Bobblehead News

Here's a bit of bobblehead news to start off the week:

Last month the Dodgers released the first images of the Don Mattingly bobblehead they'll be giving away on June 1. Roberto from Vin Scully Is My Homeboy has the first hi-res images of the bobble. This looks like another good one.

Today is the one-year anniversary of Ubaldo Jimenez' no-hitter. The Colorado Rockies celebrated the anniversary by giving away Ubaldo bobbleheads. Doesn't really look like him.

The Anaheim Angels have a few bobblehead nights on their 2011 promotional schedule. The first one falls on Tuesday, May 24, when the Angels will be giving away Kendrys Morales bobbleheads. The interesting thing about this bobblehead is, they'll be giving away two different versions of the star first baseman, one batting left-handed and one batting right-handed.  From Angels.com:

Right Handed or Left Handed? Which Kendry Morales Bobblehead will you get? (one per fan per entry, no exchanges)

I'll be attending this game with my wife. Maybe we'll get both of them.

On July 17, the Oakland Athletics will be giving away MC Hammer bobbleheads to the first 10,000 fans in attendance. No, the bobblehead will not be wearing the baggy pants. Hammer was an A's batboy when he was a teenager. The above picture is a prototype of the bobblehead.

And finally, the Tampa Bay Rays needed to come up with a new promotion to replace the Manny Ramirez bobblehead on May 29. Manny retired last week instead of taking a 100 game suspension for a positive drug test. With Manny going bye-bye, so did the bobblehead. The Rays are taking advantage of the hot start from outfielder Sam Fuld. The Rays will be giving away Super Sam Fuld capes instead.

I wonder what's gonna happen with the 10,000 Manny Ramirez bobbleheads that have been produced. Something tells me will see one on Ebay soon.

Dodgers News And Notes

We're two weeks away from Opening Day. Woohoo!
Anyway, here are some notes on this Thursday:

The Dodgers wear green uniforms for St. Patty's Day. The boys, who are normally in blue, wore green hats and jerseys for St. Patrick's Day. Those jerseys were signed and auctioned off for the Dodgers Dream Foundation.

Season Ticket Open House at Dodger Stadium. Interested in becoming a Dodger season ticket holder? The Dodgers will be holding an Open House on Saturday, March 19th and Saturday, March 26th. Anyone who purchases a season ticket plan at the Open House will also receive a Dodgers fleece blanket.

Dodgers reassign Jerry Sands to minor league camp. I think many of us want to see him play in LA now, but the truth is, he needs some more time in the minors. He'll probably start the season in AA Chattanooga. We could see him called up to the big club in September.

Jay Gibbons gets new contacts. Gibby, who is 2 for 22 so far in Spring Training, had his eyes checked in San Francisco, and was fitted for new contact lenses. Let's see if this helps him at the plate.

Is Darren Dreifort considering a comeback? The former Dodger, who hasn't pitched since 2004, visited Camelback Ranch this week as a guest instructor on the Minor League side. He threw a bullpen session and batting practice and hinted at a return to the majors. He'll be 39 in May. Dreifort retired at age 32 because of a condition that cursed him with weak connective tissue and led to 12 operations on his elbow, hip, knee, shoulder and ankle.

New Dodger billboards. The Dodgers have a new ad campaign. They've gone away from the "This Is My Town" ads and have come up with "It's Time". Roberto at Vin Scully Is My Homeboy shows us some of these new billboards.

Dodger Bloggers Take Part In Community Caravan

On Tuesday, I took part in the last stop of the Dodgers Community Caravan in Northridge, where the team dedicated the newest Dream Field. Other Dodger bloggers took part in the Caravan as well.

Roberto at Vin Scully Is My Homeboy made a couple stops on the caravan. He was part of the Santa Monica Beach cleanup and the Los Angeles River cleanup.

Emma at Crzblue's Dodger Blog also took part in the LA River cleanup.

Linda from LEAVes of Dodger Blue made that LA River stop as well.

Sons of Steve Garvey got a guest post from reader  "Beast Mode", who took part in the Santa Monica Beach Heal the Bay cleanup.

Finally, from Dodgers.com, here's some video from the Caravan.

