Mariners Series Starts on Monday - Autograph Appearances, Game Give Aways and Other Stuff!

The next homestand starts on Monday against the Seattle Mariners, and several former Dodger players will be in the house to meet with fans for a free autograph session.  Below are the scheduled opportunities and other odds and ends for this upcoming homestand.

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Monday, April 13th at 7:10 PM

Monday's game starts at 7:10 PM.  Auto gates open at 4:30 PM, and stadium gates open at 5:00 PM.  The first of three Cy Young Collectors' Pin Series giveaways is this night.  The first 40,000 fans will receive an Don Newcombe pin.  see it on the right.

Nico DeJesus from Disney’s “Newsies” a will throw the ceremonial first pitch. LA Opera bass-baritone and LA native Ryan McKinny will perform the national anthem.

Juan Uribe and Adrian Gonzalez will be receiving their Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Awards before the game.  This award is determined by using a formula that combines traditional defensive stats with advanced metrics, as well as the data logged by the baseball experts working for the scouting service Inside Edge.

• The Military Hero of the Game is U.S. Navy Commander Todd P. Klipp of New York. Klipp served active duty for 26 years in several capacities including Commander, Naval Surface Forces Atlantic; Commander, Amphibious Group Four; Commander, Amphibious Group Three; Commander, Naval Special Warfare Command and the Bureau of Naval Personnel. His deployments include to 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean, the North Atlantic with NATO and to 5th Fleet in the Persian Gulf. Klipp finished his naval career at Naval Surface Warfare Command, Port Hueneme Division (NSWC PHD) where he served as the Chief Staff Officer and Department Officer for the Ship Defense and Expeditionary Warfare Department.

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Tuesday, April 14th at 7:10 PM

Tuesday's game starts at 7:10 PM.  Auto gates open at 4:30 PM, and stadium gates open at 5:00 PM.  This is the ever popular Star Wars Night (already sold out).  The Star Wars Celebration convention is in Anaheim the following weekend.  Fans must purchase a ticket package that includes a ticket in the All-You-Can-Eat Right Field Pavilion or Infield Reserve in order to receive the special edition Star Wars/Dodger t-shirt.  Check it out on the left. 

Star Wars characters will be on the field prior to the game, and although not yet officially announced I'm sure one of them will throw out the first pitch.  “American Idol” Top 16 finalist and lead singer of synth-pop act MONOGEM Jen Hirsh will perform the national anthem.

BTW, former Dodger outfielder Kenny Landreaux will be signing free autographs for fans in the left-field plaza from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM.

• The Military Heroes of the Game are U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Lance Weir of Walnut Ridge, AR, and U.S. Marine Corporal Justin Crabbe of Rancho Cucamonga. Weir served a short time in the military due to an accident and is now serving as Veterans Liaison at Canine Companions for Independence where he helps pair wounded veterans with assistance dogs. Crabbe served a six-month deployment to Japan and Afghanistan. Crabbe also serves as Veterans Liaison at Canine Companions for Independence. Headquartered in Santa Rosa, Canine Companions for Independence is a non-profit organization that enhances the lives of people with disabilities by providing highly trained assistance dogs and ongoing support.

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Wednesday, April 15th at 7:10 PM

Wednesday's game starts at 7:10 PM.  Auto gates open at 4:30 PM, and stadium gates open at 5:00 PM.  Dodger Stadium will host the Civil Rights Game this evening as a part of Jackie Robinson Day.  The game will be televised on ESPN2.  The first 40,000 fans will receive an Adult Jackie Robinson Replica Jersey.  Check it out on the left.

Magic Johnson and civil rights activist Dolores Huerta will be recognized as recipients of the 2015 MLB Beacon Awards, which recognize individuals whose lives and actions have been emblematic of the spirit of the civil rights movement.  Frank Robinson will also receive a special award in recognition of the 40th Anniversary of him becoming Baseball’s first African-American manager. 

Rachel Robinson (Jackie's wife) will throw out the first pitch prior to the game.  Sandy Koufax, Don Newcombe, Joni Campanella (Roy’s daughter) and scholars from the Jackie Robinson Foundation will also be featured during the pregame ceremony.  TNT Sports Analyst, NBA Champion and star of reality show “Meet the Smiths” Kenny “the Jet” Smith will throw the first pitch.  Grammy nominated artist Tyrese Gibson will perform the National Anthem.

Dodger alumnus Dennis Powell will be signing free autographs for fans in the left-field plaza from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM.

