Miguel Olivo Does a Tyson and Bites Alexander Guerrero's Ear Off

Something you won't believe happened this afternoon during a AAA game.

The Isotopes were playing the Salt Lake Bees when an argument erupted on the mound as Albuquerque was making a pitching change (Jared Massey shared a vine video of this altercation that you can see here).  Veteran catcher Miguel Olivo, who you should apparently not mess with, got into a heated argument with teammate and Dodger prospect Alexander Guerrero.  Then, a brawl ensued soon afterwards in the dugout.

Blood was shed.  According to reports, Olivo bit off a piece of Guerrero's ear; emulating Mike Tyson.

(Pic via MiLB on twitter)

Via Danny Wild at MiLB.com:

Albuquerque second baseman Alex Guerrero needed surgery on his left ear after getting attacked by teammate Miguel Olivo during a dugout fight at Triple-A Salt Lake on Tuesday, and both Salt Lake police and the Dodgers are investigating.

The game was stopped briefly in the eighth inning when Guerrero, the Isotopes' second baseman, and Olivo began fighting in the Albuquerque dugout. Both players were replaced in the lineup. Guerrero, according to agent Scott Boras, "is having plastic surgery on his ear right now," Tweeted Jon Morosi of FOX Sports at 6:39 p.m. ET. Boras indicated the surgery was as a result of Guerrero being bitten by Olivo.

Morosi said police have "gathered evidence about the incident and collected witness statements, according to Boras. Guerrero's recovery timetable is uncertain, Boras said. It's not clear yet how many stitches the surgery will require."

You can check out a bunch of pics of the dugout fight over at StingemBees.com blog.  Smudge provides the best report so far on why this happened:

It goes like this…….The Isotopes defense had their struggles against our base runners. If I were managing my Comp team I would call it laziness…. The Bees advanced runners multiple times because after plays were seemingly over, Isotopes players would wander away from their base and our Bees runners would advance with very little opposition.

A couple times the runners advanced with the ball in C Miguel Olivo’s hand. I got the feeling he was upset that no one was talking to let him know there was a runner, and when they DID scream “runner!”, no one was at the bag to cover a play. …. That is certainly a cluster of plays that got under the skin of Olivo.

The Dodgers issued the following statement:

The baseball operations department is aware of the altercation and is conducting an investigation into the matter. The organization does not condone this type of behavior and will have no further comment at this time.

It should be noted that non-violence isn't exactly an Olivo credo.  He has instigated at least a couple of fights on the field.

• On September 29, 2007 he ran across the diamond and threw a punch at Jose Reyes - starting a bench-clearing brawl.
• On August 3, 2008 he was hit by pitcher DJ Carrasco, so naturally Olivo charged after him.  The benches cleared again.

Olivo is also one tough customer.  Via a wikipedia entry:

Olivo made headlines in early 2010 for having to leave the Rockies' April 29 game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at the beginning of the eighth inning to pass a kidney stone. Remarkably, he was able to re-enter soon after and finished the game.

Not only can Olivo pass a stone and not miss a beat, but he will also bite your ear off.

This man is not to be screwed with!

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Check Out Some Dodger Goodies at Legendary Auctions - Pee Wee, Jackie, Sandy and Zach

Now that SCP has just closed their Spring auction, Legendary opens up their May extravaganza with over 2,000 lots of sports memorabilia goodness.  As usual, there are some great Dodger collectibles to gawk at.  Below are my favorites.

Below is a March 7, 1940 Central Press Association press photo of rookie and future Hall of Famer Pee Wee Reese.  Based on the date, this photo was taken during Spring Training as he prepares to make the big club for the first time.

(Auction Link)

The next two photographs are original "The Jackie Robinson Story" movie stills from 1950.  Jackie is wearing a Montreal Royals uniform in the photo below.

(Auction Link)

Below, Jackie is captured sliding into 2nd base.

(Auction Link)

Here is an original painting by Baseball artist Dick Perez; of Diamond Kings and Perez Steele Gallaries fame.  It is of Dodger Hall of Famer Zach Wheat and was used in Perez's recent book “The Immortals Collection”.  Via the auction description:

Card collectors will recognize this classic pose from the 1921 Exhibit Card set, and it's a picture-perfect Perezian homage to Wheat's trademark swinging style. As described by SABR biographer Eric Enders:

"Wheat was a natural left-handed hitter who corkscrewed his spikes into the dirt with a wiggle that became his trademark. Unlike most Deadball Era hitters, he held his hands way down by the knob of the bat, refusing to choke up. 'There is no chop-hitting with Wheat, but a smashing swipe which, if it connects, means work for the outfielders,' wrote one reporter. He was an outstanding first-ball hitter, and he was also so renowned as a curveball hitter that John McGraw reportedly had a standing order prohibiting his pitchers from throwing him benders."

