2010 Maple Street Press Dodgers Annual

The first annual Maple Street Press Dodgers Annual, edited by Jon Weisman of Dodger Thoughts, ships in a couple weeks, and will hit newsstands on March 2.  It is available for pre-order now.  I had the great pleasure of writing a pair of articles for the publication, joining an impressive cast of authors.  Weisman gives the details:

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.

I'm looking forward to this magazine, and I hope you will, too.

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Former Dodger Orlando Hudson -- you remember, the second baseman before Ronnie Belliard -- signed a one-year, $5 million contract with the Minnesota Twins today.  In the Twin Cities, Hudson joins fellow ex-Dodger Jim Thome, who had one more plate appearance (five) in the postseason with the Dodgers than Hudson.