Josh Beckett to DL - All Hail Josh Beckett

As expected, Josh Beckett has been placed on the 15-day disabled list.  To replace him is newly acquired starting pitcher Roberto Hernandez - who starts tonight's game.  Per a Dodger press release:

The Los Angeles Dodgers today placed right-handed pitcher Josh Beckett on the 15-day disabled list (retroactive to August 4) with a left hip impingement and activated right-handed pitcher Roberto Hernandez, who was acquired yesterday from Philadelphia.

Beckett has made 20 starts for the Dodgers this season, posting a 6-6 record with a 2.88 ERA (37 ER/115.2 IP) with 107 strikeouts. The 14-year Major League veteran made three starts since being reinstated on July 22 from the same injury that sidelined him on July 8 and will be placed on the DL for the third time this season.

And with that move, the Josh Beckett era in Dodger Blue may be over, and I, for one, will miss him. 

Josh Beckett was an able warrior who battled all odds to pitch again, and pitch effectively.  During his short stint in Los Angeles he suffered through injuries and a loss of confidence that rattled his mind and caused him to openly talk about retiring. Still, he fought back and worked hard to stay in the Dodgers rotation. 

For his efforts, he was rewarded with an unlikely season that saw him strike out nearly a batter every inning and maintain an ERA of under 3.00.  Better yet, he had flashes of brilliance that resulted in two 2-hitters, a 1-hitter and his only career no-hitter just a couple of months ago. 

The photos from that no-hit game are priceless, and given this news I suggest taking a moment to check out Jon SooHoo's photo blog from that game to relive the afternoon (go here).  The photos in this post are from that game, via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2014.  Also, Jon Weisman at Dodger Insider shares a couple of great articles about Beckett that were originally printed in the Dodger Insider Magazine, here.

BTW, LA Times reporter Dylan Hernandez tweeted that Don Mattingly believes that Beckett will pitch again this season.  As impossible as this may seem, considering his current hip injury and the rumors that surgery is in his near future, I wouldn't be surprised.  Like I intimated above, Josh Beckett ain't no quitter, and I have no doubt that he'll do everything he can to get back on that mound.

* Please follow on twitter @ernestreyes *

* Like Dodgers Blue Heaven on facebook *

* Dodgers Blue Heaven home page *

This is Probably the Scarcest Jackie Robinson Rookie Card in the Hobby

Last week I had my eyes glued to an eBay auction in hopes I could add the card to my collection.

Who was I kidding, though?  There was no way I'd be able to compete.  Besides, I had recently decided to not no crazy with bids and set a limit on myself that was well below the value of the card.  Nevertheless, I was going to give it the college try.

Featured here is a 1948 R346 Blue Tint card of Jackie Robinson in the super-rare "Black & White" variation.  I've only seen this card once before, and if the auction description is correct (it claims to be the only card to ever be graded by any company) then this is probably that same card.

As you may know, the R346 Blue Tint set is a strip card where several cards are attached together in a strip.  Collectors would have to hand-cut it to turn them into individual cards, so condition is a huge issue.  As the name of the set suggest, they typically were printed with blue ink.  A rare variation exist in black ink.  This card is one of those rarities.

Several years ago I added the normal Blue Tint Jackie Robinson card to my collection, and have painstakingly been putting together a master complete set that is currently 9 cards short of completion (not including the B&W variations).  Over the past decade I can count on one hand the number of different B&W variations of any player that I have seen.

The above card sold last week at $510.00.  I think this is a steal considering what a 1948 Leaf Rookie card sells for today... And, that card is plentiful relative to this example.

* Please follow on twitter @ernestreyes *

* Like Dodgers Blue Heaven on facebook *

* Dodgers Blue Heaven home page *

An Incredible 1950's Era Dodgerettes Fan Club Sweater at Grey Flannel Auctions

This is just plain awesome!

Featured here is a vintage, circa 1950's, Brooklyn Dodgers "Dodgerettes" fan club sweater available for auction at Grey Flannel Auctions.  It has the name of "Marilyn" stitched just above the right-side pocket and is in reasonably good shape considering its age.

I can imagine throngs of lady Dodger fans joining this exclusive club to show their love and support for the "Bums" of Brooklyn.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to get much of any information about this group, so if you happen to know anything please pass your knowledge along.  I wonder if this is some sort of booster club, or sanctioned organization created by the ballclub.

What I do know is that a vintage pin exclaiming membership in the group pops up from time to time.  Check out a pic of that on the right.  It says, "I am a member of the Dodgerette Dodger Fan Club."  This pin last sold in 2010 through Inside the Park Collectibles for $138.00.