Player Appearance: Steve Sax

Former Dodger second baseman Steve Sax made an appearance today at Canter's Deli in Los Angeles. Sax was scheduled to make a business presentation at 1:00 pm. He followed that up with an autograph session for his book "Shift".

I got there a bit early, 2 hours early to be exact. When I walked in, I saw Steve setting up for his business presentation. I walked up to him and asked him when the event was to begin, and he told me 1pm. He introduced himself to me and shook my hand. Then he introduced me to his associates and asked me if I wanted to join them in the bar area for lunch. How could I say no?

So, we went to the bar, and there was pastrami and rye bread and pickles on the table. It was an amazing spread. If you haven't been to Canter's, you gotta try it. The food is so good. Steve introduced me to Canter's owner Gary Canter, who is a one of the funniest people I've ever met. He told us a few stories that were straight out of old Hollywood. We ate, chatted and watched the Chiefs/Saints game. It was a great time. Before I knew it, it was 12:30.

Sax went back to the presentation area, and finished setting up. I noticed a few Dodgers fans come in. He started signing. That's when I asked him to sign my baseball cards. I also bought his book. He signed that for me as well. Just then, Roberto from Vin Scully Is My Homeboy came in. We chatted a bit, then he took a picture of Saxy and me. I also got to meet a couple readers of my blog, Mike and Gus. It was great meeting both of you in person!

Finally, 1 o'clock had arrived, and Sax began his presentation. He was talking about ACN, which is a telecommunications company that provides services such as local and long distance calling, Internet, wireless, home security, satellite TV and video phones. It was an interesting one-hour presentation. While Sax was talking, Dodger fans were starting to trickle in. I already had my autographs, so I split as soon as he was done.

Before I left, I had to stop at the Canter's bakery, which is just as amazing as the deli. I had to get their cheesecake. It's so damn good.

I had a great time today. I don't think I will ever forget my experience. I can say I had lunch with Steve Sax! Thanks again to Roberto from Vin Scully Is My Homeboy for all the info on today's event. Thanks to Gary Canter for all the food and drinks. And of course, thanks to Steve Sax. It was very nice meeting you.

Dodgers News And Notes

Frank McCourt meets with executives from the commissioner's office. LATimes.com's Bill Shaikin tells us that the Dodgers owner met with several of Selig's lieutenants earlier this week in New York. According to officials familiar with the discussions, McCourt requested the meetings.

It is uncertain exactly what McCourt proposed in his meetings, but he could get hundreds of millions of dollars by either negotiating a new television contract with Fox or selling a minority share of the Dodgers, then using the proceeds to settle his divorce. McCourt has insisted he has no plan to sell any share of ownership.

However, Selig could reject any television contract or partnership agreement. After court documents in the divorce trial revealed how the McCourts diverted millions in team revenue each year for personal use, Selig could cite grounds that such money should be used to improve the team rather than to pay off an ex-wife, one official said.


In addition, the officials said, Selig could refuse McCourt the short-term financing available to owners from MLB.

It is unclear whether such actions could pressure McCourt to the point of putting the team up for sale, whether McCourt would take legal action to stop any such moves, or how any decisions Selig might consider would be affected by Jamie McCourt's contention that she owns half the team.

However, the owner of another MLB club said he doubted Frank McCourt could rally other owners behind him — and against Selig — should the commissioner decide to act.

Dodgers' fourth annual Winter Development Program begins this weekend. The Dodgers' fourth annual Winter Development Program, which helps prepare minor league players for the Major Leagues both on and off the field, kicks off this weekend and will include workouts, community visits, informational seminars and visits to different areas of Los Angeles. Sixteen of the Dodgers' top minor league prospects will be in town for the week-long event and workouts will focus on fundamentals, strength training and conditioning.

Camelback Ranch box office opens. Vin Scully Is My Homeboy gives us the details on Dodgers Spring Training games. Single-game tickets went on sale today in  Glendale, AZ.

How close is Trayvon Robinson? ESPNLosAngeles.com's Jon Weisman gives us all the details on the switch-hitting center fielder.

Dodger in the Dominican and Venezuelan Winter Leagues. Chad at Memories of Kevin Malone gives us a recap on all the Dodgers that played in each league.

