In case you missed it, the Dodgers have hired a new pitching coach. There he was on Tuesday night at Wrigley Field, giving a few pointers to Jonathan Broxton, who appeared to be listening intently.
Actually, that’s the Dodgers’ bullpen gnome (there’s a dugout version as well; for details, go to this page and search on “gnome”), which the relievers apparently bring along with them from city to city. Maybe this is all common knowledge to many of you, but I was completely unaware of this phenomenon until Randy Williams sent me the bullpen pics yesterday. Pretty great ritual, although it seems like only a matter of time before Travelocity ruins the whole thing by becoming the team’s official gnome sponsor.
I’ve got a new ESPN column today, so I’ll see you over there (and, I hope, see some of you tonight at KGB as well).
Uni Watch News Ticker: As far as I’m concerned, there was only one news story of import yesterday, and this was it. Additional info here and (self-servingly) here. … Great little video report here about a 115-year-old baseball board game discovered in a Missouri attic (with thanks to Chanan Liss). … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: Pirates catcher Ronny Paulino has been wearing gray shinguards with yellow trim for road games. The gray plastic blends in with his gray road pants, so when he stands up it looks like he’s just wearing yellow knee pads. … Seattle’s new MLS team will be sponsored by Microsoft and Xbox. Real subtle jersey unveiling, too. … Not sure if we’ve covered this before, but the double-A Reading Phillies are wearing powder blue on the road these days. “The team’s official web site has it as an alternate,” says Kyle Creasy, “but my buddy who is the clubby in Erie says he thinks it’s an all-the-time thing.” … John Muir has scanned a bunch of great old photos from this book. Check out his gallery here. … My friend Josh Neufeld has been writing an ongoing comic about post-Katrina New Orleans. Yesterday he asked me if I could identify this jersey, because he wants to make sure he draws it accurately from various angles, but I’m not sure what team that is. If you know, please contact Josh. … The St. Paul Saints will be celebrating Prince’s 50th birthday on June 7th by wearing purple jerseys with symbols replacing uniform numbers. I’d love to attend, but I’d rather slit my wrists I have other plans. … Lots of St. Louis Blues prototypes (some of which you’ve no doubt seen before, but probably not all of them) here, here, here, here, here, and, of course, here (courtesy of Karl Krekeler). … I’d forgotten that Duaner Sanchez, who wears goggles while pitching, goes goggles-free while batting. After pitching the top of the 11th last night, he got a rare plate appearance in the bottom of the 11th and removed the specs, then put them on again to pitch the top of the 12th. … Coupla interesting things about this photo of Omar Vizquel. First, when did he wear No. 42 with the Mariners? None of my uni-number reference sources list him as having worn this number (and no, that photo was not taken on April 15th of this year or last year). And second, note how his helmet underbrim appears to have been painted gray. I had heard of Jason Bay doing this (for less distraction, to be consistent with the old 5950s, etc.),” writes Mike Engle, “but I have never seen it before until now. How common was/is this modification?” Good question. I’d never even heard of it before now. Anyone..? … Bumper crop of panoramic team portraits and spectacular stadium shots in this thread (with thanks to Bob Andrews). … Nobody can accuse Doc Rivers of being too obsessed with picky details. … The Danbury Mad Hatters, who’ll join the EPHL this fall, have unveiled their uniforms — home, road, and alternate. It’s difficult to express how much I love that logo, but let’s just say I’m very anxiously awaiting the live mascot version (with thanks to Jeff Hoose).
#1 by billy on 05.29.08 7:44 am |
ok….quite disturbing in the 1st Phillies powder blue picture….why does the coach insist on wearing ankle socks, and not putting his pants down(a al Manny)???
#2 by Paul Lukas on 05.29.08 7:53 am |
Whoa, I had missed that — good catch! This appears to be a continuation of the Jim Edmonds and Todd Jones phenomenon that I identified last week.
#3 by Steve on 05.29.08 7:57 am |
Have we talked about this yet?
http://sportsillustr...
Jeter has an NOB and he’s wearing the road greys at Yankee Stadium.
#4 by Tim Forster on 05.29.08 8:04 am |
That jersey looks like a purple Jacksonville Jaguars or Philadelphia Eagles alternate from hell.
