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Monday, July 30, 2012

Dodgers Blog Kiosk: 7/30/2012

Check out Ted Lilly above pitching in a rehab assignment for the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes yesterday afternoon.  He threw two scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and a walk.  Pic via twitter @MayorNHL.
  • The Mayor (whose pic is above) follows up with a story about Lilly.
“I think they want to win,” Lilly said of the Dodgers’ recent addition of infielder Hanley Ramirez and the notion that more help is likely on the way.

“To a degree, you kinda have to spend a little bit of money – or what you do spend, you have to spend as wisely as possible and hope that things turn out the way that you expect. There have been successful clubs out there that don’t spend a lot of money. But, they’re few and far between. So, fortunately, with the new ownership group we do have a little bit of leeway, where we can take some risks and be aggressive.”
"He's not Ozzie Smith at shortstop, but if he gets his glove on the ball, he catches it and throws them out," said manager Don Mattingly. "He's stabilized the position and swung the bat well."
  • Check out Left Field Pavilions great graphic celebrating the Dodgers first back-to-back shutout games against the Giants at their home since 1957.
  • Former Brooklyn Dodger Ed Stevens passed away last week- RIP.  Check out Nick Diunte's of Examiner.com story about his life and career.  Check out a 1947 Tip Top Bread card of Stevens on the right.
Leaving spring training in Havana in 1947, Leo Durocher had penciled him in as their opening day starter, beating out five other first baseman in the process. Left with little time to glow in the fruits of his hard work, Stevens’ jubilee would quickly turn sour as the day before the season opener, Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey announced that Jackie Robinson, not Stevens would be their opening day first baseman. Not only was Stevens about to witness Robinson break baseball’s color line, he also saw his position wither away right in front of his eyes.
With only two games left in July, he’s hit .328 this month with a .391 slugging percentage. He’s no doubt benefited some from being in a semi-platoon with Juan Rivera at first and he’s no one’s concept of an ideal first baseman, but he has been productive. And he is still excellent defensively.
  • Steven at Zim's Autographs went to the Quakes game where Rubby De La Rosa and Ted Lilly pitched on rehab assignments and got a bunch of autographs; including Rubby and Ted.
  • Even the Stanley Cup has Olympic fever.  Pic via twitter @kepperofthecup shows Kings captain Dustin Brown doing some shopping.  Then check out a great story about Brown's day with the cup, via Scott Burnside of ESPN.
  • Are you a game used bat collector?  Well, PSA just released a new online resource perfect for you.  It it's called PSA Pro Bat Facts.  On top of that, PSA is planning to also release a similar resource for autographs soon  I've added this website to my Hobby/Forum/Research Links page.  Go there for other links of other hobby related links.

Dodgers Sweep the Gints!!! Woo Hoo!!!


I woke up this morning with a giant smile on my face.  Heck, I got out of bed and did a little dance.  To put you in a similar mood check out the Sweep Dance from a great unsung movie from the '80's, Breakin'.

Video Link:

Pic Credit Above, via twitter @GoingYardLA:

Legendary Auctions: Some Vintage Baseball Memorabilia

Legendary Auctions is running a small auction.  There are only 63 items to look at, but don't mistake that for a lack of quality.  Following up on my post from Friday featuring a game-used cap once worn by Don Drysdale, here are several other memorabilia items I thought were worth noting.

Below is the Babe Ruth Crown that was presented to Jose Canseco in 1988.  This award is given out by the Maryland Professional Baseball Players Association (MPBPA) based upon a point system from that seasons stats: 4 points for most home runs, 3 for most RBI, 2 for most total bases and 1 for best batting average.  Stamped along its ring are the following words:
"1988 All-Star Game - Sporting News All Star Team - A.B 610 - Runs 120 - Hits 187 - H.R. 42 - Total Bases 347 - S.B. 40 - R.B.I. 124 - B.A. .307 - 1988 - A.P. Male Athlete of the Year - American League M.V.P. - A.P. All Star Team."
Hilariously, Canseco didn't even show up to the awards banquet to receive this award. 
Canseco's failure to appear at the 1988 Tops in Sports Banquet—which he initially attributed to not having a tuxedo and later to his wife being ill—marked the first no-show in the Babe Ruth Crown's then-24-year history.
(Auction Link)

Below is a 1897 bat attributed to Hall of Famer Cap Anson.  Furthermore, this bat was displayed at "Nuf Ced" McGreevey's Third Base Saloon in Boston- considered the very first American sports bar.
A place where heated debates were settled by the owner's stock phrase "Nuf Ced!" and where every wall was decorated to the nines (literally!) with museum-worthy baseball photos and memorabilia. Most famously, the dangling light fixtures were composed of glowing orbs mounted on the game-used bats of saloon patrons such as Cy Young, Nap Lajoie, Hugh Duffy, King Kelly and, finally, the venerable 45-year-old retiree Anson.
McGreevey was the leader of the Royal Rooters fan club (predecessor to Red Sox Nation). Via Wikipedia:
On game days the Royal Rooters marched in procession from the 3rd Base Saloon to the Huntington Avenue Grounds, which was the team’s home field before Fenway Park opened in 1912. The Rooters had a reserved section of seats along the third base line, close enough to the field to intimidate or distract opposing players with their insults and vicious taunts. 
(Auction Link)

The below bat is the "pattern bat" that marks the very first professional player endorsement.  That's right, this bat started it all.
On September 1, 1905, Wagner famously signed a contract with esteemed bat-maker Hillerich & Bradsby that allowed his autograph to be branded on their Louisville Sluggers. It was the Big Bang moment, the genesis, of all sports endorsement deals to come—from the early crop of Cobb, Ruth, DiMaggio and Mantle, to the bling generation of Jordan, Woods, Armstrong, Beckham and LeBron.
Honus Wagner was one of the most recognizable athletes of the time and he was the first player paid for his endorsement.
(Auction Link)