Besides the Dodgers...

A while ago I posted a comment on Facebook concerning NFL playoffs. This prompted a reply from one of my Dodger fan friends. He didn't know I followed the NFL as well.
To make things clear I'll list the teams that give me fuzzy feelings right here. Note that although I like these franchises, none of them can and ever will replace my big blue love for the LA Dodgers!

NFL
It took me years to understand this game. But once you put some effort into it, you get it, it's simple as hell! I remember in high school one of my classmates did a presentation about football. Sounded interesting, but the rules didn't land that time. Once we got NFL Europe I attended some games of the Amsterdam Admirals a few times and got the hang of it. The Admirals kicker was a guy named Vinatieri. It's because he played over here I became a Patriots fan. Fan is a big word, but I liked it when they won the Super Bowl. Nowadays, I'm not commited to a team. This years I would like the Bears to win.

NCAA Football
This is much more fun for me than the NFL. I love how the young guns play. They do stuff the NFL players won't do. And the half time show is the schools brass band. How great is that? The enthusiasm on the field is sometimes overshadowed my that in the stands. The 'Jump Around' routine at a Badgers game is awesome. Videos of this won't do it any justice. You have to be there! People over here in the Netherlands wouldn't understand that a college team would get so many people in a stadium. My favorite NCAA football teams: Badgers and Hurricans. If you ever want to read how they turned the MU football program around get a copy of Bruce Feldmans' 'Cane Mutiny'. A very interesting and fun read! You'll like the team instantly!

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NHL
Nope! I don't know, I can't follow that puck. It's too small. I follow the playoffs on the net and thought it was funny when the Ducks won the Stanley Cup because of the Disney movies, but other than that I just take in who won the cup and turn my eye to the young baseball season again.

NBA
Also not really my sport. Dribble, dribble, dunk, 2 points, dribble dribble, dunk, 2 points, dribble, dribble, blocked shot, rebound, 2 points, foul and so on. Sure, some actions can be great. I love what Kobe can do and that kid from the Clippers Blake Griffin. That guy is fantastic! But I could not watch an entire game. I check the scores and watch some highlights and I like the Lakers. I think because they were the dominant team when I grew up and I liked Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in Airplane! :)

Soccer
Really football, but everybody understands 'soccer'. For this type of sport I stay close to home. I'm a Feyenoord fan. And that's hard! The last national title was won in 1999. The last eight years were kinda crappy and they are in 13th place (of 18 teams) right now and the season is halfway. And I like the national team of the Netherlands, but that's a no brainer. MLS I don't really follow, sorry!

Well that's it for team sports. Individual sports I enjoy: Tennis (Edberg in the old days, Federer now), Golf (Ballesteros then, Tiger now), Poker (Hellmuth) and then there's some other ones I won't bother you with.

The Office Blue

A few weeks back one of my Facebook friends posted a pic of his (?) workplace and how it was dominated by Dodgers stuff. I never really was aware of the Dodgers related stuff I have in my office untill after I saw that picture. Which brought me to the idea to put up some pix of my office right here. I share my room with four other people who never complain, so I think it's manageable.

First of all I've got these great wobbly guys in front of me. They really are a fun bunch and I hope to adopt 6 more of them during the 2011 season.

The last Dodger on the cover of Sports Illustrated was Manny. Not a nice one (about his suspention). The one before was awesome. So I framed it and although he's no longer in the Blue Crew, he still hangs on my wall. I hope to be able to replace him in the near future with a SI cover picturing the Dodgers celebrating their World Series win.

Then there's this Sporting News cover I found funny, because the guys all look so happy and smug and I thought 'how can we NOT have a great season with these guys on the team?'

Then I got this photograph of Dodger Stadium which I had printed on Canvas and then framed in two pieces. It's 3.3 feet high and 3.3 feet wide.

Behind me on a semi-high cabinet is a Small batting helmet, Mr. Potatohead and some white wormy thing which I gave a batting helmet. Don't ask why, I just thought the white and blue looked Dodger-ish. And the best thing of all, pics of me with Tom and Orel.

I bet there's more people out there who have (more) Blue stuff on their desks or around the office, so why not post some pix on facebook?

Dodgers 2011?