Merry Christmas

I want to wish everyone out there a Merry Christmas. I hope everyone has a safe and wonderful day.

Here are some Christmas Dodger links:

Kershaw and new wife head to Africa. Dodgers' Ace, Clayton Kershaw, and his new bride, Ellen, will be going to Zambia in January. The two will be a on a mission spreading the good word and spending time with orphans in this poor African nation, where two-thirds of the population lives below the national poverty line.

Casey Blake, philanthropist. Blake, who lives in the small town of Indianola, Iowa, donated $1 million to the Indianola school district back in February and challenged the community to match it. The Beard is active in fund-raisers to help the community match his $1-million donation.

Dodger Christmas trees. Vin Scully Is My Homeboy has been getting pics from some Dodger fans of their Christmas trees. It's some cool stuff check it out.

Seasons Greeting from the Dodgers. This greeting card is showing off the new Dodgers' rotation. Click the pic below.

LA County Fair's Dodger Day: Garvey and Sax Autograph

Thursday, September 9, was Dodger Day at the LA County Fair in Pomona. Four former players appeared at the event, Steve Sax, Maury Wills, Steve Garvey and Fernando Valenzuela. These events always get crazy, but I know that it's a lot crazier when Garvey and Fernando appear. I knew I had to get there as early as possible. My mission was to get Steve Garvey to autograph his bobblehead.

The appearances began at 4:00 pm, with Steve Sax signing first for an hour. They would continue every hour after that for one hour at a time. Maury Wills was at 5:00, Steve Garvey at 6:00 and Fernando at 7:00.

I arrived at the fair at 1:15, hoping it would be early enough. I'm always very late to these things. Well, I was early enough. There was only one line when I got there and I was about 30 people back. Security told us that we would have to get back in line once we got Sax's autograph. THERE WAS JUST ONE LINE? This had disaster written all over it.

The front of the line when I got there

Standing in line, it's always fun to chat with the people around you, and I did meet some nice people waiting for Steve Sax. I can't remember all of their names, but a couple of them said they read the blog. COOL! They all had some nice Dodger stories to tell.

Once 4:00 rolled around, the line moved quickly. I noticed there was a second line forming off to the side. I asked them what they were waiting for. Some people were waiting for Garvey, some for Fernando. OK, so this is where I'm gonna go once I get the Sax auto. Well, I finally got to Sax, and he was very nice. I told him I was huge fan and he said thanks. He signed my 1982 Fleer rookie card for me.

Once I got the autograph, I went to that secondary line people were waiting in. I was about 40 people back, so I was in good shape for Steve Garvey. Maury Wills was next, but I was there to get Steve Garvey's autograph. While waiting, I met some more great people. The first person I met was a man named Bruce. You can read Bruce's Dodger Day experience here. He had some nice stories to tell. While I was chatting with Bruce, a couple of guys stepped into line and started talking to Bruce, I figured they were related. They weren't, they had just met each other waiting for Steve Sax. So, who were these guys? One was Greg from Plaschke Thy Sweater Is Argyle and Memories of Kevin Malone. He recognized me from the site. The other was a nice guy named Eric. We chatted for a while, then things got chaotic. Security had to do something with the second line of people that had formed. So, they formed three seperate lines, one for each of the remaing players. Why didn't they think of this earlier?

I jumped into the Steve Garvey line. Waiting in the Garvey line I met more poeple, with more stories to tell. This is what the fans do to pass the time. Looking to the left, there was a huge line starting to form for Fernando. I didn't want any part of that. I was sticking to my mission, Garvey then go home.

Garvey showed up on time, and the line started moving. I've got to admit, this was one of the good things about the event, they moved the line along nicely. I got the bobblehead out. Once I got to the front of the line, that's when Fernando showed up. The crowd went crazy. But I was there for the Iron Man. Once it was my turn, I handed him the bobblehead. I told him to sign the helmet. Then I started telling him I was a huge fan, and that it was nice to meet him. While I was blabbering away, I noticed he was signing the base of the bobblehead. I asked him if he could please sign the helmet. He said sorry, then went on to give me an additional signature right on the side of the helmet. I got two Garvey autographs on one bobblehead! Nice. Mission accomplished.

