Giants Series Starts Tomorrow - Scheduled Autograph Signings, Game Give Aways and Other Stuff!

The next homestand starts tomorrow against the San Franicso Giants, and several olde-tyme Dodgers will be in the house to sign free autographs for fans.  Below are the scheduled autograph opportunities and other odds and ends for this upcoming homestand.

Remember fans, this homestand is all about the #DodgerBlueOut.  Come out to the game is all of the Blue you've got.  There'll be Blue balloons at stadium entrances, Blue face painting, photo booths with Blue props, seat upgrades for fans in their Bluest-Blue outfits, a special Blue Heaven dog, and Blue Margaritas.  WooHoo!

“We want to encourage all Dodger fans to help us create the most electric atmosphere possible at the series with the Giants by wearing their blue and encouraging their friends to do the same,” said Dodgers’ Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer Lon Rosen.  “Our goal is to create a sea of blue that will make for a truly special fan experience during what promises to be a very exciting series.”

As I said, the Extreme Loaded Dog concession stands will be making the Blue Heaven Dog, an all-beef hot dog topped with blue cheese, coleslaw and chopped applewood smoked bacon. It will be available Monday through Wednesday at extreme loaded dog concession stands on the Field, Loge and Reserve levels.

BTW, the remaining six home games of the season will be aired on KDOC - free for everyone.  KDOC can be seen on the following channels:

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Monday, September 22nd at 7:10 PM
Jake Peavy vs. Dan Haren

Monday's game starts at 7:10 PM.  Auto gates open at 4:30 PM, and stadium gates open at 5:00 PM.  This afternoon the Dodgers celebrate Clayton Kershaw's No-Hitter.  The first 40,000 fans will receive an Kershaw Commemorative No-Hitter Pin.  Check it out on the left.

Hall of Fame Manager and Special Advisor to the Chairman Tommy Lasorda along with his family will partake in the ceremonial first pitch in celebration of his 86th birthday. Frank Sinatra Jr. will perform the national anthem.  The Dodgers will play host to their second and final Cheer Night event of the 2014 season. Prior to the game, 20 of Southern California’s most elite teams will showcase their talents in a special pre-game performance in front of more than 3,000 family and friends.

Former Dodgers Mickey Hatcher (in right-field pavilion plaza) and Derrel Thomas (in left-field pavilion plaza) will be signing autographs for fans from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM.  Dodgers Radio AM 570 Fox Sports LA’s Petros and Money show will broadcast live from the left-field pavilion plaza.

• The Veteran of the Game presented by Bank of America is U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Miguel Mata of Los Angeles. Mata enlisted in 1996 and serves as Chief Hospital Corpsman with Fleet Surgical Team Three in San Diego. He is responsible for training enlisted sailors and ensures they maintain their skill sets by working in various military medical clinics in San Diego. Mata’s deployments include Baghdad, Iraq, and he recently returned from serving onboard the USS Boxer for operations in the Western Pacific, Arabian Sea, Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. His accolades include the Combat Action Ribbon and three Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals, one with a combat distinguishing device for valor. 
• During pregame ceremonies, the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation (LADF) will recognize more than 700 California Masons and their friends and family to announce a 2015 partnership with the Masons-4-Mitts Program. The organization will be represented on field by Deputy Grand Master Russ Charvonia and Executive Vice President, California Masonic Foundation Doug Ismail. Beginning April 2015, Southern California Freemasons will conduct a friendly competition during the Dodgers’ season creating regional “teams” with a goal of raising money for the children in the Dodgers RBI program - $20 at a time – to give them the simple, but meaningful gift of their own high quality baseball mitt.

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Tuesday, September 23rd at 7:10 PM
Madison Bumgarner vs. Zack Greinke

Tuesday's game starts at 7:10 PM.  Auto gates open at 4:30 PM, and stadium gates open at 5:00 PM.  The first 40,000 fans will receive an sleeved Dodger blanket.  Check it out on the left.

