Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! I love Halloween, although there's no color combination I hate more than orange and black. Speaking of orange and black, it was nice seeing the Giants lose last night. Hopefully the Rangers can pull off another victory tonight. There's no scarier though than the Giants winning it all.

Here are some Dodgers  Jack O' Lanterns:

You can download these Dodgers pumpkin stencils here and here.

Bobblehead Of The Day: Vladimir Guerrero

The World Series begins tonight in San Francisco as the Giants take on the Texas Rangers. I'd love to see this Rangers team sweep the series. One of my favorite players on the Rangers is Vladimir Guerrero. He's been one of my favorite players for a while now. He's a beast with the bat, and he'll swing that bat at damn near any pitch.

One of my favorite bobbleheads in my collection is my Anaheim Angels Vladimir Guerrero. I got this back on May 16, 2006. The bobblehead commemorates Vladdy winning the Silver Slugger Award in 2005. Presented by Suzuki, this bobble was made by BD&A Collectibles and was given away to all fans in attendance.

This bobble's got some nice details, from the silver bat Vladdy's swinging to the pine tar stained helmet he's wearing.

I had two of these bobbleheads. Back in July, I traded one of the two to Ryan at The Great Orioles Autograph Project. He sent me a Cal Ripken bobblehead in return. I'd say it was a good trade.

Hopefully, Vlad has a good series. I'll give the pinetar covered helmet a little bobble for good luck.

Go Rangers!

Dodgers News And Notes

The Lakers won tonight.Can they go 82-0? I dunno about that, but I do see another championship parade down Figueroa in June. Go Purple and Gold!

Back to the boys in blue. Here are a couple of Dodger links:

Tim Wallach is out of the running for the Milwaukee Brewers managerial job. Wallach was notified by the Brewers on Monday. It looks like he'll be Don Mattingly's third base coach.

Blue Heaven shows us some 1955 Dodger World Series pictures that had never been seen before. From Life Magazine, you can see all 27 pictures here.

What do most players do when the season ends? Most guys take a vacation. For two Dodger pitchers,Kenley Jansen and Carlos Monasterios, the training continues. Jansen and Monasterios continue to pitch at Camelback Ranch in Gledale, Arizona in the organization's instructional league.

Mike at the LFP.com is making a set of retired numbers for someone's man cave. It's a cool looking man cave full of Dodger goodies, including a nice line-up of bobbleheads.

And in Manny Ramirez news, the former Dodger says he'd like to play for new Blue Jays manager John Farrell. Manny and Farrell were teammates with the Indians in the 1990s. Farrell was hired as the Red Sox's pitching coach in 2007, Ramirez's last season in Boston. Could Mannywood be headed to the Great White North?

Contest Winnings From I'm Ballsy, Sort Of

Last week, Are No over at I'm Ballsy held a contest. The winner got a 2009-10 Panini Hall of Fame Clyde Drexler Dream Team Game Threads, #'d 057/650. It's a sick card, one I really wanted. Well, I didn't win the contest, but Are No was nice enough to send me a nice consolation prize.

I received my yellow envelope in the mail today, and was surprised when I opened it.  There were some cool cards inside: a 2009 Bowman Russell Martin WBC card, a 2004 Jonathan Broxton Just Minors card, a 2010 Panini Basketball Bob Davies, all cards that I don't have. There was one more card inside the envelope, a 2007 Upper Deck Spx Andre Ethier Winning Materials game used card #16/199. Cool, it's numbered 16, just like Andre's jersey number. Anyway, it was a pleasant surprise. Thanks Are No! I'm gonna get something back to you in return.

Love the WBC card. My mom's Canadian, so I love seeing Russ in this jersey

Damn, Big Jon is...skinny!

Check out Are No's blog, I'm Ballsy, he's got a great collection and some cool guinea pigs.

I'm Not Jumping On The Texas Rangers Bandwagon, I Just Want The San Francisco Giants To Lose

I hate the Giants. I've hated the Giants for as long as I can remember. Seeing the Giants in the World Series sickens me. I will now cheer for the Rangers. No, I'm not jumping on the Rangers bandwagon. I'm simply a Dodger fan who doesn't want the Giants to win. Is that wrong?

The World Series begins Wednesday.

Game 1: Wednesday, Oct. 27, 4:30 p.m. PT
Texas Rangers at San Francisco Giants

Game 2: Thursday, Oct. 28, 4:30 p.m. PT
Texas Rangers at San Francisco Giants

Game 3: Saturday, Oct. 30, 3:30 p.m. PT
San Francisco Giants at Texas Rangers

Game 4: Sunday, Oct. 31, 5 p.m. PT
San Francisco Giants at Texas Rangers

Game 5 (if necessary): Monday, Nov. 1, 4:30 p.m. PT
San Francisco Giants at Texas Rangers

Game 6 (if necessary): Wednesday, Nov. 3, 4:30 p.m. PT
Texas Rangers at San Francisco Giants

Game 7 (if necessary): Thursday, Nov. 4, 4:30 p.m. PT
Texas Rangers at San Francisco Giants

Go Rangers!

Doug Melvin's Bobblehead On Comedy Central

On Thursday, Comedy Central aired  'Night Of Too Many Stars: An Overbooked Concert For Autism Education'. It was hosted by Jon Stewart, and featured numerous celebrities, including George Clooney, Tom Hanks, and Jimmy Kimmel, raising money for autism.

During the event, Jimmy Kimmel talked to Jon Stewart about a Doug Melvin bobblehead he had bought on ebay three days earlier. Kimmel, who purchased the bobblehead for $4, had it signed by a long list of stars, including Clint Eastwood, Ben Affleck, Dr. Phil, Andre Agassi, and Courtney Cox.