Dodgers among teams that show interest in Lee? Okay, cool... But what more is this than flexing their muscles? The organization wants the world to know they mean business, but Lee isn't coming. He simply is too expensive. It would be like spending all your money on a diamond and have nothing left to buy the ring. And it's the ring we want! So, don't expect Crawford Either. Instead of looking what we don't have, let's start with some of the best we have:

Starting pitchers
- Lilly
- Billingsley
- Kershaw
- Kuroda - free agent

Is it me or is this a great rotation? They all had great and less than great years, but what if they all pitch good during one season? They would be unstopable! Ow, and I am counting on Kuroda staying with the club.

Other/Closing pitchers
- Kuo
- Jansen

Kuo has been great last year, proving with 12 saves he can clinch a game and catcher turned pitcher Jansen also delivered, so I think those last few innings are safe.

Outfield
- Kemp
- Ethier
- Gibbons

Kemp had a weird year, Ethier got injured, but I'm certain they can and will deliver in 2011. Gibbons did okay but it has been a few years since he played more than 100 games.

Infield
- Theriot
- Loney
- Blake

Loney's average is dwindling, although still a bit above the league average. I think he's a great guy on the field, he also knows how to swing a bat, but he's not a slugger.

Catchers
- Martin

Good, but how good after his return. He surely isn't going to play 162 games.

So, with the right coaching staff, this is quite a promissing team. There are a few holes to fill though.
We need a catcher to relieve Martin. Miguel Olivo from the Jays might do the trick. Maybe Hudson back on 2nd base and Beltre on 3rd.
We need a good starting pitcher, but free agents wise (and affordable) I don't see a solution.

I personally would love for Konerko and Werth to come back to the club, but I don't see that happening.

To cap or not to cap

I've been collecting world series winners caps since 2000. Why? Because I like baseball caps! I always hoped a new team would win the world series every year so I would not have a bunch of the same caps after 20 years. A dangerous gamble. The Yankees had already won in '98 and '99 and theirs was my first world series cap I bought. The chance they would win more world series in the years to come was very big. Now, I do not like the Yankees, but their cap is iconic. The Navy blue and the intertwining NY letters are known around the world. The world series patch made it a great cap. In 2001 America hoped the Yankees would win, because of 9/11, but they didn't. That young expansion team from Arizona did, also a great cap, but not one I would normally buy. I always had a soft spot for the Red Sox. So when they won in '04 it was the first world series cap I had a special feeling about. The world series patch sucked ass, though! Very modern, compared to the '00 patch, almost naked.

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Through the years I even got me the Phillies one, the second Red Sox and last year the second Yanks cap. This year I, again, was hoping for a Dodger cap, but that one was farther away then ever. A Rangers cap? Okay, I would have settled for that, but the Giants? Sorry... I can't get myself to buy a Giants cap. So I made the decision to stop collecting world series winners caps. It has been fun and I hope there will be a Dodgers one, I know for sure there will be. And I'll get that one. But for now I'm finished with this collection. Stupid ass Giants and their championship.

P.S. In case you're wondering, my favorite world series patch is in the pic below.

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O'Brien to Ryan to Goldberg

I'm a sucker for baseball and... Yes, tapdancing! Especially Gene Kelly. That guy gave tapdancing something manly. Where Fred Astaire was the master of silky smooth dancing, Kelly was a stomper with selfmade choreography that still makes me wanna dance. So what if you discover a movie that's called 'Take me out to the ballgame', stars Gene Kelly and is directed by no other than Busby Berkeley: you MUST see it!
I saw the movie around 1998 for the first time and while the concept (dancing, singing and baseball) almost had me excited beyond compare I tried to tone down my enthusiasm a bit. But was all I hoped for. Kelly and Sinatra (oh, did I forget to mention he's in this flick as well?) return for another season with the Wolves after spending the off season in a vaude ville group. They tell the other guys about all the girls they've (not) conquered (great song). Then the news about the new owner sinks in. It's a woman, played by Esther Williams (you know, the girl that is famous for her swimming on the silver screen).

There is a blackmail twist and romance and a lot of baseball. I remember the first time I saw the movie and a swimmingpool came into the story. I thought "no! They're not going to put in a pool just for Esther Williams to show off her swimming..." But, yes, they did! It's so funny, it has nothing to do with the story what so ever.
Best things in the movie? The song 'O'Brien to Ryan to Goldberg' where Kelly, Sinatra and Munchin demonstrate a 'great double play'. I love the expressions on Munchins' face. Another highlight, for me, one of the best tapdance numbers ever on screen is 'the hat my dear old father wore upon St. patricks day'. It gives me goosebumps writing about it. So if there are any people out there who love baseball and dancing, pick up this flick, it will make your off season shorter and your heart warm till spring training.      