Bruce Buffer, sports and entertainment announcer known worldwide as UFC’s “Voice of the Octagon,” will throw the ceremonial first pitch. Atlantic recording artist and nine-time Grammy nominee TANK! will perform the national anthem. Clayton Kershaw will be recognized before the game as the Dodgers' nominee for the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award.

Former Dodgers Lee Lacy (in right-field pavilion plaza) and Dennis Powell (in left-field pavilion plaza) will be signing autographs for fans from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM.  Dodgers Radio AM 570 Fox Sports LA’s Petros and Money show will broadcast live from the left-field pavilion plaza.

• The Veteran of the Game presented by Bank of America is U.S. Army Captain Stephen Shaw of Lakewood. Shaw joined the National Guard in 2003. He was commissioned into the Army and active duty service in 2010 after serving a deployment in Kosovo. Among his numerous jobs, Shaw served as a combat advisor in Afghanistan as part of a 12-man team that trained and worked side-by-side with an Afghan Army Infantry Battalion in the Ghazne Province. He also served as a company commander responsible for 120 soldiers and their families. Shaw’s accolades include the Army Commendation Medal and the Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan Campaign Medals.

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Wednesday, September 24th at 7:10 PM
Tim Hudson vs. Clayton Kershaw

Wednesday's game starts at 7:10 PM.  Auto gates open at 4:30 PM, and stadium gates open at 5:00 PM.

Legendary Laker Elgin Baylor will throw the ceremonial first pitch in celebration of his 80th birthday which was on September 16. The U.S. Air Force A Capella Band will perform the national anthem.  The Bryan Brothers, identical twins and American professional doubles tennis partners, will throw an honorary first pitch. Camarillo natives Bob and Mike Bryan, the No. 1 doubles team on the ATP World Tour, recently became the first team in men’s tennis to win 100 titles together, including 16 grand slams, at the US Open. They have finished as the No. 1 team in the world nine times.

Former Dodgers Tim Leary (in right-field pavilion plaza) and Matt Luke (in left-field pavilion plaza) will be signing autographs for fans from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM. Dodgers Radio AM 570 Fox Sports LA’s Petros and Money show will broadcast live from the left-field pavilion plaza.

• The Veteran of the Game presented by Bank of America is U.S. Air National Guard, U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Patricia Murray of Agoura Hills. She flies a C-130 J Super Hercules aircraft as an instructor and Aerial Fire Fighting Pilot for the 115th Airlift Squadron. Murray has flown five tours of duty in the Middle East and has been awarded five flying Air Medals. She was inducted into the Order of Daedalians, a WWI flying organization and named California Air National Guard Field Grade Officer of the Year.

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Sunday Dodger Videos: Rookie Hazing, AJ Ellis and Adrian Gonzalez

Here are this Sunday's Dodger videos.

Check out this fun video.

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ICYMI:  Watch the Dodger youngsters get hazed - cosplay style.

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Listen to Jonah Keri as he speaks with Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis about Clayton Kershaw's dominance and the origins of the bubble machine, and to ‘Orange County Register' writer Pedro Moura about the surging Angels.

Video Link:

From Faith and Family day at Dodger Stadium in August, listen to Adrian Gonzalez give his testimony to the crowd.

Video Link:

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Blog Kiosk: 9/20/2014 - Dodger Links - Some Odds and Ends

Clayton Kershaw wasn't masterful yesterday afternoon, but he didn't have to be.  The Dodgers scored six runs before he even got on the mound to pitch the game, and fourteen runs total to overmatch the Cubs 14 to 5. 

With the win Kershaw recorded his league leading 20th win of the season, and has no doubt made an undisputed claim to this season's Cy Young award.  The photo above is of Kershaw mid-pitch at Wrigley Field, via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2014.  Go here to check out more pics from yesterday.

The Dodgers lead over the Giants in the Western Division increased to 3.5 games, and their magic number is now at six.  BTW, the Dodgers also clinched, at minimum, a playoff wild card berth.  Now, below are some links to check out.