• The Military Hero of the Game is U.S. Army Colonel Cathy M. Davidson of Chicago. Davidson has served in the military 25 years and was commissioned in 1990. Her first assignment was the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit after completing OBC and successfully crossed-training in Neonatal ICU and the Pediatric Unit, after which she earned the “Delta” identifier in 1991. Davidson served as a Clinical Nurse at 121st Evacuation Hospital (EUSA) in Seoul, Korea, Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany and most recently served as Chief, Quality Management Division, Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany. She is currently serving as the Deputy Commander Nursing Services at Weed Army Community Hospital in Fort Irwin.  

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Blog Kiosk: 4/11/2015 - Dodger Links - Gonzo, Pederson and Puig

Sean Astin hammed it up with the boys prior to the start of Friday's game in Phoenix.  Photo above via @Dodgers on twitter.

Honest question.  Did Puig even know who he was?  It's been 12 years since Astin played Samwise Gamgee in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, so I don't think he would have ever seen the film while he was still in Cuba.  (Forgive me for my ignorance, but would a common Cuban be familiar with modern Hollywood films?)  I understand that Sean Astin is a Dodger fan, so no doubt he's probably met Puig before yesterday (I would assume).  Still, I do wonder how much of the American/Western culture Puig knew before coming here.

Below are some links to check out:

• Via Cory DiBenedetto at the Daily Gammons, "Adrian Gonzalez is on fire: In-depth look at his incredible start."
• Via Alec Dopp at the Daily Gammons, "How Legit are Joc Pederson’s Swing-and-Miss Tendencies?"

Clearly, swinging and missing has been a problem for Pederson, even when he tore through Pacific Coast League pitching throughout the 2014 minor league season. His 13.5% swinging strike rate — calculated as whiffs divided by pitches seen — is nearly identical to that which he’s posted thus far in his big league career. He’s swinging about five percent less often and seeing more pitches since his promotion, which at the very least shows us he’s been selective, even sans chase rate in those minor league scoreboards I sifted through. But even so, while Pederson seems to be a patient hitter, he’s making less contact when he does swing, which is particularly concerning by my estimation.

• Via Rob Neyer at Just a Bit Outside, "Has Newk been cheated by the Coop?"  Neyer takes a look at whether Newcombe was an Hall of Famer.
• Check out some great photos from Opening Day game of the Tulsa Drillers (our AA affiliate) taken by Reddit u/kittysparkles here.
• Via David Hood at True Blue LA, "Chris Anderson, Corey Seager stand out in Dodgers Tulsa debut."

• The clothing brand that began as an anti-McCourt parody line called Frankrupt has re-launched with a new line of Dodger-fan themed tee shirts.  Check them out here.  Check out a funny photo of one of their T's on the right.  It's called "Orel Sax 1988 World Champs."  Click on the pic to embiggen.
• The videos below is a part of MLB's new “THIS” campaign and it features Yasiel Puig and several other Dodgers.  Below Yasiel Puig puts on his Latin shoes with some fellow DodgerBros as Clayton Kershaw looks on.

Video Link:

The ever playful Puig goofs around with Uribe and Ryu.

Video Link:

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2015 Topps Museum Baseball - The Dodger Base Cards

Topps newest Baseball card release is now in stores.  It is called the Museum Collection and it features both current and former Baseball greats.  This is a high-end product where boxes cost just under $200 each, you get four packs and you're guaranteed an autograph or relic card in each pack.  Go here to check out a complete checklist.

Seven Dodger players are represented in the 100 card base set.  You can see them all below.  As always there are a bunch of different parallel cards.  The Puig and Kershaw cards shown below are known as the copper parallels and are unnumbered.

#19 Sandy Koufax                                      #20 Joc Pederson

Topps 1952 Tribute Online Exclusive Set - All the Dodger Cards

Topps newest online exclusive release is a 1952 Tribute set that includes 10 Dodger cards.  Check them all out below.  Go here to see them online.

Fantastic, eh?

I love the portrait photos with the pastel colored backgrounds, and you certainly can't beat the iconic 1952 set design. 

Individual 10"x14" cards are available that are numbered to #/99 copies.  There are also gold background "1 of 1" cards available, but those are going fast.  Also 5"x7" complete sets can also be purchased in both the base and gold background designs, and a bonus 11th mystery card can only be found in the gold background complete set.  If anyone gets that please let me know who that bonus card is.

Blog Kiosk: 4/10/2015 - Dodger Links - Some Odds and Ends

Check out this fantastic Wide World press photo, dated June 22, 1956, that I ran into on eBay.  It features Roy Campanella and Don Zimmer posing for the camera after both had a big day at the plate.  The caption attached to the reverse is below:

"REDBIRDS WERE THEIR TARGET.  Slump-ridden Roy Campanella, left, and shortstop Don Zimmer whoop it up in the dressing room June 21 after their work at bat brought a 9-8 win to the Dodgers over the St. Louis Cardinals in night game at Ebbets Field, Brooklyn, N.Y., Campy drove in six runs with a pair of homers, the second one with two aboard in ninth to tie up the game.  Zimmer's third hit of the night after he replaced injured Pee Wee Reese drove in the winning run."

