Fan Fest is Coming! Date Set for January 31st

Even with all of the recent upheaval in the Dodgers roster, some not liked by fans, I'm sure most everybody remains excited about Fan Fest.  It has become an highly anticipated annual tradition at Dodger Stadium as it helps usher in the new season. There are games for kids, Dodger Dogs for all and autograph sessions with your favorite players.

So, it is with much joy that I let you all know that it appears a date has been set for next seasons Fan Fest. It'll be on Saturday, January 31, 2015.  Check out the Dodger website for more information.  (A Hat Tip to Blue Heaven reader Osmar for the heads up)

There are scant details about the event right now, but I think it's fair to assume that it'll be similar to last year.  There should be plenty of activities for kids; including face painting, carnival rides and games.  Dodger apparel will be for sale and a stage will be set up for interviews with your favorite Dodger players.  Best yet, there should be another autograph session.  Hopefully, they run it like last year.  You were able to purchase autograph tickets online with all proceeds going to the Dodgers Foundation.

On a side note, I hope the Dodgers bring back the vintage museum filled with memorabilia and collectibles.  Noted collector and owner of the Sports Museum of Los Angels, Gary Cypres, brought out a bunch of his stuff to show to fans a couple of years back.  Unfortunately, it was absent last year.

Take a look back at my past post of this event below.  There are plenty of photos to look through.

• 2014 Fan Fest
• 2013 Fan Fest

Here is a video from last years Fan Fest.

Video Link:

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Sunday Dodger Videos: Howie Kendrick, Stan Kasten and Drysdale on 'You Bet Your Life'

Here are this Sunday's Dodger videos.  First, though, watch SportsNet LA speak with Howie Kendrick about being traded to the Dodgers, here.

Then, listen to Stan Kasten speak about Kendrick.

Video Link:

Think Blue Review: 12/13/14 - TBR goes inside the MLB Winter Meetings in San Diego.

Video Link:

Now, here is something fun.  Watch 'You Bet Your Life' with Don Drysdale.  Groucho Marx is the host.

Video Link:

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Adrian Gonzalez Spills the Beans - Says Puig Doesn't Eat Right

Gag me with a spoon!

A part of me is dry-heaving at the thought of it.

A few days ago TMZ caught up with Dodger slugger Adrian Gonzalez, with daughter in tow, to ask him an all important question.  What is the weirdest locker room superstition he's ever seen?

Well, Adrian provides a weird answer... not exactly a direct answer to the question, mind you... But a weird one nonetheless.

Adrian lets us know about a strange eating habit that would surely horrify any foodie. 

He claims that Yasiel Puig eats sushi with ketchup... KETCHUP!

Video Link:

Ya know, I love ketchup and I can just about put it on anything... But on sushi?  That's a whole new different level of culinary failure. Next thing you'll tell me is that Puig puts ketchup on those steaks he loves to eat every morning.  Oh wait, that's not that bad, actually.

I can't even imagine trying ketchup on sushi.  I don't think I could ever try it.  How 'bout you?

Pic at the very top via Feel Good Eating.

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Blog Kiosk: 12/13/2014 - Dodger Links - AGon, Grandal and the Moody Matt Kemp

This past Thursday Adrian Gonzalez rewarded 200 academically achieving students in under-served communities with Nike shoes.  The photo above is via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2014.  Go here to check out more photos from the event.  Via Yvonne Carrasco at Dodger Insider, "Adrian Gonzalez rewards academic achievement with a special holiday gift."

“This holiday season, my wife Betsy and I wanted to connect with high school students who have focused on their studies all year long,” said Gonzalez. “Education and access to college is incredibly important, and I am grateful for any opportunity in which I can encourage students to achieve their academic goals.”

Below are some links to check out:

• Via Nathan Masters at KCET, "The View from Dodger Stadium in 1877."  You've read that right, 1877.
• Via Matthew Moreno at Dodgers Nation, "Nick Young Not Pleased With Dodgers Trading Matt Kemp (VIDEO)."
• Via CBSLA.com, Jim Hill spoke with Matt Kemp and shares his interview in a video.  Check it out here.
• Via Mark Saxon at ESPN, "Trading Kemp all about restoring functionality."

But what this really was about was restoring functionality, to the roster and to the atmosphere around the team. That last part is so nefarious as to invite ridicule. The players don’t have to hold hands and engage in group therapy before every game. They also probably shouldn’t curse loudly, throw equipment and demean a teammate when they’re told to get ready to play another position, as Kemp did -- according to team sources -- when the Dodgers decided he could no longer play center field and moved him to left.

• Via Jayson Stark at ESPN.com, "Winter meetings winners and losers."

