My UCLA Education Won Me These Sweeeeet Hall of Fame Autos!

I recently won a College World Series contest over at Autographed Cards. Zach asked us to pick winners of each round and an eventual champion. As you might expect, I went with my Alma mater of UCLA. And they won! It's the first CWS Title in school history and it netted me some phenomenal winnings.

My prize was quite fantastic. First up, a beautiful 8x10 signed by future Hall of Famer Pudge Rodriguez. Ivan is one of the greatest backstops of all-time, so picking up his signature is pretty awesome.

Next up, another John Hancock of a future member of Cooperstown, also on an 8x10. John Smoltz is one of my favorite non-Dodgers' hurlers. Which might shock some Braves' fans. :o

That was all I expected to receive, and it would have been plenty. Zach, however, went above and beyond and included a couple of Dodgers' goodies. The first is the above fantastic 8x10 signed by former Dodger Robin Ventura. So, so cool.

The final extra is this Jon Link IP autograph. Could a certain Jon Link SuperCollector one day find this in their mailbox? I wouldn't bet against it.

Thanks for the contest and the fantastic prize Zach, I appreciate it!

Trade With Night Owl Cards: One Dodgers Fan/Collector Hooks Up Another.

I completed my fifth trade with fellow Greg, Greg, from the legendary Night Owl Cards. You can find the first here, second here, third here, and fourth here. Our late night friend was interested in a duplicate Josh Lindblom Sterling RC Auto I had, and sent along some nice PC additions in return for the John Hancock.

First up, The Bison. I believe this is an exclusive retail parallel from Target. I think....

Next up, Mr. Cy Young, Kid K. All chromed out, which my scanner isn't terribly fond of. Kersh is numbered, 0248/1962.

A Ginter mini with a Ginter Back! Wooo! My Russ PC continues to chug along nicely as it nears 200 cards.

I requested a wrapper from Greg when he posted some Heritage, because Dirtbag alum Evan Longoria graces said wrapper, and I won't be buying any myself. He kindly obliged my request.

Finally, random awesomeness. Campy, Sandy, Jackie, and Duke (in cloth form) shall always be scanned.

Thanks for the great trade Greg! Oh, and since you once upon a time requested every trade post with you must contain photos of a certain someone....

And of course, because you're the Grand Poo-bah of bloggers (I realize the term has a negative connotation, but I'm taking it back), the best picture of my future wife must make an appearance.

Dodgers Notes From Monday's Game 6/28/2010

Dodgers 4, San Francisco 2


Box Score.

• Chad Billingsley, in his return from the DL and a strained groin, went 6 innings (2 ER, 5 Hits, 3 K, 2 BB, 98 pitches - 54 for strikes).
• Bullpen: 3 IP, 0 Runs, 4 Hits, 1 K, 1 BB.
• Casey Blake hit his 8th HR of the season.
• Rafael Furcal stole his 12th base of the season.
• Manny Ramirez (Double, 2 Singles, BB) reached base 4 times, Furcal (Double, Single, BB) reached base 3 times, while Blake (HR, Single) and A.J. Ellis (Single, BB) each reached base twice.
• The offense struck out 10 times, drew 3 walks, and had 3 extra-base hits.
• Jon Link continued his impression of Blake DeWitt circa 2009 as he was sent back to AAA to make room for Bills's return.
• The Dodgers signed aging lefty reliever Jack Taschner, assigning him to AAA (via Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness).
• Joe Torre will decide his managerial future late in the season. Please, just be gone now.

"Just so I don't hamstring this organization," said Torre, who is coming to the end of the three-year, $13 million contract he signed when he left the Yankees after the 2007 season. "I'm going to wait [to decide] until later in the season. I have to. It's not fair to them if I don't do that."

I feel for the guys," Torre said. "At that point, my managing is over with. You bring your closer in and your managing is done. That makes it tougher for me because there's nothing you can do. You just hope the result is better."

Dodgers Notes From Friday's Game 6/25/2010

New York Yankees 2, Dodgers 1

Missed the game to attend the first round of the NHL Draft at Staples Center; had a great time, hope to see the draft in Anaheim in the near future.

Box Score.

• Vicente Padilla went 7 excellent innings (2 ER, 6 Hits, 7 K, 1 BB, 1 HR Allowed, 1 Hit Batter, 112 pitches - 69 for strikes).
• Bullpen: 2 IP, 0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 K, 0 BB.
• Rafael Furcal stole his 10th base of the season.
• Manny Ramirez was the only Dodger to reach base more than once (2 Singles).
• The offense struck out 10 times, drew 3 walks, and had no extra-base hits.
• Charlie Haeger was DFA'd. Jon Link was called up yet again to replace him. We'll see if a team takes a chance on Charlie; I would.

