Dodgers Blog Kiosk: 6/28/2012

The sixth edition of the Dodgers Playbill features Eric Karros.  Check it out above.

• Adding insult to injury, via @CSNBaggs on twitter.

• Then to make matters even worse, our one real power bat went down with a strained left oblique muscle injury, via Steve Dilbeck at the LA Times.
• Eye on LA Sports puts together a great, albeit belated roundup of the Dodgers/ Angels freeway series in Los Angeles a couple of weeks ago.  He shares his adventure at getting Magic's autograph at the game. 
• The July edition of Dodgers Magazine (at right) features a cover photo of Andre Ethier at the top of Dodger Stadium. Inside is a feature on Ethier, who has befriended fellow Arizona State baseball player Cory Hahn, the young man who was paralyzed from the chest down on a stolen base attempt in just his second game for the Sun Devils.
• I'm not happy to find this out.  Via Jon Weisman at Dodger Thoughts. 

It’s the first time one team has thrown three consecutive shutouts against the Dodgers since 1937.

• With today being Eric Karros bobblehead night at Dodger Stadium, team historian Mark Langill writes a little bit about how he came to be a Dodger.

Early in 1986, Dodger area scout Bob Bishop drove to the campus of UCLA to watch the Bruins begin their baseball season with an intrasquad game. Bishop noticed a freshman third baseman, a “walk-on” player without an athletic scholarship.

• Several weeks back I had mentioned that there is a Dodgers browser theme available for fans to download.  Check them out here.  Well, if you did that or plan to then you can enter a MLB contest to win an All-Star jersey.  A sweepstakes button is on the browser or go here for more details.

• The LA Times has put together a commemorative book detailing the LA Kings Stanley Cup Championship run.  Check it out here.  It's 128 pages of wonderful.
• The Star Wars That I Used To Know.

Video Link:
(Hat Tip: Alyssa Milano on twitter)

Dodgers Will Sign a Cuban, Yasiel Puig

Where did this come from?  Out of the Blue the Dodgers show the league that they are not to be dismissed.  With the new Dodgers ownership just getting their feet wet over the past couple of months, they take an early opportunity to let everyone know they have the cash and willpower to put the best talent possible on the field.

Today, we get word that the Dodgers and Cuban slugger Yasiel Puig have agreed on a contract.  Enrique Rojas at ESPN has more.

Cuban outfielder Yasiel Puig has reached agreement on a seven-year, $42 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, sources told ESPNdeportesLosAngeles.com.

The agreement is pending a physical exam, and would be the largest dollar figure accorded a Cuban defector, surpassing the four-year, $36 million deal of Oakland Athletics outfielder Yoenis Céspedes in February.

"Puig's contract with the Dodgers should be completed by Friday. The young man could play in the major leagues this year, maybe in time to help with the race for the playoffs or the World Series," said the source, who added that the agreement includes some clauses that could permit Puig to become a free agent after his fourth year.

Under the new rules that regulate the hiring of Cuban ballplayers, upon receiving permanent residency, known as FM2 in Mexico, Puig will not need to be unblocked by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, the agency of the U.S. Department of the Treasury that enforces the sanctions of the United States' embargo against Cuba.

The 21-year-old Puig batted .330 with 17 home runs, 47 RBIs and 78 runs scored in 327 at-bats with the Cienfuegos Elefantes in the 2010-11 Cuban National Series. Later, he averaged .370 in 46 at-bats in the playoffs, at barely 20 years of age.

Puig, who also was considered the fastest player in Cuban baseball, was left off the Cienfuegos team for the 2011-12 season after having been caught on several occasions trying to escape the country. He finally succeeded in defecting last month.

I think left field is taken for awhile. If he is as good as they say then we look to be pretty good in the outfield for quite some time.  The best part about this deal is that we don't have to give anything up to get him.  This also make me wonder whether we would have been a player for Yu Darvish if Magic's group had taken over ownership much sooner than they did.  I had read on numerous occasions that they Dodgers scouts loved him.

And I have another question.  How exactly do you pronounce Yasiel Puig?

Here is a video from youtube of our newest Dodger.

Video Link:

Take a Photo with the Stanley Cup

This coming Friday you can have a chance to get a picture with The Cup.  Rich Hammond at the Kings Insider Blog has the information.

The trophy, along with Bailey and the Kings’ Ice Crew, will be at a Sports Chalet store in West Los Angeles (11801 West Olympic Blvd.) on Friday from 6-7 p.m. It’s a free event, but you must bring your own camera, and there is only one photo per person.

Go to this link for more information.

An hour doesn't seem like a lot of time to handle all photo request.  If the line is too long I wouldn't worry.  I'm sure there will be plenty of opportunities to get close to The Cup.

And yes, the photo above is of me with the Cup.  This was taken at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto some 8-9 years ago.  I was in town for a wedding and made sure to take in a Blue Jays game and this Hall.  As I look back at this picture I notice that I look rather stiff.  It's like I was afraid to get near it, let alone touch it.  Next time around I plan to get real close and smile real big.