Below is a close up of  the Dodger letterman on the left breast of the sweater.

This is the first time I have ever seen this.

(Auction Link)

* Please follow on twitter @ernestreyes *

* Like Dodgers Blue Heaven on facebook *

* Dodgers Blue Heaven home page *

Blog Kiosk: 8/8/2014 - Dodger Links - Beckett Likely Headed to DL and Colletti Looking for Deals

I hardly think of the Angels as a rival.  Still, it's nice to beat the crosstown wannabe LA team in their own home in Orange County.  No doubt we had them running in fear as the streets were awash in blood blue.

Hyun-Jin Ryu was great again last night.  He pitched seven strong innings, gave up just two hits and recorded four strike outs.  Ryu mixed up his pitches nicely, but often got behind in the count to the Angel batters.  Fortunately, his off-speed pitch was on key, so he was able to fool many of them at the plate.

On top of that, the Dodger Bubble Machine is back after a short hiatus.  Apparently, an MLB higher-up (cough, Torre, cough) made mention to the team that we couldn't have that in the dugout, but the ensuing and rapidly growing chorus of boo's and mocking gestures changed that view real quick.  The Bubble Machine is now an official member of the team, and it's only a matter of time before it joins the 40-man roster.  Until then, it will be packaged incognito-like with the rest of the Dodger hardware.  The photo at the very top is of the famous toy, via the @Dodgers on twitter.

Now, here are some more Dodger links to check out.

• Josh Beckett just might be done for the season.  Via Bill Shaikin of the LA Times on twitter, he recently had an MRI and is expected to go on the DL - recently traded for pitcher Roberto Hernandez will take his spot on the roster.

Josh Beckett's locker in Anaheim is cleared out. He had MRI (hip) & is expected to go on DL for Roberto Hernandez, who starts tomorrow.
— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) August 7, 2014

• Via Dan Arritt at ESPNLosAngeles.com, "Colletti keeps eye out for another pitcher."

"As I've said many times, you better have enough of everything," Colletti said Thursday from the dugout as the Dodgers took batting practice before their series and regular-season finale against the Los Angeles Angels. 

• Here's an under the radar signing.  Via Eric Stephen at True Blue LA, "Dodgers sign Bruce Billings to minor league contract."
• Wow!  Check out this Jell-O shot creation made to look like Dodger Stadium, here.  I feel drunk just looking at it.  This photo is via /u/HoserUSC on Reddit.
• BTW, Eric Stephen at True Blue LA lets us know on twitter that once heralded pitching prospect Chris Reed has been promoted to AAA-Albuquerque.  BTW, you should check a scouting report on Reed by Chris Blessing at RotoScounting, here.

Dodgers promoted Chris Reed to Triple-A @AbqTopes
— Eric Stephen (@truebluela) August 7, 2014

• Ben Lindbergh at Grantland writes about the myth that pitching wins championships.  Fascinating stuff.

So why doesn’t the quality of a team’s top three starters or its ace register as significant? For one thing, the differences between teams are compressed in the playoffs, relative to the regular season: Teams with terrible staffs don’t make it to October, so the gulf between the best- and worst-pitching playoff teams isn’t as stark as we’re used to seeing during the season’s first six months. Perhaps more importantly, there’s more than one way to win baseball games, and even under an expanded playoff format, teams don’t get to October without doing something well. A team with an inferior pitching staff often makes up for its weakness on the mound by being better on offense.

• WooHoo!  Kings Hall of Famer and current VP of the team Luc Robitaille is getting a statue of himself at The Staples Center, via Jon Rosen of the LA Kings Insider.

* Please follow on twitter @ernestreyes *

* Like Dodgers Blue Heaven on facebook *

* Dodgers Blue Heaven home page *

Some Great Vintage Baseball Items from SCP - Part of the Helms Athletic Foundation/LA84 Collection

Earlier in the week I featured a bunch of Dodgers related memorabilia available for sale at SCP's current auction.  Check that post out here.

I had indicated that SCP was selling  memorabilia that belonged to the Helms Athletic Foundation/LA84 Collection, and I wanted to take a moment to point out some of the more interesting Baseball items in that collection.  As you may know, the Helms Athletic Foundation was an LA based sports group founded in 1936 that collected memorabilia to honor athletes in just about every sport imaginable.  They are considered one of the first "Hall of Fame" museums every conceived.  Learn more about them here. 

Below are some more Baseball related memorabilia at the Helms Athletic Foundation/LA84 Collection that stuck out to me.

