Blog Kiosk: 12/22/2011

Santa Kemp! Matt was given the key to the Oklahoma City and celebrates by giving out some toys to kids. (Pic via: twitter @SMPLonnie)

• Check out the Dodgers official Seasons Greetings right here.
• A future Bryan Stow settlement is an issue that should concern any Dodgers bidder, via LA Times.
• Ronald Belisario might be back, but he will face a 25 game suspension to start the season, via ESPN.
• Chan Ho Park will be playing in South Korea and will be donating his income to youth Baseball in his home country, via France 24. (Hat Tip: Dodger Thoughts)
• High Heat Stats takes a look at the worst 20 pitching contract in history, and the Dodgers fill 4 spots on that list. Can you name the 4?
• Happy Birthday, Steve Garvey! Big League Stew has a great writeup today.
• Tom at Baseball By the Letters tells us that Steve Sax is now only signing autographs through the mail for a fee of $20.
• From the Bleacher Report, check out 50 of the coolest sports photos of 2011.
• Remember the woman who was arrested for allegedly placing a Craigslist ad offering sex for World Series tickets in Philadelphia? Well, an appeals court just overturned her conviction. Via Washington Post.
• Tebowing has gotten way out of hand.
• Check out this Christmas miracle. 59 year old Brenda Hewlett wins a new truck with one shot of the puck. Unbelievable.

59 Yr Woman Wins Truck From Frenchie's Ford By Making Hole in one from Clayton Plourde on Vimeo.

Collection: Some Edwin Jackson Auto's

I always liked this kid. He came to the mound as a wide-eyed 19 year old just a couple of years removed from high school. It was like he was an innocent buck grazing on a field not understanding the situation he was in.

You see, a big bad hunter with a fierce look in his eye was on his path. That menace was taller than a giraffe, and had a gun clocked at speeds that made a burly bear like John Kruk turtle in fear.

It was Edwin Jackson's very first game in the pro's, late in the 2003 season, and he would face off against the formidable Randy Johnson. The Dodger were well out of the race by then, so they must have figured what's the risk in seeing what the kid could do. Well, the risk was something we didn't really realize till much later. On that September evening Jackson would bedazzle the Dodgers faithful by out-dueling the future Hall of Famer. Fans and pundits alike screamed, "we have an ace in our hands!"

Unfortunately, the perils of that early assessment was our demise. Plainly said, I believe we rushed him to the big leagues and hurt his development with our club. Soon, a soon to be hero became a worrisome blight. So, we traded him for whatever we could get- a couple of over hyped relief pitchers. In that wake Edwin would continue to learn to pitch and become a valuable innings eater.

Will he become the type of pitcher he showed us that September evening? Who knows. He still possess the tools and is young enough to grow into a top of the order pitcher. It just feels like we wasted an opportunity with him.

Featured here are 3 autographed cards of Edwin Jackson in my collection. From left to right (above), a 2004 Playoff Absolute Spectrum, a 2004 Fleer Flair Autograph Collection, and a 2004 Skybox Rare Form Autographed card.

eBay: Duke Snider's Restaurant Coaster

I learn new stuff everyday. Like last night, I realized that you should never procrastinate when Christmas shopping. Oh wait, that's a lesson I learn every winter. I just always forget.

Something else I learned, and I swear this is something totally new to me, is that Duke Snider had his own restaurant. Better yet, it was in Vero Beach, FL which was the home of the Dodgers Spring Training facility known as Dodgertown.

How I would have loved to have dined there during my Spring Training jaunts to that town a few years ago. Unfortunately, it had long been closed by the time I had the funds to visit that Dodger mecca in the south. Oh well, I guess I'll have to imagine the medium rare steak, baked potato and grilled asparagus I would have munched on. Wow! I'm getting hungry and it's not even close to dinner time now.

Anyway, recently for sale on eBay was this drink coaster for Duke Snider's Restaurant. A cursory search unearthed other collectibles from this joint like a matchbook and menu. One of these days I'm going to have to add this to my own collection.

(Ebay Auction Link)