Blog Kiosk: 10/11/2014 - Dodger Links - Some Odds and Ends

What a steal of a deal to watch at Dodger Baseball game.  Featured above is a circa 1950's vintage photo showing the cost of a game at Ebbets Field, via @Dodger_History on twitter.

Below are some links to check out:

• Via Steve Dilbeck at the LA Times, "In defense of Dodgers General Manager Ned Colletti."  We find out that the big-3 prospects weren't the only untouchables in the system.

Sometimes things happen you have no control over. By the trading deadline, Colletti knew what was up with the bullpen yet no move was made to shore it up. The Dodgers were unwilling to trade their top three prospects -- Joc Pederson, Corey Seager, Julio Urias and as it turns out others as well -- to add relief help to a team otherwise primed to make a World Series run.

• Via Marc Topkin at the Tampa Bay Times, "If Dodgers fire GM, they'd eye Rays Friedman."

Friedman has earned an impressive reputation nationally in his nine years on the job, specifically in keeping the Rays competitive against significantly higher payrolled opponents such as the Yankees and Red Sox.

• Via Ken Rosenthal at FoxSports, "Puig's Game 4 benching for more than just plate struggles?"

One play in Game 3, in particular, “generated a lot of commotion on the bench,” according to one source. Oddly enough, the sequence produced one of the Dodgers’ better defensive plays of the series, with shortstop Hanley Ramirez running into left-center field to catch a pop-up by Matt Adams for the final out of the third inning.

• Topps has teamed up with Bloomberg Sports to create "Players of the Game" limited edition card prints for each game of the playoffs so far.  Our very own Zack Greinke is featured for his great performance on the mound during Game 2 of the Dodgers NLDS series against the Cardinals.  Go here to check them out.  The 10" x 14" print below (red borders) is limited to 25 copies and the blue bordered card on the right is a "1 of 1."
  
  
• I thought I should pass this along.  On Sunday (tomorrow) you can get your own photo with Lord Stanley's Cup.  Go here for information, and check out the flyer below.

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A New Dodger Autographed Card for the Collection - Do you Remember Norihiro Nakamura?

When Adrian Beltre left for greener waters after the 2004 season an obvious hole was created at third base.  We were all left to wonder who the Dodgers would get to man the hot corner the next season.  Is there even anyone in the system who can do the job? 

For a time, our questions were answered when the Dodgers announced that a Japanese slugger by the name of Norihiro Nakamura had been given a non-roster minor league contract and an invitation to earn the job during Spring Training.  Suddenly, thoughts danced around our minds wondering if he might be a power-bat version of Ichiro.  Did we just find a diamond in the rough?

As you may know, Nakamura was a premier hitter in Japan.  He had slugged over 30 home runs five-times, 100 RBI's three-times and OPS'd over .850 five-times prior to 2005.  Unfortunately, he suffered a torn knee cartilage a couple of years back and saw his numbers decline as a result.  Still, he could prove to be a effective veteran bat.

Nakamura did well enough at Vero Beach to make the Opening Day roster, but did not do enough with the bat to stay.  He slashed .128/.171/.179 and recorded just three RBI's for the Dodgers.  Less than a month into the 2005 season he was optioned to the Dodgers AAA club in Las Vegas and would never again make it to LA.

As you can imagine, his time as a Dodger was not a good one for him.  Shortly after being released at the end of the year he said this, via Wikipedia:

"If Ichiro had started his career under minor contract like me, he couldn't be called up to Major League","This year is a kind of penalties for me", and "I don't know why I played in minor league".

I hadn't realized he was that bitter about his MLB experience.

Featured in this post is a new autographed card for my collection.  This is a 2005 Donruss Leather & Lumber - 'Lumber Cuts' autographed card of Norihiro Nakamura.

BTW, he continues to play professionally in Japan, but appears to be winding down his professional career.  In 22 seasons overseas he has the following career totals:  2101 hits, 363 doubles, 404 home runs, 1,348 RBI's, .266 batting average and a .822 OPS.  He was no doubt a great one.  Unfortunately, it didn't translate well stateside.

Below are his career stats, via Baseball Reference:

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A Rare Negro League Relic that Features Satchel Paige Available at REA

I just think the item below is amazing.  It is no doubt filled with Baseball history, and if it could speak I'm sure it has some incredible stories to tell.

Featured below is a circa 1940 Kansas City Monarchs Trainer's Suitcase - Satchel Paige's Personal Medicine Cabinet!

(Auction Link)

As you may know, Satchel Paige had a personal trainer named Frank Floyd; who also doubled as the team trainer for the Kansas City Monarchs.  Well, as was common during games Paige pitched, the game would be delayed briefly while Frank Floyd came out to the mound with a bicarbonate soda concoction to calm his stomach.  Satchel Paige had a notoriously bad stomach/digestive issues... So bad that he would need some treatments during a game.  Ever the showman, these delays soon became a part of the show - a running gag during games.

