Dave Hansen

Ain't baseball a curious little game? It can surprise you, that's for sure. Take this announcement by the Seattle Mariners on Monday: Dave Hansen has been hired as their new hitting coach. That would be Dave Hansen, the Dodgers' hitting coach last season, the only coach not invited back for the 2013 season. With the Dodgers struggling to generate the expected offense after the midseason acquisitions of Adrian Gonzalez, Hanley Ramirez and Shane Victorino, his dismissal smelled of scapegoat.

Forget star players. It seems you can never have enough coaching. The Dodgers finalized their coaching staff for the 2013 season Tuesday, officially adding John Valentin as the assistant hitting coach and Chuck Crim as the bullpen coach to Manager Don Mattingly's staff. Valentin was the Dodgers' triple-A Albuquerque hitting coach the last two seasons, while Crim served as their double-A Chattanooga pitching coach the last two years. Both are former major leaguers. Ken Howell, who had been the bullpen coach for the past five seasons, will now serve as the newly created assistant pitching coach.

If you secretly dream of one day being a major league coach, here's some absolutely free advice: Best that you don't want to be a hitting coach. They have precariously short life spans. When the offense struggles, calls go out for their heads. And too often, they are left a scapegoat for the failures of an underwhelming or underperforming cast. And so it continues to go, or at least it appears to, with the announcement by the Dodgers Friday that their entire coaching staff will return next season - save for hitting coach Dave Hansen.

INDIAN WELLS -- Mark McGwire was officially named the Dodgers' hitting coach on Wednesday. A former single-season home run record holder, the 49-year-old McGwire was the St. Louis Cardinals' hitting coach the last three seasons. McGwire, whose legacy was tainted by steroid use, will replace Dave Hansen, who was fired last month. This will be a homecoming for McGwire, who graduated from La Verne Damien High and played at USC. He has an off-season home in Orange County. In 1998, both McGwire and the Chicago Cubs' Sammy Sosa pursued and broke Roger Maris' 37-year-old single-season home run record of 61. McGwire, then playing for the Cardinals, finished the season with 70 home runs to set a new standard.

INDIAN WELLS -- Mark McGwire was officially named the Dodgers' hitting coach on Wednesday. A former single-season home run record holder, the 49-year-old McGwire was the St. Louis Cardinals' hitting coach the last three seasons. McGwire, whose legacy was tainted by steroid use, will replace Dave Hansen, who was fired last month. This will be a homecoming for McGwire, who graduated from La Verne Damien High and played at USC. He has an off-season home in Orange County. In 1998, both McGwire and the Chicago Cubs' Sammy Sosa pursued and broke Roger Maris' 37-year-old single-season home run record of 61. McGwire, then playing for the Cardinals, finished the season with 70 home runs to set a new standard.

Former Dodger Dave Hansen, signed last week to a minor league contract by the Seattle Mariners, ranks as one of the top all-time pinch-hitters. ALL-TIME PINCH HITS 1. Lenny Harris * ... 194 2. Manny Mota ...150 3. Smoky Burgess ...145 4. Greg Gross ...143 5. Dave Hansen * ...137 ALL-TIME PINCH HOMERS 1. Cliff Johnson ...20 2. Jerry Lynch ...18 3. John Vander Wal... 17 4 Gates Brown... 16 Smoky Burgess... 16 Willie McCovey ...16 7. Dave Hansen * ...15 * Active

Forget star players. It seems you can never have enough coaching. The Dodgers finalized their coaching staff for the 2013 season Tuesday, officially adding John Valentin as the assistant hitting coach and Chuck Crim as the bullpen coach to Manager Don Mattingly's staff. Valentin was the Dodgers' triple-A Albuquerque hitting coach the last two seasons, while Crim served as their double-A Chattanooga pitching coach the last two years. Both are former major leaguers. Ken Howell, who had been the bullpen coach for the past five seasons, will now serve as the newly created assistant pitching coach.

Here's one you probably didn't see coming: The Dodgers are close to hiring Mark McGwire as their new hitting coach. McGwire has served as the Cardinals' hitting coach for the last three seasons, but the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has reported that he has told the club he intends to accept the same position with the Dodgers. The deal with the Dodgers has yet to be finalized, but the Post-Dispatch said he has told the Cardinals he will not accept their offer of a contract extension.

Reliever Kenley Jansen, who landed on the disabled list in each of the last two seasons with an irregular heartbeat, underwent a surgical procedure on Tuesday to correct the problem. Jansen is expected to be fully competitive at the start of spring training. Though Jansen will be on blood-thinning medication for the next two to three months, he will be able to throw and work out this winter without any restrictions. In fact, Jansen could probably start exercising in the next seven to 10 days.