Then Melvin made an apparance on stage. He had signatures all over his face and body just like the bobblehead. It was a very funny moment. Check it out:



The bobblehead is back on ebay with all the signatures. It looks like it's gonna make some nice dough for the charity. You can check out the auction here. You can make a donation to the charity here.

Congratulations Rangers!

Congratulations to Nolan Ryan and the Texas Rangers on beating the Yankees and making it to their first World Series.

I've got to admit, it's a lot of fun watching these Rangers play. They've got a great team from top to bottom.

Now they await the winner of the Giants/Phillies series. I don't care which one of those two teams makes it, as long as the Rangers take care of them too.

Bobblehead Of The Day: Cesar Izturis

Click here to purchase

It's been a while since I posted a Dodger bobblehead of the day. Next up is Cesar Izturis. On June 1, 2005 the Dodgers gave away Cesar Izturis bobbleheads to the first 50,000 fans in attendance. Presented by Bosley Hair Restoration, this bobblehead was made by P Squared Promos. This bobblehead was made in honor of Izturis winning the 2004 National League Gold Glove at Shortstop.  His .985 fielding percentage that season was the highest in franchise history. Cesar was a defensive specialist, a vacuum cleaner at short.

The Dodgers played the Chicago Cubs that night and lost 9-5. Derek Lowe started for the Dodgers, John Koronka for Chicago. Lowe lost the game, going 5.2 innings and giving up six earned runs on 13 hits. Izturis went 2 for 4 with a walk on his bobblehead night.

Let's take a look at Cesar:

OK, so Cesar Izturis may not have been the most popular Dodger, but the guy could play shortstop, and he did win a Gold Glove. In 2005, there weren't many good things happening in Dodgertown, so picking players for bobbleheads was tough.

This bobble is nothing special. It's just your basic pose. But I will admit, they got the facial features and skin tone down. This does look like Cesar.

2011 Dodger Bobblehead Dates

Thanks to Roberto over at Vin Scully Is My Homeboy, we get our first look at the 2011 promotional schedule. All the usual suspects are there, fleece blankets, beach towels, cooler bag, and bobbleheads, six bobbleheads to be exact. Some other promotions listed are a Father's Day BBQ Apron, and Specialty Dodger caps.

Here are the dates of the bobblehead giveaways:

May 17

June 1

June 14
July 7
July 26
August 9

Back in early September the Dodgers put up a poll on their website. They wanted to know which giveaway items you would come to a game for. A BBQ apron, floppy hat and mini bobblehead were some of the choices. The apron and specialty caps are on the list. I wonder if any of the six bobbleheads are "mini" bobbleheads.

I don't mind the mini bobbleheads, I love all bobbles, but I hope the six they give away are the larger versions we get every year. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

32 at 75: Art On The Mound

The National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in Commack,NY recently opened an exhibit which pays tribute to Sandy Koufax. The exhibit,  titled 32 at 75: Art on the Mound, features artwork, photos, news clips and letters from those who saw him pitch.

The museum asked 32 different artists to create works showcasing Koufax. All 32 artist representations of the left-handed legend are on display.


The exhibit is open now and will run through December 30th, Koufax's 75th birthday, hence the name "32 at 75".  You can check out the museum's website here.

Here are some of the pieces on display:

Lilly Staying In LA

According to the LA Times, the  Dodgers have signed pitcher Ted Lilly to a three-year deal. The dollar amount on the contract hasn't been announced yet. The deal is expected to be finalized once Lilly passes a physical next week.

Lilly went 7-4 in 12 starts for the Dodgers and had a 3.52 ERA. He also had the lowest run support in the majors.

The Dodgers now have three of the five rotation spots filled, with Chad Billingsley and Clayton Kershaw holding down the other two spots. The team is still expected to have interest in re-signing Hiroki Kuroda and Vicente Padilla.


I'm curious to see what the Dodgers are gonna pay Lilly over the next three seasons. I wouldn't be surprised if Ned Colletti overpayed for the 34 year old. Well, maybe Frank McCourt is willing to spend some money this offseason.

Remembering '88: Orel Hershiser's Game 2 Performance

Today is the 22nd anniversary of Kirk Gibson's famous walk-off homerun in game 1 of the 1988 World Series . It may be the greatest moment in Dodger history, if not baseball history. The Dodgers would go on to win the World Series in five games.

Tomorrow is the anniversary of game 2. Orel Hershiser started that game. It was an amazing outing by the Bulldog, one that was, in my opinion, overshadowed by Gibby's homerun the night before. But it shouldn't be forgotten.

From the 1988 World Series Wiki:

With a rested Orel Hershiser on the mound, the Dodgers took a 2–0 lead. Hershiser got all the runs he needed in the third, with Mike Marshall providing the big blow with a three-run homer. Hershiser went the distance, allowing only three singles, all three hit by Dave Parker.

Hershiser also contributed offensively, with three hits, including an RBI double in the fourth inning. In the five-run third inning, he singled, went to third on an opposite-field single by Steve Sax and later scored. He was the first pitcher to get three hits in a World Series game since 1924.

That's what you want to see from your "Ace", a gem.

With that in mind, I wanted to show one of my favorite Orel Hershiser cards. It's a 2005 Donruss Diamond Kings autograph game-used jersey card, #'d 16/25. This was Orel's third Diamond Kings appearance, with the previous two coming in 1986 and 1993.

I love this card, it always reminds me of '88 and Orel's Game 2 performance.