(Auction Link)

By now, you know how much I love painted Baseball artwork, and my favorite of all the artist I've featured over the years is George Sosnak.  His work is some of the best folk art America has to offer, so it's no surprise his efforts can be found at New York's American Folk Art Museum, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Below is a painted ball Sosnak did of Sandy Koufax.  It appears to be an unfinished ball that may have been part of an estate sale conducted after Sosnak's death (numerous work-in-progress Baseballs were sold by his widow).  Featured on one side is a Koufax signature. 

(Auction Link)

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Blog Kiosk: 5/20/2014 - Dodger Links - Dodgers Day Off Shenanigans and Dodger Radio Ratings are Way Up

Drew Butera and Dee Gordon spent their day off hanging out with some New York youngsters - playing dodgeball.  In the photo above they take a group selfie, pic via @MLBFanCave on twitter.

• Via Ben Bergman at KPCC, "Dodgers radio ratings up 78 percent during TV standoff."
• Via Jon Weisman at Dodger Insider, "Yasiel Puig named co-NL Player of the Week."
• Via Jeff Passan at Yahoo Sports, "10 Degrees: Dodgers and their crazy TV deal top MLB's biggest disappointments."

The most expensive team money can buy is also the most expensive mistake in the short history of wildly overpriced, patently absurd local-television-rights deals.

• Via Chris Olds at Beckett, "Your ballpark photos could end up on a baseball card in 2015 Topps Opening Day set."  I might have to get an instagram account.
• Via Ken Gurnick at MLB.com, "Dodgers hope Ryu's return stabilizes rotation."

"I feel healthy and I don't feel I need to be extra careful during my start," said Ryu. "The only difference is the extra shoulder exercises I'm doing after the injury. Otherwise, my routine is normal. I'm not aware of any pitch limitations, but that's not up to me.

"The hard part about being out is that I kind of felt bad for the rotation. I felt I wasn't able to pull my load for the team while on the sidelines. Now that I'm coming back, I will be able to contribute."

• BTW, if you dare, go here to take a look at the toe that landed Ryu on the DL.
• Via Cody Stumpo at Feelin' Kinda Blue, "What must the Dodgers think of Alex Guerrero's defense?"

But the Dodgers want Guerrero to keep getting reps at second base. They've said all along they see him as not-yet-acceptable as a major league defensive second baseman, but with a few months of practice hopefully he gets up to at least the level where his bat can compensate for what his glove gives away.

• Watch Yasiel Puig dancing in the MLB Fan Cave, via twitter.

Dance session selfie with @YasielPuig: https://t.co/BGb0YiAa2x
— MLB Fan Cave (@MLBFanCave) May 19, 2014

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Andre Ethier Embraced his Inner Surfer in "Point Break" Performance Today

With today being a off day for the Dodgers, many players decided to have fun around New York to de-stress from their struggles. 

Yasiel Puig visit the MLB FanCave to get his dance on, and Drew Butera and Dee Gordon played dodgeball with some local area kids.  Adrian Gonzalez, on the other hand, had a much nobler pursuit.  He visit the CNN en Espanol offices to discuss his All-Star Teachers campaign.

(pic via Knitting Factory Brooklyn on facebook)

Andre Ethier also made a public appearance that was worthy of note.  He tried his hand at some onstage acting by playing Keanu Reeves as Johnny Utah in Point Break at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn.

I kid you not!

As the ladies know, his casting for this part is not off-base.  He's got those California surfer-boy good looks and a certain je ne sais quoi that makes him perfect for the part.  Heck, can't you just imagine him saying,

"The correct term is Babes, sir."

or

"You crossed the line. People trusted you and they died. You gotta' go down."

Fortunately, his appearance quickly spread throughout the 'net earlier today, so we thankfully were able to get a report of the happening.  Rodger Sherman at the LookIt blog at SB Nation was in attendance with a full report.

Still, the whole thing was quite funny, and Ethier was funny in it. The process is half the joke -- for instance, a director ordering Ethier to RUN, Ethier starting to run, the director reminding him that his character has a nagging leg injury, and then Ethier writhing on the ground in pain. Ethier clearly enjoyed the whole endeavor.

Sadly I didn't get any great videos -- Ethier yelling "I AM JOHNNY UTAH," for example -- but it seems the whole thing will be online soon thanks to the MLB folks filming the hell out of it.

I can't wait to watch what MLB puts out.  In the meantime, check out Rodger's story at SB Nation for some of his video and the below tweets.  Oh... and,

 "Vaya con Dios, Brah."