---------------

Here is a cabinet photo of the 1903 Pacific Coast League Champion Los Angeles Angels. This was the clubs inaugural season.  There are 14 players and their manager all dressed in original Angels uniforms.  Pictured are: Joe Corbett, Doc Newton, Ed Hurlburt, Pop Dillon, Rusty Hall, Jud Smith, Vianello Drinkwater, Dolly Gray, Gavvy Cravath, Jas. F. Morley (Mgr.), Harry Spies, George Wheeler, Art Ross, Jimmy Toman, and Dummy Hoy.

Dummy Hoy is a notable player on this team.  He was a deaf ballplayer who went on to play for several Major League clubs over a stellar 14-year Major League career prior to joining the Angels in 1903.  At one time he held Major League records for games played in centerfield, career putouts and total chances as an outfielder.   He was also a speedster on the basepaths.  Hoy stole 596 total bases in his career and scored 1429 runs.  Some historians believe that he is the reason Baseball uses signals for safe and out calls.

BTW, he was nicknamed "Dummy" because during this time period the term was in reference to a person who could not speak and not related to intelligence.  Hence, all deaf folks were typically referred to as "Dummy". 

(Auction Link)

Get a look at this.

Below is a 1906 World Series game-used Baseball.  Wow!  Better yet, it has been signed by Hall of Famer Ed Walsh and southpaw Mordecai “Three-Fingered” Brown. Per the auction description:

It would mark the first National League pennant for the record-breaking, 116-36 Cubs, while the White Sox won the AL pennant with a 93-58 record, just two games ahead of the New York Highlanders. Entering game 6, the White Sox led the series three games to two and were determined to win the title on their home field. Led by the clutch hitting of George Davis and Jiggs Donahue, with three runs batted in apiece, the South Side sluggers prevailed, 8-3. This official Reach-branded, horsehide American League baseball is from that Series-deciding Game 6. Dark and discolored by more than a century’s worth of time, the game-used gem boasts signatures in black from both Walsh and Brown, the latter’s just to the right of the sweet spot, with a special inscription, in an unknown hand, that reads: “1906 World Series Final Ball Sox Win.” Although not documented as such, we believe this historic ball was part of a donation of significant early baseball items given to the museum by Joe E. Brown. Joe E. Brown was among the biggest stars of stage, film, radio, and television in the 1920’s and 30’s. He was also a tremendous sports fan, co-owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates and a passionate collector of sports memorabilia.

(Auction Link)

I've been fascinated by the House of David since I first learned of them in the Baseball documentary by Ken Burns.  Below is a circa 1930's game-used jersey.  Check out some vintage postcards of the House of David in my collection here.  I had written this previously:

The House of David also did much to help integrate the country.  When they barnstormed they would often play doubleheaders with a Negro League team (who traveled with them) as the opening bill.  Then, that evening they would dine at a local restaurant and sleep in a local hotel with the Negro League players right beside them.  It was their belief that the color of someone's skin was meaningless, and they would not allow those who traveled with them to be treated any differently then themselves.

(Auction Link)

* Please follow on twitter @ernestreyes *

* Like Dodgers Blue Heaven on facebook *

* Dodgers Blue Heaven home page *

Some New Andy LaRoche Auto'd Cards Added to the Collection

Sometimes I just can't help it.  Andy LaRoche was suppose to be our power bat at 3rd base.  He was the guy who was suppose to help us forget about Adrian Beltre.  Instead, he was a spectacular bust.  Still, I find it necessary to add more autographed cards of him to my collection.  Heck, a couple of the cards (as seen below) have been on a personal want-list for a long time.

Featured above is 2007 Upper Deck SP Rookie Edition autographed card of Andy LaRoche.  Below is a 2007 Upper Deck Sweet Beginnings Signature embedded helmet card and a 2007 Upper Deck Black "Pride of the Nation" American flag patch autographed card.

It's hard to say what exactly happened to Andy LaRoche.  Was it a case of our eyes being bigger than our stomachs, or was it the thumb injury he sustained while with the Dodgers in 2008 that sapped his power?  Who knows, and we are likely to never find out.

All I know is that it's an cautionary tale all Baseball fans learn very quickly.  A young ballplayer with all the potential talent in the world is still just prospect. 

On the other hand, sometimes it's better to unwrap that present yourself than to see someone else do it in your stead.

* Please follow on twitter @ernestreyes *

* Like Dodgers Blue Heaven on facebook *

* Dodgers Blue Heaven home page *