"It's just frustrating. The whole season has been frustrating," said the 26-year-old Haeger. "To not throw well, to be on the DL, the throw twice in nearly two months. Last night I think I was one out away from having a decent game. It's frustrating."

He was asked if he had a fair shot.

"Early in the season I did," he said. "I had five starts. But I feel like, coming off the DL, throwing twice in the span of two months, I don't know how fair that is. I had an opportunity early in the season to throw the ball well and didn't. But it was a good experience here. It's been a rough season, but I fell like last night I threw the ball pretty well and feel like it's back, I found it again. Obviously, I'm disappointed. I want to be here."

[Photos via Getty Images and AP]

Dodgers News Round-Up

Russell Martin sat for two consecutive games earlier this week, finally getting the rest a catcher should be getting on the regular, as A.J. Ellis actually got a somewhat extended amount of playing time. He only received rest, however, because he's a bit banged up, to be expected for a catcher, but especially one that plays as much as Russell does. Joe Torre is a habitual over-user of certain players and positions (see: Ramon Troncoso's corpsy arm), so any rest for Russ is good rest in my book.

"Just getting another day and getting fully rested," Martin said. "It's just something that maybe one day can make me feel a lot better. I don't want to tell you what it is."

"Just watching him, his swing was getting bigger, longer," manager Joe Torre said. "You'd have to be in the dugout to experience the frustration sometimes when he comes in. It was just time I think to take a step back."

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Charlie Haeger was sent back to the DL, this time around with a sprained toe. Jon Link was recalled for the third time this season.

"I just don't think that I'm healthy yet," Haeger said. "I don't want to use it as an excuse."

"We'll just see if we can get this better," manager Joe Torre said.

Link was then sent right back to make room for the re-activated and still-goateed George Sherrill.

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Carlos Monasterios starts on Sunday.

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Kyle Russell has finally been promoted to AA. It's about time. Though of course this means I won't get to see him Sunday when I head to another Inland Empire 66ers game. And he's the guy I really was hoping to meet this weekend. Oh well.

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LSU head football coach Les Miles doesn't believe Dodgers first-round pick Zachary Lee will sign. I agree with Miles.

Who Should Replace Vicente Padilla?

With the news that Vicente Padilla has been sidelined with a strained forearm and will hit the 15-day DL, the question becomes who will replace him in the Dodgers rotation? Who will Joe Torre and Rick Honeycutt deem worthy enough to replace our venerable Number 4 1/2 starter?

First, confirmation from the Dodgers that Padilla is Padidown (/wah wah), and a fairly troubling quote from Vicente:

"I can't even throw right now," Padilla said, declining to speculate on the severity of the injury.

The choices at their disposal, currently up in the bigs:

• Ramon Ortiz
• Jon Link, recalled to replace Padilla
• Carlos Monasterios

A few more choices, currently at AAA:

• James McDonald
• Scott Elbert
• Josh Lindblom
• Josh Towers
  

Eric Stults, where for art thou, Eric Stults? Oh yeah, you're turning Japanese. And Jeff Weaver, who would have undoubtedly gotten the spot-start, is DL'd with a bad back.

Two excellent rundowns of the options come from Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness, who fears we'll see Josh Towers (who I had thankfully forgotten about), and Eric Stephen at True Blue L.A., who prognosticates Elbert could get the call. One thing that's for sure: we're all just hoping it's not Ramon Ortiz.

If I were to guess, and that's all it really is, a guess, I would rank these gentlemen, in likelihood of getting the start:

1. Ramon Ortiz
2. Josh Towers
3. Scott Elbert
4. Josh Lindblom
5. James McDonald
6. Link/Monasterios
   

Whoever it is (and there is the possibility of rain in New York or Torre deciding to run a 4-man rotation for a short amount of time) the chosen one only needs to realistically go 5 innings or into the 6th, and not get completely shellacked.

I'm fairly positive they all can do it once or twice, but I'll admit it, I'm terrified of a Ramon Ortiz start. Josh Towers doesn't make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside either, but they're both veterans, so it will more than likely be one of them getting the ball handed to them in New York next week.