As I was walking away, Eric asked me if I wanted to wait for Fernando. I took one look at the line, and said, no. There were at least 1,000 people in line for Fernando, if not more. That's when I knew it was time to go home.

Overall, I'd say I had a good day. I got 2 of the four player's autographs. I was there for Garvey, so getting Sax was a bonus for me. I met some nice people too. It was also nice to meet Greg from MoKM in person. That's the second Dodger blogger I've met now, Roberto from Vin Scully is My Homeboy being the first.

Dodgers News And Notes

Another Dodger loss. The offense was non-existent again. At this point, does it really matter? Time to start thinking about 2011.

Speaking of 2011, could Tim Wallach, manager of the Dodgers' AAA afiliate Albuquerque Isotopes, be the Dodgers' manager next year? According to Baseball America, Wallach is the Pacific Coast League's best managerial prospect.

After 16 years in the minors, John Lindsey has finally made it to the majors. The Isotopes first baseman was called up today along with third baseman Russ Mitchell, who is also making his major league debut, Chin Lung Hu, and pitchers Jon Link and John Ely.

So who pitches batting practice for the Dodgers? Pete Bonfils is his name, and he's been doing it for almost 30 years. Who knew?

Have the Dodgers trademarked the phrase "Los Doyers"? After spotting Los Doyers shirts in the Dodger Team Store, Roberto from Vin Scully Is My Homeboy asked that same question. He found out that they had trademarked the phrase on August 18.

Matt Kemp Autograph Fail

A couple of weeks ago, I heard that Dodger shortstop Rafael Furcal would be making an appearance at the Verizon Wireless store in the City of Commerce on Saturday, August 21 from 12:00-1:00. I was pretty excited about going to the event and getting my Rafa bobblehead signed.

Well, Friday night, the Dodgers announced that Furcal had canceled, and that Matt Kemp would be taking his place at the event. I was happy to meet Furcal,  but once I found out my favorite player would be there instead, I got real excited.

So, I got my 2009 Matt Kemp bobblehead, and drove down to Commerce. I left late, and I knew it was gonna be crazy. My friends Albert and Chris and Linda were already down there holding a spot. They got there four hours early and were over 300 people back. I knew there was a good chance I wouldn't get to meet Matt, but I decided to at least give it a shot. So I waited it out.

There were two lines to meet Kemp. The first was the regular line that we were in. The second was a VIP line. Anyone who made a purchase in the Verizon Store was moved into the VIP line, and would meet Kemp first. Albert and Linda made purchases, so they went right to the VIP line.  Chris and I waited with the rest of the crowd in the blistering heat.

Earlier, while walking up to meet my friends, I bumped into Roberto from Vin Scully Is My Homeboy. It was nice to finally meet him in person.We chatted for a little bit. I've got to say, Roberto may be the most dedicated Dodger fan I've ever met. He was one of the first people in the line.

Kemp got there on time. The crowd went crazy. The line moved at a snails pace. Twenty minutes after Kemp started signing, Albert and Linda showed up with their signed baseballs. They told us that ten people were going in at a time, and that Matt was signing very slowly. I knew I wouldn't get the autograph. But I stuck with it.

While waiting, a woman fainted in line. The fire department showed up and took her away in an ambulance. It was very hot out there, and the line was moving slowly.

1:00 rolled around and I was still about 150 people back, and there were at least 200 more people behind me. At around 1:05, the crowd started to run towards the front of the store, and that's when I knew Matt was leaving. And I was right. No Matt Kemp autograph for me. He got into the back seat of an SUV, and they drove off. He waived out the window to the crowd, and that was it. Some people booed, but for the most part, it was very calm.

While walking back to the car, we ran into Dodgers photographer Jon Soo Hoo. He was nice enough to take some pictures with us. I am a fan of Soo Hoo's work, so it was it was a nice little surprise at the end of a long, hot, disappointing day.

Me and Jon Soo Hoo

Chris and Albert with Jon Soo Hoo

Once again, I want to say that these player appearance need to be longer. There are fans standing in line for hours just to meet their favorite baseball players. One hour of signing is ridiculous, especially for a player as popular as Matt Kemp.