Following your Favorite Team

Paper
I wrote in my first blog that the only way to follow my Dodgers in the ‘80s was by checking the scores in the (Dutch) newspaper and once in a while I would buy a USA Today for a bit more background. And then you had to be lucky to find a story about the Dodgers. That was how I tried to keep track of the team.

Video Tape
Then in 1989 a sports channel had commercials from PonTel. They offered MLB games on video. You'd subscribe and get one tape every two weeks from the team of your choice. That's how I saw my first Dodgers games. I replayed a game at Wrigley Field over and over again. It was a second step, I actually could see the guys play a fairly recent game.

Live
Well, in the nineties it was still difficult to follow the guys in blue, so I stuck to reading the papers. They didn't do very well in the nineties, besides the wild card in 1996 but I was faithful and in 2003 I finally visited Dodger Stadium for the first time. Since then I've seen them play a whopping 9 times. Only one time at home, three times at Wrigley Field and four times in Shea Stadium.

Internet
Since internet it's been easier for me. I can buy blue stuff and watch highlights of the games. I had a subscription on MLBTV which is awesome but the games are often in the middle of the night and I can't wait to get my hands on the final score so watching a game a day later isn't for me either. All in all, Dodger Baseball is closer than ever. What helps a lot is Facebook. To be in contact with other Dodgers fans on a daily basis is fantastic.

Live (2)
The nicest way to keep in touch with The Blue Brothers though is to visit a game live once in a while. Part of the fun is meeting fans.

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I've met Natalie and Kenny already in Chicago. But I hope to meet some more of you on April 14th of next year. On which day I'll attend the Dodgers - Cards game at Dodger Stadium.

Paper (2)
Funny thing! Just when I wanted to post this blog, the medium that kept me in the loop in the old days printed a picture of Joe Torre. This could very well be the first Dodgers related pic in a Dutch newspaper since the Orel Hershiser one after winning the World Series in 1988.

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Bobbleheads

There had to come a time where I'd discover the fun and collectabillity of bobbleheads. It's no use to elaborate about these happy nodders because there is a guy who can do that way better than I. He actually is the same guy who got me blogging (yes, Dodger Bobble, it's you!). So I won't go into detail! But I'd like to talk a bit about the few I've got and why they're fun.
Although we Dutch people have a heart for sports (mostly soccer) there haven't been any bobbleheads in my country that I know of. Sure we had 'poppetjes' that where given out by a supermarket during the World or European Championships, I'm not sure which one. They are smaller than bobbleheads and they have no moving parts and they almost never look like the player they're portraying. This doen't mean there are no bobbleheads of Dutch soccer players. Ruud van Nistelrooy has one but that's because Manchester United had them made (and that's England, not the Netherlands). The only nodders we've got are the lame dogs and yes, people still put them in their cars over here.
Anyway, I got my first nodder in 2007 at a Cubs game (yes against the Dodgers and yes at the same game I got to meet The Bulldog). It was Derrek Lee. I was peasantly surprised by the detail for a free givaway.
A few years later I (actually, this year) I was looking for a way to brighten up my workspace. Dodger Bobble blogged about his collection and got me thinking. I would love some of our boy in blue happily nodding away while I worked. So I bought me some of the guys through Ebay and yes, it's a happy place over here at work.

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The only thing that annoys the hell outta me is the way Torre looks at me and I swear, he sometimes shakes his head instead of nodding, like he's disapproving and is about to trade me or kick me back to the minors.
Funny how the chinese sculptors got the 'B' on Casey Blake's bobblehead inverted. But most of the nodders look like the real life player. Weird to have Broxton and Kemp here while they're not really that great anymore (understatement intended!). But they remind me of the good times and hopefully will shorten the deep winter of offseason.
Although Kemp didn't have a great season and probably will be gone in 2011 I think it's the best sculpted one. It's very original in pose. All these guys have facial hair of some kind, except the coaches and Saito... weird!
Once you have a buch of these happy guys you go and search for more and to my surprise you can get a bobblehead of yourself made. I dont't think it's my spitting image, but he makes me laugh anyway (although he's not as funny as the real me) :)

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