Dodgers Open to Trading Matt Kemp?

I came across this interesting note from Jayson Stark of espn.com. What do you think Dodger fans?

We've seen a lot of speculation that the Dodgers could be open to trading Andre Ethier or Carl Crawford in a big deal. But some people wonder instead: Shouldn't they be more open to trading Matt Kemp? Since the Dodgers caught fire last month, Kemp has made it through an entire game only eight times. So they've essentially been winning without him. Ethier has actually played well in center in Kemp's absence. And the Dodgers have one of the bright lights of the Futures Game, center-field prospect Joc Pederson, just over the horizon. We keep waiting for a huge name to pop onto this market in the final two days before the deadline. So just asking a question others have pondered: Why not Matt Kemp?

True to the Blue!

Weekend Autograph Appearances - Paul Lo Duca, Mickey Hatcher & Adam Kennedy

There are a few former Dodgers making autograph appearances on Saturday July 20, 2013.

Paul Lo Duca will be at Harry's Dugout.  Click here for more information.

Micke Hatcher will be at Frank & Son.  Click here for more information.

Adam Kennedy will also be at Frank & Son.  Click here for more information.

True to the Blue! 

Upcoming Dodger Appearance - Paco Rodriguez

Friday July 12, 2013

Paco Rodriguez

Sports Authority

3610 Torrance Blvd.

Torrance, CA 90503

11am - 12pm

True to the Blue!

Clayton Kershaw Named to 2013 All Star Team; Vote Puig and Vote AGon

It's official, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw has been named to his third straight MLB All-Star Game.  He will represent the Dodgers on the 2013 All-Star team as they take on the American League All-Stars on July 16, 2013 at Citi Field in New York.  Although Yasiel Puig was not named a National League reserve, he can still make the team.  He will be part of the National League Final Vote.  There are five choices to choose from.  They are Ian Desmond, Freddie Freeman, Adrian Gonzalez, Hunter Pence and Yasiel Puig.  Voting ends on July 11th.  You can cast your ballot for the Final Vote here.    

True to the Blue!

Mike Marshall Autograph Appearance - Photos & Recap

On Saturday June 29, 2013, after acquiring Scott Van Slyke's autograph (click here) and Yasiel Puig's autograph (click here), I left Frank & Son and headed over to Harry's Dugout in Whittier for their Mike Marshall signing.  Marshall was scheduled to start signing at 1pm and I arrived around 12:30pm and was approximately the 8th person in line.  Thanks to the Harry's Dugout staff for letting us into the air conditioned shop to wait.  Mike Marshall arrived right on time and said a few words to the crowd inside the store.  He commented how nice it was to see L.A. fans and receive a round of applause instead of getting booed!  He is the Commissioner of the minor league Pacific Association and the former manager of the San Rafael Pacifics.  He stated being that the  team is in the San Francisco Bay area, he recently made an appearance at a local business and was booed because he was  former Dodger!

Once he started signing, he was extremely friendly with fans and was more than happy to strike up a conversation.  As you can see in the picture above, I got a ROMLB signed with the 88 World Series Champs inscription.  Additionally, I have a mini helmet which already had Mike Scioscia's and Orel Hershiser's autographs on it, so I decided to add Mike Marshall and make it a 1988 World Series Champion project.  When he saw Scioscia's and Orel's signatures, he told me "those are quite the autographs to have".  I thanked him and he added his signature.  Take a look at the picture below.

A couple of Mike Marshall signing at Harry's Dugout

As always, a great signing at Harry's Dugout!

True to the Blue!

Yasiel Puig Autograph Signing - Photos & Recap

On Saturday June 29, 2013, in conjunction with JD Legends Promotions, OC Dugout and Honabach and Sons hosted a Yasiel Puig autograph signing at Frank & Son Collectible Show.  After I got Scott Van Slyke's autograph (click here) at around 10:45am, I headed over to the autograph pavilion. Puig was scheduled to start signing at 11:30am.  I know the Puig signing was pretty expensive but I was out of town the weekend South Bay Cards hosted the more reasonably priced signing before the season started.  Since Puig is the hottest thing in the game and I don't make it out to Dodger Stadium for graphing, I figured I'd fork over some dollars for this signing.

This signing included a little extra as each person was able to take a posed professional photo with Yasiel Puig.  The line was orderly and quick due to the fact the photos were taken by a professional photographer. Above you can see my ROMLB I got signed.  One thing that I found very interesting was that after Puig signed any item, an official Yasiel Puig hologram was placed on the item.  Check it out below.

Not quite sure why his handlers were doing this, I can only assume that it helps ensure that it is an official Yasiel Puig signature.  There were several other Dodgers that were part of this signing and they included Matt Kemp, Jerry Hairston, Nick Punto, Steve Yeager and Tommy Davis.  I didn't get any of their autographs however, I did snap a few photos.  Check them out.  I've also included the professional photos that were taken.

Jerry Hairston Jr. waiting to start signing

Nick Punto & Jerry Hairston Jr.

Matt Kemp

Yasiel Puig 

Puig getting ready to sign my ball

Me & Puig

Thanks to OC Dugout and Honabach and Sons for a great signing & the great photo ops!

