The All Latino Dodger Team

Tu Ciudad Magazine puts together their All Latino Dodger Team on an interactive page complete with Baseball cards.

Weekly Blog Kiosk 4/6/2008

5 games down 157 to go.

• Home Run Derby has photos of some incredible Lego Baseball stadiums.
• John Weisman of Dodger Thoughts has had enough of the "bloggers need a life" attitude from the mainstream press. Also, for the record. I do not blog in my underwear in the basement of my parents home. I blog in my underwear in the living room of my own home- thank you very much!
• LA Dodger Talk has the Dodger minor league report.
  
• Roberto was at the Coliseum and shares some pics of Carl Erskine, Wally Moon, Norm Sherry and Ron Fairly signing autographs. He also caught Andruw Jones earlier in day signing autographs at a Nike Store.
  
• Library of Congress has just opened a new Historic Baseball Resources website. There is everything from cards to photos, audio and video, newspapers and famous collections. Hat Tip: SCD:
• Steven Finley Was Here, Dodgerfan.net and Dodger Blog have been added to the Dodger blogroll.
  
• Bidding has started on Barry Bonds homerun #762 at SCP. This stands, for now, as his last career homerun and sets the record for most career dingers. Of course, the key question to ask here is, "do you care?"

• Stale Gum informs us that Topps Card Company pulled off an elaborate April Fools joke by creating a Baseball card inserted in their 2008 Baseball Series 1 boxes of fake high school phenom Kazuo Uzuki. He supposedly threw a 104 mph fastball and was expected to go straight to the major leagues. Kazuo Uzuki means "the first son of April."
• ARod was attacked by a hawk at Fenway Park. No, not that ARod, but Alexa Rodriguez a 13 year old middle school student from Bristol, Connecticut. Check it out here and with pics.
• Guy Wellman shares his Dodger career and collection. He was a player, a scout (who signed Frank Howard and Garvey) and a field coordinator.
  

REA: Spring 2008 Auction

REA has one major auction a year, so when it comes around it is always something to take note. They always have rare vintage material available. This year is no different as it features everything from Babe Ruth to Michael Jordan. Baseball decency is explored and rare sets are uncovered. The premier highlights of this coming April auction include a Babe Ruth Baltimore News Rookie Card, a Wagner T206 card and a very rare beer poster featuring 19th century Hall of Famers Anson and Ewing.

The dirty language Baseball memo I wrote about last last year is coming up for auction too. It will be interesting to see what this item sells for.

Auction Link: 1898 Special Instructions to Players Regarding Obscene Language:

Some of the rarest of Baseball collectibles from the 19th century are Old Judge cabinet photographs. What makes this card notable, though, is that it features star slugger Dave Orr of Brooklyn.

Orr was a major nineteenth-century star and universally regarded as one of the premier power hitters in the Major Leagues throughout his eight-year career (1883-1890).

Auction Link: 1888 N173 Goodwin Old Judge cabinet:

The earliest baseball cards came packaged within packs of cigarettes and tobacco. In fact, all kinds of promotional items were placed within packs. There were felt flags, various non-sports cards covering actors, animals, etc., and silks.

Below is a example of a group of silk inserts that has been used for its intended purpose. 77 silk rectangles have been sewed together to make a Baseball themed tapestry/ blanket. There are no notable Dodgers to point out, but it does happen to have many Hall of Famers like Ty Cobb and Christy Mathewson. I just happen to love items like this. It is Americana at its best.

Auction Link: 1911 S74 Silks Framed Display:

This is one of the more unique autograph albums I have ever seen.

On Wednesday, September 18, 1946, the Brooklyn Dodgers hosted the Pittsburgh Pirates at Ebbets Field. Prior to that game, a young man by the name of John Kilmas began the compilation of an incredible autograph album, which we are proud to offer here. What sets this autograph album apart from the many others we have seen is the inclusion of snapshot photos of many of the players. Ideally, most of the photos picture the respective player signing this very album! Nearly all of the album pages are also date stamped, so we know exactly when the album was signed. Kilmas returned to Ebbets Field on the 19th (Pirates) and the 20th (Reds) to continue his quest for autographs, and it was on his final trip that he took the photos displayed in the album (later mounted on the proper pages with the given player's signature). He also returned the following spring (April 22, 1947, is the date listed for many of the autographs), at which time he collected many additional signatures, including that of Jackie Robinson during his rookie season. In total, ninety-two signatures are featured in the book, the vast majority of which belong to members of the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Imagine the thrill this kid had.

Auction Link: 1946-1947 Brooklyn Dodgers Autographed Scrapbook:

Kuroda Pitching Today

Today we get our chance to see Kuroda pitch for the first time in a big league game. Hopefully the Dodgers can do better at Petco Park this year than last year. They lost 6 games and won only 3 games in San Diego.

AP Photo/Ric Francis

Image Link: ESPN:

Reflections on the First Homestand

What a great week it has been so far. It started early with the Dodgers hosting the Red Sox in an unforgettable game at the LA Coliseum. The parking lot was filled with tailgater's. BBQ's were set up and drinks were plentiful- almost too plentiful. Beer was poured easily from can to cup. To top it off, Kareem Abdul Jabbar threw a commemorative skyhook over the plate. Good Times. Even though the Dodgers lost the game nothing could stain this historic event.

Opening Day continued the magic. Players from the Dodgers past showed up in large numbers to ring in the new season. Our ace, Brad Penny was in top form as he pitched 6+ scoreless innings. Jeff Kent roared back from Spring leg problems to hit a homerun. Saito looked sharp even though he looked terrible in March. The Giants are horrendous as a team. So far the season is turning out just right.

The second game was just as exciting. Larry Bowa displayed a rare fierceness not seen within the confines of Chavez Ravine in many years. For his troubles he was given a 3 game suspension. In his stead, Mariano Duncan became the thirdbase coach and probably had a large hand in the double steal that Dewitt and Hu pulled off in the 7th inning. It eventually led to the Dodgers tying the game. Derek Lowe was shaky in his start, but was still able to scatter 9 hits while giving up only 2 runs. The Dodgers relief staff is looking solid. Who is this Troncoso kid? Then, our new Pee Wee, Delwyn Young, recorded his first hit of the year with a walk-off game-winning infield single to score Furcal in the bottom of the 9th inning. It's good to be undefeated.

The rubber game was a bit of a let down. It was a day of rain, starting pitching confusion and our first loss of the year. Billingsley and Lincecum were scheduled to start, but didn't get into the game until the 4th inning. Both coaches opted to start a relief pitcher with the belief that the rains would be coming shortly after the start of the game. Why ruin the pace of your starters routine when they can come in after a long rain delay. Unfortunately, the rains came later than expected and the coaches were forced to hinder their routine anyway. (Who says Torre is perfect?) Offense was hard to come by as the Dodgers lost a squeaker 2 to 1. Of special note, that Giant pitcher, Lincecum, is impressive.

So what did we learn after just three games.

• Even Torre can make some mistakes.
• Larry Bowa is exactly who he has been billed as.
  
• There's a new Pee Wee in the clubhouse.

Really not that much, eh? I guess it's too early to tell. All I do know, though, is that I can't wait for my first Dodger dog of the season.

My Coliseum Pics

Below are a handful of pics I took on Saturday for the Coliseum game against the Red Sox. Unfortunately, I didn't take a lot of pictures. See my photoalbum here. I guess you can say that I was in awe of the entire spectacle. Have no fear though, check out Dodgers Thoughts for some great pictures on the website and on their Flickr page.