Blog Kiosk : 1/21/2014 - Dodgers Links - Jackie's Letter to MLK, Tommy's Introduction and a Civil War Baseball

“Sweet” Lou Johnson, Dennis Powell and Derrel Thomas represented the Dodgers at yesterdays 29th Annual Kingdom Day Parade in South LA, pic via @Dodgers on twitter.

• Via Mike Oz at Big League Stew, "Read a letter Jackie Robinson sent Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1962".  WOW!  
• This is awesome and hilarious.  Via JP Hoorntra at Inside the Dodgers, "How former Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda introduced the manager of the San Francisco Giants".  At the Professional Baseball Scouts Foundation dinner this past weekend, Tommy introduce a Giant in a way only Tommy could.  
• The Dutch Card Guy shares his 2013 Triple Threads Clayton Kershaw card that Topps just delivered.  It was a redemption, and it's a great looking card.
• Jay Blue at Grading On the Blue writes, "Los Angeles Dodgers Winter League Report: Part 1, Hitters".  It's a nice report on how some of our prospects are doing.
• Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports updates us on the Hanley Ramirez discussions, now that the Kershaw's talks have been concluded.  Via twitter:

With Kershaw behind Dodgers, Hanley Ramirez negotiations remain in early stages and ongoing.
— Tim Brown (@TBrownYahoo) January 20, 2014

• Via Eric Stephen at True Blue LA, "Javy Guerra fighting for spot in crowded Dodgers bullpen".

"At the end of the day I just want to be here. I like the place, I love the clubhouse. This is where I want to be," Guerra said. "I can control a little bit, so whatever I can control and come in the right mind frame. At the end of the day you have to throw strikes."

• Per David Golebiewski at BaseballAnalytics.org, he writes about "Clayton Kershaw's $215 Million Curveball".  He says that nobody in the regular season has hit Kershaw's curve for a home run since 2008.  Nobody!  FYI, he's given up 1 postseason home run - to Matt Holliday in NLCS.
• Holy Moly!  Via Rich Mueller at Sports Collectors Daily, "Civil War Soldiers' Baseball Heading to Auction".

• Via JP Hoornstra at the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, "Dan Craig, NHL’s ice rink expert, gets Dodger Stadium ready for hockey".

“The number-one thing that our crew is, is patient,” he said. “We are very patient in what we do. Our guys probably won’t be getting a whole lot of sleep. I know I won’t be getting a whole lot of sleep.”

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