• Via Mark Saxon at ESPNLosAngeles.com, "Dodgers skip wild-card celebration."

“It’s a great accomplishment and an honor to know you’re going to be playing baseball when the regular season is over, but we know we’ve got a big series coming up,” catcher A.J. Ellis said. “Hopefully, in that series we can celebrate something really special.”

• Via Cary Osborne at Dodger Insider, "Matt Kemp is deserving of NL Comeback Player of the Year."  I don't disagree.
• Via Mark Saxon at ESPNLosAngeles.com, "Ryu's next start could be in postseason."

“I don’t think there’s a big difference which game I pitch in, whether it’s the playoffs or the regular season,” Ryu said through an interpreter. “If I’m healthy enough to pitch, I’m going to pitch.” 

• Via MLB's official historian John Thorn, "Fame & Fandom."  He writes about some of the more famous fans to ever watch the game; including Brooklyn Dodger booster Hilda Chester.
• Via Jesse Rogers at ESPNChicago.com, "Barney relishing chance with winner."

“It was weird at first. It’s just a different atmosphere. We expect to win, and if we don’t, we don’t cry about it, we get up the next day and try to win that day. It’s kind of a fun experience.” 

• The Dodgers ranked #61 in ESPN The Mag's Ultimate North American franchise standings for 2014.  Check out the list here.  The LA Kings are ranked #5.  The Lakers are #87.  The Clippers are #59.  The Angels are #15.  The Ducks are #2.
• Via Ken Gurnick at MLB.com, "Lingering soreness keeps Uribe out of lineup."

"He felt something in the same place that he's been going back and forth with for six to eight weeks," said Mattingly. "It's nothing he's not used to. He came in ready to go, but Stan [Conte, VP medical services] wanted to give him a day."

• Gross!  Via Shawn Anderson at the Hall of Very Good, "Would I Like Some Cotton Candy? No Thanks."  

Not that any of you have gone to a baseball game with me (and if you wanted to take me…I’m totally down), but I never purchase food or drink that has been paraded around the park by a vendor.  Why you ask?

This.

I swear you'll be disgusted by the photo he shares.

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We are Playoff Bound! WooHoo!

It's now official.  The Dodger will be playing October playoff Baseball.

This afternoon, the Dodgers defeated the Chicago Cubs in glorious fashion and clinched, at minimum, a tie for a wild card playoff berth.  Then, with the Milwaukee Brewers defeat at the hands of the Pittsburgh Pirates this evening the Dodgers now claim an official berth. 

Of course, the "Boys in Blue" are not content with just the wild card.  They want to win the division.  So, you shouldn't expect the Dodgers to let up now. 

Per Don Mattingly via Dylan Hernandez at the LA Times:

"If you're able to do that, you've at least given yourself a chance to play when there's only going to be 10 teams left," Manager Don Mattingly said before the Milwaukee outcome. "If that's your only way, you're good with it. But you feel like winning the division is really what you're here to accomplish."

Clayton Kershaw seconded that notion, via Bill Plunkett on twitter:

Kershaw (cont): "It’d be kind of a letdown to get just the wild card ... Maybe not something to celebrate, but maybe just a pat on the back"
— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) September 19, 2014

Heck, Matt Kemp has an even bigger goal in mind, via Bill Plunkett on twitter:

#Dodgers Matt Kemp on maybe clinching wild card: "We have bigger plans than that. I'd still like to get the best record in NL." 1 GB Nats
— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) September 19, 2014

The Dodgers now have a magic number of seven games for a West Division Championship, and with the Giants currently losing 5 to 0 to the Padres at the time of this writing that number could drop to six.  As it now looks, the Dodgers may very well be able to secure a Western Division trophy against the Giants at home at the beginning of next week.  How great would it be to celebrate that with the Gaints watching from the dugout?