Still, my vote, if I had one, would go to James McDonald. Then Scott Elbert. Somehow, I think Josh Towers would get the bronze from me. I guess it's because he kind of reminds me of Dave Bush. And that is........well, it's something alright.

Vicente Padilla To DL, Jon Link Recalled

According to a Tweet from Dylan Hernandez, Vicente Padilla is the next Dodger to spend time on the DL, as a sore forearm will shelve him for at least 15 days.

Jon Link, he of the 2 scoreless innings in his only appearance, has been recalled.

It will be interesting to see who replaces Padilla in the rotation. I fear it will be Ramon Ortiz. Aside from utilizing a 4-man rotation (unlikely), it looks like it may be Link, though he's really best suited to be a reliever.

Dodger Roster Moves Weekend Roundup: Manny Ramirez, Xavier Paul, Hong-Chih Kuo & More!

Reviewing recent roster moves made by the club, we find:

Manny Ramirez heads to the 15-day DL due to a right calf strain. Xavier Paul has been recalled to take ManRam's place, though it is likely he will serve in a reserve role and spell the tandem of Garrett Anderson and Reed Johnson, with Anderson likely to get the bulk of the playing time.

I would personally like to see Paul get the majority of the starts over the next 2 week. Highest upside, clearly, and what's the point of calling him up to be a reserve when he could be playing full-time in AAA? Isn't that the reason why he wasn't our 4th OF to begin the season? Paul's AAA numbers: .361/.409/.574/.983 through 15 Games and 66 plate appearances.

FREE XAVIER PAUL

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Ronald Belisario returns, and Jon Link heads back to AAA after making one appearance and throwing 2 scoreless innings. Link looked good, and will probably see time up in the show again this season, certainly when rosters expand, if not sooner.

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Hong-Chih Kuo returned from elbow issues, while a corresponding move saw Jeff Weaver head to the disabled list with a strained lower back.

Dodgers Notes From Wednesday's Game 4/21/2010

Dodgers 14, Cincinnati 6

Box Score.

• Hiroki Kuroda went 5.2 innings (6 Runs [3 ER], 7 Hits, 4 K, 2 BB, 2 HR Allowed, 103 pitches - 61 for strikes).
• Bullpen: 3.1 IP, 0 Runs, 2 Hits, 2 BB, 1 K. 4 Relievers.
• Matt Kemp launched yet another opposite-field HR, his 7th of the season. Andre Ethier clubbed his 4th long-ball of the young season.
• Rafael Furcal swiped his 7th base of the season. a night after stealing two.
• Kemp (HR, 2 BB, HBP), Manny Ramirez (3 Singles, BB), Ethier (HR, 2 Singles, BB), and Furcal (Triple, Double, Single, BB) each reached base 4 times, James Loney (3 Singles) reached base 3 times, and Russell Martin (2 Singles) reached base twice.
• Manny reached another milestone, the 1800 RBI mark.
• Ronald Belisario made his season debut, throwing a scoreless inning. Jon Link was sent back down to AAA.
  
• Jeff Weaver left the game with an apparent lower-body injury. For his sake, let's hope it's just the "Chan Ho Park" type of lower-body injury and not something long-term.
• The offense drew 6 walks, struck out just 5 times, and knocked out 5 extra-base hits.
• The best part about no one being at games? You can hear everything fans yell out, including this gem after Kemp was hit by a pitch: "Hey Kemp, we've got Rihanna to rub it out for you!".

Dodgers Notes From Tuesday's Game 4/20/2010

Cincinnati 11, Dodgers 9

Box Score.

• Chad Billingsley went 3 innings (7 Runs [4 ER], 7 Hits, 2 K, 0 BB, 1 HR Allowed, 1 Throwing Error, 56 pitches - 35 for strikes). The 2nd inning did him in, and having basically all fastballs called didn't help either. Change it up a bit, whoever calls the pitches.
• Bullpen: 5 IP, 4 ER, 4 Hits, 1 K, 3 BB, 1 HR Allowed.
• Matt Kemp launched his 6th HR of the season.
• Rafael Furcal stole his 5th and 6th bases of the season. It took him until July 3rd of last year to steal his 5th base, and July 28th to swipe his 6th bag.
  
• Manny Ramirez (Double, 3 BB) reached base 4 times, while Kemp (HR, Single), Andre Ethier (Single, BB), Russell Martin (2 Singles), Blake DeWitt (2 Singles), Furcal (2 Singles), and Casey Blake (Triple, Double) each reached base twice.
• Kemp drove in 3 runs, and Casey Blake picked up 4 of his teammates.
  
