I had to get the Ned Colletti Card

I was just drawn to this.  With his knowing smile, mesmerizing eyes and dustpan-styled 'stache, I knew my collection wouldn't be complete until I got it.  So, I search high and low and finally came away the victor in a recent eBay auction.  Actually, there wasn't much competition at all since I was the only one to bid on it.  Nevertheless, I'll pretend that I had to battle through a thicket of onlookers in order to grab the prize.  

Featured above is the Ned Colletti 2012 Topps autographed General Manager card that I recently added to my collection, and it's a beaut. 

I don't care what everybody says.  This man exudes sexy.  Heck, even David Brown at Big League Stew exclaimed in his piece about sexiest GM's that Colletti was:

"Pure. Hollywood. Lust."

Oh, wait... That was sarcasm.

Friends have always told me that I often miss obvious social cues.

Anyway, I swear that if you had a chance to meet the man in person, like many of my Dodger blogger brethren from Blogger Nights can attest to, you'd know what I'm talking about.  This guy can 'bob and weave' like the best of them.  He dances like a gazelle in flight from a predator - jumping and diving, shuckin' and jivin'.  Colletti is especially masterful when paired with those mystical snake-skin cowboy boots that he likes to wear.  Those things allow him to mesmerize his audience into doing anything he wants.  His tools are that good.

I, for one, believe that we will rue the day he was replaced by those Ivy League know-it-all's.  After all, nobody brings the sexy like Ned Colletti.  And, sexy wins ballgames.

Or, maybe not.

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Blog Kiosk: 12/2/2014 - Dodger Links - Siesta Please, Arbitration and Donnie had a Baby

Sometimes you just need a break. A break from the hard work you've put in to prepare for a long season.  A break from drudgery of everyday life.  Heck, I know I need a break from the incessant 'hot stove' filled with inane rumors and speculation.  Will someone please put a stop to it all!  Why do we have to go through all of this year after year?

But I digress.  Featured above is a ACME press photo I ran into on eBay recently that I just needed to share.  Check out that auction here.  It is dated 2/26/1951 and was taken on the practice fields of Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Florida.  Below is what is written in the caption attached to the reverse:

SHUT-EYE DREAM OF SHUT OUTS 

Vero Beach, Fla.: After a tough morning's workout and a hearty lunch, there's nothing like a little snooze.  And taking full advantage of a two-hour rest period, Brooklyn Dodgers' hurler Dan Bankhead covers his eyes with his cap and starts his siesta in the "pepper pot", a contraption used by pitchers during practice.  The Dodgers are going through spring training at Vero Beach, Fla.

At first I thought Dankhead was resting on a futon-type bed, but now I read that it's a tool used by pitchers called a "pepper pot."  What the heck is that?  How in the world could that thing help a pitcher?  I need to know.  Can anyone out there help me?

In the meantime, below are some links to check out:

• Via Steve Dilbeck at the LA Times, "Arbitration deadline to force Dodgers' decision on A.J. Ellis' return."  Don't worry.  I absolutely expect the Dodgers to keep AJ Ellis.  I also expect that Dee Gordon, Kenley Jansen, Juan Nicasio and Justin Turner will be tendered contracts by this evening.  I believe that Darwin Barney and Drew Butera are on the cusp.
• Via Jon Weisman at Dodger Insider, "The Dodgers’ biggest December deals of the 2000s."
• Don Mattingly has just had a baby, via @Dodgers on twitter.  Congrats, Donnie!

Congrats to Don and Lori Mattingly on the birth of son Louis Riley Mattingly, who now shares Vin Scully’s November 29 birthday.
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) December 1, 2014

• On Wednesday Topps will be releasing their Tek Baseball card set and Chris Olds at Beckett has a bunch of preview pics.  Check out the Sandy Koufax and Yasiel Puig autographed cards below.

• Via John Thorn at Our Game writes, "Baseball’s Wright Brothers and the Cincinnati Red Stockings."  Thorn is the official MLB historian. 

More than thirty years before a pair of brothers named Wright made aviation history, another Wright duo was instrumental in changing baseball from a social-club pastime to a professional game. Baseball’s Wright brothers were George and Harry, cricket players who saw the future in the American game.

• Panini America shared a bunch of preview pics of their upcoming 2014 USA Baseball box set.  Check that out here. 

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