Via the auction description, noted Negro League historian Larry Lester provided some information about the case in a letter below:

Hello Jim, just talked with some former Kansas City Monarchs who confirmed my original theory about the suitcase. The suitcase belonged to Jewbaby Floyd, Kansas City Monarch trainer. He was really Satchel Paige's personal trainer and would mix up solutions for Satchel's temperamental stomach.

I wrote an article a few years ago about the celebrated Josh vs. Satch matchup of 1942. A paragraph taken from that article will give you the gist of your wonderful piece of baseball Americana. In Buck O'Neil's words: "Jewbaby Floyd was our trainer and he traveled all over the country with Satch. Wherever Satch would go, Jewbaby would follow. Jewbaby was like our team doctor. So after Satchel walked those guys, Jewbaby in his white doctor's coat and his black medicine bag marched out to the mound. Satchel had always had trouble with his stomach. Jewbaby opened his bag and mixed up some concoction, I imagine Alka Seltzer or something, in a cup and shook it up. Now mind you, this is happening right there on the mound. Now everybody in the stands knows what's happening. Satchel had walked these two men and now the people are standing, some 15,000 people. He took the cup from Jewbaby and drunk it down, right there on the mound, and gives the cup back to Jewbaby. He stretches out and gives out a loud belch that echoes throughout the ball park. So Jewbaby goes off the mound and now Satch is ready to pitch to Josh."

I'll trade the rest of the story for the suitcase. Just kidding! If you ever want to sell it. . . Have a great day and keep me in mind.

This is an awesome piece of Baseball Americana, and if there's any justice it will find its way to a museum for all to see.

(Auction Link)

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Blog Kiosk: 10/10/2014 - Dodger Links - Some Odds and Ends

Hanley Ramirez left Los Angeles last night and headed for home.  Who knows if he'll wear Dodger Blue again, but I think it's fair to say he would love to stay.  The pic above via a tweet from him.  He also tweeted this, as well:

Miami is home. Of course I hope that I can stay in #DodgerBlue and #HanleyWood forever 💙⚾️
— Hanley Ramirez (@HanleyRamirez) October 10, 2014

• Via Eric Stephen at True Blue LA, "Dodgers offseason roster breakdown."
• The logic here is refreshing.  Via Tom Ley at Deadspin, "There's Nothing Wrong With The Dodgers Spending A Lot Of Money."

The Dodgers' philosophy is based on paying market rates to keep their homegrown talent—players like Clayton Kershaw and Matt Kemp, who are, it's worth noting, much better than anyone the Cardinals have developed in recent memory—while using their massive payroll to soak up the big contracts of old-but-still-useful players (Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez, Hanley Ramirez) that other teams aren't willing to pay for. That's a perfectly valid way to build a team, and one the Dodgers—a team in a big market with an enormous TV contract—are particularly well-suited to execute. It would be stupid of them to try and act like a small-market team and ignore their inherent advantages. And in any case, what the Dodgers are doing, in the simplest possible terms, is spending lots of money to put a quality product on the field that they're reasonably certain their fans will enjoy. They're willing and able to pay a premium for that measure of certainty.

• Topps is making large (10.5" x 14") gold border versions of the flagship Baseball card set and they are all "1 of 1's" priced at $99.99.  Go here to check them out.  On the right is the Ryu card.  For now, only the Series 1 cards are available, but you should expect Series 2 and the Update cards to be available soon.  BTW, the Yasiel Puig card has already been sold.
• Via Jon Weisman at Dodger Insider, "Don Mattingly on what NLDS decision he would change."

Mattingly replied that the only decision he would have changed would have been to use a right-handed pitcher, most likely Brian Wilson, to face Yadier Molina with the score tied in the seventh inning of Game 3, before bringing Scott Elbert in.
...
“That’s the thing: You always want to get that first hitter,” Mattingly said. “And even though you’ve seen the lefty-righty stuff, you still feel more comfortable if you’ve got a righty.”

• Via Justin Perline at Beyond the Boxscore, "Moonshots Episode 9: Dodger Stadium."  Justin takes a look at the longest home run hit at Dodger Stadium since 2005.
• Awesome.  I love finding out new things about mysterious vintage Baseball cards.  Via collector Al Crisafulli at Love of the Blog, The Origin of “Scrapps Tobacco”.  This is one of those sets whose origins have eluded collectors for decades.  (Hat Tip: Tom Bartsch at SCD)

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Rare Dodger Memorabilia at REA - Jackie's Ring, a 1955 WS Ring and a Really Old Dodger Uniform

Here is my third post featuring Dodger memorabilia available at REA's current auction.  The other day I featured original Topps artwork of Duke Snider and yesterday I shared a couple of oddball items.  Below are some Dodger rarities.