• The offense struck out 10 times, drew 5 walks, and had 5 extra-base hits.
• Jon Link, acquired in the Juan Pierre deal, made his major league debut and pitched 2 scoreless innings, allowing 0 Hits and walking 1. He faced 6 batters, and threw 27 pitches, 15 for strikes.
• Manny started for the first time since his calf injury of late last week.
  

Russ Ortiz Is Gone!

Russ Ortiz has finally been designated for assignment, and Jon Link has been recalled to take his place. Link will almost certainly be sent back to AAA once Hong-Chih Kuo and Ronald Belisario return.

Ortiz's comments:

Ortiz said he asked if the club wanted to keep him and was told yes, but Ortiz said he's not sure he would accept.

"If it's for a specific purpose for the opportunity to come back, yeah," he said. "But I'm not going to go down just to put a uniform on. I don't need to put a uniform on to be happy."

Ortiz said he was undone by three bad innings, but acknowledged that he didn't pitch well enough to remain in the Major Leagues for the entire year, as was his goal.

"It's kind of incomplete for me," he said. "If anything, I let myself and my teammates down."

You were undone because you're an awful pitcher Russ Ortiz.

My ode to you, Russ, is no longer needed.

Thank god for that.

McDonald Among 3 Sent Down

James McDonald was optioned today, along with Lucas May and Jon Link.

McDonald had a dreadful spring, but is too talented to stay down for long. Whether he returns as a starter or reliever is up in the air, but if last season is any indication, coupled with his spring struggles, it will most likely be the pen again.

Juan Pierre Trade Completed (UPDATE)

It will in fact be John Ely and Jon Link heading to LA. Good job Ned Colletti, something I don't say too often.




Does Link (right) remind anybody else of Bobby Jenks without the blond goatee?


Previous Pierre Trade Coverage found here.

UPDATE: Eric Stephen at True Blue LA informs us that Link has been placed on the 40-man roster, while Ely does not have to be placed on it until 2011. The 40-man roster now has 36 Dodgers on it.

YES! Juan Pierre Has Been Traded! (UPDATES)

Juan Pierre has been traded to the White Sox, according to Tim Brown and Ken Rosenthal.

Brown reports the Dodgers will pick up about half of Pierre's remaining salary, and will acquire two minor league pitchers.

Dylan Hernandez Tweets the minor leaguers will be named later.

Buster Olney Tweets the breakdown of salary as: $8 million to be paid by the White Sox, $10.5 million to be paid by the Dodgers.

As the title of this post clearly demonstrates, I am ecstatic at this news. Now, I just hope Xavier Paul wins the 4th outfielder job over Jason Repko, which appears to be more of a challenge than it should be due to the Dodgers love affair with Repko.

I don't really even care who we get back in return for Pierre (though hopefully there's some nice upside with the two minor leaguers); I'm just thrilled Juan Pierre is no longer a Dodger.

You can follow along and stay up to date with this transaction through MLB Trade Rumors and their excellent coverage.


UPDATE: Eric Stephen over at True Blue LA gives his take on the trade, including the statistical information I was too lazy to link to, though that information should be known by everyone today. Shockingly, many don't understand baseball statistics, or just choose to ignore them when it comes to Juan Pierre, using awful statistics like batting average and steals.

UPDATE # 2: Jon Morosi of FOX Sports Tweets that, according to a "source", the prospects coming to LA are John Ely, 23, and Jon Link, 25.

UPDATE # 3: Jayson Stark reports that the pitchers the Dodgers will acquire are likely to be ready to hit the show in 2010, which lends credence to the pitchers being Ely and Link, as Morosi reported. Ely has already reached AA, while Link has reached AAA. Ely has over a 3:1 strikeout to walk ratio and has struck out roughly 8/9 IP in his minor league career, while Link has struck out more than a batter per inning and has an almost 3:1 strikeout to walk ratio in his minor league career.

UPDATE # 4: The Dodgers have announced the trade. The players to be named later will be announced no later than January 7th of 2010. I'm hoping the players are Ely and Link, or at least comparable players. Ely and Link in particular make me love this deal even more than I already do.

UPDATE # 5: Juan Pierre looks baller with that mustache in the above photo. I'd like him a bit more if he grew it back. Not enough to want him on the team, but hey, it would be a start (again, a start that didn't end with him on the Dodgers).

UPDATE # 6: Jon Weisman over at Dodger Thoughts gives his take on the Pierre trade. A great read.