2007 SP Authentic Rafael Furcal/Andy LaRoche Auto

Here's another Dodger autograph. Actually, it's two Dodger autographs. This 2007 SP Authentic Dual signatures card features current Dodgers Shortstop Rafael Furcal and former Dodgers Third baseman Andy LaRoche. This is a beautiful shiny card, although the scan doesn't show it. Oh yeah, it's also #'d to 175.

Furcal, who is in the last year of his current three-year contract, has played 5+ years with the Dodgers.

LaRoche was part of the three-way trade that brought Manny Ramirez to Los Angeles in 2008. LaRoche ended up in Pittsburgh as part of the deal. He's now playing with the Oakland A's.

Dodgers News And Notes

Manny starts rehab assignment, Furcal suffers setback. Manny Ramirez, sidelined since July 17 because of a right calf strain, went 1 for 2 tonight with a single and a walk as the Designated Hitter for the Single-A Inland Empire 66er's. The Dodgers expect Ramirez to play for the 66er's again Thursday and Friday before being reevaluated.

From Sports Illustrated:

It's thought that Manny will be placed on waivers once he's off the DL. The waiver rules states that every NL team has first dibs, and if none want him, then every AL team gets a crack. If no one claims Ramirez, the Dodgers may then trade him to any team. If one team or multiple teams claim him, then the team with the worst record at the time of claiming (with every NL team having priority over every AL team) is the only one that can get Ramirez. The Dodgers have the option of letting him go to the claiming team for nothing except the obligation of paying his salary or pulling him off waivers and working out a trade, but only with that one team.

Rafael Furcal, who was scheduled to begin a rehab assignment this week, complained of back soreness, which had worsened Wednesday. Furcal, who has been out the past 15 games because of a low back strain, will stop baseball activities and have a bone scan on Thursday.

Will Manny play next season? His agent, Scott Boras, says Manny wants to play. I wonder where he'll sign.

Dave Roberts expects full recovery from cancer. Former Dodger Dave Roberts, who was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in March, is expected to make a full recovery. Roberts, who didn't go public with his diagnosis until May 3, completed eight rounds of chemotherapy, and he is undergoing three weeks of radiation treatments at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. Get well Dave.

Dodger god Steve Garvey made a cheesy commercial with Tillman the Skateboarding Dog promoting Bark in The Park Night at Dodger Stadium on August 21. The James Loney bobblehead even makes an appearance. Check it out here.

The NL Finally Wins An All-Star Game.

After 13 straight All-Star Game losses to the American League, the National League finally get's a win at the Midsummer Classic.  A three-run double from Braves catcher Brian McCann in the seventh inning gave the NL the lead. And that was all they would need, as they went on to win 3-1.

Four Dodgers made the NL team, Andre Ethier, Jonathan Broxton, Rafael Furcal and Hong-Chih Kuo. Let's see how they did.

Andre Ethier went 1 for 2  with a single in the fifth inning off of Justin Verlander. Rafael Furcal walked in his only at bat. Hong-Chih Kuo gave up one unearned run, the only American League run. And Jonathan Broxton finished the game, striking out one and earning the save. Not bad at all.

The National League now has home field advantage in the World Series. I hate this rule, but that's just the way it is. Hopefully, the Dodgers make it that far.

Congratulations Raffy!

Rafael Furcal is an All Star. The Dodger shortstop is heading to Anaheim as a reserve after Mets shortstop Jose Reyes aggravated a right oblique injury during Saturday's game against Atlanta. Furcal is one of the hottest players in baseball right now. He has hit in 13 of his last 14 games, batting .450 with 4 homeruns, 20 runs scored and 15 runs batted in. Overall, Raffy is batting .333 with 5 homeruns and 54 RBI. Raffy joins fellow Dodgers Andre Ethier and Jonathon Broxton in Anaheim.

This is Furcal's second All-Star appearance. His first All-Star berth was in 2003 while with the Atlanta Braves. He went 1 for 3 in that game.

Congratulations Rafa!

You can see Rafael Furcal's bobblehead of the day post here.

A Sweep in San Francisco And Other Dodger News

The Dodgers leave San Francisco today with a series sweep over the Giants. How nice does that sound? Three days ago Dodger fans were up in arms over Joe Torre's bullpen debacle. What a difference three days in San Fran makes.

Matt Kemp started today after staying out of the starting line-up three consecutive games. He was huge in today's 8-2 victory, going 3 for 4 with a walk, homerun and three RBI. I hope this is the game that gets Matt Kemp going. Kemp and manager Joe Torre had a meeting on Tuesday. And even though the details of the meeting haven't come out, I hope the tension between the two has been cleared.

Rafael Furcal had another big game going 3 for 4 with a homerun and 2 runs batted in. He also scored three times. Since his father passed away, Rafa has gone16 for 34 with 11 runs and seven RBI. His father passing away is very sad, but it seems to have motivated the Dodger shortstop.

Vicente Padilla hit a milestone with his win today. It was win number 100 for the righty from Nicaragua. Vicente looked good, going seven innings, allowing one run on three hits, walking one and striking out five. His only blemish was a solo homerun given up to Aaron Rowand.

I have to say, I'm happy inter-league play is over. It's nice to get back to National League play. The team is off to Arizona to take on the Diamondbacks. They get to face former Dodger Edwin Jackson who pitched a no-hitter just last Friday. Let's hope the roof is closed and the air conditioner is on in Phoenix. Today's high was 109 degrees.

In other Dodger news:

Manny Ramirez is scheduled to have an MRI on his injured right hamstring during Thursday’s day off in Phoenix.

After being designated for assignment on Friday, Charlie Haeger cleared waivers, and was outrighted to AAA Albuquerque.

All-Star voting ends Thursday. Andre Ethier still has the third most votes for National League outfielders.

Bobblehead Of The Day: Rafael Furcal

Rafael Furcal returned from the disabled list today, going 0 for 4 and committing 2 errors. Ouch. I'm sure he's a bit rusty, and we'll see Furcal in better form tomorrow.

So, with Rafa coming off the DL today, I thought we'd take a look at his 2007 Dodger Stadium giveaway bobblehead.

On Friday, July 6, 2007, the Dodgers gave away Rafael Furcal bobbleheads to the first 50,000 fans in attendance. Presented by Farmer John, this bobble was made by P Squared Promos. This was the second of three bobbleheads given away in 2007. The other two were Nomar Garciaparra(April 26) and Russell Martin(August 2).

The Dodgers played the Florida Marlins that night and lost 6-5. Chad Billingsley was the starting pitcher for the Dodgers, Dontrelle Willis for the Marlins. Brett Tomko took the loss(shocking) after Takashi Saito blew the save. Renyel Pinto won the game for Florida.

Let's take a look at the bobblehead



















This isn't the greatest looking bobblehead the Dodgers have given away. The skin tone is off, and the facial features sort of look like Furcal. I do like the stance Rafael is in though. He looks like he is about to steal a base.

So, now all three 2007 bobbleheads have been covered, Nomar Garciaparra, Russell Martin and now Rafael Furcal. Not a bad crop of nodders for a crappy Dodger season.