Dodgers Skip Arbitration and Decide to Just Sign Gwynn

Steve Dilbeck made a case this morning that the Dodgers should tender Gwynn a contract and go to arbitration. Well, they must been listening because they not only tendered a contract, but they completed a two year deal for him to stay in Blue. Dylan Hernandez has financial details. Affordable while effective is what I would say about this signing. Welcome back to the Blue, Tony! Below is an excerpt from the Dodger Press Release:

The versatile outfielder appeared in a career-high 136 games at all three outfield positions with the Dodgers last year in his first season with the club and posted a .907 zone rating, which tied for second among qualifying National League outfielders. The 29-year-old ranked among the league leaders with a .993 fielding percentage, tying for ninth among NL outfielders with just one error in 677.0 innings, and tied for 15^th on the circuit with eight outfield assists. Gwynn averaged 0.11 assists per 9.0 innings, which led National League outfielders.

At the plate, Gwynn batted .256 and posted career-best marks with 12 doubles, 22 stolen bases and 22 RBIs. He also tied with Jamey Carroll for the team lead with a career high-tying six triples. The left-handed hitter batted .333 (8-for-24) in 27 appearances as a pinch-hitter, tying for the seventh-highest mark in the Majors, and has a .288 career batting average in that role.

(Above Pic Link: Jon SooHoo)

LA Kings Ax Their Coach

After much speculation on Kings blogs over the past several weeks and a final hatchet from Helene Elliott at the LA Times yesterday reporting that the

"Kings executives are poised to dismiss Coach Terry Murray this week,"

they finally do the inevitable. The Kings coach of over 3 years was officially let go today, via the Kings official blog. John Stevens, the previous assistant coach, has been named the interim coach until a long term replacement can be found. Much will be said over the coming days over who should be the replacement, but I will defer to the King offical blog reporter Rich Hammond who speculates that Darryl Sutter may be in our sights.

Keep an eye on the whereabouts of Darryl Sutter in the next few days. Dean Lombardi is very close with Sutter and, as GM in San Jose, hired Sutter in 1997. Sutter left the coaching ranks after the 2005-06 season, as he went from coach/GM to GM, and he left that role last December. I’ll never forget the exchange I had with Lombardi, at the press conference to announce his hiring as Kings’ GM in 2006. It went like this…

Question: “In terms of qualities, what will you be looking for in a coach?”

Lombardi: “Darryl.”

Something had to be done. The Kings are way too talented to be playing so poorly. Besides, you had to figure it wouldn't work out considering the haircut Terry Murray once sported in the 70's (see the vintage card above) That's just embarrassing. Fortunately, the Kings are still in the thick of the race and can easily bounce back to meet the expectations placed on them early on in the season.

Blog Kiosk: 12/12/2001

• For a really good explanation of the whole PED testing process and the current Braun situation read Will Carroll's SI story on the matter. He also follows up on his tumblr account, here.

  At this stage, several things are unclear. There are conflicting reports as to whether Braun's "B" sample was tested and showed exogenous testosterone. There are also reports of a second drug test, requested by Braun, that did not "test positive." I put that last in quotes because it's confusing. Remember, the "A" sample is merely a trigger. If Braun was re-tested and showed a T/E ratio below 4:1, that is not correctly called a negative test.

• Steve Dilbeck with the LA Times declares that the 'Dodgers Need to Tender Tony Gwynn, Jr.'

  Gwynn played more than expected (a career-high 136 games) and better than most anticipated. He was as strong as advertised defensively, a little better than expected offensively and stole 22 bases.

• Check out this great video of a fan at a Celtics game dancing for the crowd. Pretty great stuff, via Wimp.com.
  
• Topps names the SF Giants the organization of the year, via Sports Collectors Digest. The Dodgers won it last year- they are 6 time winners.
  
• The Pujols market in St. Louis is dead. Stores can't even give away jerseys for free, via Sports Collectors Daily.
  
• LA Kings are coming close to firing their coach, via Helene Elliott of LA Times. I hope it stops their downward spiral.
  
• BNGamesReviews was at 'Nuke the Fridge Con' as has a full report.
  

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• Here Stan Lee and Mike Tyson share the stage.

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The Dodgers: You Make Me Happy

OK. I admit to trying to fool you with the title of this post. I thought it would be fun to put up this great single I found over the weekend on youtube. It is a 1954 recording on Aladdin of a song called 'You Make Me Happy,' and it is song by a doo-wop group called the Dodgers. That's right. There was a singing ensemble named after our favorite club. On top of that, this is a really great tune.

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Collection: Delwyn Young Spectrum Auto

Delwyn Young had so much promise as a young farmhand with the Dodgers. He had shown an ability to hit at all levels, and was a local kid from the far reaches of the Antelope Valley. Unfortunately, he just couldn't take that next step in the Majors. In 2008 he had his chance to impress as a reserve outfielder for the Dodgers, but hit a paltry .246 with 1 homer in 126 at-bats. Certainly, not enough to keep him in LA. So, he was traded to Pittsburgh for nobody in particular. While there he did start, but continued to bat poorly. Soon, he would find himself demoted to the bench then back to the minors when he signed with the Phillies as a free agent for the 2011 season. Currently, he is a free agent and does not appear to be signed with any team. Hopefully he can continue his dream of playing ball. This post features a 2007 Upper Deck Spectrum autographed rookie signatures card of Delwyn Young from my collection.