True to the Blue!

Dodger Baseball Cards

In my last couple of posts, I've made reference to being out of town for two weeks.  On Father's Day, I headed up to Northern California for a two-week training for work.  The training was in the city of Roseville, which is about 15 miles outside of Sacramento.  Let me tell you, it is tough being a Dodger fan outside of the greater Los Angeles area.  Sacramento is pretty much in the Giants/A's area, so the one Dodger vs Giants game that was televised on ESPN2 was blacked out because it was in the Giants region.  I pretty much was relegated to following my Boys in Blue via the internet and my phone apps.  The weekend of June 22nd and June 23rd, I decided to explore and see if I could find a local card shop in the area.  I had to go to a few cities over but I did find one.  As you can imagine most of the cards in the display cases were of the Giants and the A's.

Lucky for me, the card shop had a 10 cent box where I was able to find the 16 base cards you see pictured in the post.  Not bad for a lazy Saturday afternoon.  I also decided to pick up a hobby box of 2013 Bowman baseball cards.  I'll post about what I pulled out of that box later.  A shout out to Teammates Sports Cards in Carmichael, CA, for allowing me to kill some time in their shop!

Check out my recent Topps Musuem Collection pick up right here     

True to the Blue!

Topps 2013 Museum Collection - Mail Day

I haven't been into buying cards since 1998.  I had a decent 54 card Mike Piazza PC, along with a few other Dodgers, but once he was traded, I pretty much stopped by baseball cards.  A few months back, I started to pick up a few Dodger cards here and there.  I will get around to posting those pick ups but first i'm starting with my most recent pick up.  I saw this card and had to have it.  It was nice coming home from two weeks away from home and having this in my stack of mail!  It is numbered 88/99 and is now a cherished addition to my Dodgers card collection.

True to the Blue!

Scott Van Slyke Autograph Signing - Photos and Recap

On Saturday June 29, 2013, Hall of Fame Sports hosted a Scott Van Slyke for an autograph signing at Frank and Son.  There were several signings going on at Frank & Son, Harry's Dugout, and out in the community on Saturday.  It had to be one of the busiest signing days I can remember.  After hearing how deep the line was for the free AGon signing at T-Mobile, I decided to hit up Frank & Son.  I just don't have the patience or energy to camp out for a free signing.  I admire those of you that do it though!  I may have to try it in the future.

Van Slyke was scheduled to sign starting at 10:30 am.  I was still unsure if I wanted to pay for this autograph.  However, being that I don't graph at Dodger Stadium and I haven't been to Spring Training since 2011, I decided to pull the trigger and get SVS autograph.  I was about the 20th person in line and SVS started signing immediately.  I had my auto and my PSA certification by 10:45 a.m.  Scott was pretty mellow dude and when he was done signing my 8x10, I shook his hand and thanked him for his time.  Check out my photos below.

8x10 of SVS holding his 1st-hit baseball

True to the Blue!

Dodgers vs Yankees Old Timers Game

I've been out of town for the last week attending some training for work.  While I did have my laptop with me, I didn't post much, except for some info on autograph signings that were going on.  Being that I was out of town (more on that to come in future posts), this post is about three weeks over due!

On June 8, 2013, the Dodgers hosted their Old Timers Game which included several former Dodgers playing a couple of innings against some New York Yankee legends.  My nephew was supposed to go to the game with me as he really wanted one of the 1963 World Series replica rings the Dodgers were giving away.  Unfortunately, he forgot to get the day off from work and missed the game.  I took the opportunity to get to the game early and try my hand at graphing at Dodger Stadium.  For years in the late 80's and early 90's I attended huge card conventions and got my autographs that way.  I left the hobby in the mid 90's and started collecting again around 2008.  I've attended paid signings and free signings in the community but have never graphed at a stadium.

Since it was a last minute decision, I took several old cards from my collection but took no photos and no baseballs.  I bumped into a couple graphers that I've meet over the years, David and Gabe.  Once the Dodgers legends exited their dugout it became obvious they weren't going to sign for the fans near their dugout.  Slowly but surely the group waiting for autographs moved over near the visitors dugout where the Yankee legends were exiting.  Former Dodger Bob Welch was chatting with several players when he recognized some people in the stands that he knew.  He headed over to speak with them and signed for some fans.  I was lucky enough to be in the right spot at the right time and he signed the card you see above. I had a nice spot up against the rail separating the field level seats from the dugout seats near home plate.  Once Welch started signing, I felt several people pushing up against me and must say, it was a very uncomfortable spot to be in.

A few minutes later Darryl Strawberry come up to sign for fans and I was in my same spot and got him to sign the card you see below.  I just missed out on Doc Gooden but was happy to get Welch and Strawberry being it was my first time graphing inside Dodger Stadium.  I'm not sure if there were more people than normal because it was the Old Timers Game but I give much respect you graphers out there that do this regularly.  My patience was tried by all the pushing and shoving and I'm a pretty big dude that can hold my own.  With that being said, I had a good time and was happy to get my two cards signed and my SGA replice 1963 World Series ring.  

True to the Blue!