Graphic above via SportsNet LA on twitter

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2014 Topps Heritage Minor League Baseball - The Dodger Base Cards

Topps just released a brand new Baseball card set and it's an minor league version of their Heritage card set they put out in March.  It is called 2014 Topps Heritage Minor League and it includes some of the best and brightest prospects in the game.  Go here for a complete checklist.  As you can see, this set borrows the vintage 1965 Topps Baseball card design.

There are seven Dodger prospects in the 200 card base set.  Check them all out below.  Of note, Jesmuel Valentin is no longer a part of the Dodger franchise.  He was traded to the Phillies a few weeks back as a part of the Roberto Hernandez trade.  Also, this will be the last time we see a Dodger prospect wearing an Isotope uniform on a Baseball card.  The Dodgers recently purchased an ownership stake in the Oklahoma City RedHawks AAA club, and will begin playing there next year.

BTW, there are Short Printed Variation cards of Julio Urias and Joc Pederson, but I have yet to see them.  I hope to have photos of those cards to share next week.

#17 Zach Lee                                      #22 Corey Seager

#55 Julio Urias                                 #76 Jesmuel Valentin

#127 Chris Anderson                                 #147 Tom Windle

#160 Joc Pederson

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Blog Kiosk: 9/19/2014 - Dodger Links - A Dodger Win from Behind

The Dodgers came in to Wrigley Field with all of the motivation in the world.  They had ten games left to play in the long season and with just a few more wins they can take the division.  Unfortunately, it took longer than desired for them to finally put their game faces on - unlike Matt Kemp as evidenced in the photo taken above by Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2014.  He joined a young Dodger fan before the game for a "selfie scowl" that I'm sure the little tyke will share with his friends.  Go here to check out more pics by Jon taken yesterday.

Things were looking bleak for the Dodgers in the early going.  They quickly fell behind to the Cubs, 4 to 1, going into the seventh inning.  Zack Greinke could not hold back the young Chicago bats as they knocked out nine hits against our second ace.  Then, the Dodger bats woke up.  In the seventh inning they knocked out three singles, two doubles, and scored five runs to take a lead they would not relinquish.  

The Dodgers 8 to 4 victory drops their magic number to 8 games and increases their lead over the Giants to 2.5 games.  Clayton Kershaw pitches this afternoons game against old friend Edwin Jackson in hopes of attaining his league leading 20th win.  Check out some more links below:

• Via Ron Cervenka at Think Blue LA, "Puig makes adjustment to the adjustment."

But sometime within the last week or so somebody finally got to Puig. Whether it was Mark McGwire or John Valentin or Don Mattingly is anybody’s guess, but the message finally sunk in and Puig moved in closer to the plate – and the results have been immediate and staggering. 

• Topps has just release a retro 1969 Dodger team poster (numbered to only 99 copies) on their website.  Go here to check it out.  There is also a parallel version numbered to only 10 copies available.  The "1 of 1" version is already sold out.  Check out the more common poster on the right, priced at $29.99.
• Via Ron Shah at FanGraphs, "Dodgers’ Lefty Tom Windle Shows Power Stuff."
• Via Cary Osborne at Dodger Insider, "J.P. Howell nears single-season Dodger reliever ERA record."
• Via KTVU.com a Dodger fan was able to save the life of a young Giants fan with a bone marrow transplant.
• Via Jeff Sullivan at Fan Graphs, "Zack Greinke’s Turned Into an Actual Hitter."

But all the while, as Greinke’s numbers have bounced around, he’s genuinely improved. And he’s improved to the point where, now, Greinke might be a half-decent hitter, and I don’t mean relative to pitchers this time.

• Via All About Cards, Topps announced that the 2014 Finest Rookie Auto Redemption #1 will be Sandy Koufax.  So, if you pulled that card wondering who it might be then you are in luck. I will be sure to share a photo once they are sent out by Topps. 

Rookie Autograph Redemption

#1 Sandy Koufax

(via a redemption card)

 

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