Another tough loss, but I ain't worried. I am, on the other hand, concerned about Seager's injury. He's been so good lately. Nevertheless, I'll treat last nights defeat as nothing more than a mere speed bump. In keeping my desire to accentuate the positive I thought I would highlight how on-point Max Muncy has been at the plate. He rocketed two homers last night -- making it three homers over the past three games.
Photo above via Dodgers Insider. Go here to check out more pics from yesterdays game. Below are some links to check out:
- This Day in Dodgers History: In 1940 the Dodgers made one of the biggest trades in their history. They received 1937 Triple Crown winner Joe "Ducky" Medwick and pitcher Curt Davis from the Cardinals for outfielder Ernie Koy, pitcher Carl Doyle, two minor leaguers and $125k in cash (a huge sum in those days). The Dodgers would win the pennant the following season for the first time since 1920. In 1955 Don Newcombe, having won his first ten decisions of the season, lost his first game of the year when Brooklyn loses to the Cubs, 9-5. In 2005 first baseman Hee-Seop Choi hit home runs in his first three at-bats this evening against the Twins to propel the Dodgers over Minnesota, 4-3. Watch all three here.
- Happy Birthday, Jack O'Brein, Roger Bernadina & Damon Hollins!
- ICYMI: The Dodgers recalled left-handed pitcher Caleb Ferguson and placed left-handed pitcher Scott Alexander on the 10-day injured list, retroactive June 8, with left forearm inflammation.
- I'm wondering, when Adrian Beltre eventually gets inducted into the Hall of Fame, some five years from now, should his #29 be retired by the Dodgers? I suspect he'll go in with a Rangers cap on, but at the same time he did spend a significant amount of years in Dodger Blue (7 years). So, why not retire his number at Dodger Stadium? Heck, no one has worn his number since Scott Kazmir in 2016, so maybe the Dodgers are preparing for that.
- Yeah! Per Steve Adams at MLB Trade Rumors -- "Dodgers, First-Rounder Kody Hoese Agree To Terms." BTW, Cary Osborne at Dodger Insider lets us know that in addition to Hoese, 17 other draft picks have also signed.
- Via Ken Gurnick at MLB.com -- "Bellinger leads all votes in first All-Star update."
Bellinger, an All-Star in his rookie season of 2017, received 1,189,380 votes, but is one of several Dodgers receiving strong support during the “Primary” phase of the revamped voting format.Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner and shortstop Corey Seager, both previous All-Stars, rank third in voting at their respective positions. Turner trails Colorado’s Nolan Arenado and Chicago’s Kris Bryant, while Seager is behind Chicago’s Javier Baez and Atlanta’s Dansby Swanson.
- This is not great news. Via Connor Byrne at MLB Trade Rumors -- "Corey Seager Suffers Hamstring Injury."
Corey Seager will have an MRI on his left hamstring tomorrow. Dave Roberts said the early estimation is a Grade 2-plus strain. That’s a significant injury.— Pedro Moura (@pedromoura) June 12, 2019
- Save those report cards kids. New this year is Topps ‘Topps of the Class’ promotion that features free packs of unique cards that use the Big League brand design for kids with good grades. Go to participating hobby shop, show them your report card and get free cards. Go here for more information, via Sports Collectors Daily. Check out a Bellinger card on the right.
- I love hearing these old stories. Baseball History Today shares some quotes from the legendary Dan Brouthers -- a 19th century Hall of Famer:
Brouthers said (King) Kelly often hid a ball in the outfield, “opposing teams didn’t know this at the time. If they had, Kel probably would have died a violent death.”“One foggy afternoon in Philadelphia, with Phil Powers umpiring, Philadelphia had a man on base when Sam Thomson came to bat. Sam picked out one he liked, and, as we found out later, poled it clear over the right field fence. But because of the fog the umpire couldn’t follow the flight of the ball.
“Now Kelly had a ball hidden in the long grass near the fence, and when Thompson made his hit, Kelly never looked at the ball in play at all, but dived for the extra ball. He fumbled around a bit as though he were looking for it and then picked it up and made an accurate throw to home, putting out the man who had been on first when the ball was hit.”
- There has been a controversy brewing within the card hobby, and it directly relates to the grading of cards. Before I start, though I thought I'd first introduce a phrase I once heard a long time ago. It directly relates to this scandal.
"Buy the card, not the holder"
For a primer check out this Blowout Forums message board thread. Below is an excerpt:
As folks reading Blowout Forums (and now many in the broader collecting community) are well aware, the trimmed/altered graded card scandal has rocked the hobby in the past few weeks. Members of Blowout have uncovered a huge trove of altered cards, beginning with modern and leading into vintage cards.
The uncovering of trimmed vintage cards began with a post from member astrotrevor, who had tried to privately purchase a raw 1952 Topps #311 Mickey Mantle, of which he posted photos. The ungraded Mantle astrotrevor unsuccessfully tried to buy was identified by him as the same as a PSA 4.5 graded example being offered in a PWCC auction. This fact was confirmed the analysis of paper fibers and print marks unique to the Mantle card.
This is really bad stuff and it needs to stop. As I have relayed in the past, our hobby is too often filled with the unscrupulous -- from fake autographs to fake memorabilia to altered cards. If we aren't more demanding of stricter ethical standards, then we will see our beloved hobby decimated by the scammers.
As a side note, I have heard the stories from others I know in the hobby that relates to the sweetheart deal PSA provides to their largest card submitters. I've been told that they guarantee a certain percentage of Gem Mint cards per batch submitted. Noted retailer and case-breaker Brent and Becca shares a similar story on twitter:
I was promised I would receive a certain amount of Mint/Gem Mint grades. %wise to the number of cards I sent in and if I continue to send in on a monthly basis that % would increase over time.— Brent Williams (@brentandbecca) June 1, 2019
In other words, how much can you really trust that the grade is truly based on an objective analysis and not based on meeting a quota?... 'Cause, I know I've seen cards that don't deserve the grade they've been given.
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