I'm pleased to announce that the first Maple Street Press Dodgers Annual, edited by yours truly and featuring many writers familiar to Dodger Thoughts readers, will be shipping this month and is available for pre-order.
The annual, which will also be available on local newsstands at the start of March, offers 128 ad-free pages devoted to the Dodgers, including a review of the 2009 season, a thorough series of player profiles and articles previewing the coming year, a 25-page section on the farm system and another 25 pages of historical features.
Here are some of the highlights:
Amid Turmoil, Hope (2010 season preview), by Chad Moriyama of Memories of Kevin Malone
So Close, Again (2009 season in review), by Eric Stephen of True Blue L.A.
Manny Be Good? (What to expect from Ramirez in 2010), by Jay Jaffe of Baseball Prospectus
Disorder In McCourt (an analysis of the impact of the McCourts' divorce) by Joshua Fisher of Dodger Divorce
State Of The Stadium, by Eric Stephen of True Blue L.A.
One Out Away (Jonathan Broxton looks to recover from another disappointing finish), by Mike Petriello of Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness
Critical Campaigns (James Loney and Russell Martin), by Mike Petriello of Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness
The Collected Colletti (a Q&A), by Josh Suchon of KABC AM 790
Aces Are Wild Cards (The last word on No. 1 starters), by Eric Enders, baseball historian
Prospect Park (Top 20 prospects in the Dodger farm system), by Dodger prospect expert Richard Bostan
Individually Packaged (how the Dodgers develop young arms), by Josh Suchon of KABC AM 790
No Minor Hopes (life in AAA), by Albuquerque Isotopes play-by-play announcer Robert Portnoy
One In A Trillion (a Vin Scully retrospective), by Dodger team historian Mark Langill
Unsung Heroes (key contributions from unexpected sources), by Bob Timmermann of The Griddle and One Through Forty-Two or Forty-Three
Sweep And Low (the end of the 1980 season), by Dodger Thoughts commenter BHSportsGuy
The Great Dividers (the 20 most controversial Dodgers of the 2000s), by Jon Weisman
Petriello also wrote the bulk of the player profiles, along with BHSportsGuy and another Dodger Thoughts commenter, CraigUnderdog.
If you enjoy this site (and maybe even if you don't), you won't want to be without this annual.
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A great wrapup of the Dodgers' caravan stop at my go-to fried chicken place, Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles, can be found at Vin Scully Is My Homeboy.