Diversionary Tactics

(Credit: Juan Ocampo/LA Dodgers)

Guess who else was on hand last night at the Major League record setting 13th straight home win at Dodger Stadium? That's right- Seinfeld!

Hey. I'll do anything to take my mind off of this mess.

2nd Annual Dodger Blogger Night

It's good to be a Dodger blogger!

Last night was a treat. For the 2nd year in a row the Dodger brass invited several Dodger blogs to a free night in a suite. Last year we only had a handful of blogs show up, but this time around the room was packed. It is amazing how much things change in just a year.
I had planned on writing this post a little earlier today, but -like most of you- I got blindsided by the Manny news. In fact, I had an entire framework constructed in my mind regarding how I would tell last nights story, but I suddenly found my thoughts jumbled. Oh well.

Nevertheless, this mornings disappointment does not trample over the excitement yesterday evening brought. So, I will start anew.

We were once again treated to free Dodger Dogs, the dessert cart, an entire suite to ourselves and some special guest. As you can see above Dodger GM Ned Colletti is standing next to Communication VP Josh Rawitch. Josh is the chief organizer of this event and a clear innovator in his field. His embrace of the blogging community has been great. Ned Colletti was his normal straight-shooter self. He answered our questions and was direct when he needed to be. Dr. Charles Steinberg, Creative and Communications VP, had some interesting stories including how Journey's song "Don't Stop Believin'" has become a staple at Dodger Stadium.
Then, we were left to enjoy the game. And what a game it was. Our hands were wringing as the game remained close up until the 6th inning. That's when everything went crazy. The Dodgers score 7 runs in the bottom of the inning and suddenly our worry about being this evening jinxes was over. We knew number 13 was ours and we would all go home happy.

Thanks again to Josh Rawitch for a wonderful evening. Also, I appreciate the folks in the front office for coming by. It is always a pleasure when the team of your obsession shows their appreciation like this. It makes writing this blog all worth it.

Be sure to check out Orel's post at SOSG about the evening. He did a great job writing about the evening.

The Dodgers Official Statement

Short and uninformative.

“We share the disappointment felt by our fans, our players, and every member of our organization. We support the policies of Major League Baseball, and we will welcome Manny back upon his return.”

Torre will speak about it later this afternoon.

Hey the Kardashian's

(Credit: Juan Ocampo/LA Dodgers)

I'm posting these photos for one reason and one reason only. I've got to get this Manny thing out of my mind, and I suppose the best way to do that is to highlight some silly event featuring a few wannabe-famous folks. So here you go. The Kardashian bunch was at Dodger Stadium last night to throw out the first pitch.

Has your attention been diverted yet?

Yhea, not here either.

(Credit: Juan Ocampo/LA Dodgers)

Say It Aint So

(Pic Link: crystalinks)

I have been rudely awaken from my slumber. I was on cloud nine, floating through the sky like a freshly made bubble blown from the breath of a boisterous child. The sky was clear, the weather perfect, not a hint of danger was in sight. My dreams last night were filled will those happy thoughts and I was sure nothing could burst it.

Then, I turned on my computer at work, pulled up firefox and headed to my daily read. My first stop was Dodger Thoughts and suddenly my morning, that was once blissful, has turned into a nightmare. Manny Ramirez to be suspended 50 games. What! No! What! Huh! Crap!

Ramirez is expected to attribute the test results to medication received from a doctor for a personal medical issue, according to a source familiar with matter but not authorized to speak publicly.

Go here for the story in the LA Times.

UPDATE: From AP:

“Recently I saw a physician for a personal health issue. He gave me a medication, not a steroid, which he thought was OK to give me,” Ramirez said in a statement issued by the players’ union.

“Unfortunately, the medication was banned under our drug policy. Under the policy that mistake is now my responsibility. I have been advised not to say anything more for now. I do want to say one other thing; I’ve taken and passed about 15 drug tests over the past five seasons.”

I'm still unhappy about this whole situation.

UPDATE II: My friend Craig just emailed me this:

On another topic, what if Manny was using some type of Viagra drug. After all it is a “performance enhancing” drug, right? Gives a whole new meaning to the word “Mannywood”.

Thank you for the laugh.

UPDATE III: Holy crap it may have been for a Viagra type of drug, but there are still questions.

Two sources said Ramirez tested positive for a gonadotropin. Major League baseball’s list of banned substances includes the gonadotropins LH and HCG, which are most commonly used by women as fertility drugs. They also can be used to trigger testosterone production. Testosterone is depleted by steroid use, which can cause sexual dysfunction.

“Testosterone and similar drugs are effective for erectile dysfunction in that they jazz up your sex drive,” said Charles Yesalis, a professor at Penn State who has testified before Congress on issues of performance-enhancing drugs. “But far more clinicians accept that affect with Viagra and Cialis. It’s hard for me to understand if it was erectile dysfunction why they would use it.”

From a blog post comment on Wax Heaven.

The stuff he is accused of using is the same stuff Jose Canseco got busted with a few months back.
Jose was quitting steroids and tried to bring HCG across the border so he could bring his testosterone levels back to normal-after years of steroid use.
Looks like Manny was using undetectable steroids, decided to quit before getting caught and suffered the horrible side effect of not enough lead in the pencil. Hence taking a legal (except in MLB) testosterone booster to get things back to normal before anyone knew a thing.

This is not good.

Collection: 1984 Union Oil Most Memorable Moments: 1963 World Series

The Dodgers have always won through great pitching and the year 1963 is an example of that. The above 1984 Union Oil Most Memorable Moments sheet celebrates the Dodgers World Championship that year and appropriately features the pitching trio of Sandy Koufax, Johnny Podres and Don Drysdale.

Sandy won 25 that year, Drysdale won 19, Podres notched 14 victories and our closer, Ron Perranoski, won an amazing 16 games in relief. Our team ERA was 2.85 and we gave up only 402 walks while recording 1095 strike outs. We just dominated on the mound. So much so, in fact, that we ended up sweeping both playoff series that year against the Cardinals and Yankees. Check out the description on the back of the sheet below. It provides a great synopsis.

Artwork by Paul Kratter.

Check out the rest of the set here in my photoalbum, or the following link with my post about each sheet.

(Click the pic below to enlarge)