I'm with Ethier at Point Break Live... He's playing Johnny Utah #knittigfactory #Bklyn pic.twitter.com/iZ6OknZGtF
— David Vassegh (@THEREAL_DV) May 19, 2014

Andre Either is JOHNNY UTAH! pic.twitter.com/gaWaZvLV4r
— Knitting Factory BK (@KnitBrooklyn) May 19, 2014

Today @Dodgers outfielder Andre Either is @PointBreakUtah ! #dodgers #mlb #ladodgers pic.twitter.com/cYwzt0Z2Pi
— Daniel Frankel (@Stan_Kankels) May 19, 2014

.@Dodgers OF Andre Ethier plays Johnny Utah in @PointBreak_Live. Video coming soon. #MLBFC pic.twitter.com/fS9tT9R3ua
— MLB Fan Cave (@MLBFanCave) May 19, 2014

Ethier with the Improv Cast of "Point Break Live" #johhnyutah pic.twitter.com/Ge5gR4sBhK
— David Vassegh (@THEREAL_DV) May 19, 2014

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Blog Kiosk: 5/19/2014 - Dodger Links - Some Dodger Odds and Ends

Yasiel Puig has certainly improved his batting eye this season.  He's being more selective and taking more walks.  Pic above via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2014.

• Via Eric Stephen at True Blue LA, "Hyun-jin Ryu to start Wednesday vs. Mets."
• Via Mark Saxon at ESPNLosAngeles.com, "Dodgers certainly not playing with urgency."

"Until we can grind out wins, we're in trouble, from that standpoint," manager Don Mattingly said. "I think you've got to be ready to play every day, to play with some sense of urgency that every game's going to matter, every game's going to count, that you don't have time to wait. I don't think we can sit around and wait for a run." 

• Via Ron Cervenka at Think Blue LA, "A change of scenery could do Chris Withrow a world of good."

As much as Dodger fans would like to see Withrow remain, the painful truth is that he needs to work on his command and control, and the best place to do this is at Albuquerque or Chattanooga, not at Dodger Stadium or any other major league ballpark. Some time away from the intense pressure of the Bigs could be exactly what the 25-year-old Austin, TX native needs to get back on track.

• SCP's auction came to a close this past weekend, and many of the items closed at record prices.  The Sandy Koufax game jersey sold for $268,664.00, and the Don Drysdale gamer sold for $31,129.00.  Check out my past post on this auction here and here, and here are a bunch of pics from a recent visit I made to the Newport Sports Museum that featured many of the auctioned items, here.
• The Kings lost the first one in Chicago on Sunday, but have no fear.  They looked great in the loss - even on little rest after vanquishing the Ducks on Friday.  Via Eric Duhatschek at The Globe and Mail, "Resilient L.A. defies the script, but still loses Game 1."

Considering they were playing for the second time in 40 hours, after taking their first two series to the limit, Sunday’s meeting with the Chicago Blackhawks was always going to be a wish-and-a-prayer sort of game for the Los Angeles Kings anyway. The Kings were hoping that they could come in and steal a game, even though they were theoretically running on fumes, and weirdly, they almost did.

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Blog Kiosk: 5/18/2014 - Dodger Links - Some Dodger Odds and Ends

Yasiel Puig is on fire.  Over the last 10 games he is batting .385 with 5 home runs, 14 RBI's and a 1.338 OPS.  Pic above via Jon SooHoo/La Dodgers 2014.

• Via Cary Osborne at Dodger Insider, "Julio Urias in the flesh."

“I feel comfortable with my changeup right now, the breaking stuff,” Urias said. “I’m fighting a little with my fastball command right now.”

• Via Pedro Moura at the OC Register, "Bend it like Beckett: Curve fuels Dodger pitcher's resurgence."  When AJ Ellis went down he put together a full report for Beckett.

“It was basically, ‘This is what you (expletive) need to do,’” Beckett said. “But he didn’t put it that brutally. He said, ‘Hey, I want to show you some numbers.’”

• Chuck Culpepper at Sports On Earth interviews Jackie Robinson's son in "Owning Up to History."

"You have to deal with it," Robinson said, the 4x4 bouncing along. "I'm not anything close to a doctor, but I know any doctor will tell you you've got to confront the trauma in order to heal." He spoke next of the reconciliation commissions of Rwanda and South Africa. "It's that reconciliation process that humanity, in many cases, has to go through -- in every society, whether it's European, American, American Indians, the Germans with Jews, or everywhere going all the way back. Attila the Hun and the Vikings were brutal. So all of that brutality has to be reconciled in order for the family of man to move forward, together."

• Via  JP Hoornstra at the Daily News, "Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig is listening to his critics."
• Chris Olds at Beckett shares some preview pics of a new Topps Baseball card product called Topps Dynasty.  This will be a super high-end product - like a $1,000 a box.  Check out the Sandy Koufax autographed card on the right. 
• Via Mark Saxon at ESPNLosAngeles.com, "Hyun-Jin Ryu on track for next week."

"We're pretty confident. His pen the other day was just ridiculous for a guy who hadn't thrown the ball in 10 days," manager Don Mattingly said. "He throws the ball wherever he wants. So, again, we'll just see where he's at [Saturday] as far as the way he feels. Everybody liked the way he threw the ball."

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