#5 by Josh on 05.29.08 8:04 am |
One thing I’ve wondered for a long time but never asked about seems finally to be SLIGHTLY appropriate: does anyone know the connection between the Travelocity gnome and the movie Amelie? I’ve always assumed that Travelocity just took the idea after the movie, but I’ve never known for sure. Was Travelocity like an official sponsor of the film or anything?
#6 by Steve on 05.29.08 8:06 am |
Wait, who’s coach is that? Reading’s wearing the powder blue. The home team has the white with pinstripes. Why is that guy wearing grey?
#7 by LI Phil on 05.29.08 8:12 am |
while searching for the mystery katrina jersey, which i think may be something LSU-related…i came across this…which im sure is exactly what paul’s bedroom ensemble must resemble
#8 by dgc on 05.29.08 8:15 am |
Pretty sure the “steal the garden gnome and send back pictures of gnome touring” thing preceded both. In fact, I remember walking out of Amelie saying “didn’t some other movie do the gnome prank too?”
#9 by Stuby on 05.29.08 8:20 am |
Might be a Bat Boy or Ball Dude. They probably wouldn’t have gone all out for someone in that position, especially if he is employed by the home team.
#10 by LI Phil on 05.29.08 8:23 am |
ball dude?
too much time spent in the city by the bay, eh stuby?
#11 by Chad on 05.29.08 8:24 am |
sportscenter mentioned george scott during a highlight of a ballboy making a catch with a helmet. i can’t find anything more than some baseball cards of him with the helmet. http://static.baseba...
anyone know of any action shots?
#12 by Marc M. on 05.29.08 8:29 am |
“And second, note how his helmet underbrim appears to have been painted gray.” It really just looks like the reflection from his grey jersey.
#13 by Kent Skor on 05.29.08 8:37 am |
It took a late night voice mail from Dan to remind me that I have the following poster in my basement:
http://sportsgonesou...
Double Ugh.
You cannot tell in this picture, but Dale is wearing the wrong cap. He has on the one with the red trim around the A which was used at home. Plain blue and white was used on the road.
#14 by LI Phil on 05.29.08 8:39 am |
hard to tell, but it also looks like his stirrups are on backwards
triple ugh
#15 by Ricko on 05.29.08 8:41 am |
Just emailed Josh. Looks like jersey might be New Orleans Voodoo of Arena Football. Their colors are purple and red.
#16 by Dane on 05.29.08 8:41 am |
Re: The Danbury Mad Hatters
First, there is not much of a logo change from the previous Danbury pro hockey team, the Trashers:
http://en.wikipedia....
Second, I wonder if we’re going to have a “Wisconsin lawsuit”, since the high school is the Danbury Hatters:
http://www.danbury.k...
(and why does he look so sad?)
#17 by Allan Chandler on 05.29.08 8:43 am |
It’s “Bizarro” baseball, so the mistakes with Jeter’s NOB and road jersey make sense to me. I’d like to think it’s a very savvy artist who planned it.
#18 by Ricko on 05.29.08 8:45 am |
http://cgi.ebay.com/...
#19 by Ricko on 05.29.08 8:50 am |
re: Saints and Prince
Always thought Johnny Symbal, who sang “Mr. Bass Man,” should change name to Prince.
Then he’d be the “Prince formerly known as Symbal”.
Okay, everybody groan.
#20 by Stuby on 05.29.08 8:59 am |
Call it the “Krukow Effect”. After listening to enough Giant broadcasts, you start to talk like him.
#21 by Scott in Erie on 05.29.08 9:01 am |
Heh - I was at the Erie v. Reading game on Tuesday night and immediately thought of this site when I saw the throwback style roadies. Personally I think they look nice.
There’s a little locomotive above the “R” on their logo.
#22 by Original Jim on 05.29.08 9:05 am |
Not only that, but the jersey is the New Britain script, not the Rock Cats wordmark as worn by everyone else in the dugout.
#23 by Jets/Mets Fan in Chicagoland on 05.29.08 9:08 am |
Stirrups! On E-bay!
http://cgi.ebay.com/...
http://cgi.ebay.com/...
#24 by DJ on 05.29.08 9:12 am |
Real subtle jersey unveiling, too
Many European teams’ fans use gigantic jerseys, signs, etc. as part of the pre-match routine to get the crowd going. You might see that gigantic jersey get rolled out by the crowd before every Sounder match.
#25 by Steve on 05.29.08 9:14 am |
Also note in that photo, there appears to be a seam of sorts just above the left knee on whoever that is on the left of the photo. It looks a little too “even” to be just a crease.
#26 by MPowers1634 on 05.29.08 9:16 am |
Again, with the compound names: Rock Cats!!!!!
Seawolves, MountainHawks, Fishercats aarrrgghhh!
I knew that the Sea Wolf was a class of submarine, but I was referring to this:
http://store.cstv.co...
#27 by Chad on 05.29.08 9:27 am |
anyone know where to get some nfl socks that the players wear?
#28 by MPowers1634 on 05.29.08 9:29 am |
Eastbay:
http://www.eastbay.c...
The only problem is that they’re solid. You won’t find the awesome striped socks that teams like the Bears wear.
http://cache.viewima...
#29 by MPowers1634 on 05.29.08 9:38 am |
Sorry about the Eastbay link:
Here’s the pic:
http://a712.g.akamai...
When you get to the Eastbay site, type into the search box: Reebok football sock
#30 by DMWiz on 05.29.08 9:43 am |
Hope Danbury figures out which way the sleeve patch goes before they start producing those uniforms. Seems as if the patch is upside-down on the front viewing and correct on the back view.
#31 by War Damn Eagle on 05.29.08 9:44 am |
Definitely the New Orleans Voodoo. The shoulder stripe is very thin.
#32 by Chad on 05.29.08 9:44 am |
bears socks are exactly what i was looking for. i saw them once on ebay, but they were made for a size 8
#33 by War Damn Eagle on 05.29.08 9:51 am |
Cleveland Browns striped socks on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/...
Dolphins striped socks:
http://cgi.ebay.com/...
#34 by Pat on 05.29.08 9:51 am |
Fishercats are real animals…
#35 by MPowers1634 on 05.29.08 9:54 am |
The most effcient way to find them would probably be to e-mail their equipment manager and Pucker Up!
Or try other sites like Sportsdepot.com!They have a great selection of EVERYTHING!
http://www.sportsdep...
#36 by Justin on 05.29.08 9:55 am |
Has anyone else notice the shamrock “belt buckle” on the Celtics “primary” home http://www.beloblog....
and road
http://www.blogsmith... uniforms?
#37 by Jon on 05.29.08 10:00 am |
Those were great panoramic shots. did anyone notice the 1914 Fenway park picture? it had seats in front of the Green Monster. That would make that a really short porch.
#38 by James Craven on 05.29.08 10:01 am |
#39 by Jets/Mets Fan in Chicagoland on 05.29.08 10:07 am |
Howzabout one of these beauties:
http://cgi.ebay.com/...
http://cgi.ebay.com/...
or these “football” socks:
http://cgi.ebay.com/...
#40 by MPowers1634 on 05.29.08 10:11 am |
Are you kidding me?
http://www.sportsdep...
#41 by simon on 05.29.08 10:12 am |
The Greek national ice hockey team jerseys are getting redesigned for 2009, has this been mentioned yet?
http://www.icehockey...
#42 by degroat on 05.29.08 10:20 am |
Re: Blues Prototypes
This one isn’t actually a prototype. It was worn as a shoulder patch on what Blues fans refer to as ‘The Clown Jerseys‘.
#43 by Jets/Mets Fan in Chicagoland on 05.29.08 10:20 am |
After Nike has stolen the hearts and minds of our youth, next stop is the gums
#44 by Jeremy on 05.29.08 10:24 am |
It looks to me like Omar has pinetar with dust/dirt with stuck to the bottom of his underbill, since it doesn’t appear to go all the way across the bottom.
My helmet looks like that most of the time.
#45 by jere on 05.29.08 10:26 am |
About the 115-yr old baseball game video: I recognized the game from when I went to the Hall of Fame this past winter. I even took a picture of it, it’s right there in the first room you walk into. So isn’t that odd that the video makes it out to be such a rare find, and that Cooperstown “came calling” when they already had one of the same game? (Unless that place loaned it to the Hall and then got it back, and I happened to be there when the Hall had it.) Either way, very cool discovery.
#46 by MPowers1634 on 05.29.08 10:28 am |
Do y’all remember last year when Nike had to recall thousands of chin straps due to defective
manufacturing?
http://www.nowpublic...
I hope they have improved their techniques!
#47 by Tony In Erie on 05.29.08 10:30 am |
More Compound Names!
Our new D-League team
http://www.nba.com/d...
…by the way, I hate it.
#48 by MPowers1634 on 05.29.08 10:38 am |
Look familiar?
http://www.nba.com/m...
http://temple.bncoll...
#49 by Kek on 05.29.08 10:38 am |
Oh wow, posters in UW blasting Nike. Haven’t seen that in awhile.
Seriously, you logo creeps kill me because you’re quick to blast the swoosh but I tend to see Reebok’s logo and more than them, Under Armour. The UA logo is more visible than even the swoosh if you attend HS events.
I could give two [bleeps] though, in my opinion it’s much ado about nothing.
#50 by MPowers1634 on 05.29.08 10:54 am |
I’m not blasting Nike….I LOVE the swoosh, but plastered on mouthpieces are a bit much, dontcha’ think?
#51 by Walaitis on 05.29.08 10:57 am |
I’ve heard from high authority within the Blues the third jersey will be the “Arch” jersey that’s been seen here in the past (can’t find any images).
#52 by KT on 05.29.08 11:01 am |
Your ideas are intriguing to me and I want to subscribe to your newsletter.
#53 by SpfldNate on 05.29.08 11:02 am |
If the photo is of an actual road game for Reading, that person with the gray uni could be the Reading bat boy. I saw the same thing at a Pawtucket Red Sox game recently.
The minor league teams don’t travel with their own bat boy, so the home team supplies a bat boy, and to distinguish him from the home team, they outfit him in the home team’s road jersey.
#54 by MPowers1634 on 05.29.08 11:10 am |
And as a friend just pointed out, if it was back in college or high school, I would have been all over that gear!
I am not offended by Logo Creep as many on this board are but as in the case with the US soccer unis, the swoosh is draped all over them. From an observational standpoint, it’s overkill.
The jersey!
The shorts!
Both socks!
#55 by Stan aka the took on 05.29.08 11:14 am |
And Seawolf is a type of fish
#56 by Stan aka the took on 05.29.08 11:15 am |
sorry missed the link:
http://en.wikipedia....
#57 by ESS on 05.29.08 11:20 am |
This may be a dumb question, but shouldn’t it be LAKEHawks instead of BAYHawks?
#58 by KC on 05.29.08 11:20 am |
Yet the Erie Seawolves mascot/logo/song howl, are based off of a wolf and not a fish. And they aren’t near the sea, there by Lake Erie. But, what ever.
#59 by Dane on 05.29.08 11:22 am |
Gee, where haven’t we had logo creep yet?
Of course! The sky!
Thank goodness that chemistry has come to the rescue, with Flogos! That’s right, floating foam “clouds” that can be made into any shape you want.
http://www.flogos.ne...
Click on the FAQ to get the info, then the projects page to see their examples. I’ll give you a hint - you’re gonna find swooshes and Under Armour insignia!
#60 by Nicole on 05.29.08 11:22 am |
According to Outlook, my email with this very same information was sent at 8:39, so Josh probably got our info simultaneously! Nice
#61 by Scott Little on 05.29.08 11:23 am |
I knew Paul as one of the hydrox fans before I knew him as uniwatch guy. But I never knew the two were the same till now. Guess I hadn’t paid good enough attention…
We were devout hydrox eaters at my house growing up, probably one of the few households in the pacific northwest. I was so in to them that after they went away, I would do dopey things like google hydrox and come up with stuff like Paul’s old article. It was terrible when the Sunshine bakery was bought and Keebler did what they did to Hydrox.
Here’s my story of Hydrox boobery…
I was going to all ponts east and west to try to obtain more hydrox cookie. This was about three or four years ago I believe, so it had been a long time since I tasted their goodness and I was desperate. Wasting insane amounts of time, I was able to get hooked up with a guy who actually worked where the droxies were made before they were discontinued. He said he could make the cookies for me if I laid out the cash ahead of time, and be willing to accept a very large amount of Hydrox/Droxies/whatever. I started planning out the money scheme, realized I’d probably lose a bunch of money, so I didn’t pull the trigger. I think the deal was to receive the cookies in like either 10/20/25 pound bags, and I’d have to order at least 1000 pounds. It wasn’t clear what the cookies would look like either-I would be receiving “a sandwich cookie for food service preparation based on the Hydrox recipe.”
Good times.
#62 by John T on 05.29.08 11:24 am |
And speaking of overkill
http://www.bwfc.prem...
Also, the stadium is known as the Reebok and I believe that their offices are located in or next to the stadium.
I know that they are their kit sponsor, but Damn!!!
#63 by KC on 05.29.08 11:24 am |
Yet the Erie Seawolves mascot/logo/song howl, are based off of a wolf and not a fish. And they aren’t near the sea, there by Lake Erie. But, what ever.
The name is based off a team the used to be affiliated with, the Pirates. The logo is piratey looking. It’s just strange to to me
#64 by Ricko on 05.29.08 11:25 am |
Great minds e-mail alike.
#65 by John T on 05.29.08 11:25 am |
Sorry, meant to say that Reebok has offices in or near the Reebok stadium….
#66 by Fred on 05.29.08 11:28 am |
Regarding the Mad Hatters, there was also the Madison Hatters, Single A for the St. Louis Cardinals:
Logo
#67 by Sodboy13 on 05.29.08 11:29 am |
The man in that pic is indeed wearing an AFL New Orleans Voodoo jersey. More specifically, it’s a 2004 replica, made by Majestic. 2004 was the only year the team’s uniforms were made by Mitchell & Ness, and featured the thin, somewhat-wavy shoulder stripe. In 2005, the team switched to Nike, the stripe became thicker, and the sleeve logo was dropped (later restored under Russell in 2007.) Majestic used the wrong numeral font for their replicas - Impact instead of Futura Bold Condensed.
And that’s probably far too much info.
#68 by Roger Faso on 05.29.08 11:31 am |
new espn article is live.
#69 by LI Phil on 05.29.08 11:31 am |
i think sharing is overrated too…and helping others…and what’s all this crap i’ve been hearing about tolerance?
#70 by Jets/Mets Fan in Chicagoland on 05.29.08 11:35 am |
..and with a “Budweiser” logo on the schedule - what are the odds? [sarcasm]
#71 by ryan c #40 on 05.29.08 11:36 am |
“More Compound Names!
Our new D-League team
http://www.nba.com/d...
…cool logo though! i like it a lot!
#72 by Jets/Mets Fan in Chicagoland on 05.29.08 11:37 am |
Tolerance? He’s talkin’ ’bout tolerance?
[with apologies to AI]
#73 by Jets/Mets Fan in Chicagoland on 05.29.08 11:43 am |
Noticed that Reno also has an expansion team in D-league: http://www.nba.com/d...
No name yet - how about the Reno Janets?
http://www.positiont...
#74 by Joey Guns on 05.29.08 11:45 am |
Mariah Carey’s awful ceremonial first pitch:
http://www.youtube.c...
#75 by Stuby on 05.29.08 11:48 am |
How ’bout the “Reno 911s”?
#76 by Roger Faso on 05.29.08 11:48 am |
I found this … http://www.vintageba... … here … http://www.vintageba... .
Very good stuff to look at.
#77 by Jets/Mets Fan in Chicagoland on 05.29.08 11:54 am |
Only if they wear white tops and blue short-shorts:http://www.joblo.com/small-movie-images/reno911-9vert.jpg
#78 by Mark in Cincy on 05.29.08 11:54 am |
i looked in the comments and didn’t see this yet, but if you zoom in on that first Reading Phillies photo, it appears that #25 is wearing a cap under his batting helmet … a little-used practice nowadays, but it was all the rage when i played little league.
also thought i would note that it seems the Reds may use the minor-league, high-sock mandate … i’m working on confirmation of that
#79 by Jets/Mets Fan in Chicagoland on 05.29.08 11:58 am |
http://www.joblo.com...
#80 by Eric B. on 05.29.08 11:59 am |
That Dodger gnome is actually some new god-awful collectible that’s available at MLB.com. For some reason, they discontinued the Dodgers version after only a short time, but there are other team versions still available:
http://shop.mlb.com/...
One of the players found it early in the season and put one in the dugout as a good luck charm for their struggling offense. I didn’t know it had been kidnapped and spirited away to the bullpen. But that makes sense, since the team hasn’t scored more than one run in a game in about a week. However, the bullpen’s been lights-out recently.
Sigh….
Paul, I hope you enjoy watching your boys beat the crap out of my boys this weekend. (Well, except maybe when Kershaw starts, but the Dodgers will find a way to lose that one, too, I’m sure.)
#81 by GoSounders on 05.29.08 12:06 pm |
Seattle Sounders FC of the MLS announced that Xbox 360 will be their jersey/kit sponsor yesterday- $20m for 5 years.
They also unveiled one of their 3 kits yesterday.
#82 by GoSounders on 05.29.08 12:07 pm |
Pics of their kits can be found here.
#83 by LI Phil on 05.29.08 12:11 pm |
sweet
glad someone brought that to UW’s attention…hate to have missed it yesterday or this morning or in the ticker
#84 by Duckstyle187 on 05.29.08 12:14 pm |
And yet, he’s still on your lawn…..
#85 by diz on 05.29.08 12:14 pm |
Reebok are a big local company though, so it’s obvious they’d get heavily involved. They must be pumping an inordinate amount of money into the club though…
#86 by Pretty Boy Paulie on 05.29.08 12:18 pm |
Agreed! I LOVE NIKE…but I don’t thing pro sports uniforms should have logo branding on their uniforms…in any league. Accessories on the other hand should be keep branding to a minimal. In the case of mouth guards, I would tolerate the logo if it was embossed instead of printed.
#87 by Jets/Mets Fan in Chicagoland on 05.29.08 12:19 pm |
DAMMIT Phil - a site for you:
http://nationalsarca...
#88 by Joey Guns on 05.29.08 12:23 pm |
Interesting video showing the Tampa Bay Rays ballboy making a great catch. Before that though, the announcers mention that Rays player Akinori Iwamura is now using a fake alligator skin glove, but in the past, it was always real alligator skin.
http://www.youtube.c...
#89 by Pretty Boy Paulie on 05.29.08 12:24 pm |
Sigh…there is no hope for uniform prowess in the MLS.
#90 by scott on 05.29.08 12:27 pm |
That appears to be exactly what is happening with the bat boy.
Having seen them in person, I think the Reading road uniforms look pretty good, especially since the players all show off the burgundy socks. Unfortunately, the team is also choosing to wear them periodically at home, too.
#91 by James Craven on 05.29.08 12:31 pm |
Now will you get the fuck off his lawn, please? You’re creepin’ out the gnomes!
#92 by Pretty Boy Paulie on 05.29.08 12:36 pm |
Watching the Cubs vs. Dodgers game last night, I noticed Juan Pierre may be the ONLY player in the MLB who wears a cap under his batting helmet….and he also sports the low stir-ups. Kids should be looking up to this guy for baseball fashion sense and not the “Manny’s” of the game.
http://espn.go.com/p...
#93 by Pretty Boy Paulie on 05.29.08 12:38 pm |
Sorry this is the best pic I can find…
http://i.a.cnn.net/s...
#94 by James Craven on 05.29.08 12:41 pm |
And speaking of the Danbury Mad Hatters mascot…
http://img.photobuck...
Wouldn’t this be ideal?
#95 by Pretty Boy Paulie on 05.29.08 12:47 pm |
…and what happened to Dodgers road uni’s, they used to have a white trim on the Wordmark, name and back number. Instead they opt for a replica looking jersey.
http://www.sportslog...
#96 by chance on 05.29.08 12:51 pm |
Very possibly, the best name for a minor league baseball club ever.
Unfortunately, it was doomed to be a single-season team. Got some notice in Sports Illustrated during the strike year, but was always planned to move to Michigan after a single season in Madison.
<