That voice again

Every morning when I get out of my car (I park near the indoor batting cages), I can hear the booming voice of Mike Easler, the Dodgers' new hitting coach, coming from inside the cages. I don't know what Don Mattingly would have been like, but this guy is a refreshing change from the grumpy Eddie Murray and the camera-shy Bill Mueller, the two men who held the job last year. Besides being a great guy who never shies away from a conversation, Easler has a boisterous, infectious personality that I think will play really, really well with this team. Although I haven't seen them yet, Kim Ng was telling me yesterday that he also likes to wear these spring-loaded shoes to help relieve back pain, but they create this really funny-looking bounce when he runs or walks. So far, it looks like Ned Colletti and Joe Torre made the right choice.