Thursday, June 19, 2014

2014 Topps Series 2 Baseball - Some Dodger Insert Cards

Following up on Monday's post featuring the Dodger base cards within Topps Series 2 Baseball, I now share some of the Dodger insert cards.  Go here to see all of my other past post on this set.  I'll have photos of the Dodger autographed and relic cards tomorrow.

Like in past years, Topps chose 100 cards from the base set to make silk parallels of.  Five Dodger players are a part of this set.  Check them out below. 

Silk Collection Set

#SC-101 Clayton Kershaw                     #SC-108 Carl Crawford


#SC-142 Brian Wilson                           #SC-158 Matt Kemp

#SC-183 Kenley Jansen

Five Dodger players are a part of the 110 card Power Players Code set. 


Power Players Code Card Set

#PP-111 Matt Kemp                           #PP-164 Brian Wilson

#PP-196 Carl Crawford                       #PP-200 Clayton Kershaw

#PP-210 Andre Ethier

Die-cut cards appear to be making a huge comeback.  The below cards us the 1989 Topps BAseball card design.

1989 Topps Mini Die-Cut Set

#TM-61 Hanley Ramirez                            #TM-88 Matt Kemp

#TM-90 Hyun-Jin Ryu

These next group of cards can only be found in Jumbo packs.  They are Jackie Robinson reprinted vintage cards with a metallic frame.

Framed Jackie Robinson Reprint

#1 Jackie Robinson                               #10 Jackie Robinson

#30 Jackie Robinson

#50 Jackie Robinson

#312 Jackie Robinson

Framed Gold Label

#GL-19 Clayton Kershaw


Future Stars That Never Were Set
#FS-17 Sandy Koufax

Manufactured Commemorative Patches

#CP-45 Hyun-Jin Ryu

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* Dodgers Blue Heaven home page *
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Catching Up on Kershaw's No-No


I can't believe I missed Clayton Kershaw's no-hitter last night... dammit!  I was just so tired.  So, I had a good dinner and fell fast asleep.  Then, I woke up early, did my normal things and headed to the office.  It was only after getting to work did I realized that I might have missed something... And, oh boy, did I ever!

So, if you were anything like me last night you are only just catching up with what may likely be one of the more memorable ballgames in Dodger history.  Last Night, Clayton Kershaw threw his very first no-hitter, and by all accounts he was as masterful as you can be.

Overall, he threw only 107 pitches - 79 for strikes.  Kershaw struck out 15 batters, walked nobody and faced one batter over the minimum.  If not for a Hanley Ramirez's throwing error in the 7th inning, Clayton likely would have had a perfect game.

To quickly catch you up if you missed the game like me, check out the video below of every Kershaw out from last night:

Video Link:

And, here a a bunch of links I enjoyed reading to help assuage and feeling of loss I might have felt for missing last nights game.
"I started tearing up in the ninth. I just got emotional out there," said (AJ) Ellis, who said he kept his mask on during the celebration since stepping on Drew Butera's mask during the mob after Beckett's no-no landed him on the disabled list. "I told him it's not fair to have a devastating slider and a devastating curve the same night. But when he does, this is possible. The guys in that lineup give him fits. The way he made them look is a testament to how good he was. I'm just thankful and blessed to be on the receiving end of the best pitcher in baseball."
Kershaw did break one record of some obscurity but significance nevertheless. His Game Score of 102 was the highest in Dodger history, higher even than Koufax during his 14-strikeout perfect game, and a concise testimony to his dominance. Only Kerry Wood, in his 20-strikeout game, had a higher Game Score.
“Under normal circumstances, that’s pretty close to a hit,” Kershaw said. “Dickerson’s pretty fast and Hanley did all he could. He made a good play and just the throw was a little wide. Nothing he could do with that. It was a tough play.” 
In my opinion, this was the Ozymandias of no-hitters.

Ozymandias was the third-to-last episode of Breaking Bad*, which (thanks to it's dominance, excellence, and depth) was basically the Clayton Kershaw of television shows. Truthfully, it's the Clayton Kershaw of television shows only if you're not a Dodgers fan, because it can be pretty harrowing at times. Anyways, it features a compelling performance by a dynamic lead, lots of action, drama, and sometimes things move in directions you don't expect. It was -- at times -- horrifying. (But in a good way, right?)
"Nothing's going to change -- that's what's great about him," Ellis said. "He's a two-time -- should be three-time -- Cy Young Award winner. He's the highest-paid pitcher in all of baseball right now, but it doesn't change who he is as a person, and that's what's great about him. He has one goal -- to compete, win and win championships."


So, when are they going to replay this game on TV.  I gotta know!

Pic at the very top via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2014.

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* Dodgers Blue Heaven home page *
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Blog Kiosk: 6/19/2014 - Dodger Links - Some Dodger Odds and Ends


A No-No from Kershaw.  Holy Moly!  Gif above via Dodgers on tumblr.  Check out a whole bunch of photos from the evening right here, via Jon SooHoo.
Ramirez traced the team's turnaround to when Manager Don Mattingly criticized the team at the end of the previous homestand. Mattingly used an expletive to describe the Dodgers and said the players lacked a common objective.

In the days that followed, Mattingly reiterated the message in a team meeting.

"Everybody saw that what Donnie was saying was right," Ramirez said.

Told of what Ramirez said, Mattingly replied, "You'd like to think your words have something to do with it, but I really don't."


"I could sit here and lie to you and tell you yes, but unfortunately it would be just a straight lie," (Josh) Beckett said.

"I'm addicted to it. It's more than just the nicotine. It's the oral fixation. I don't think anyone does it just for the nicotine thing, or we'd probably all be on the [nicotine] patch."
"I'm both surprised and honored to be selected to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame," said Wallach in a statement. "What a great thrill to be going in with such integral parts of the Montreal Expos for such a long time, and to join many of my old teammates and manager, along with so many people that meant so much to Canadian baseball. This is a great honor for my family and myself."

    * Please follow on twitter @ernestreyes *
    * Dodgers Blue Heaven home page *
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