Around The Dodger Blogosphere

Let's see what's going on in the Dodger blogosphere:

What Jonathan Broxton needs to do to earn redemption. After his All-Star Game save, a lot of people were talking about Jonothan Broxton. Most of what was being said was good, but there are still some Big Jon haters out there.  Chad Moriyama at Memories of Kevin Malone tells us what Brox needs to do to win those haters over.
 
Vin Scully Is My Homeboy at the All-Star FanFest. Roberto over at VSIMH was in Anaheim on Tuesday for the final day of FanFest 2010.
 
MSTI's first half review. Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness grades the Dodgers first half of the season, player by player.
 
Dan Uggla in Dodger blue? Dodgersrumors.com tells us why the Dodgers should trade for Marlins second baseman Dan Uggla.
 
 

 
What has happened to Ronnie Belliard? Steve Dilbeck at the LA Times wonders where Ronnie Belliard has gone. He's not the same player we saw at the end of last season.
 
Memorabilia Monday. Greg at MoKM is asking readers to send in some pictures of sports memorabilia and a story that goes with it. He's already posted his Matt Kemp signed ball(I'm jealous).
 

Dodger Bloggin'

Tonight's Dodger loss was painful. The pitching was atrocious. Carlos Monasterios was a mess. But Ramon Troncoso replacing Monasterios in the fifth inning was the Dodgers undoing. Tron couldn't even retire one batter in what turned out to be a seven-run inning for the Red Sox. I don't even understand how Joe Torre can keep bringing Troncoso into games. Actually, I do understand. He loves to destroy bullpen arms. It's sad.

Let's see what's going on in the world of Dodger blogs:

Speaking of Joe Torre destroying bullpen arms, theLFP.com shares the cover of Joe Torre's next book with us, "The Art of Bullpen Management"



Blue Heaven shares another great auction item. It's a game-used Dodger batting helmet once worn by slugger Pedro Guerrero. What's so special about this helmet? Nolan Ryan hit Pedro in the back of the head which left a huge crack in the helmet. The helmet is also signed by Ryan and Guerrero.

There have been a few good Dodger autograph appearances over the last few weeks. KempKershaw over at Plaschke Thy Sweater Is Argyle shares his John Ely meeting with us.

Matt Kemp has been struggling lately. Memories of Kevin Malone wonders if there is any reason to start worrying about the Dodgers star center fielder.

Roberto over at Vin Scully Is My Homeboy is in Boston with the Dodgers. He's been giving us the details of his east coast trip. He's sitting in Section 36 if any other Dodger fans in Boston were curious.

Speaking of Section 36, Boston Red Sox blogger, Section 36 writes a segment called "Visitor's Views", where he asks some questions to a fan of the visiting team at Fenway. Since the Dodgers are in Boston, he contacted me, and asked me a few questions. Of course I was kind enough to answer. You can check that out here.

Dodger Bloggin'

Should we be concerned with all the walks Clayton Kershaw gives up? KempKershaw at Plaschke Thy Sweater Is Argyle takes a look at the numbers.

Evan, the go to guy in Albuquerque, recently had a day out with the Isotopes. Check out New Mexico Fan's story and pics.

Blue Heaven has got another great Dodger ebay find. Here are vintage Steve Sax and Fernando Valenzuela shirts. These shirts bring back some memories.



From Vin Scully Is My Homeboy, a King Kong sighting at Dodger Stadium:

Around The Dodger Blogosphere

Let's take a look at what's going on in the world of Dodger blogs

Roberto over at Vin Scully Is My Homeboy had a contest earlier in the week. He gave away an Andre Ethier bobblehead to the first person to e-mail him a picture of themselves wearing a VSIMH shirt. I thought it was a great idea.

Congrats to Mike Brown from The Left Field Pavilion. His Casey Blake "In Beard We Trust" shirts are real hot right now. Matt Kemp's wearing the shirt, and it was shown by Steve Lyons on Dodgers Live.



Matt Kemp and Jamey Carroll are similar? Really? Chad at Memories of Kevin Malone broke down the two players defensive numbers. It ain't pretty. Both Kemp and Carroll have struggled defensively this year.

Sons of Steve Garvey had some costume ideas for some of the Dodgers on Empire Strikes Back Night at Dodger Stadium. Jamey Carroll as 4-LOM is hilarious. I crack up every time I see their pictures side-by-side.