(Auction Link)

I don't quite know what to think about this first item.  The description states that it is a 1946 Montreal Royals International League Championship Ring and that it is attributed to Jackie Robinson.  On the other hand, it also says that they can't guarantee that it was actually issued by the Montreal Royals.  It does say, though, that the ring was a part of the famed Barry Halper Collection and that the chain of provenance leads directly to the Robinson family.

Regardless of the uncertainty surrounding the ring I still find it very cool.  It may represent a relic from Jackie's first year as a MLB pro.

(Auction Link)

This next ring is most certainly real.  Below is a 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers World Series Ring that had been issued to Dodger PR Director Red Patterson.   Per the auction description:

(Auction Link)

1955, of course, was the only season in which the familiar refrain of "Wait till Next Year," was never heard on the streets of Brooklyn following the World Series. In 1955 "next year' finally came, and the fact that the club's only World Championship while in Brooklyn came at the expense of their hated crosstown rivals, the New York Yankees, must have made the victory all the sweeter for the Flatbush faithful. Ironically, "Red" Patterson had close ties to both clubs. Patterson was the New York Yankees first public-relations director and the Brooklyn Dodgers last public-relations director. During his tenure with both clubs he was recognized as one of the game's most innovative marketing specialists and is credited with introducing many novel concepts which are now considered standard for all clubs, including Old Timers' Day games, team yearbooks, and concession stands. Patterson also invented the term "tape-measure home run" when he decided to measure the distance of Mantle's prodigious home run at Washington's Griffith Stadium on April 17, 1953, arriving at the figure of 565 feet. Unfortunately, it was Patterson, in his capacity as public-relations director, who had to make the official announcement in 1957 that the Dodgers were leaving Brooklyn, thereby breaking the collective heart of all of the Flatbush faithful.

(Auction Link)

Check out these old duds.  Here is a 1934 Brooklyn Dodgers Road Uniform; complete with a jersey attributed to utility infielder Jake Flowers, pants once belonging to Hall of Fame catcher Al Lopez and a pair of amazing vintage stirrup socks.  According to the auction it belonged to a former Dodger bullpen catcher who was given hand-me-downs to wear.

(Auction Link)

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Blog Kiosk: 10/9/2014 - Dodger Links - Should Ned Stay or Should He Go?

Above is a great vintage photo from the very last Dodger game at Ebbets Field in 1957, via @Dodgers_History on twitter.  You should give them a follow for more great photographs.

• Via Eric Stephen at True Blue LA, "Ned Colletti reportedly on hot seat after early Dodgers demise."

With an early exit in the playoffs come the obvious questions for the Dodgers, namely who - if anyone - will take the fall for losing one round earlier than in 2013? With offseason meetings beginning this week, the answer seems to lean more toward general manager Ned Colletti than manager Don Mattingly.

In my own view, the makeup of the bullpen and Don's mistrust in it is the real culprit of this postseason loss, and that's purely the domain of Ned Colletti.  He built it, he paid for it and his over-reliance on ineffective veterans ultimately became our downfall.  If anyone goes to the chopping block it is likely to be him. 

• MLB reporter Ken Rosenthal was on Beast980 KFWB to talk about Colletti, as well.  Check that out here.

I know the Elbert move, in Game 3, was controversial and it should have been. He put a guy in a situation that he hadn’t been in before, but why did that happen? It happened becasue his options were so limited. Why did Kershaw not come out when he gave up a baserunner in the 7th [in Game 4]? Because there was no one that Mattingly could trust in the bullpen.

• Via Sports Illustrated, "Report: Dodger Stadium could be next home for NFL team in LA."
• Jon Weisman at Dodger Insider writes about Jose Lime - LIMA TIME!  Today is the 10th anniversary of his 2004 NLDS shutout of the Cardinals. 
• Stay tuned!  Jon also tells us that the episode of 'Lab Rats' on DisneyXD guest staring Andre Ethier will air this coming Monday at 6:15 PM.  He also mentions that Don Newcombe's stepson is the co-creator and executive producer of the show.
• Dan Haren on twitter:

I miss you Baseball. I also hate you Baseball.
— dan haren (@ithrow88) October 8, 2014

• Via Joe Frisaro at MLB.com, "Lasorda receives Bob Feller Act of Valor Award."

The award, established in 2013, is being bestowed on three men who possess the values, integrity and dedication to serving the United States in a manner Feller displayed. Lasorda joins Indians first baseman Nick Swisher and Senior Chief Petty Officer Carl Thompson of the U.S. Navy.

• What a bunch of A-Holes!  Via David Brown at Big League Stew, the Yogi Berra Museum has been burglarized.  Hopefully a detailed list of stolen items will be made available soon, so that the greater collecting community can keep an eye out. 

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