Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Valentine's Day in Fantasy Baseball Card Form


No Valentine's Day could possibly complete without a handful of fantasy Baseball cards to celebrate the occasion; especially considering that today also marks the very first full day of workouts for the Dodgers at Spring Training.

Naturally, I had to make a couple of cards featuring Puig and Ward's growing romance on the field. As we all know, Puig has had his struggles at the plate, so when batting coach Turner Ward righted his ship Yasiel was compelled to express gratitude. As a result, we fans are treated to an hilarious amount of hugging and smooching in the dugout. There is no doubt that Puig is the amorous sort.

My favorite, though, has to be the grainy 'black & white' pic used for the card on the bottom right. Featured are (L to R) Morganna Roberts, Wes Parker and Astros third sacker Doug Rader (dated 1/1/1970). For those of you too young to remember, Morganna -- better known as the Kissing Bandit -- was a huge fan favorite. For three decades, from 1969 to 1999, she would scramble onto the field and assault a ballplayer with a kiss. Fans, of course, cheered. Major League Baseball, on the other hand, was not too pleased. Nevertheless, she continued her antics and has a permanent place in the memories of millions of Baseball fans.

As for the specific scenario below, here is what the descriptor to the AP Press photo:
Morganna Roberts comes running out the stands to kiss Los Angeles Dodgers Wes Parker, who is being caught and held by Houston Astros third baseman Doug Rader on Tuesday July 1, 1970 in Los Angeles, Calif. 
That's quite a sandwich.

BTW, there's a little documentary available for viewing on YouTube here.

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Weekend Autograph Opportunities: Basketball Stars in Town for All-Star Game

Here are this weekends autograph opportunities and events throughout the Southland. As always, be sure to check the Blue Heaven Calendar for other events (a link can always be found on the tab at the top of this page, just left of center), and always confirm with the establishment. Everything is subject to change.  Please email me with any tips about upcoming events in Southern California.  As the rest of the week progresses I'll update this post with other events (if there are any) as I become aware of them.  Also, I don't always list every event below, so be sure to check my Calendar.  I always try to favor free signing events over paying events.  Click on any pic to embiggen.

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Lakers legend Michael Cooper will be signing autograph photos to fans at the Pro Image Sports store in the Westfield Culver City Mall on Saturday, February 17th from 9:30 AM to 11:30 AM. This event requires a qualifying purchase to get an autograph. Go here for more information.
Pro Image Sports Store
Westfield Culver City, Culver City, CA
6000 Sepulveda Boulevard, Suite #1577
Culver City CA 90230

Blog Kiosk: 2/14/2018 - Dodgers Links - Happy Valentine's Day!


The boys are back! Per Ken Gurnick at MLB.com:
"The challenge is keeping guys sharp but rested," said Roberts, embarking on his third season as manager of a club that has won its division each of the last five years. "We'll cut guys short, give them more days off, back-field work, at-bats in Minor League games. But to sit in a Major League game for 2 1/2 hours to get two or three at-bats the first couple weeks doesn't make much sense." 
General manager Farhan Zaidi sounded the same cautionary tone. 
"Our responsibility is to monitor and make sure in April this group is not experiencing any physical effects from the long season," Zaidi said.
Photos above via @Dodgers on twitter - likely taken by Jon SooHoo. BTW, Jon SooHoo shared even more pictures from the first day of Spring Training, here. Below are more links to check out: