Oh Alyssa. Say It Ain't So...

I thought she was a one team fan and designer. Apparently not...

From the Alyssa Milano collection.

To her credit, when it's a baseball team, her head (or her model's head) is cropped out. How very incognito...

The Power of Prayer

Alan Mruvka's Filmology Labs Entertainment is teaming with Grobman-Campbell Films to produce a remake of "Embrace of the Vampire," the 1994 cult pic starring Alyssa Milano that was produced by Mruvka. Erotic thriller is being financed by Lisa Hansen and Paul Herzberg of Cinetel Films along with Anchor Bay Entertainment, which is a division of Starz Media.

Like a supernatural "Fifty Shades of Grey," story follows a virginal college student who is introduced to a dark world of carnal desires after being seduced by a handsome vampire.

Sharon Hinnendael, who starred in Adam Rifkin's Showtime series "Look" and the indie pic "Rites of Passage," is set to take over the lead role of Charlotte, originally played by Milano.

"There's been a lot of interest lately to do a remake," said Mruvka, who founded E! Entertainment Television and recently launched Filmology Labs Entertainment.

"Embrace of the Vampire" has already started production in Vancouver.

Did we start a letter-writing campaign I didn't know about?

Why the Dodgers Swept the Mets...

Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi, from the MTV shows "Jersey Shore" and "Snooki & JWOWW," will visit New York's Citi Field on Monday night before the Mets host the Nationals. Polizzi, a Mets fan, will come with her fiancé, Jionni LaValle, to tape segments for an upcoming MLB.com original program, which will debut nationally in August.

Meanwhile...

The Mets never had a chance!

Alyssa Milano Borrows Juan Uribe's Shirt

Hat tip to Josh S. for the awesome line, and Dusty for the link (which is here by the way).

Dodger Bloggers Spread Wisdom, Genes

It's so seldom I can compare myself favorably to Alyssa Milano. But it looks like the two of us are Dodger cybergeeks, both helping to create future generations of bloggers.

Everyone at SoSG wishes Ms Milano all the best for an easy pregnancy and easier delivery, even if the father (CAA agent David Bugliari) only pitches at The IVY.

And further down the dial, the family DeShields welcomed Delino 3.0 earlier this month.

All parties involved are healthy and already working on old school Mattingly mustaches.

Pete Carroll Getting His Inner-Milano On

Shouldn't he be, like, practicing? I'm getting more updates from him on Twitter than all the LA Food Trucks combined!

Pre-Puzzle Baseball Notes

• Manny's go-ahead homer yesterday was special in more ways than one. Manny ties Schmidt for 14th on HR list (Ken Gurnick, Dodgers.com)
• Russ Ortiz is gone...for now. Dum-da-duhhh Dodgers drop Russ Ortiz, add Link (Gurnick, Dodgers.com)
• And more pitching help could be on the way. Kuo aces likely final tuneup (Dodgers.com)
• We tease her a lot here at SoSG, so it's time to show her some support: Alyssa Milano's new show, "Romantically Challenged," premieres tonight on ABC.

photo by Juan Ocampo/Dodgers

Like a BrAD PENNY...

...I always turn up. But unlike a certain former Dodger, I don't turn up at the Playboy mansion. According to Maria Venus (on Howard Stern this morning), Pauly Shore, Jared Leto, Billy Corgan, and Brad Penny used to hit on her all the time. I have to admit, being one degree of separation from Pauly Shore has been both my biggest hope and biggest fear. (Never heard of Maria Venus? Nobody has. But, she looks like this...)

And unlike Brad, I never turn up on stage with rock/MMA star Chuck Liddell.

And unlike Mr. Penny, I've never turned up in Alyssa Milano's bedroom. Or in the pages of her new book (which is being released on paperback next week. Buy it here and help a fellow Dodger Blogger climb the Amazon charts from rank #682,730).

Carl Pavano — Yes. Tom Glavine — No. Barry Zito — Yes. Josh Beckett — God, no (although I do think he is an amazing pitcher). Brad Penny — Yes. Russell Martin — No.

OK, now that we've gotten that out of the way, let me preface this by saying, I am friends with almost all my exes that I have had substantial relationships with. Except for one guy who wasn't a ballplayer but was a player nevertheless and just an overall jackass (you know who you are). Carl, Barry and Brad are amazing guys, and I have nothing but respect for them. I really look back on that time of my life with great fondness. I don't have much of a social life, but I do have season tickets for the Dodgers.

"Castle" Casts Blue

Thanks to SoSG reader Melissa for the tip: The ABC drama "Castle" will feature Joe Torre in its February 8th episode. The plot involves "the murder of a famous baseball player," so my guess is that Torre plays a murderer. I mean manager.

But that's not all! Melissa informs us that "devoted Dodger fan Alyssa Milano is also on this week's Jan 11th episode." I'm not sure if Alyssa's episode is baseball-related too, but if it is, she probably plays your average Dodger blogger. Or a murderer.

Woman Knows How to Tweet

Alyssa Milano.

Star of stage and screen.

Dodgers fan / temptress.

TWITTER ADDICT.

Chicks Dig the Walkoffs

Billboard model Alyssa Milano casts a spell on Matt Holliday during yesterday's game.

Internet sensation Lauren Caitlin Upton warms up before throwing the ceremonial first pitch before the Dodgers' last regular-season game.

Clone trooper, clone trooper, Sports Illustrated swimsuit model-turned-entrepreneur Kathy Ireland, clone trooper, clone trooper, Jawa (via Blue Heaven).

Milano: Matt Sayles/AP; Upton: Wonderful Pistachios

You Bowl, Girl

James Loney hosted a charity bowling event last night, and several of our Dodger favorites showed up to lend their support:

Alyssa "Wallflower" Milano.

Marikym Hervieux and her boyfriend Russell Martin. Awwwwwwwww.

The Clippers' Blake Griffin, Tommy Lasorda and Matt Kemp. Somewhere, Trevor Ariza is seething.

Manny Ramirez bowled one ball and knocked down every single pin in the place.

To the relief of Dodger fans everywhere, Orlando Hudson bowls with his right hand.

Previously at SoSG: More Comedy Than Tragedy at Charity Bowling Event

photos by Jill Weisleder/Dodgers

This enormous woman will devour us all

Look! An actual Dodger fan on a Dodger billboard!

Congrats, Alyssa — you're a much more worthy billboard honoree than some others the Dodgers have chosen.

Oh, and Yoda says welcome to the club.

photo from Alyssa Milano's Twitpic via Diamond Notes

Jon & Alyssa, Together at Last

From Jon Weisman at Dodger Thoughts:

"Frost/Nixon," eat your heart out.

No, I won't be uncovering any Watergate secrets, but I will be interviewing actress, clothing czar, blogger and now author Alyssa Milano about her new book, Safe at Home: Confessions of a Baseball Fanatic at this year's Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. This will take place April 25 at 1 p.m. on the UCLA campus, at the Festival's L.A. Times stage.

The some-but-not-all-holds-barred interview is scheduled to last approximately 30-35 minutes, followed by five minutes of audience questions and then a booksigning for both Milano and myself. So for those of you who can't make the May 2 Dodger Thoughts/100 Things gathering, here's an alternative. Come to see this once-in-a-lifetime pairing.

That last five minutes could get pretty interesting! What would you ask Alyssa? Or Jon, for that matter?

Going...Going...Gonorrhea! Oft-Traded Alyssa Milano Taken Off Market

She's gotten engaged to talent agent David Bugliari. My condolences to any readers who didn't get their turn in before this happened.

We'll Always Have Chicago, Alyssa

Insert Alyssa Milano Joke Here

From Dylan Hernandez' "Dodgers FYI" piece in today's LAT:

The way Brad Penny looked throwing 30 pitches over two innings of a simulated game convinced Manager Joe Torre that the opening-day starter could be available in relief Friday.

"I talked to him about coming out of the bullpen," Torre said. "The way we've used the bullpen, the more the merrier."

Torre said Penny would have a "touch and feel" session Wednesday, putting him in line for a return two days later. Torre said Penny would enter games at the start of innings, easing fears that he had of having to warm up multiple times and risking injury.

Hey, with 18 games to go and only a 1.5 game lead: whatever it takes, dude.

SoSG Exclusive: An Interview with Will Carroll

Will Carroll, author of several works (including The Juice: The Real Story of Baseball's Drug Problems), a Senior Writer for Baseball Prospectus (where he writes the must-read "Under The Knife" column and reports on trade deadline activity in "Will's Mill"), and friend of Jenn Sterger, recently spent some time answering some questions about the Dodgers' injury situation and his take on what's really happening in Chavez Ravine.

SoSG: As usual (in our post-Beltre world), third base appears to be a black hole for the Dodgers. Any insight on what we can expect from Nomar Garciaparra and Andy LaRoche and their respective injuries?

Will Carroll: Garciaparra's hand isn't good, but neither is it bad. It should remind Torre, Colletti, or whoever's making decisions today that Garciaparra isn't going to hold up as a regular and that if he's to have value, he has to be protected. The LaRoche injury is one of those fluke things that costs him development time or even the chance to have eased into the role in some share with NG. Now, who knows.

SoSG: How do you see the OF situation working out? Is Juan Pierre one of "Joe's Kind of Guys" and, therefore, get ABs to the detriment of Ethier/Kemp? Is there a definite platoon that you can see making sense?

Carroll: I think Jones falling into their lap confused them. Pierre having no market also surprised them, I think. Leaves them with four guys who "have" to start.

SoSG: As former catcher, please give us assurances that Joe Torre will find ways to keep Russell Martin fresh! Other than interleague opportunities to DH, how else can the Dodgers keep from burning out this asset?

Carroll: He's always done very well with Posada, though he seems perfectly willing to have a poor quality backup. Giving him a day off here or there, finding pitchers he matches up poorly against or finding a backup C who has a strength Martin doesn't -- or at least does something differently, so he can give a reason -- would be solid. I'm not terribly worried about Martin's workload, aside from the quicker wearing down over a career. I'm not sure Torre should worry so much about that; his job is to win now.

"Billingsley could be pushed back to the pen by June if Kuroda is what the Dodgers think he is."

SoSG: Any further insights on Jeff Kent's condition? Is it something where the team would be better off putting him on the DL to heal, or will it be one of those chronic, nagging things that he just has to try to play through (with the logic being that Kent at 80% is better than either Abreu or Young at 100%)?

Carroll: He's just Kent. Tends to play through them.

SoSG: Brad Penny seems to wear down every year after the ASB (last year, his ERA went from 2.39 to 3.84) and Kuroda is basically an unknown commodity. What can we expect to see from both of them this year?

Carroll: I like PECOTA on both of these. Kuroda's solid filler and takes some pressure off the back end of the rotation. I think Billingsley could be pushed back to the pen by June if Kuroda is what the Dodgers think he is, because Kuroda and Schmidt aren't going to be pushed back.

SoSG: You've written a few times suggesting that teams be creative in having their starters actually pitch in relief on what would normally be their "throwing" days between starts. Given Penny's limitations (he seems to turn into a pumpkin, or at least Hideki Irabu, after 6 innings), would the Dodgers be served to try to have a guy like Billingsley follow Penny (and, conversely, have Penny track a Billingsley or Kuroda)? Not that I expect Torre to be an innovator, but would something like this make sense for the Dodgers to try?

Carroll: Not the worst idea, though I'd rather see a two inning guy like Brazoban when healthy or even Broxton.

SoSG: ETA on Clayton Kershaw's arrival to the Show? How do you see him being used (relief/setup duty a la Johan, Liriano, Joba)? Does Kershaw have a nickname yet? Would "Kid K" work for you?

Carroll: See above, June 1 or thereabouts. Kid K? You want to name him the same thing as Kerry Wood? Bad mojo ... I like Vin Scully's "Public Enemy No. 1". Little Chuck D when he enters. . .

SoSG: I didn't know Kerry Wood had dibs on the "Kid K" nickname. You're right about bad mojo! Would "Don't Believe the Hype" be too cheeky of intro music for Kershaw?

Carroll: I like it!

SoSG: Of course, we're both dating ourselves with that Chuck D reference. Kershaw is so young, he probably only knows about Flavor Flav from that "Flavor of Love" show. Sigh.

"Not only does no one seem to know who has the strings on any given day, neither do the Dodgers."

SoSG: How long before Logan White and Kim Ng leave Chavez Ravine and run their own teams?

Carroll: Good question. Ng's very solid, but she's had chances, has filled out her resume and is sliding off people's "hot list." You don't have to be one of the guys always mentioned, but it helps to be in the conversation. White's a more interesting case. I think the confusion in the Dodgers front office isn't helping and as good a job as he's done with development and scouting, I'm not sure his resume is quite as full as Ng's and he's sliding behind guys like Mike Rizzo, AJ Hinch, and RJ Harrison.

SoSG: You've touched on front office discord. Without compromising any sources, can you elucidate a bit? The Lasorda backstabbing of DePo was pretty obvious thanks to Plaschke's articles in the Times; what's the conflict these days? Logan vs. Ned?

Carroll: It's more a McCourt thing, I think. Whoever they're listening to that day -- Logan, Ned, Tommy, Torre, some random guy in the parking lot. There's as many stories as there are possibilities, so the problem is that not only does no one seem to know who has the strings on any given day, neither do the Dodgers.

SoSG: What occurs first: Jason Schmidt pitches in a game for the Dodgers or Alyssa Milano hooks up with Chad Billingsley?

Carroll: I can't speak for Alyssa, but I think Schmidt will be reasonable this year and if he's not, we get an early look at Kershaw!

SoSG: Thanks for the insights, Will. Consider yourself an honorary Son!

Ms. Milano Joins Giants Nation!

You're looking at the girl who will cause Eli to choke in next year's playoffs.

TBS Snags Alyssa Milano; Russell Martin Power Bat Futures Soar

TBS announced it is enlisting Dodger fan and clothing entrepreneur Alyssa Milano to provide MLB Playoffs "behind-the-scenes" coverage:

TBS Thursday announced that Milano, who starred on ABC's Who's the Boss? and Fox's Melrose Place and now appears on NBC's My Name is Earl, will have a continual presence on TBS' Hot Corner on mlb.com, which will air live video coverage of all MLB's first-round playoff games as well as the National League Championship Series. Online coverage of those games, which will air on TV on TBS, will include continuous camera shots, possibly from cameras focused on pitchers or placed in dugouts or worn on catchers' masks, that appear only sporadically on TV.

And Milano will be seen traveling between ballparks and appearing daily, providing what she says will be "an inside behind-the-scenes look at the playoffs. That's my angle."

Milano, who says she's been a lifelong baseball fan and is a Los Angeles Dodgers season ticket holder, also has an mlb.com "Touch 'Em All" blog, where her takes include saying "baseball is a gift. Every single game — wins and losses and the spectrum in between — is a gift."

Dodger fans know this is great news. SoSG reported back in July that Russell Martin's offensive numbers plummeted about the same time that he and Milano became a reported item. So TBS' offer to give Milano other diversions can only be positive for the Dodgers, particularly if they make the playoffs (and believe me, we'll suggest some targets...er..."prospects" for Milano as she does her "behind the scenes" tours of opposing squads...).