Love the new DP combination of Kendrick and Rollins. Love the upgraded up-the-middle defense of Kendrick, Rollins and Joc Pederson. Love how the ground-ball, funky-contact approach of Brandon McCarthy fits that defensive upgrade. Love how they cut payroll, added to their prospect depth and injected life and leadership into their clubhouse so decisively. Just don't love their lineup without Kemp and Hanley Ramirez. But there's more activity coming, in the probable addition of a free-agent starter (James Shields?). And maybe much more. So no one won the week like the Dodgers.

• I sure hope you're right.  Via David Golebiewski at the Daily Gammons, "L.A. Might Have Landed Gem in Yasmani Grandal."
• Via Pedro Moura at the OC Register, "Grandal is a gamble for Dodgers."

There’s a case for that, certainly. He is a catcher, one with a superb ability to frame balls so they look like strikes, and he has a .350 career on-base percentage, seventh-best among active catchers. He has hit 24 home runs in the equivalent of a season and a half of work – and did it playing half his games in Petco Park, one of the most homer-suppressing stadiums in the sport.

But the second school of thought is that Grandal is barely an average hitter for a catcher, with questionable skills behind the plate. The case for that: Grandal’s offensive statistics after his 2012 rookie season look a lot different than they did during it, and, beyond pitch-framing, his defensive numbers have never looked all that great.

• If you are interested in group-breaks then this is for you.  Chris Olds at Beckett put together a list of 50 group-breakers you need to know, here.
• Tim Federowicz sends his thanks to the fans, via twitter:

I would like to thank the dodgers organization and fans for everything over the last couple of years.
— Tim Federowicz (@FedX19) December 12, 2014

• Newest Dodger reliever Chris Hatcher is already making friends with fellow Dodger fans.  Check out this tweet of him signing a Dodger cap below:

Met Chris Hatcher @handlebars41 new Dodger via trade with Marlins visiting the troops in Southwest Asia. Great guy! pic.twitter.com/FI4GQY8YnN
— Ruben  (@rubpez74) December 12, 2014

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Welcome to the Blue, Austin Barnes!

Following on the heels of my little report on Kike Hernandez this morning, here is a look at another prospect we received in the Dee Gordon Trade - Austin Barnes.  You can follow him on twitter here: @austinbarnes23.

Per a Dodgers Press Release:

Barnes, 24, was a Single-A Florida State League All-Star in 2014, combining to hit .304 with a .398 on-base percentage, 13 home runs and 57 RBI in 122 games with Single-A Jupiter and Double-A Jacksonville. In addition to appearing in 73 games behind the plate, Barnes played in 30 games at second base and 15 at third base.

Barnes has been selected to his league's All-Star Game in three consecutive years (2012 South Atlantic League mid- and post-season, 2013-14 Florida State League mid-season) and has a .298 batting average with a .390 on-base percentage, 31 home runs and 186 RBI in 419 professional games in four minor league seasons. The Riverside, CA, native was originally selected by the Marlins in the ninth round of the 2011 First-Year Player Draft out of Arizona State University.

MLB.com currently ranks him as our 18th best prospect in the system and our 2nd best overall catcher. 

Initially a second baseman entering pro ball, Miami moved Barnes behind the plate in 2013, and he showed some solid tools there. He's also a capable defender in the infield. A solid-average hitter, Barnes uses the whole field, really understands situational hitting and is an above-average baserunner. His instincts and his makeup allow him to play above his tools.

Barnes is still improving defensively, but he'll likely end up as the kind of versatile player big league managers like to have on their roster.

So, he may still have quite a ways to go before he can get behind the dish for a Major League game, but has the tools to succeed.  Fortunately, he appears to already hit well.  Possibly with the tutelage from a Dodger coaching staff (Steve Yeager) we might see his catching skills improve and see him in Los Angeles before too long.

BTW, Barnes has been a fixture in FanGraphs 'The Fringe Five: Baseball’s Most Compelling Fringe Prospects' in 2014.  Here is what Carson Cistulli wrote in late-August:

The 24-year-old Barnes appeared within three of the four most recent editions of this weekly column almost entirely on the strength of his excellent plate-discipline profile and positional flexibility. He demonstrated both those skills once again this past week, recording a 7:3 walk-to-strikeout ratio while also making defensive appearances at both second base and catcher for Double-A Jacksonville. What else he did this week was hit four home runs

In celebration of Barnes's arrival to the Dodgers I made the above fantasy card for him.  I used a photograph grabbed from a photo from MiLB (Bryan Gayoso) and the 1974 Topps Baseball card design.

Below are the career stats for Austin Barnes, via Baseball-Reference:

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The 2000 Dodger Fan Appreciation Baseball Card Sheet

Here is the next Dodgers' Fan Appreciation sheet to gaze at.  As you know, over the past several days I've been highlighting these little treasures on this blog.  Go here to check out all of my past post on this give-away.

This sheet features perforated cards of Shawn Green, Gary Sheffield and Eric Karros.  Best yet, the reverse of the cards, when held together, shows an entire team portrait.  Check that out below.

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