Utility infielder Dave Hansen left the Dodgers to sign a two-year, $1.3 million free-agent deal with the San Diego Padres. Since 1990, he has spent 11 seasons with the Dodgers, interrupted by a one-season stint with the Chicago Cubs and one season in Japan. He is the Dodgers' all-time leader with 120 pinch-hits. The Padres also signed right-hander Jaret Wright, a former Anaheim Katella High standout who was released by the Cleveland Indians in October, to a one-year contract worth $725,000.

Here's one you probably didn't see coming: The Dodgers are close to hiring Mark McGwire as their new hitting coach. McGwire has served as the Cardinals' hitting coach for the last three seasons, but the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has reported that he has told the club he intends to accept the same position with the Dodgers. The deal with the Dodgers has yet to be finalized, but the Post-Dispatch said he has told the Cardinals he will not accept their offer of a contract extension.

ADRIAN GONZALEZ: 30, first base Final 2012 stats: .299 batting average, 18 home runs, 108 RBI, career-high 47 doubles, .344 on-base and .463 slugging percentages, three errors. Contract status: Will be in the second year of a seven-year, $154-million deal. The good: In his 36 games as a Dodger, he hit .297 with three homers and 22 RBIs. Finished the year on a 15-game hitting streak, longest by any Dodger of the season. Hit dramatic three-run homer in his first at-bat as a Dodger.

Reliever Kenley Jansen, who landed on the disabled list in each of the last two seasons with an irregular heartbeat, underwent a surgical procedure on Tuesday to correct the problem. Jansen is expected to be fully competitive at the start of spring training. Though Jansen will be on blood-thinning medication for the next two to three months, he will be able to throw and work out this winter without any restrictions. In fact, Jansen could probably start exercising in the next seven to 10 days.

Ain't baseball a curious little game? It can surprise you, that's for sure. Take this announcement by the Seattle Mariners on Monday: Dave Hansen has been hired as their new hitting coach. That would be Dave Hansen, the Dodgers' hitting coach last season, the only coach not invited back for the 2013 season. With the Dodgers struggling to generate the expected offense after the midseason acquisitions of Adrian Gonzalez, Hanley Ramirez and Shane Victorino, his dismissal smelled of scapegoat.

It's the debut of the third annual almost-Daily Dodger in Review, leading off with the best they have … CLAYTON KERSHAW , 24, starting pitcher Final 2012 stats: 14-9, 2.53 ERA, 229 strikeouts, 1.02 WHIP in 227 2/3 innings. Contract status: Signed for 2013 at $11 million. The good: Led the major leagues in ERA for the second consecutive year, led the National League in WHIP, and was second in strikeouts (by one) and innings pitched. Yet incredibly, all those numbers were down from last season when he won the NL pitching triple crown and Cy Young award.

If you secretly dream of one day being a major league coach, here's some absolutely free advice: Best that you don't want to be a hitting coach. They have precariously short life spans. When the offense struggles, calls go out for their heads. And too often, they are left a scapegoat for the failures of an underwhelming or underperforming cast. And so it continues to go, or at least it appears to, with the announcement by the Dodgers Friday that their entire coaching staff will return next season - save for hitting coach Dave Hansen.

Outstanding players on the Angels and Dodgers for 1991 will be honored at the Baseball Writers Assn. of America dinner on Sunday, Feb. 9 at the Long Beach Sheraton Hotel. Honored will be Bryan Harvey and Brett Butler as team MVPs, Jim Abbott and Mike Morgan as most valuable pitchers, Ron Tingley and Dave Hansen as rookies of the year, Abbott and Orel Hershiser as most inspirational, Deron Johnson and Dr.

At some point this summer, a public address announcer will say Dave Hansen's name, he'll step to the plate, get a hit and a record will fall. Don't expect much fanfare. It's the Dodger record for pinch-hits, and the only thing less glamorous than a pinch-hitting record is ... pinch-hitting itself. If you think about it, pinch-hitting is the batters' equivalent of a closer in pitching. Late-inning specialist. Called upon in pressure situations.

SAN DIEGO - Mickey Hatcher has seen this before: A star-studded lineup with a new nine-figure centerpiece can't hit, can't score and can't win games. Hatcher is a special assistant to Dodgers General Manager Ned Colletti, and he has been working alongside hitting coach Dave Hansen in recent weeks. But at the start of this season, Hatcher was the Angels' hitting coach. He was fired in May. In Hatcher's view, there are similarities between the Dodgers of today and the Angels of April - in particular, in how high-profile newcomers Adrian Gonzalez and Albert Pujols responded to exospheric expectations.

- So I'm blown away by the incredible feats, the Choking Dogs winning a game and one of the miserable failures acquired in a trade finally coming through. Up until now, Adrian Gonzalez has been James Loney - and we know what that means: good glove, no hit and no sign of life. Gonzalez goes 0 for 4 in the team's biggest game of the season as they lose to the Giants in Game 1 of this series, then opens Game 2 by grounding into a double play. In doing so, he shows all the emotion of a mercenary paid to do a job, and oh well if it doesn't go well.