Below are some links to check out:

• Via Ken Gurnick at MLB.com, "Fifth-starter candidates Baker, Huff work in Minors."  With Ryu on the DL the Dodgers will need a spot starter next week.
• Via Ron Cervenka at Think Blue LA, "De Leon near perfect as Quakes take season opener."
• Via Ken Gurnick at MLB.com, "With Adrian on HR tear, Green reflects on day he hit four."

"That day, and that week, I had a very calm sense of being in the zone," Green said. "As opposed to other times, when you're in the zone and you almost start pressing because you don't want to waste that great feeling you have. When that happens, in some ways you feel more pressure when you're in that zone. But for that week, I was just very relaxed. Everything slowed down. All the clichés."

• Jim Callis at MLB.com, "Where the Dodgers' top 30 prospects are starting the season."
• Via Dustin Nosler at Dodgers Digest, "Dodgers’ prospect Jharel Cotton out 2-3 months with broken wrist."
• Just for posterity, here's a look at the Opening Series Playbill given to fans attending the recent Padres series, via @DodgerInsider on twitter.  Check it out on the right.
• Via Michael McKnight and L. Jon Wertheim at Sports Illustrated, "The tragic extent of Monique and Milton Bradley's violent relationship."  This is both harrowing and disturbing.
• Here is a large GIF collection of Babe Ruth playing Baseball. 
• Fascinating stuff.  Via Peter Morris and Stefan Fatsis at Slate.com, "Baseball’s Secret Pioneer."  They tell us all about a ballplayer from the late 19th century who appears to be the first black player in major league history.

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Welcome to the Blue, Ryan Webb and Brian Ward!

The Dodgers front office never seems to take a day off.  Today is the first break between games of the season, so the head honchos decide to take the time off to complete a trade.  This afternoon they announced a deal that has the Dodgers sending a couple of minor leaguers to the Orioles for a Major League relief pitcher, a minor league catcher and a Rule 4 Draft Pick. 

Per a Dodger press release:

The Los Angeles Dodgers today announced the acquisition of a Rule 4 competitive balance round B draft pick (No. 74), right-handed pitcher Ryan Webb and minor league catcher Brian Ward from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for minor league catcher Chris O’Brien and minor league pitcher Ben Rowen. Dodger President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman made the announcement.

Webb was 3-3 with a 3.83 ERA in 51 relief appearances for Baltimore last season and has appeared in 317 career games (all in relief) for the Padres (2009-10), Marlins (2011-13) and Orioles (2014). The 29-year-old Florida native was originally selected by the Oakland A’s in the fourth round of the 2004 player draft. He will be added to the Dodgers’ 40-man roster.

Ward, a Santa Monica native, appeared in 65 games (60 behind the plate) for Triple-A Norfolk last season, hitting .227 with two homers and 20 RBI.

As for the draft pick we got, the Dodgers are stocked and ready to do some major damage later this year.

With the acquisition of the Orioles’ Rule 4 competitive balance pick, the Dodgers now hold four of the first 74 picks (No. 24, No. 35, No. 67 and No. 74) in the upcoming June player draft.

Webb has one year remaining in his two year contract, and it will pay him $2.75Mil.  He is a right handed sinkerball pitcher who gets a lot of groundballs, so he'll fit right in with our revamped middle infield.  Webb will be placed on the 40-man roster (there was space already available for him), and we should expect a corresponding move on the active roster for him to join the Dodgers in Arizona.  Either a reliever (likely with options like Baez or Yimi Garcia) or a bench player (like Darwin Barney) will be sent to AAA.

BTW, Eric Stephen at True Blue LA notes that he is third on the all time list of relievers with the most career relief appearances without a save.

Brian Ward was born in Santa Monica and went to Marina High School in Huntington Beach.  He is thought of as a defensive specialist who has yet to show anything with the bat.  BTW, in 2012 he incurred a 50 game suspension for violating the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program a second time.  It was not for using a PED.

In celebration of Webb and Ward's arrival to the club I made the above fantasy cards for them.  For Webb I grabbed a photo taken during photo day last year by Kevin C. Cox/Getty (found at Zimbio) and the 1972 Topps Baseball card design.  For Ward I grabbed a 2012 photo day photo taken by Tony Firriolo/MLB Photos and the 1972 Topps Baseball card design.

Below is Webb's career statistics, via Baseball-Reference:


Below is Ward's career statistics, via Baseball-Reference:

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