a box.  Check out the Sandy Koufax autographed card on the right. 
• Via Mark Saxon at ESPNLosAngeles.com, "Hyun-Jin Ryu on track for next week."

"We're pretty confident. His pen the other day was just ridiculous for a guy who hadn't thrown the ball in 10 days," manager Don Mattingly said. "He throws the ball wherever he wants. So, again, we'll just see where he's at [Saturday] as far as the way he feels. Everybody liked the way he threw the ball."

* Please follow on twitter @ernestreyes *

* Like Dodgers Blue Heaven on facebook *

* Dodgers Blue Heaven home page *

Game 7 - Go Kings Go!

Oh, Boy! 

Tonight's Game 7 is going to be a doozy.

There are all kinds of predictions around the 'net, so I'm not going to bore you with mine.  Besides, I'm sure you know were my allegiance is.  All I will do is say that you'd better be sure to hold on tight 'cause this game is gonna be like a 'coaster riding the rails on the tips of its wheels.  It'll be bouncin' and jivin', skippin' and runnin', screamin' and hollerin' like a wild dog lost in a fire strewn desert oasis. 

I will, once again, be visiting the Anaheim hole called The Pond.  I'll be screaming loudly, and chanting obnoxiously with several thousand of my closest Kings-clad friends. 

If I seem unusually amped it's because my emotions the past couple of weeks has been tied up in knots.  All I can think about is playoff hockey, and how badly I want to see victory.

To help you feel what I feel, check out the video below.  BTW, the puck drops at 6:00 PM tonight, so be sure to plan accordingly.

Video Link:

* Please follow on twitter @ernestreyes *

* Like Dodgers Blue Heaven on facebook *

* Dodgers Blue Heaven home page *

Blog Kiosk: 5/16/2014 - Dodger Links - A Huge Hanley Contract, Greinke's Approach and a Sneak Peek at Some Dodger Bobbleheads

There had been an online campaign for fans to vote for their favorite Dodger t-shirt to be given away at Dodger Stadium on May 29th.  The winning t-shirt is above, pic via @Dodgers on twitter.

• Via Jon Heyman at CBS, "Dodgers love Hanley and are talking about big deal, but work remains."

Ramirez, eligible for free agency after this season, is seeking a contract in excess of $100 million, and probably well north of that figure. While no exact numbers have gotten out, it is thought that he is actually seeking something in excess of $130 million. 

• Via Tim Brown at Yahoo Sports, "How Zack Greinke changed his approach to protect his elbow."

Greinke, being Greinke, was perhaps just self-aware enough to change. He still throws plenty of sliders, but hopes to cap them at 15, maybe 20, per start, thereby balancing his desire to win with the hope to pitch again in five days. Perhaps the ulnar collateral ligament goes a thread at a time, he doesn't really know, but if so, he was going to budget his threads, and not pitch straight through his elbow by the time he was 30 and then be no good to himself or his team for a year.

• Via Ken Gurnick at MLB.com, "Dodgers who missed Australia are hitting their marks."

"If I had gone, Australia would have been a mess for me," Greinke said. "Technically, I would have had enough starts to be ready to open the season. But it would have been very tough. Staying back helped me catch up with the workouts."

• Ron Cervenka at Think Blue LA notes that, "David Price is coming to L.A."  He'll be at the Major League Baseball Urban Youth Academy in Compton on Saturday.
• Here is an early peek at the Tommy Lasorda (June 14th) and Hello Kitty (June 3rd) bobbleheads the Dodgers are giving out next month.

* Please follow on twitter @ernestreyes *

* Like Dodgers Blue Heaven on facebook *

* Dodgers Blue Heaven home page *

Blog Kiosk: 5/15/2014 - Dodger Links - Donation Drive Tonight at Dodger Stadium

Meet our newest reliever, Drew Butera.  Pic via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2014.

• Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation (LADF) are leading an online donation effort now through May 19 and a collection of items at Dodger Stadium Thursday, May 15 in support of the San Fernando Valley Rescue Mission. The Mission experienced a devastating fire earlier this month. Damage sustained included the destruction of the San Fernando Valley Rescue Mission’s emergency shelter, vehicle fleet, clothing warehouse and food pantry which were vital in aiding those of need in the San Fernando Valley. The Dodgers and LADF invite fans to donate monetary gifts now by visiting www.dodgers.com/ladf. All donations received this week will go directly to the San Fernando Valley Rescue Mission. Fans are also invited to drive through Dodger Stadium Thursday, May 15 from 7:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. in Lot 1 to drop off donations.
• Via Jen Heger at Rador Online, "Poor Sports? DirectTV Customers Upset About Increase In Sports Channel Fee, Despite Not Offering Dodger Channel."

However, another customer we talked to put the situation in perspective, “So in one breath, DirectTV is saying they don’t want to pass along added costs to us, but increased the regional sports fee and still aren’t offering the Dodgers!

• Via Steve Dilbeck at the LA Times, " Has Dee Gordon made Alex Guerrero a $28-million problem?"
• Dodger Penguin shares his day at Dodger Stadium.  He received a Mickey Hatcher autograph and a Puig Bobblehead.
• Via Nathan Fenno at the LA Times, " Hearing postponed in lawsuit against Dodgers' Yasiel Puig."  As Puig's attorney moves to have the lawsuit dismissed, via Steve Dilbeck at the LA Times.
• Via Earl Bloom and Alyson Footer at MLB.com, "Catcher Butera takes mound for Dodgers."

* Please follow on twitter @ernestreyes *

* Like Dodgers Blue Heaven on facebook *

* Dodgers Blue Heaven home page *